Toss Food In Skillets Like A Pro With A Simple Technique

Seeing professional chefs in action is like watching skilled athletes play a team sport. They lift heavy pots and containers with ease, cook side by side with their co-workers, and tolerate blistering burns and injuries without pausing, eliciting barely a wince. While cooking at home doesn't require the measured dance witnessed in restaurant kitchens, it is fun to attempt some of the pros' more spectacular techniques, such as tossing food in a hot skillet, a fun but non-essential skill that only requires practice quickly moving the pan forward and back.

As with any technique, there are a few rules to remember. First, you want to use a pan with sloped sides so the food can slide easily out and upwards. Think of it like a ski slope or skateboarding ramp: The incline of the slope provides the needed gravitational pull, creating both the speed and force to propel the skier or skateboarder into the air. The same happens with food in a pan. Secondly, the type of food you're flipping matters. For large items like a pancake, just err on the side of caution and use a spatula. Tossing should be reserved for sautéing chopped veggies or coating pasta in a sauce, for example. Finally, make sure you add enough oil in your sauté pan, as none of the food should be sticking to the bottom.

Instead of attempting your first toss with the pan full of the hot, olive oil-coated veggies you're hoping to eat for dinner, try a few practice runs with something a little less messy — and dangerous. Start with ingredients that are lightweight that slide effortlessly in the pan and are easy to clean, such as a handful of dried pasta shapes, beans, breakfast cereal (without the milk), or even pretzels or potato chips, and toss them into a cold pan. Instead of lifting the pan off of the stove and throwing the food up in the air, simply push it forward and quickly pull it back. As you get more confident, you'll notice how the food falls back onto itself, mixing easily and efficiently.

Once you get the hang of it, try a little toss while caramelizing onions in a pan or pan-roasting pine nuts for your warm salad. Soon, it will feel like second nature, and you'll be the one drawing "oohs" and "ahs" from those watching — even if it's only yourself, impressed by your own technique.