Are You Grilling or Barbequing?

While the terms “grilling” and “barbequing” are often used on an interchangeable basis, about the only similarities between the two cooking styles is that they both involve the cooking of meat in the outdoors. The determination of whether you will be grilling or barbequing starts by defining the cooking style.

Grilling, in terms of sheer numbers, is the more popular and simpler cooking style between the two, being a common sight at beach cookouts, parties, and other events. Grilling recipes are as varied as the people that prepare meat in this fashion with an almost limitless number of rubs, sauces, marinades, and spices that combine with the carmelization of naturally-occurring sugars in the meat to provide a wide range of tastes.
 
If you are grilling:

• You are cooking with high heat temperatures that run in the vicinity of 500 to 600 degrees.

• The meat you are cooking is being directly heated by burning coals or a gas flame.

• Your cooking time is relatively short.

• You are probably cooking higher quality steaks, hamburgers, chicken or hot dogs

Barbequing is completely different from grilling in that the process takes longer and requires some expertise to deliver a successful meal. Most of the meat’s flavor is derived from the smoke that emanates from the embers of selected types of wood.



If you are barbequing:

• You are cooking with lower temperatures ranging from 180 to 250 degrees

• Your meat is not in direct contact with the heating source

• You are cooking cuts of meat that benefit from longer cooking times such as ribs, shoulders, etc.

While the terms are often interchanged, grilling and barbequing are completely different styles of cooking. If you happen to be a person who enjoys cooking with both styles, the Primo ceramic grill is designed to allow grilling on one half while meats placed on the other side of a divider receive the indirect heat of the barbequing process. The grill can also be converted to a full grill or barbeque, depending on the size of the meal and the method of preparation.

5 Ways to Cool Your Kitchen the Heat of Summer

When the temperatures rise throughout a hot summer day, the last thing you probably want to do is turn on the oven and start cooking. If going out to dinner every night isn't an option, here are 5 tips to make sure your kitchen doesn't feel as warm as your preheating oven.

• Experiment with other cooking appliances – Microwave ovens can now brown and crisp dishes and crock pots cook at lower temperatures for longer periods of time. In fact, once a crock pot has been loading with the meal that will cook over the next several hours, it can be situated anywhere, including the patio if you have an outlet nearby.

• Add a ceiling fan – Ceiling fans tend to be under-utilized in kitchens but they can provide significant cooling as well as the dispersal of heat from the oven.

• Get outside – One of the pleasures of summer is cooking outdoors and the new barbecues and grills make it easy. In fact, outdoor cooking gear has so many optional features that you can prepare an entire meal on a barbecue/grill.

• Create sandwich and salad bars – These are fun meals that don’t require any heating. 

• Increase your venting capacity – One of the things that gets overlooked in terms of cooling a kitchen area is the venting system over the oven/cooktop. Improving your venting capacity can remove more smoke, steam, and heat from your kitchen area, making it far more comfortable to prepare meals. 

Summer evenings can be extremely enjoyable, unless you’re sweating them out in a hot kitchen. Follow these tips to vary your routine, get outdoors, and stay cool while you’re in the kitchen.

Blu-ray 101

Blu-ray is the name of the optical disc platform that has been designed with the intention of replacing the widely used format of digital video discs (DVDs). The technology gets its name from the blue laser that reads the information on the disc, at a rate which occurs at a higher storage speed than DVDs that are read by red lasers.

The advantages of Blu-ray include:

* Better picture quality – Blu-ray’s better picture quality starts with its increased resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 versus the standard DVD resolution of 720 x 480. The higher number of pixels available in the Blu-ray format results in far greater detail and picture clarity. The Blu-ray format also has deeper colors and enhanced contrasts.

* Better sound quality – Higher resolution audio formats deliver a richer sound experience that can rival movie theater audio.

* The Blu-ray format optimizes HDTV – Owners of HDTV screens can only optimize the picture from discs with the Blu-ray format due to the fact that DVDs are not designed with enough pixels for the display screen. Trying to integrate a DVD with a high resolution screen can result in a lower picture quality than that of a screen that doesn’t have HD technology.

* DVDs work in Blu-ray players – This avoids the situation where a new technology renders the one being replaced as unusable (VHS tapes versus DVD’s, for example). Being able to play DVDs means that a new Blu-ray owner doesn’t have to start from scratch in terms of a movie collection and can continue to play DVDs while adding Blu-ray movies.

