Know Your Stainless Steel Cookware Materials!

Before you go out and buy a set just by reading the paragraph above, STOP! Because if you are planning to buy one, you need to know that it comes in two different series, both cookware set with different budgets.

 

The 300 series

This series is very cheap but trades the price with its durability and corrosion resistance. It further comes in 2 grades, the 304 and 316. The first is less strong, while the latter is more hard and resistant to rust. But, with great power comes a great difference in price.

 

The 400 series

This series is the one you should opt for if you are planning to buy stainless steel cookware just for your health and safety as it is more resistant to rust and corrosion and more durable than the lower series. It will surely be more expensive, but you can’t find a better material in the market than steel.

Now that we understood the types of stainless steel, I should tell you another thing. Stainless steel isn’t a good conductor of heat. For that, you should get clad cookware. It is cookware made of stainless steel, but consists of 3 layers. The outermost and innermost layer is made of steel, while the middle one is made of aluminium or copper, which are both good conductors of heat.

This means that the middle layer will conduct the heat, but won’t affect the food as it is between 2 material layers which are not reactive at all. Now that you know all the nooks and crannies of stainless steel cookware, you should go and buy it! Don’t forget to thank me later though!

 

The Best Budget Stainless Steel Cookware

If you’re on a budget and you’re looking for an stainless steel cookware set, you should definitely check out the 10 Piece Calphalon Classic Stainless Steel Cookware Set (Find out here). I still remember my struggles in finding a decent cookware set. There were many cooking blogs and reviews I had to go through and this stainless steel cookware set has to be the greatest thing that I purchased during my college years. Not only did I save a lot of money, I found that I loved cooking during my spare time.

 

 

The 10-Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set

I ordered mine from amazon so it was delivered in a box that contained an 8-in. and a 10-in. Frying Pan, a 1.5-qt. and a 2.5-qt. Saucepan with cover, a 3-qt. Sauté Pan with cover, and a 6-qt. Stock Pot with cover.

 

My Opinions

I really like the fact that they have see-through lids as I can see what’s happening to my food. They’re made out of tempered glass. They also have straining holes which is a bonus when I’m draining my ramen noodles. What I notice about these stainless steel pots and pans is that they heat up very quickly. The heat also get’s spread evenly too. My housemates were also impressed with this stainless steel cookware set as they have worked with more expensive and high-quality cookware sets (All-Clad and Cuisinart).

 

Even though the set is made dishwasher safe, I really don’t think that any type of cookware, whether it be kitchen knives and plates, should be placed in a dishwasher. There were many complains about this stainless steel cookware having many issues such as the pots and pans were very hard to clean and their foods were sticking to it. First of all, my cookware set is still shiny and functioning well after three years. I advise you to season your pan by heating it with oil on high heat before using it and to use a Bar Keepers Friend, which is a cleaning agent, at least once a week.

 

I really hope you try this stainless steel cookware set as I have yet to be disappointed in my set. Don’t let other’s negative comments get in your way!

Educate Your Kid On Espresso Making!

Don’t give them any coffee until they are older

 

It’s a known fact that Kids shouldn’t start drinking coffee until they reach adolescence. The caffeine and empty sugars in it can cause kids to get addicted, jittery and worse, experience a crash that is similar to withdrawal symptoms. So don’t give them any coffee until they are older. But if you do have adolescents in the house, it’s another matter altogether.

 

The Training Camp (In Progess)

Thanks to booming number of coffeehouses and cafes, the coffee business is a lucrative industry. Many of our kids actually admire the baristas in these cafes. Whether it’s for prestige or just for the fact that a shot of espresso is a darn good beverage, our kids want in. So, we at Spaziodar decided to hold a free barista training camp for the little rascals aged 12 and up, who wanted to learn how the art of coffee and ways to be a barista. This camp was going to last three days and it to be held at the Lincoln Community Center in Troy. The training camp will be held from the 1st to the 3rd of December.

 

The Young Baristas

On the last day the children will be allowed to be part of our very own “Kids and Coffee” coffee symposium. Where they will experience what it’ll be like to be a real barista. For this event, we aren’t going to be using manual espresso machines but we are going be using the best sub $200 espresso makers that we bought earlier this year. This is all still in the planning phase but we believe that we can pull it off. Let’s give our kids the best they can possibly dream of.

 

A More Personal Buying Guide

The $500 budget range is what I personally like to think of as the espresso machine “sweet spot”, or the budget guideline I used when buying an espresso machine. I’ll be honest, when I was in the market to purchase my very first espresso machine, I teetered on the $500 budget and went closer to the $600 mark, the total being 560 or around there but it was worth every penny. Well the best espresso machines under $500 on bisuzscoffee 2017 reviews I read online helped me justify my purchase.

