How to avoid scorching a pan? Video tutorial

One of the most common mishaps when cooking is burning your food and/or scorching your pans. Often, the cause is the pan being too hot.

Cooking at the correct temperature with the right oil can make a big impact on the outcome of your dish. Whether you’re a beginner cook or you’re regularly throwing down in the kitchen, consider making these small adjustments for the benefit of your food and your pots and pans.

While you’re at it, make sure you’re holding your knives correctly when you’re chopping, slicing and dicing!

Watch this video to see how to cook on your stovetop without burning your pots and pans.

Stovetop cooking tips

Regulating the temperature of your pots and pans while cooking will prevent your food and your cookware from burning.

Here are some tips to prevent your pans and food from burning while cooking:

• Preheat the pan over medium or medium-low heat. If butter immediately browns or oil smokes when you add it, remove the pan from the heat. Start over with a new pan or after safely disposing of the butter or oil.

• Use an oil with a higher smoke point when you’re cooking at higher temperatures.

• Have all of the ingredients laid out before you begin cooking. This prevents the food from burning while you’re preparing the next ingredient.

• Adjust the temperature as needed.

The ideal cooking temperature depends on how you plan to cook your dish. For sautéing, heat the skillet to around 350ºF. Lower the heat a little bit if you want a simmer. However, crank the heat up to 400-450ºF if you want to sear your food.

Oil smoke points

Any trip to the grocery store will tell you there’s a huge variety of cooking oils. You’ll find the classics, like olive oil and canola oil, seated next to some you might not be as familiar with, like sunflower oil or walnut oil.

There are a variety of smoke points for these oils, which makes some better for cooking than others. An oil's smoke point is the temperature at which it emits visible smoke, as defined by the USDA.

Ultimately, the right choice of oil depends on what you’re making. For example, extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point of 350ºF, so it would work well for sautéing but not for searing. Meanwhile, avocado oil smokes at 520ºF, according to this graph from the Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center at Colorado State University, making it a good option for searing and sautéing.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to prevent pots from burning? Video tutorial