Chefs' tips & tricks for cooks & bakers

feline groovy — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 15:08:13 GMT

from a recent viral Reddit thread...

the #1 upvoted answer:

'If you're using a recipe, read it all the way through carefully a few times before you start cooking.

'Missing a line like "let sit overnight" is the difference between eating tonight and ordering a pizza.'

'Buy aloe vera gel and keep it in the fridge, for when you inevitably burn yourself.'

'Don't start tweaking the recipe on your own until you've made it the way the recipe says at least once.'

'If your dish is well seasoned (salt and pepper) but seems like it is missing something, try incorporating an acidic element to brighten it up!

'It could be lemon/lime juice, balsamic vinegar, Worcester sauce... anything that will add a bit of an acidic note to your dish.'

'Additionally, if your food smells great and tastes bland, it needs salt.'

'Most of the time, it's best to add salt as early in the cooking stage as possible.

'Add salt to the water or meat before you cook because you want the sodium to melt into the flavor in the liquids.

'The big exception is using a salt that contains a lot of flavor (fancy sea salts, etc), typically you'll want to do that salt last so it doesn't melt away.

'The really flavorful salt just blends into dishes that are too oily or watery. For example, vegetables need to have their water cooked out before you salt.

'After you cook your vegetables sprinkle some specialty sea salt. Or sometimes you salt before and afterwards.

'Some boiled dishes you don't want to overcook, so you don't salt the water, you strain, then add salt later.'

'A sharp knife is a safe knife.'

'Freeze fresh thyme.

'It's fiddly to chop fresh, but if you freeze it in a freezer bag, you can squeeze the leaves off easily.

'The taste isn't hindered at all. You need to do this with stalky thyme, not the soft stalk thyme.'

'Also, grow your own thyme. It's super easy, and you'll pretty quickly have more than you can use.'

'Been a chef for most of my life, and the most valuable thing in a kitchen is having a back up plan in case you screw up.

'I make many mistakes, but I turn those mistakes into something delicious, and nobody knows I f****d up.'

'ALWAYS pick up hot pans or trays with DRY mitts or towels. Any little amount of moisture will transfer the heat throughout the mitts ot towels reaaallllyyyy quickly.'

'Heat your oven up properly before cooking. Use greaseproof paper. Easier to clean all the benches/dishes before you get started. Cooking requires space.'

'Plan out your meals before you go shopping. Don't be sauteing your green chicken curry and then realize you don't have coconut cream. Or make a salad and then realize you only have half a tomato left.

'If you cook something from a recipe and it made too much, adjust the amounts and re-write the recipe so you don't make the same mistake again. A good recipe is a result of trial and error and adjustments. Keep a folder with recipes.

'Equip yourself properly - if the recipe says to whisk something, for god's sake, buy a whisk. Don't use a wooden spoon and think, "close enough that'll do".

'Buy a set of saucepans, not just one. Want to cook roasts to a perfect medium? Get a meat thermometer. Saves you having to hack into a piece of meat every 10 mins to check how pink it is.'

'Personally I would recommend practice. I spent a lot of time working with my spices testing this trying that. I tried to learn my spices by taste and use.

'It's very useful, since I can pick out the proper spice to make a dish better. '

'Garlic. You're not using enough. I'm dead serious, for some reason recipes that include garlic always specify way, way less than would really make the dish pop.

Crushed, minced, sliced, or whole create different levels of garlic flavor. And roasted garlic has a certain sweetness to it.'

'Prep everything you'll need for the dish before you start cooking the dish.'

'If you're going to need chopped onions, chopped celery, and chopped carrots, don't wait until you need them before you start cutting, have everything pre-cut, pre-measured, and ready to throw in the pot.

'It fixes all of your timing issues, prevents you scrambling for a clean measuring device, keeps you from running around looking for that one sauce you can't find, and gives you a heads-up if you are missing ingredients or tools.

'I think this is probably the single biggest thing a home cook can do to improve their cooking quality.'

'Buy spices in bulk in Asian shops, much cheaper than the measely amounts offered in supermarkets.'

'Use real cream and real butter.'

'Pro chef here, I see lots of culinary tips and lot of good information. So I'll go another route and think more of the lines of a home cook with an average budget.

'Plan your food out to save money and time. Even if it's for two or three days.'

'Not a professional chef, but clean up/do dishes as you cook.

'For example, if something needs to sit in a pan for a few minutes, then wash the plates on which you prepped the food (or stick them in the dishwasher) while the food is cooking.

'Cleaning is much easier while you're already active in the kitchen. Even if you're not able to clean everything as you go (e.g a scorching hot surface), everything you take care of while you're working is one less thing you have to do while in a food coma.'

Re: Chefs' tips & tricks for cooks & bakers

Ruthie-Roo — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 17:12:58 GMT

@feline groovy Thanks! While I knew of many of those tips, reminders of old ones, and mentions of new ones are appreciated. When I get a chance, I plan to print out your message for future reference. :-)

Re: Chefs' tips & tricks for cooks & bakers

feline groovy — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 18:15:41 GMT

Appreciate your thanks. @Ruthie-Roo!

I also thought they'd be good to keep around. 8-)

There's always opportunities to learn something knew everyday.

Re: Chefs' tips & tricks for cooks & bakers

ECBG — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 22:00:00 GMT

Parchment is fantastic for baking. It keeps things from sticking and alows you to use less fat and save calories.

Re: Chefs' tips & tricks for cooks & bakers

momtochloe — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 22:44:53 GMT

@feline groovy these are great tips and knowledge sharing. So many things some take for granted haven't been passed on to other generations so these posts are great . . . . thanks for sharing!

Re: Chefs' tips & tricks for cooks & bakers

momtochloe — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 22:47:37 GMT

@ECBG wrote:
Parchment is fantastic for baking. It keeps things from sticking and alows you to use less fat and save calories.

@ECBG I couldn't agree more, I think parchment paper is the most unrecognized tips for the kitchen . . . I use it all the time, love it!

Re: Chefs' tips & tricks for cooks & bakers

butterfly123 — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 22:50:22 GMT

Thank you @feline groovy

Re: Chefs' tips & tricks for cooks & bakers

noodleann — Fri, 19 May 2017 16:27:05 GMT

This is a terrific list. I'm printing it off and saving it. That tip about freezing thyme before chopping it was great.

Re: Chefs' tips & tricks for cooks & bakers

Zhills — Fri, 19 May 2017 16:49:27 GMT

@momtochloe wrote:
@ECBG wrote:
Parchment is fantastic for baking. It keeps things from sticking and alows you to use less fat and save calories.
@ECBG I couldn't agree more, I think parchment paper is the most unrecognized tips for the kitchen . . . I use it all the time, love it!

I read somewhere? to cover items you are "frying" or browning in the oven to keep grease already on the items from spattering. I keep a folded piece just for French fries.

Covering works wonders when cooking bacon. Parchment ON TOP of the bacon.

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