are in a cup of air So, despite the fact that the water is at a lower temperature than the air in the oven, the hot water contains far more energy than the hot air and consequently heats up your hand much more rapidly In fact, boiling water has more energy than the air in an oven at a normal roasting temperature, say 350° to 400°F In practice, this means that boiled foods cook faster than foods that are baked or roasted Similarly, foods baked in a moist environment cook faster than those in a dry environment, since moist air is denser than dry air { Essential kitchen gear } T here’s a lot of nonsense to wade through out there when trying to stock your kitchen Do you really need that $300 knife? How often are you gonna pull out that salad spinner? And exactly which one of those things they sell on TV is really going to take the place of every other piece of equipment in my kitchen? (Hint: none of them.) The problem with most of the people telling you to buy things is that they’re usually the ones selling it Who can you trust? Well, this chapter is a no-nonsense, no bullshit guide to point you toward what you really need in the kitchen and what is just noise Any Eddie Izzard fans in the audience? According to him, “The National Rifle Association says that guns don’t kill people—people kill people But I think the gun helps.” Funny joke But what’s it got to do with cooking? I remember a time back when I first started working in restaurants One of my jobs was to reduce a couple quarts of heavy cream down to a couple of pints I’d get a big heavy pot with an aluminum base, pour the cream into it, and cook it over the lowest possible heat so that it’d reduce without even bubbling I’d do this every morning, and it would take a couple hours, but no big deal; I had plenty of other tasks to keep me occupied—peeling potatoes, peeling salsify, peeling carrots (ah, the life of a green cook) Then one ... TV is really going to take the place of every other piece of equipment in my kitchen? (Hint: none of them .) The problem with most of the people telling you to buy things is that they’re usually the ones selling... a couple hours, but no big deal; I had plenty of other tasks to keep me occupied—peeling potatoes, peeling salsify, peeling carrots (ah, the life of a green cook) Then one ... in the kitchen and what is just noise Any Eddie Izzard fans in the audience? According to him, ? ?The National Rifle Association says that guns don’t kill people—people kill people But I think the