 

If you’re looking for a basic espresso machine you could probably find one for around 300, but that’s the bottom line, that would be an entry level machine without any extra bells and whistles. Sure you can spend a fortune on an espresso machine, but do you really need one that scans your fingerprint before allowing you to make the perfect cup of espresso? Probably not.

 

Breville Is The Best

There are three machines at the top of my list if you’re looking for an excellent espresso machine, but my top pick and my purchase was the Breville Infuser.

What a name for something that essentially just gives us a cup of coffee, however this machine can and will rival any of your local favorite coffee shops, i.e. Starbucks, and you can save on those crazy priced shots of espresso, and save yourself the embarrassment of telling the sixteen year old barista that you want to order a “gichi, gichi mocha choca ya ya latte” or whatever the latest craze from your favorite local coffee chain happens to be this week, and since we’ve entered the holiday season do you really want to be seen ordering and drinking anything with pumpkin spice in public? I didn’t think so.

 

Cheaper Than Most

 

If you think you can swing it, in my honest opinion you should seriously consider purchasing the Breville BES870XL Barista Express Espresso Machine, it runs anywhere from $50 – $100 more, but it does have the built in grinder and that is one major perk.

Hope for the fish: World Fisheries Day 2016

world-fisheries-dayThis World Fisheries Day, we’re optimistic about the future.

Despite major challenges facing our oceans, fishing communities around the world can be thriving and abounding in fish within our lifetimes. Improving management and practices can lead to healthier oceans that in turn support more fish in the water, more food for communities and improved livelihoods for fishermen.

We are optimistic that this brighter future is within reach.

Here are 5 reasons why:

The Tremendous Potential of Our Oceans: Our oceans can support more harvests, more profits and more fish biomass in the water if managed sustainably. New research undertaken with our partners at the University of California – Santa Barbara and the University of Washington shows we can have more fish in the water, more fish to feed a growing planet and more money to support the world’s fishing communities in our lifetimes under a management system of improved policies and practices. The research shows that the most gains can come from establishing secure fishing rights, which ends the desperate race to overfish, and empowers fishing communities to be stewards of their resource.

Belize Adopts Fishing Rights, Nationwide: In June 2016, Belize made history by becoming the first country in the world to adopt a national, multispecies secure fishing rights program for small-scale fisheries. This groundbreaking policy came after years of struggling to address illegal fishing and the threat of overfishing in Belize. In order to protect the vital barrier reef ecosystem along with the livelihoods of local fishermen and the food security for all Belizeans, two pilot sites were launched in July 2011 to explore secure fishing rights options. The results were incredible. Fishermen enjoyed better catches and decreases in illegal fishing activity, all while reef fish populations started to recover. The pilot programs were so successful that fishing communities worked to get “Managed Access” implemented nationwide.

Celebrating 12 fish that are delicious and sustainable: Knowing which fish are good sustainable choices can sometimes be difficult, even for the most informed fish buyers. That’s why the Eat These Fish Campaign highlights twelve US fish species that have come back from the brink and are ready for menus and plates all over the country. The campaign aims to raise awareness and appreciation for the comeback of U.S. fisheries and many underutilized fish in order to help fishermen, energize chefs and strengthen the supply chain for sustainable seafood. The campaign has been a great success with events in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and beyond that bring together fishermen, chefs and others across the seafood industry.

Fishing Rights in Sweden’s Demersal Fishery:In 2013, the countries bordering the Skagerrak in the North Sea (Sweden, Denmark and Norway) discussed implementing a ban on throwing, or “discarding” fish overboard when they caught too many fish or fish that were too small. This ban, or “landing obligation,” became a cornerstone of the reformed EU’s Common Fisheries Policy which was finalized in 2014. This policy created controversy in Sweden because their collective quota allocation system uses weekly allowances, meaning the implementation of the landing obligation could cause the shutdown of the entire fleet if a quota for one species is exhausted. It was clear that a new management system was needed. Thanks to key leaders in the Swedish fishery, Swedish fishermen were able to come together to identify challenges and recommend new management options. The new system—which most likely will be implemented in January 2017—will enable fishermen to swap quotas so they can balance their catches with their quotas, avoiding shutdowns for the country’s most important fisheries in 2017.

The State of US Fisheries is Strong: We have a lot to be proud of when it comes to fisheries management in the United States. This year’s NOAA Status of Stock Report confirmed that the management reforms implemented over the last decade are delivering remarkable results across the country. For example, it showed that the Fish Stock Sustainability Index (FSSI) – the composite index that tracks the health of key commercial and recreational stocks that account for 85% of total catch – is continuing to increase and hit an all-time high in 2015. These promising numbers are a result of fishermen, managers and conservationists working to end unsustainable management and implement reforms that incentivize conservation.