GE Appliances - Cooking Tips

Cooking Tips

Tips for Choosing the Right Bakeware
5 Tips for Carving a Turkey*
Food Safety Tips for Turkey*

top Tips for Choosing the Right Bakeware

There are so many types of bakeware available today, it can be difficult to tell which ones are best for which foods, and how to care for them.

A true cookie sheet is totally flat. Occasionally, you'll find a sheet with one or two edges bent upward to make it easier to handle. Some cookie sheets have short, raised edges on all sides and may be advertised as a cookie pan. This is actually a jelly roll pan, and is best for thin cakes or bar-type cookies.

The best cookie sheet is a shiny, all aluminum flat cookie sheet. The shiny surface helps to reflect heat onto cookies and promotes even browning. The same is true for cake pans. The best method for cleaning aluminum bakeware is with soap-filled steel wool pads. To keep your aluminum cookie sheet shiny, DO NOT put in the dishwasher. Be sure to clean the bottom as well as the top. If the bottom is not cleaned regularly, over time it will become dark and discolored, and can affect your baking results.

Dark surface and non-stick surface bakeware tend to overbrown the bottoms of baked foods like cookies and biscuits. To help avoid this, reduce the baking temperature by about 25°F.

Air-insulated cookie sheets are popular and can give good results. However, they can sometimes warp, and since some types can't be soaked in water they can be hard to clean.

Baking stones yield nice browning results, however they must be kept seasoned (a nicely-oiled non-stick surface from baking high-fat foods). And you should never wash baking stones in soapy water as they are porous.

Glass bakeware is acceptable, but does not give the browning results of shiny aluminum. It is easy to care for and lasts forever.

top 5 Tips for Carving a Turkey

Carving a cooked turkey isn't hard at all, especially when you use these handy hints.

Before carving, let turkey cool slightly for about a half hour.
Use a sharp knife.
Run the knife down the breastbone on each side of the turkey then remove the entire breast and slice the breast meat crosswise, as you would for a boneless roast. Thick or thin slices — it's your choice!
Grasping the end of either drumstick, run the knife between the drumstick and the body of the turkey and cut through the meat to the joint. Remove the drumstick by twisting slightly.
Remove each wing by cutting the wing joint, between the wing and the frame of the turkey.

That's all there is to it! Try it, and before you know it, you'll look like a carving pro!

If you don't care about the tradition of carving at the dinner table and want to make it even easier for yourself, roast and carve the turkey the day before, then transfer it to a disposable aluminum roasting pan and keep it covered in the refrigerator overnight. Then, before dinner, just pour some chicken or turkey broth into the pan, cover it, and reheat at 350°F.

top Important Food Safety Tips for Turkey Day

When preparing your turkey for the holiday feast, be sure to use these tips to help keep your food safe to eat.

Frozen turkeys can be defrosted in the refrigerator, allowing a day for every five pounds.
They can also be thawed in cold water if the bird is submerged and the water changed every 30 minutes. Allow 30 minutes per pound to defrost.
Anything that comes into contact with a raw bird should be scrubbed thoroughly with warm, soapy water.
A thermometer should be used to check doneness. The bird is considered safe for eating when the thigh temperature hits 180 degrees Fahrenheit and all other parts at least 160 degrees.
Stuffing should be loose and moist, allowing for greater killing of bacteria while cooking. The stuffing should reach 165 degrees.
Turkey leftovers should be immediately refrigerated or frozen.