My Top Kitchen Tips
1. Use Tongs.
Spatulas are awesome for anything that needs to be flipped, like eggs and pancakes, but mainly everything else, tongs are the way
to go. They’re nimble and less awkward to use, and you’ll find
far fewer things from your pan onto the floor. If you have Teflon cookware, be sure to use tongs with nylon tips.
2. Salt Pasta Water.
Most people forget this step. You're pasta should always have flavor outside of it's sauce. Always give a good two-three tablespoons depending on how much you're cooking. FYI if you add about 2 teaspoons of olive oil to your boiling pasta water it'll help prevent sticking. Never let pasta stand in the hot cooking water: The pasta will continue to cook and become soft.
3. If you own a knife, don’t use a garlic press.
Peeling and pressing garlic is a huge waste of time. To use a clove
of garlic, set it on a cutting board and smash it with the flat side of a
big knife (any chef’s knife will do). The papery skin will come right off, and you can mince it real quick right there in about 10 seconds. Done.
4. Don’t bother with pre-filled spice racks.
If you want spices to serve their purpose (making food taste better),
you shouldn’t own a pre-filled spice rack. Spices go off quickly, and
when their color starts to dull they’ve lost a lot of their flavor.
There are several dried spices that are invaluable in the kitchen
(cinnamon, cloves, curry powder, cumin, coriander, chili pepper, etc.),
but you should purchase them as you need them, and in small quantities
unless you use them frequently.
5. Overcooking is the biggest single kitchen mistake.
Overcooked vegetables are mushy and flavorless, plus they lose they're nutritional value. Meat can become
tough and chalky.... Overcooked Food = Bad Food. Plain and simple learn the art of taking food off the heat just before
it is done, and let it finish cooking with its internal temperature.
You can always cook it more, but you can never cook it less.
6. Prevent Oxidation.
If you're going to peel/chop apples, pears, or potatoes as you chop/peel drop them in a bowl of water keeping them emerged until they're ready for use. If you don't they can oxidize and turn brown. The same for bananas and peaches, but a light toss in lemon juice will do the trick.
7. Cooking Rice.
Never Ever Ever disturb your rice while its cooking. Don't lift the lid, don't take a peek, don't stir it, LEAVE IT ALONE !! When you open the pot, you let out steam which essential can destroy your rice after you follow the cooking instructions, leave it until the timer goes off. Then fluff it up with a fork, if it doesn't fluff and just kinda sticks together then you've either over cooked your rice, or added too much water. Rice should not be mushy it should be slightly firm but soft.
8. Switch to kosher or sea salt, and don’t be stingy with it.
Kosher salt and sea salt have a much better flavor than ordinary table
salt. Though food shouldn’t taste salty, going to the opposite extreme
and using little or no salt in your cooking results in food that taste
flat. Even if a recipe suggests an amount of salt to use, your
ingredients—as well as your palate—may be different enough from the
recipe writer’s to necessitate adjustments.
9. Don’t crowd the pan when sauteing.
Be sure
you can see the bottom of the pan between the pieces of food. Too much
food will lower the temperature of the pan, creating a lot of steam,
meaning you won’t get good browning. It’s also important to dry food
before sautéing it and to make sure the pan is good and hot.
10. Reduce liquids to concentrate flavor.
If
you’ve braised meat or vegetables, take the main ingredient out when
it’s done and reduce the sauce a bit more before serving. When you
deglaze a pan, be sure to reduce the added liquid by boiling it over
high heat. Reduce homemade stocks before use, too.
11. Let Meats Rest.
Whether you grill, bake, or sauté, you should always give your meat time to rest anywhere from 10-30 mins (varies on on what it is) to let the meat’s juices redistribute other wise all your juices will escape essentially leaving you with a dull dry piece of meat.
12. Oil & Butter.
Whenever you're going to sauté/sear and you want to use butter always add a few teaspoons of olive oil to prevent your butter from scorching.
14. Taste as you go.
Be sure to season and taste as your cooking, but don't over salt your food, remember you can always add but you can't take away.
15. Prevent Cross-Contamination.
Its so easy to cross-contaminate your kitchen, be sure to wash your hands and utensils that have touched raw foods before starting your next step on a recipe.
Happy Eating
