Lauren Bennett

When our team at Rotonde set out to answer gas vs electric stove which is better for cooking, we expected a clean verdict. After three months of testing, dozens of kitchen interviews, and a stack of lab reports, the honest answer is this: it depends on what you cook. Gas wins for flame-tossed stir-fry, char, … Read more

You pull your roast out of the oven, slice into it, and find a perfect pink center — surrounded by a gray, overcooked outer ring. That temperature gradient is the single biggest frustration home cooks face with roasts. Sous vide eliminates it entirely, but it comes with trade-offs of its own. In this guide, I’ll … Read more

If you’ve ever cracked an egg into a cold stainless steel skillet and watched it weld itself to the metal, you already know the core question behind nonstick vs stainless steel pan for cooking eggs. It’s not really a battle — it’s a tradeoff. Nonstick wins on speed and easy release. Stainless steel wins on … Read more

If you’ve stood in your kitchen holding a russet potato and wondered whether the air fryer on your counter or the deep fryer buried in the back of the cupboard will give you a better fry, you are not alone. This guide breaks down the air fryer vs deep fryer for french fries debate with … Read more

For stews and braises, a Dutch oven wins on flavor and versatility, and a slow cooker wins on convenience and hands-off cooking. Dutch ovens reach stovetop and oven heat so you can sear meat, trigger the Maillard reaction, and reduce the sauce into something glossy. Slow cookers run much cooler and trap moisture, so they … Read more

Cast iron is generally the better choice for searing a steak because its higher thermal mass delivers a deeper, more even Maillard crust when cold meat hits the pan. Stainless steel cooks a respectable steak too, and it pulls ahead when you want to finish with a pan sauce or you value quick cleanup. If … Read more

Steaming preserves more nutrients than boiling in most vegetables. Steaming keeps vegetables above the cooking water, preventing water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C and B vitamins from leaching out. Studies show steaming retains up to 90% of vitamin C, while boiling can lose 40-55%. But the answer isn’t always that simple. Some vegetables actually benefit from … Read more

If you’ve ever stared at your oven dial wondering whether to bake or broil, you’re not alone. The difference between baking and broiling comes down to where the heat comes from and how hot it gets. In bake vs broil terms: baking uses steady, surrounding dry heat (typically 300 to 375°F) from both elements to … Read more

Searing steak on the stove vs the grill comes down to two high-heat dry-cooking methods with different tradeoffs. A screaming-hot cast iron pan delivers an even, deeply browned Maillard crust via direct metal contact and gives you total control over timing. A grill adds open-flame char, smoky flavor, and a fat-draining grate, but it is … Read more