Lush Food & Drink

Explainers

Explainers

How kitchen gear actually works, answered in the first two sentences and backed by the figures our guides already publish.

Each explainer takes one question a buyer types into a search box and answers it with the published numbers from the products we have compared, then links to the guides that go with it.

Where should I put my air fryer safely? Put an air fryer on a flat, heat resistant countertop with open space above and behind it, away from the edge, water, and anything flammable. Can You Smoke Meat in an Instant Pot? No, an Instant Pot cannot smoke meat because it is a sealed electric pressure cooker, and none of the pots compared on this site are smokers… How do you fit 2 1L jars in an Instant Pot? You cannot, on the figures published for the jars this site has compared: no pick is a 1 liter jar, and no maker publishes an Instant… How convenient is a cutting board with scale for cooking? A cutting board with a built in scale is only as convenient as the markings it actually carries, and none of the five boards compared on… What to put on the bottom of a box air fryer? Put nothing on the bottom of the oven cavity itself: the crumb tray, basket, or rack the maker supplies goes in its stated position, and the… Should you boil milk in an air fryer? No. An air fryer moves hot air around food, and milk needs a gentle, steady heat source with a pot that can hold liquid, which is… What’s the point of having an air fryer if you have a family of 2+2? A smart air fryer with a large capacity and dual baskets can cook a whole family meal at once, but the published figures show that not… How do you clean a grimy air fryer? Clean the basket and crisper plate with hot soapy water or in the dishwasher if the maker says they are dishwasher safe, then wipe the heating… How do you clean the plastic jug of a mini blender? Rinse the jug right after blending, add warm water and a drop of dish soap, run the blender briefly, then rinse and air dry, and check… How to Clean a Dutch Oven? Wash an enameled Dutch oven by hand with warm, soapy water and a nylon scrub brush, and avoid sudden temperature changes that can crack the enamel. How do I fix a splitting cutting board? A splitting plastic board is usually past repair, so the practical fix is to replace it with a board whose maker states it will not splinter,… How to Cook a Steak Without a Grill? You can cook a steak indoors on a high-heat electric grill, griddle, or infrared burner, or in a kamado if you have one, and the maker's… Do sealed mason jars make sense for a working pantry? Yes, for dry goods and refrigerator storage, but a hinged clamp lid is not a canning seal, and shelf stability depends on the process, not the… Do people buy second hand juicers? Yes, people do buy second hand juicers, but this site has not compared the second hand market and the makers of the juicers in our guide… How do you store juicer parts? Store juicer parts clean and fully dry, keep the small strainers and brushes together with the machine, and leave the motor base out of the dishwasher. Which blender to buy for ice coffee chino? Any of the five blenders in our guide can crush the ice for an iced coffee chino; the choice comes down to jar size, power and… What portable blender can actually handle frozen fruit? The Ninja Blast Max and the nutribullet Flip both state they crush frozen ingredients, and the UTALENT and GDOR models make the same claim for frozen… Which vacuum blender to choose? None of the five blenders in our guide is a vacuum blender; the closest match for thick, low-oxidation blends is the Ninja SS151 TWISTi Blender DUO,… Which electric espresso machine [500€]? The Breville BES870XL Barista Express is the pick to start from, because it is the only machine in this guide that grinds, doses and brews in… How to get thicker Coffee from a French Press? Use a finer grind, a slower press, and a filter that traps more sediment; the maker's published mesh counts show which filters are finer. What does a 0-3 cup setting on a coffee maker do? A 0-3 cup setting on a coffee maker is a small batch mode that adjusts the brew cycle for fewer cups, so the coffee is not… Which grinder for cold brew and drip: K-Plus with Flair Power Tower vs Baratza Virtuoso+? Neither grinder appears on this site's published guides, so Lush has not compared the K-Plus with Flair Power Tower against the Baratza Virtuoso+, and the picks… How to stop cold brew fraud? Check what the maker actually publishes about the filter and the brewer, and treat any claim the maker does not publish as unverified. What’s the easiest-to-clean, most practical automatic Turkish coffee maker? Neither cited guide covers an automatic Turkish coffee maker, so this site has not compared one; the closest automatic brewers