10x tips that make everything you make taste better

For anyone who could use some handy cooking tricks in the kitchen. These ten tips make things easier for you in the kitchen.

Believe me, these are not completely ridiculous cooking tips you once got from your parents. Nothing like ‘just don’t add any herbs because they’re bad for you’ or ‘just boil those green beans for a good fifteen minutes, then they’ll be cooked through’. These are cooking tips that you’ll genuinely benefit from, no matter how simple. Promise.

Cut everything to the same size

In English, there’s a lovely saying for this: if it looks the same, it cooks the same. So if you cut all the ingredients to the same size, everything will cook evenly and consistently.

Wait until the oil is hot

Impatience is my middle name. So I actually never wait until the oil in the pan is hot enough. No, I throw everything in immediately—we’ve got to keep moving. But I need to kick this bad habit. If you put your ingredients in a pan with oil that isn’t hot yet, the ingredients will only soak up the oil. The result: a soggy mess. So wait patiently until the oil in the pan is hot enough.

Wait before adding the garlic

Pretty much every dish starts with it: onion and garlic. Do you add these flavor boosters to your dishes? Then add the garlic last. Garlic burns incredibly quickly, especially when finely chopped.

Only season your fried mushrooms and courgettes once they’re brown

Mushrooms and courgettes contain quite a lot of water. If you sprinkle salt over them before frying them until brown, the salt will only draw even more moisture out. And that makes them super soggy. So salt the vegetables only once they’re browned and have lost most of their moisture. (Oh, and pat them really dry before putting them in the hot pan!)

Season while cooking—not just afterwards

If all goes well, you don’t throw all your ingredients into the pan at once. Every time you add a new batch of ingredients, season the whole thing again. This way, you gradually build up all kinds of layers of flavor. Don’t forget to taste while cooking: that way you’ll know whether you’re on the right track with your seasoning skills.

Too much salt? Add some acidity

Salt is indispensable in practically every dish you cook. But acidity is a very solid second place. Acid, such as vinegar or lemon, helps lift and balance flavors. Does your dish still taste flat, even though you’ve already added quite a lot of salt? Then a squeeze of lemon juice or a splash of vinegar will do the magic trick.

Use the fond in your pan

Do you see a brown layer appearing on the bottom of the pan while frying, for example, chicken breast? That’s called fond and it’s an incredibly flavorful layer. What a waste not to do anything with it! Pour a little water into the pan so the fond comes loose. Then carefully spoon this mixture over the ingredient in your pan.

Add extra butter to your sauce (at the end)

In culinary parlance, we also call this ‘monter au beurre’. In other words, finishing a sauce with butter. When your sauce is almost ready, add a few small knobs of butter. It gives it so much more flavor and shine. Believe me, you won’t want to make your sauces any other way from now on.

Watch out for carryover cooking

It’s a golden rule for eggs: shock them under cold water once they’re cooked. Otherwise, they’ll continue cooking and become rock-hard. Carryover cooking is a real killer for more ingredients. Meat, for example—surely no one is waiting for a tough piece of leather? The trick is to take your meat out of the oven on time, just before it’s perfectly cooked. While it rests, it continues cooking for a little while, until it reaches the perfect temperature.

Reheat leftovers the way you prepared them

Something that comes out of the oven is best reheated in the oven. And whatever you fried in a pan goes—exactly—back into the pan. Extra tip for reheating pasta with sauce: add a little water. This makes your pasta deliciously juicy again. There are a few things to keep in mind when reheating rice. And your reheated pizza? We’ve tested that too—with a clear winner.

Also read:

• 10x cooking tips from Gordon Ramsay, part 2
• 8x cooking tips from Gordon Ramsay, part 3
• 15x tips & tricks from culinary school that you’ll benefit from right away

Source: Tasty