how2heroes » Cooking with Oil vs. Butter

Ingredients

butter
clarified butter
olive oil
canola oil
avocado oil

How-to

Smoking Points
Butter and Olive Oil - 350º
Canola Oil - 450º
Avocado Oil - the best - can bring up to a high heat - but expensive

Cooking with Oil

Start with a cold pan
Add Canola Oil - when it starts to smoke, at about 1-2 minutes, do not bring the temperature up any more

Cooking with Butter

Start with a heated pan
Add Butter - smoking point is when it starts to brown, about 30 seconds. Do not cook further or it will burn

Clarified Butter
Increases smoking point for butter and increases flavor

In Case of Oil Fire
Use salt to put out an oil-based fire - DO NOT USE WATER

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Rachel Klein

Growing up in New York City, Chef Rachel Klein developed a love of food at an early age thanks to her cosmopolitan surroundings and extensive family travel throughout Europe and the United States. This early exposure was reinforced by her Eastern European roots, explaining her natural gravitation towards the kitchen. Today, these influences converge in Klein’s philosophy as a chef. Klein respects the classics, which she often deconstructs before adding her own unexpected twist to create something new with hints of the familiar. After graduating from The Art Institute of New York City, Klein found an outlet for her creative energy in the kitchens of celebrated chefs Peter Hoffman at The Savoy and Anita Lo at Anissa before moving to Providence, Rhode Island. Klein’s first opportunity to showcase her own unique take on global cuisine came as Executive Chef at X.O. Café. Her talent was immediately recognized on a national level and she was nominated as one of the top chefs in the United States by Southwest Airlines’ Spirit Magazine. Following her success at X.O. Café, she took the position of Executive Chef of Lot 401 in Providence. Again, Klein’s talents attracted national attention; Lot 401 was named one of America’s best new restaurants in 2004 by Esquire. After leaving Providence, Klein continued to make headlines as Executive Chef at OM Restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her inventive cuisine garnered her both local and national attention. In 2006, she was recognized by both The Boston Globe and Boston magazine as Boston’s Best New Chef. Also that year, OM secured a coveted position on the Conde Nast Traveler Hot List, and earned recognition as one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America. Klein continues to personalize and perfect her unique approach to global cooking at Aura restaurant at the Seaport Hotel, where her playful approach to cooking continues to make a mark on the culinary world. Her ability to blend the hotel’s maritime ties to the Spice Trade and her passion for global flavors has resulted in a menu infused with the rich flavors and textures for which she has come to be known.