THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604230033
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Ruth Fantasia
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
IMAGINE A heated burner that won't scorch a dollar bill placed between the cooking surface and the pan.
Or consider an oven that steams, bakes or both at the same time. And what would you think of an oven that cooks a tenderloin to perfection in 90 seconds?
These appliances aren't the wave of the future, they're available now. For food professionals, at least.
A demonstration recently at Virginia Power's Chester office, introduced electrical gadgets to media and food professionals. And, while most are made for industry kitchens, the next few years should bring the new technology home. Here's some of what's in store:
An induction cooktop uses magnetic energy to heat the pan and the food. Electric current activates a magnetic coil under a ceramic cooktop. When a magnetic pan (such as stainless steel) is placed on the surface, the pan heats.
``This is so much nicer (than other stoves) because it's an even, instant heat,'' says Winslow Goodier, executive chef at the Hermitage Country Club in Richmond. Goodier, was whipping up a tasty angel-hair pasta. He'd been cooking for an hour or more with a dollar bill under the pan. The bill was barely discolored.
Induction cooking is safer for tableside methods and buffet service (and anywhere there are small children), Goodier says.
Another advantage is control.
``Turn the heat up, the sauce boils immediately,'' says John Maxwell chef/owner of Maxwell's Kitchen in Richmond. ``Turn it down, and it stops immediately. You can't even get that kind of control from gas.''
Control means sauces don't scorch, foods don't boil over. And because the cooktop is a smooth, solid surface, clean-up is easy.
General Electric makes an induction cooktop for home use; it costs between $900 and $1,500 depending on size.
The ``comby'' oven melds a steamer and a convection oven into one appliance with a variety of uses.
``You can set it on a very low temperature with humidity, and proof yeast breads in it,'' says chef Maxwell. ``And then you can turn off the steam, raise the heat and bake the bread without taking it out of the oven.
``You can even inject steam into the oven during the last 15 minutes of baking if you want a hard-crusted bread.''
Because it's programmable, you only punch in the directions once, and store the information in the oven's memory.
Finally, if you think nothing good ever comes from technology, take a look at the flashbake oven. It uses light to cook food almost instantaneously.
One story goes that computer assemblers in California's Silicon Valley used similar ovens to finish off microchips - as well as frozen pizzas, TV dinners, bagels. One smart assembler marketed the oven as a cooking tool.
I've seen chefs make a perfectly cooked venison tenderloin in 90 seconds.
The flashbake and comby ovens are only available for industrial use, but give them a few years.
Celebrity night
What's your poison?
Whether it's a vodka tonic or a glass of iced tea, I'll be mixing drinks from 8 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday at Pargo's on Greenbrier Parkway in Chesapeake. It's part of a Celebrity Night benefit for the Hampton Roads Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse.
Come out, join the fun and bring your wallet. All tips and a portion of the night's proceeds go to a good cause. ILLUSTRATION: VIRGINIA POWER
Winslow Goodler
by CNB