12 Nuggets of Kitchen Wisdom from Foodies
You might just be hailed the kitchen guru with these simple cooking tricks that also save time and money
It’s the little things that savvy cooks do that make their food taste so good, and their kitchens run like clockwork. The French even have a phrase, trucs du metier, meaning tricks of the trade. Competent cooks not only turn out delectable dishes with apparent ease and enjoyment, but are time-efficient and save money by reducing waste. Start your own bag of kitchen tricks – add a dash of cleverness and a pinch of practicality to your cooking with this sage advice.
2. Read before you cook
One of the biggest mistakes when trying out a new recipe is to start at the top. Getting halfway through preparation only to see ‘marinate overnight’ or ‘set aside for 2 hours’, when you planned on the dish for dinner that night is frustrating and inefficient. Follow the golden rule: read the recipe through first. Good cooks never skip this step.
After reading the recipe from beginning to end, weigh, measure, chop ingredients, prepare containers, open cans and bottles before firing up the stove. This is your mise en place – putting in place – it ensures seamless cooking and saves time in the long run.
Have a ready reference
Going global for recipes means many are in ounces and Fahrenheit. Keep a conversion chart handy to your work area so you can instantly convert imperial to metric temperatures and measurements. It saves dabbing at a keyboard or screen with messy fingers.
Tip: Keep a good old-fashioned ruler handy to check dimensions of baking containers.
One of the biggest mistakes when trying out a new recipe is to start at the top. Getting halfway through preparation only to see ‘marinate overnight’ or ‘set aside for 2 hours’, when you planned on the dish for dinner that night is frustrating and inefficient. Follow the golden rule: read the recipe through first. Good cooks never skip this step.
After reading the recipe from beginning to end, weigh, measure, chop ingredients, prepare containers, open cans and bottles before firing up the stove. This is your mise en place – putting in place – it ensures seamless cooking and saves time in the long run.
Have a ready reference
Going global for recipes means many are in ounces and Fahrenheit. Keep a conversion chart handy to your work area so you can instantly convert imperial to metric temperatures and measurements. It saves dabbing at a keyboard or screen with messy fingers.
Tip: Keep a good old-fashioned ruler handy to check dimensions of baking containers.
3. Nurture your knives
A good knife is your third hand. Invest in quality and choose the best knife for the job. Keep blades sharp – the worst kitchen cuts happen with blunt knives. Wash by hand, rinse acidic juices off immediately, and store in a knife block, not in a drawer with other implements. Learning the proper way to chop is not just a safety strategy – it saves time setting up and washing an electric gadget. These appliances tend to mulch up tender herbs and other ingredients. You’ll get a better and more attractive texture with hand mincing and chopping.
Tip: If you want to look really dexterous, master the mezzaluna, the curved half-moon two-handled blade that makes short work of piles of herbs and vegetables. When you get proficient, you’ll use it every day.
A good knife is your third hand. Invest in quality and choose the best knife for the job. Keep blades sharp – the worst kitchen cuts happen with blunt knives. Wash by hand, rinse acidic juices off immediately, and store in a knife block, not in a drawer with other implements. Learning the proper way to chop is not just a safety strategy – it saves time setting up and washing an electric gadget. These appliances tend to mulch up tender herbs and other ingredients. You’ll get a better and more attractive texture with hand mincing and chopping.
Tip: If you want to look really dexterous, master the mezzaluna, the curved half-moon two-handled blade that makes short work of piles of herbs and vegetables. When you get proficient, you’ll use it every day.
4. Take the gloves off
I’ve never met an oven mitt I could work with – they turn your hands into clumsy paws. Take a tip from Australian chef Ian Curley and look like you mean business: sling a hand towel over your shoulder or tuck it into your waistband. “In a commercial kitchen you hold it like a glove,” says Curley, seen here with his cloth of choice. “An oven mitt is a distinct giveaway between a person who cooks in a commercial kitchen and a person who cooks at home.”
I’ve never met an oven mitt I could work with – they turn your hands into clumsy paws. Take a tip from Australian chef Ian Curley and look like you mean business: sling a hand towel over your shoulder or tuck it into your waistband. “In a commercial kitchen you hold it like a glove,” says Curley, seen here with his cloth of choice. “An oven mitt is a distinct giveaway between a person who cooks in a commercial kitchen and a person who cooks at home.”
5. Spices – don’t be reckless
Dried spices are integral to a good cook’s pantry. Use them as they were intended – with gusto, but not recklessly. Throw out any that are more than six months old, and enhance their flavour with heat. The taste – and aroma – difference between a lick of dried spice powder and one that has been gently sauteed with other ingredients is monumental. Don’t throw in extra when the dish is already cooked.