As a relatively new technology, buying a Blu-ray player will still cost more than the DVD version. That being said, enhanced viewing experience is the name of the game for virtually all new technology in this category, which places Blu-ray in the middle of the next generation of video-related electronics.

Electrolux Dealers See the Future of Cooking

Electrolux dealers are excited about induction technology because it represents the next generation in cooking. Induction cooking employs high frequency electromagnets and sophisticated electronics to generate a magnetic field on the cooktop of a range. When a magnetic pot or pan is placed on top of the electromagnetic field, energy is transferred from the magnet to the pot/pan, which then heats the metal of the cookware. Heating of the cookware then cooks the food held inside. Increasing or decreasing the power of the magnetic field can then control the level of heat transferred into the cookware.

This dynamic presents many benefits including:

• Induction cooking is more responsive than gas or electric because of the capability to instantaneous adjust the heating level. Water boils faster and heat can be reduced more quickly as well. In fact, water can be brought to a boil in 90 seconds.
• Induction cooking provides a more efficient transfer of energy than gas or electrical heating elements, which can save both time and energy.
• Being able to control heating with electromagnetic energy means that cooking temperatures can be set precisely.
• The cooktop stays cool – Because heat is transferred directly from the electromagnets to the cookware, the cooktop stays cool. This can reduce accidental burns and make cleaning easier.
• Flexibility - Sensors automatically detect magnetic cookware that is placed on the cooktop and then activate the induction field, which can be adjusted to any sized cookware.

One issue that could be seen as a disadvantage of induction cooking is that at present, the only cookware that can be used must be a metal, such as iron, that responds to a magnetic field. Non-ferrous cookware like aluminum simply does not work on induction cooktops. This issue is mitigated by the fact that most cookware lines have plenty of products that will work on induction cooktops. Additionally, as induction cooking gains popularity, expect even more cookware options to become available over time.

Electrolux dealers know that the many benefits of induction cooking, including precision temperature selection, rapid heating, and savings in time and energy make induction cooktops a solid choice for any kitchen. For more information, visit: http://eastcoastappliance.com/index.html

The Straight Scoop on Buying the Best Cooktop for Your Kitchen

Making the jump to a cooktop combined with a separate wall oven is a great choice whether you are installing a couple of upgrades or doing a full remodel of your kitchen. This alternative to the traditional all-in-one range provides two immediate benefits; the convenience of working with an oven that doesn’t require you to work at knee level and the extra cabinet space that can be located beneath the cooktop to store bulky cookware.

Here is the straight cooktop scoop on what to look for as well as what to buy as the best option for your kitchen:

* Pricing – Plan for the combination of a cooktop with a wall oven to be more expensive than a single range. Prices for the cooktop will likely start around $300 for a basic version and range upward to around $2500 for high-end models.
* Sizing – The most cost efficient way to size your cooktop is buy one that fits the existing cutout on the countertop to eliminate the need for altering granite or the other materials that compose your countertop.
* The existing power source – This will, in all likelihood, be the deciding factor in whether you go with a gas or electric cooktop unless you’re comfortable with the cost of implementing a power source that isn’t present in your current kitchen configuration.
* The cooktop surface and the number of burners – The basic cooktop models will start with 4 standard gas or electric coil burners and move up in cost to glass, then seamless grates, and, at the top of the line, induction burners that use magnetic technology to heat quickly, conserve energy, and then offer fast cleaning with ceramic surfaces. 5 burner and bridge burner cooktops start at the mid-range of cooktop pricing.
* Control styles – Gas cooktops have yet to go beyond control knobs even at the highest end but electric versions can offer more variety once you approach mid-range pricing. The variety of controls includes digital readouts and touch screen operation. An added benefit of these models is that the absence of knobs makes cleanup easier.
* How exhaust will be vented – If overhead venting isn’t an option, electric cooktops can be purchased with a downdraft systems that aren’t as strong as traditional venting but can still reduce smoke and other cooking residuals.

Make sure to budget for the added expense of a cooktop with a separate wall unit as the components and the installation will be more costly than a traditional range. That being said, your new cooktop and oven can deliver bunch of great benefits that will have you cooking like a pro.

