One-handed pan toss

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spork

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Can you execute this impressive one-handed, flick-of-the-wrist technique for tossing/mixing the contents of a saute pan? for flipping a pancake?

Or, are you like me, and haven't ventured to try for certainty that such recklessness, just to pretend to be a chef, is asking for a major kitchen catastrophe?
 
Can you execute this impressive one-handed, flick-of-the-wrist technique for tossing/mixing the contents of a saute pan? for flipping a pancake?

Or, are you like me, and haven't ventured to try for certainty that such recklessness, just to pretend to be a chef, is asking for a major kitchen catastrophe?

Major Kitchen Catastrophe! I will jiggle the pan and shuffle the food, but never try to toss! I always imagine trying to scrape it off the ceiling.:LOL:
 
Well I wouldn't call it a major kitchen catastrophe, but I can tell ya, when two frying eggs don't land just right in a 6 in skillet, it ain't pretty :angel:
I don't know what I was thinking of...
 
The pan should be angled down, away from you. Start out slowly and watch how the contents react. They don't have to become airborne for it to work. Like any other technique that requires muscle memory, it takes time and repetition. Practice with some dried beans, or something like popcorn, over your sink.
 
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I can manage it about 1/2 the times I try without having some things spill out.
 
I can manage it about 1/2 the times I try without having some things spill out.

That, too. I can toss the contents, but I lose some oil sometimes. I'm not talking a lot, but drops anyway.
 
That, too. I can toss the contents, but I lose some oil sometimes. I'm not talking a lot, but drops anyway.
I don't think my home insurance agent would believe just a couple drops of oil destroyed my kitchen, or my promise that it will never happen again if he would be so kind as to pay for a remodel with induction stoves.
 
I do it all the time with a slope-sided pan like a skillet or fry pan. Straight-sided sauté pans I don't try.

Here's how I do it. I hold the pan level and sharply push the pan away from me, then I sharply pull the pan back towards me. The food slides towards the far edge of the pan and follows the curve of the pan up and over. You just keep the pan under the food when it lands and you're all set.
 
Frank has done this a few times. He must practice when alone! As for me, I simply stand in the door and scream approval like a teenage fangirl over her idol on muscle beach. :LOL:

No way I will even try it. He can also toss pizza dough in the air. :wub:
 
Frank has done this a few times. He must practice when alone! As for me, I simply stand in the door and scream approval like a teenage fangirl over her idol on muscle beach. :LOL:

No way I will even try it. He can also toss pizza dough in the air. :wub:

I can toss pizza dough in the air, too...catching it cleanly is another matter!:LOL:
 
I was told to practice flipping a piece of bread. I do it to flip grilled sandwiches, and occasionally my two over easy eggs with moderate success.
 
1st time I saw it years ago I put tea bags in a pan and practiced, then moved to coffee beans. It really is easy.
 
Frank has done this a few times. He must practice when alone! As for me, I simply stand in the door and scream approval like a teenage fangirl over her idol on muscle beach. :LOL:

No way I will even try it. He can also toss pizza dough in the air. :wub:
For screaming teenage fangirls, I would drop my axe and dive offstage, maybe flipping over midair into a snow angel. But, I'm not a rock star, and they'd probably all clear space for me to slam onto the concert floor, ala wile.e.coyote. Likewise, I'm not a top chef, and the pan toss could be a medical disaster.

If these DC forums could truly teach me online to flip pancakes, I might be willing to pay for my membership...:chef:
 
Flipping things in a pan is fairly easy. Now properly spinning a pizza crust in the air, well, it goes up just fine, spins, and I even can catch it the first couple of throws. But I always end up tearing the thing before it's thin enough to make good pizza.

Oh, and if you get to know your stove and pans, the first pancakes come out perfect, at least in my house. No throw-away's allowed. Those wild blueberries represent many hours of painful work. Even if a pancake dropped on the floor, it better get eaten.:LOL: Good thing they don't end up on the floor.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
" if you get to know your stove and pans, the first pancakes come out perfect,"

darn right they do!
 

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