Dried spices are integral to a good cook’s pantry. Use them as they were intended – with gusto, but not recklessly. Throw out any that are more than six months old, and enhance their flavour with heat. The taste – and aroma – difference between a lick of dried spice powder and one that has been gently sauteed with other ingredients is monumental. Don’t throw in extra when the dish is already cooked.
6. Salt – add gradually
“With all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt”, advised Moses. Anon chimes in with: “Salt is what makes things taste bad when it isn’t in them”. Sometimes salt is all that’s missing from a dish that doesn’t taste quite right. Conversely, too much salt will ruin it and is difficult to rectify.
Tip: Add salt gradually and taste in between additions. If you over-salt soup, scoop out or drain off a cupful, replace with a non-salted liquid and add more vegetables.
“With all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt”, advised Moses. Anon chimes in with: “Salt is what makes things taste bad when it isn’t in them”. Sometimes salt is all that’s missing from a dish that doesn’t taste quite right. Conversely, too much salt will ruin it and is difficult to rectify.
Tip: Add salt gradually and taste in between additions. If you over-salt soup, scoop out or drain off a cupful, replace with a non-salted liquid and add more vegetables.
7. Tomatoes – make sure they’re cut
Cherry tomatoes are a sweet and vibrant addition to salads, but throwing them in whole doesn’t do them justice. To release their juice and let them absorb dressing, they need to be cut. Don’t waste time slicing them in half one at a time. Place them on a dinner plate and invert another plate over them. With a very sharp knife and holding the top plate firmly, slice across the gap between the plates.
Cherry tomatoes are a sweet and vibrant addition to salads, but throwing them in whole doesn’t do them justice. To release their juice and let them absorb dressing, they need to be cut. Don’t waste time slicing them in half one at a time. Place them on a dinner plate and invert another plate over them. With a very sharp knife and holding the top plate firmly, slice across the gap between the plates.
8. Eggplant – don’t salt
Skip the time-consuming convention of salting and rinsing eggplant. If in doubt, do a comparison cook of a salted and unsalted eggplant and see if you can taste the difference. Experts Jamie Oliver, Nigel Slater and Delia Smith don’t salt and the culinary bible, Larousse Gastronomique, states, “The process of degorging (salting) is no longer necessary as commercially cultivated [eggplants] are not as bitter as they used to be.”
Tip: Eggplants are one of the beautiful vegetables. Place three plump glossy specimens in a rustic wooden bowl as a table centrepiece.
Skip the time-consuming convention of salting and rinsing eggplant. If in doubt, do a comparison cook of a salted and unsalted eggplant and see if you can taste the difference. Experts Jamie Oliver, Nigel Slater and Delia Smith don’t salt and the culinary bible, Larousse Gastronomique, states, “The process of degorging (salting) is no longer necessary as commercially cultivated [eggplants] are not as bitter as they used to be.”
Tip: Eggplants are one of the beautiful vegetables. Place three plump glossy specimens in a rustic wooden bowl as a table centrepiece.
9. Citrus fruit – microwave for more juice
With citrus fruit that doesn’t generously give up its juice, try this to get out the last drop. Heat in the microwave until they feel warm, roll them firmly under your hand on a board, then squeeze.
Tip: Whole lemons may be frozen. The skin will soften, but the juice will be fine. If you have a surplus of lemons, squeeze them and measure 1 tablespoon of juice into each compartment of an ice cube tray. Cover with cling wrap and freeze. You won’t have to defrost the juice to measure the amount you need.
With citrus fruit that doesn’t generously give up its juice, try this to get out the last drop. Heat in the microwave until they feel warm, roll them firmly under your hand on a board, then squeeze.
Tip: Whole lemons may be frozen. The skin will soften, but the juice will be fine. If you have a surplus of lemons, squeeze them and measure 1 tablespoon of juice into each compartment of an ice cube tray. Cover with cling wrap and freeze. You won’t have to defrost the juice to measure the amount you need.
10. Salads – choose natural dressings
The crispest freshest greens aren’t a match for the chemical-tasting gloop of bottled salad dressings. Keep it natural – the best dressing is the quickest, and doesn’t even need shaking in a jar. Over well-dried salad leaves, dribble good olive oil and toss gently with your hands. Trickle on a vinegar of choice or lemon juice, sprinkle salt and pepper and toss again. Oil and vinegar emulsify and coat the leaves without the extra steps.
