No matter how much experience you have working in restaurants or even just in your own kitchen, you can always learn new tips about how to make food and make the process smoother.
And that’s exactly what we’re going to dive into today!
Let’s check out some awesome cooking tips from folks on AskReddit!
1. For beginners.
“Two things for beginners:
First, taste as you cook. At various stages of cooking, while safe (not raw meat) taste your food as you cook it. This lets you know if you have too much of something or too little. It also helps you develop your palette for what different seasonings do.
Second, if you’re just starting out and don’t know which spices to buy. Pick a specific cuisine you like. Are you a fan of Italian food? Focus only on Italian recipes for a while. Most use similar herbs and spices because the cuisine of the area used what they had available to them.
This will let you learn several recipes without having to buy massive amounts of spices to make it work. Eventually you will build up a good stock and be set to handle most things.”
2. Yummy.
“Soy sauce goes on more than Asian foods.
Try a dash in scrambled eggs or towards the end of your caramelized onions.
It is a savory salt flavor that compliments many dishes.”
3. Some tips.
“The spice measurements in most online recipes are way too small. I usually double them.
Cinnamon isn’t just for sweet foods. It can be really really good in savory foods.
Don’t forget the acid. A bit of citrus juice or vinegar can really make a dish pop and bring out the other flavors.
Don’t be afraid to deviate from a recipe, but be careful with baked goods. If you make big changes in baked goods you might get a dud unless you know how it will effect the baking process.”
4. Spice it up.
“Salt is seasoning. It makes food taste more like itself.
Acids, like citrus or vinegar can also do this. If your food tastes flat, or like it is missing something, try some salt or acid. Acid is also critical for balancing very rich fatty foods.
The reason Americans love tomato ketchup so much is the fact that it adds acid and salt to their food. Adding a bit of “heat” like a pinch of cayenne can also accentuate a the flavor of a dish. Spices are something else. They bring a new and different flavor to the dish.
In sweets, sugar often takes the place of salt and is usually balanced by acid – see passionfruit, raspberry, citrus, etc. But salt plays an important role in sweets as well – often in unexpected ways. Try putting a pinch of kosher salt into your next batch of whipped cream.
I could keep going but I’ll leave it there. If you can master these concepts you will have a big advantage over most home cooks.”
5. Nice and easy.
“If you’re getting annoyed because it’s taking you too long to peel garlic, place an unpeeled garlic clove under the flat side of your kitchen knife and press on it with your hand.
The garlic peel will separate easily and your garlic will be crushed.”
6. Ouch!
“A falling knife has no handle.
The worst cut I’ve ever had was from trying catch one on reflex.
I got sliced across all my fingers, great tip to internalize.”
7. Good advice.
“Everything in it’s place. Have everything cut, seasonings and ingredients measured before you start cooking. This way you can focus on cooking.
Brown meats in small batches, do not overcrowd the pan. It will cause meat to sweat and will not brown properly.”
8. Keep it simple.
“Learn basic cutting techniques for cutting vegetables.
Keep it simple. The number ingredients doesn’t say anything about the taste of a dish. Go for dishes you can make in 30 to 40 minutes with 6 to 8 ingredients.
Keep a notebook. Gather a list recipes and dishes you do regularly. Expand gradually with new stuff. Don’t just buy cookbooks you never really use.
Adding is easy, removing is hard. People here argue to liberally add butter and seasoning. Tastes differ, though. It’s totally fine to put in less if that’s what you fancy.
You don’t need a gazillion utensils. In your daily cooking, a basic kitchen knife already does a lot of the heavy lifting. Learn to use that properly.
Observe. How do ingredients act when you combine them? What happens when your put them in a pan or pot and apply heat?
Always be cleaning. You have idle time? Clean the sink.
Don’t be afraid to fail. Learn from your mistakes. Also, don’t pretend you know better then the recipe. Especially if you never made a recipe before.”
9. All about timing.
“The amount of garlic flavor is dependent on WHEN you add the garlic.
Add it early for light flavor, add it late for bold flavor.”
10. Fond.
“Massively improve the quality of your proteins with fond. Doesn’t matter the protein. Bird, beef, pork, tofu. Fond is the dark brown stuff that sticks to your pan when you’re cooking.
Its not burnt unless is actually black. To get it off the pan on on the food, pour in either an alcohol or acid to dissolve it and get the now brown liquid to coat your protein. Different proteins work best with different alcohols.
Good rule of thumb, dry white for chicken or any lighter meat. Red for beef. Lemon juice works great for almost everything.”
11. Brine is good.
“Brine your dang birds.
Like salt, sugar and water makes a basic brine; let it sit in there overnight.
Juicy bird guaranteed.”
12. Good stuff here.
“Your pan does not need to be on maximum heat.
You have to cook meat to a specific internal temperature to kill bacteria, anything more is just trying it out (generalized).
Lemon zest and garlic with a cream sauce makes anything delicious.
Wash your hands, tools, and area after dealing with raw meats. Watch the water splatter from the sink when washing aswell.
When a recipe calls for you to let something ‘sit’ or ‘rest’, do not rush this step. Good things happen to the food in that time.
You are less likely to cut your self with a sharp knife, compared to a dull one.
Sifting flour, when adding it to baking recipes, can improve the results.
Test your yeast before committing to using it.
When cooking for a group, season lightly, and use hot spices sparingly; they can both be done after its served.
Puree or fine grate veggies such as carrots or zucchini into sauces, or even peanut butter, to get kids to get some nutrients.
Buy a rice cooker. Uncle Roger said so.
Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize.
Wet hand / dry hand while breading or coating food.
Never pry anything out of an electrical appliance. No metal in toasters or microwaves.
Dishwashers have a ‘gunk trap’ or general area where stuff collects. Clean this. Also check the water outlets as lemon seeds and other things can clog them.
Herbs and spices can be annoying to eat, such as twiggy pieces of rosemary or peppercorns. Put them in a cheese cloth, or emptied out tea bag, draped in the liquid, to give their flavours but not the textures.
Dont pan fry bacon in the morning with no shirt on.
Buy local as often as you can.”
How about you?
What cooking tips would you like to share with the world?
Do it in the comments, please!
