With a little practice, any cook can learn to flip food in a pan. Besides being cool, flipping food turns the food evenly and quickly for uniform cooking. This is a great technique to use for sauteed vegetables.
Instructions
1. Choose the right pan. You'll want to use a pan that has curved, sloping sides to it. This will give the food a slope to slide up on as you flip it. Try to use a non-stick pan if possible.
2. Make sure the items in the pan are moving freely when you shake the pan back and forth. Use a gentle swirling motion with your arm to slide the food around. There should be very little or no oil moving around with the food. Sauteed vegetables or grilled bread works well for this.
3. Tilt the pan away from you, and let the food slide down to that side. Give the food a little help by gently shaking the pan if you need to.
4. Push the pan and food away so that the food pushes into the curved side and into the air. Catch the food by pulling the pan back in one fluid motion. The movement is a circular motion, first forward and then back as you lift your arm slightly.
5. Shake the pan gently forward and backward to settle the food into the middle of the pan again.
Tips Warnings
Practice this move using a dry piece of toast in the pan to get the hang of it. The key to the move is confidence, so that you use enough force to make the food slide into the air.
Never attempt to flip food with hot oil or liquids in the pan. You could burn yourself.