Optimizing the Performance of Your Energy Star Clothes Washer

ENERGY STAR appliances get their ratings by meeting benchmarks for operating efficiency and energy savings. While these appliances are designed for efficiency in everyday use, you can optimize the performance of, and maximize the savings from your ENERGY STAR washing machine by following these tips:

* Run your washer with full loads as often as possible – While sensors and settings can be used to make adjustments for smaller loads, clothes washers deliver maximum savings when full wash loads are run, resulting in a lower number of wash cycles per week.

* Don’t automatically assume that every load requires hot water – Depending on the stains, dirt or grime that you’re trying to get out of your clothes, in most cases you’ll be able to get the same results from running cycles with warm or cold water. The one exception would be the necessity of using hot water to remove oily stains. Keep in mind that using hot water will eat up about 90% of the energy used for a wash load while warm water uses about 50% less energy. Using cold water means that energy will only be used to operate the machinery, which maximizes your savings.

* Use the spin cycle – The spin cycle removes moisture from the clothes using centrifugal force. Longer and faster spin cycles will remove more moisture, which will reduce the length of the drying cycle.

* Use the recommended type of detergent – If you have a front loading washer, High Efficiency detergents which generate a lower amount of soap suds are recommended. Going with traditional detergents produces a higher than desired level of suds, which will reduce washing efficiency and may lead to mechanical issues down the line.

* Leave the door to your front loading washer open after completing a wash load – Unlike top loading washers, front loading necessitates a water-tight seal to prevent leakage. While a tightly sealed door is necessary to keep water in the basin during a wash, it will also trap moisture left behind if the door is shut once the wash is completed. This trapped moisture can be seen as condensation on the glass of the door and can lead to moldy and/or mildewy odors. If you smell these odors when opening your washer door, run a cycle without a wash load using about 8 ounces of bleach to remove them. Instead, leave the door open slightly after a wash load to allow residual moisture to evaporate.

Running your ENERGY STAR washing machine at its highest level of efficiency can save energy, time and money on both wash loads and drying loads. What you do with that extra time and money is up to you.

East Coast Appliance Announces the Arrival of the New Frigidaire Top Load HE Laundry

East Coast Appliance is pleased to announce the arrival of the new Frigidaire top load HE Laundry appliances. Packed with features that deliver cleaner wash loads, extra convenience, and big energy savings, the Frigidaire High Efficiency washers arrive as a solid choice for households of all sizes. With the Top Load High Efficiency washers, Frigidaire continues to build its reputation for consistently adding innovations, upgrades, and features each time they introduce new generation of appliances.

The most recent features added to Frigidaire’s High Efficiency washers include:

• Immersion Care – For delicates and items requiring a gentler wash cycle, Immersion Care technology eases water and detergent through clothes and offers a gentle spin cycle for a complete clean that protects the wash load.
• WaterFall Wash Technology – This feature works in concert with Immersion Care technology to soak and distribute detergent evenly through the wash basin to ensure cleaner wash loads.
• The Fits-More wash basin – The expanded wash basin allows for bigger wash loads to get laundry done faster.
• Vibration controls – The new Frigidaire top load laundry appliances are equipped with vibration sensors to prevent wash loads from becoming unbalanced to provide a quiet wash cycle every time. Additionally, the SilentDesign feature runs every wash cycle on these washers with a 20% noise reduction from normal levels.
• ENERGY STAR certification – Many of the Frigidaire High Efficiency washers are ENRGY STAR certified, with average energy savings of 33% compared to non-certified washers.

East Coast Appliance got its start in 1988 and has grown to become the largest dealer of appliances and electronics in the state of Virginia by offering highly competitive prices and legendary service to its customers. On the arrival of the new Frigidaire washing machines Rob Nicholson, president and owner of East Coast Appliance & Electronics said, “The Frigidaire line is an important part of our product mix and the new high efficiency washers are a great addition for East Coast Appliance and our customers.”

East Coast Appliance & Electronics has five locations in the state of Virginia, with 3 in Virginia Beach and one each in Chesapeake, and Newport News.

As the largest appliance and electronics dealer in the state of Virginia, East Coast Appliance & Electronics offers all the household names and major brands across all categories of appliances and electronics at every day low prices. For more information, visit http://eastcoastappliance.com/index.html

Press release distributed by Gervais Group. See original press release at https://www.gervaisgroupllc.com/newsroom.html