on the fact sheets are drip… Is a 300mm depth Parker Asahi Pro cutting board sufficient for a 240mm Gyuto? This site has not compared the Parker Asahi Pro board, and no pick in our cutting board guide publishes a 300mm depth or a 240mm Gyuto… Are newer ice makers actually better, or are traditional ice makers still the better BIFL choice? This site has not compared ice makers, so the answer has to come from what the makers of the kitchen machines it has compared actually publish,… Is the bottom of a carbon steel pan supposed to be flat? Yes. A carbon steel pan is made with a flat cooking base, and any bowing you see is either the maker's deliberate shape or a change… How Many Cast Iron Pans Would It Take to Stop a Bullet? No published figure exists, because none of the guides this site publishes covers cast iron, and the makers of the pans it does compare publish no… Why is everybody rehoming their Smith & Clark cast iron cauldrons? There is no Smith & Clark cast iron cauldron on any guide this site has published, so Lush Food & Drink has no figures for it… How far is too far when restoring a badly pitted cast iron skillet? Pitting that reaches past the seasoning and into the iron itself is the stopping point: you can rebuild a surface, but you cannot add metal back… How do I choose a suitable frying pan another way? Start from the pan's published dimensions, weight and oven rating rather than from the coating name, then match those figures to the burner, the oven and… How do I cook 50 kg of red beans in a 500 liter pressure cooker? No pressure cooker on this site's guide comes close to 500 liters, and none of the makers publish a capacity for dry beans, so the honest… How do you clean a Farberware pressure cooker? Farberware does not publish a cleaning method for its pressure cookers, and this site has not compared one, so the safe routine is the standard one… Do pressure cookers leak the food smell? A sealed pressure cooker keeps steam and the aromas carried in it inside the pot during cooking, so smells stay largely contained until you release the… Why the Prestige Pressure Cooker is a Must-Have in Every Indian Kitchen? This site has not compared a Prestige pressure cooker, so the honest answer is that no published figure here supports the claim, and the guide covers… How have air fryers changed the way people think about fried food? Air fryers moved fried food from a vat of oil to a fan and a heating element, so crispness became a temperature and airflow question rather… Is a slow cooker a good thing? Yes, for hands-off batch cooking and for anyone who wants to set food going in the morning and come back to a finished meal, though it… Are Instant Pot game changers? An Instant Pot is a multi-function electric pressure cooker, and this site has not compared one, so the honest answer is that the game-changing claim is… Is Instant Pot quality not what it used to be? This site has not compared Instant Pot models, so it cannot say whether the brand's quality has changed; what it can do is show how makers… Can you make creamy chicken ramen broth with an Instant Pot? Yes. An Instant Pot can build a creamy chicken ramen broth under pressure, but the cream goes in after the pressure releases, not before. Is the 6QT Instant Pot Pro no longer available? This site has not compared the 6QT Instant Pot Pro, so it cannot say whether the model is still available. Are Instant Pot Duo 6 QT V2 and V3 lids interchangeable? Instant Pot does not publish lid compatibility between Duo 6 QT V2 and V3, and this site has not compared the two lids, so the answer… Do you still use a separate slow cooker if you already have an Instant Pot? Many cooks keep a dedicated slow cooker because a multi-cooker's slow cook mode and a standalone unit are built differently, and the published figures show the… What is the easiest way to make rice tastier in the Instant Pot? The easiest route is to cook the rice in a seasoned liquid instead of plain water and to add fat and aromatics before the lid goes… Where has the Instant Pot Pro 6-quart model gone? This site has not compared the Instant Pot Pro 6-quart, so it cannot say where that model went or whether it is still sold; the guides… What is a toaster for gas and why is it ideal for everyday cooking? There is no such product as a gas toaster in the guides this site compares. The closest countertop cooking appliances here are infrared cookers, and their… What rice cooker should I get? The right rice cooker depends on how much cooked rice you need and whether you want fuzzy logic or a simple one-switch design; this guide compares… Is a glass air fryer actually better than a regular basket? No. A glass air fryer is not automatically better: the choice depends on whether you want to watch food cook through a window or want the…