The crispest freshest greens aren’t a match for the chemical-tasting gloop of bottled salad dressings. Keep it natural – the best dressing is the quickest, and doesn’t even need shaking in a jar. Over well-dried salad leaves, dribble good olive oil and toss gently with your hands. Trickle on a vinegar of choice or lemon juice, sprinkle salt and pepper and toss again. Oil and vinegar emulsify and coat the leaves without the extra steps.
The perfect dressing ends up in the bottom of the bowl if lettuce and other greens are wet. Salad spinners are great for robust lettuces like iceberg and cos, but a bit brutal on tender greens. Pop them in a plastic bag with a few sheets of absorbent kitchen paper and turn bag up and down several times. Repeat if you can still see moisture on the leaves.
11. Chocolate – watch the temperature
Microwaving chocolate is fraught with danger. Variables like oven wattage, quality and quantity of chocolate, and whether your microwave has a turntable, make it hard to control. Instead, stick with a metal bowl over steaming, not boiling, water. It’s foolproof and doesn’t need constant attention. Rescue grainy over-heated chocolate by transferring it fast to a cold bowl. Throw in some chunks of chocolate and stir madly. You might just save it, but not for dipping.
Tip: Keep chocolate out of the fridge in a cool pantry spot. That nasty grey ‘bloom’ can develop from moist air or softening and resetting. It’s still ok for muffins, cakes and biscuits, grated for hot chocolate or just eaten – the taste won’t be altered.
Microwaving chocolate is fraught with danger. Variables like oven wattage, quality and quantity of chocolate, and whether your microwave has a turntable, make it hard to control. Instead, stick with a metal bowl over steaming, not boiling, water. It’s foolproof and doesn’t need constant attention. Rescue grainy over-heated chocolate by transferring it fast to a cold bowl. Throw in some chunks of chocolate and stir madly. You might just save it, but not for dipping.
Tip: Keep chocolate out of the fridge in a cool pantry spot. That nasty grey ‘bloom’ can develop from moist air or softening and resetting. It’s still ok for muffins, cakes and biscuits, grated for hot chocolate or just eaten – the taste won’t be altered.
We eat with our eyes as well as our mouths, and a chocolate cake should be dark and tempting. If yours turn out looking a bit pallid, adjust the recipe with a colour boost of a heaped teaspoonful of instant coffee granules dissolved in a minimal amount of hot water. Add with other liquid ingredients. It gives a subtle flavour lift without changing the chocolate taste.
Tip: I always add coffee to Christmas cakes and puddings for a deliciously deep brown result.
Tip: I always add coffee to Christmas cakes and puddings for a deliciously deep brown result.
12. Eggs – whip whites first
When using an electric hand-beater and a recipe calls for beating whites and yolks separately, whip the whites first – there’s no need then to wash the beaters before you do the yolks. The other way round, the whites won’t whip well because of the fat in the yolks that clings to the beaters. One day, manufacturers will automatically supply a second set of beaters.
Tip: Learn the one-handed egg crack. It won’t improve your cooking, but will draw cries of delight from your friends. Check out an internet tutorial and practise on a few omelettes. It’s just a matter of cracking an egg on the side of a bowl and tweaking your ring finger into the crack to open it far enough for the egg to slide out. Easy!
TELL US
Are you a whiz in the kitchen? We’d love to hear some of your best tips in the Comments section.
MORE
World of Design: Global Foodies and What’s Cooking in Their Kitchens
When using an electric hand-beater and a recipe calls for beating whites and yolks separately, whip the whites first – there’s no need then to wash the beaters before you do the yolks. The other way round, the whites won’t whip well because of the fat in the yolks that clings to the beaters. One day, manufacturers will automatically supply a second set of beaters.
Tip: Learn the one-handed egg crack. It won’t improve your cooking, but will draw cries of delight from your friends. Check out an internet tutorial and practise on a few omelettes. It’s just a matter of cracking an egg on the side of a bowl and tweaking your ring finger into the crack to open it far enough for the egg to slide out. Easy!
TELL US
Are you a whiz in the kitchen? We’d love to hear some of your best tips in the Comments section.
MORE
World of Design: Global Foodies and What’s Cooking in Their Kitchens
Clever cooks have a selection of guaranteed-to-work recipes at their fingertips and don’t waste time hunting. As you experiment with dishes and they turn out brilliantly, print off a copy or hand write up the recipe, note down any adjustments or comments you made, and save it in a go-to folder. Organise a folder with ‘baking’, ‘main course’, ‘desserts’, ‘snacks’, or arrange recipes in menus instead. In cookbooks, slip an index page inside the front cover for noting page numbers of standout dishes you want to cook again.
Tip: Don’t try first-time recipes for important meals – go to dishes you’ve made successfully before.
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