7/18/12

15 Must-Know Cooking Tips

I have a heck of a time keeping my mouth shut when I see folks make common cooking mistakes.  But because I know I’m pushy, extroverted and a tad dominant, I try to keep myself in check.

I DO SO!  I know all my friends are reading this thinking, “When does that hooker keep anything to herself?!”  It’s true though.  If y’all heard everything that pops in my head you’d tie me up in a cypress swamp and leave me there.  At least for a couple days.  Then you’d miss me and come get me.

Anyway, as a student of life, from my own experiences in the kitchen and my obsession with the art of cooking, here are a few tips I adhere to which I think are worth sharing. 

1. Shred your own cheese.  Shredded cheeses have additives that keep the shreds from sticking together in the bag (like powdered cellulose which is chemically treated wood pulp... umm... no thanks).  This coating keeps the cheese from getting as creamy as it could be in hot dishes.  Never EVER buy shredded mozzarella or other soft cheeses.  In order to shred these easily, manufacturers finish the cheese off firmer than they should so the end result is not anything like it should be.

2. Mashing is for potatoes.  Not hamburgers.  I cringe each time I see someone using a spatula to press down on a cooking hamburger.  By doing this you are pushing out all the natural flavor and juices from the burger which will yield a dry, tasteless burger.

3. Season meat before you cook it.  Seems like a no-brainer right?  Wrong.  I’ve come across many folks over the years that don’t season their proteins before or while they’re cooking them, choosing to just add salt after it’s plated.  Honestly, I’d rather eat styrofoam.

4. Measure it right.  Liquid measurers and dry measurers are not the same. Don’t use a liquid measurer (most often a transparent pitcher of some sort) to measure dry ingredients and don’t use a dry measurer (most often a cup-shaped scoop) to measure liquid ingredients. One dry cup is equal to 1.1636 liquid cups.

5. Use real butter.  Just do it. Margarine is emulsified oil and liquid and it separates when heated which can totally screw up the science behind a good recipe. And butter tastes so much better than artificially flavored margarine. 

6. Don’t cut your meat while you’re cooking it.  I know sometimes you might have to take a peek just to be sure that something is done but try – try hard – not to do this if you can help it.  And if you must, just cut one piece.  So long as everything is relatively the same size and has been cooking the same amount of time, all the pieces should cook the same.  When you cut meat before it has rested you’re opening a drain for all the juices and flavor to run out of.

7. Heat your oil when you’re ready to cook.  Oil can scorch and taste burnt or rancid if you heat it too high and too long before cooking with it.  You can bring your pan up to temperature for as long as you like, but only add the oil when you’re ready to heat it.

8. Read the entire recipe.  Don’t get surprised by an ingredient you hadn’t noticed or a four-hour step (cooling, simmering, marinating, etc.) that will totally derail your plans.

9. Read the comments.  The internet is an awesome source for recipes and feedback on those recipes. If you see something you like but a large percentage of the reader comments indicate mixed results, steer clear.  Any jackhole can start a food blog.  Obviously.

10. Add barbeque sauce toward the end.  Most barbeque sauces have a lot of sugar in them.  Sugar burns.  Add barbeque sauce toward the end of your cooking time to ensure that it gets to do its thing but without burning.

11. Salt the sweets.  Don’t skip the small amounts of salt listed in sweet recipes.  Salt is a flavor enhancer. It’s just as important to sweet dishes as it is to savory ones. Maybe more so since most savory dishes have herbs or spices to help develop the flavor. When you bite into a beautiful homemade cookie and the flavor falls flat it's because someone skipped the salt.

12. Let it rest.  You probably know to let large cuts of meat rest before cutting and serving, but the same is true for most dishes, especially those that include starches.  Rice and pasta dishes, when at their peak, have soaked up the juices and flavors from the dish they’ve been cooked in and have reached a “resting state”.  When I make dishes like Chicken Pilau or Lasagna, I’ll often let it rest, covered, about 30 minutes before I serve it. 

13. ‘Simmer’ and ‘boil’ are not the same thing.  Boiling protein will seize it and make it tough, which is the exact opposite of what you’re trying to do by simmering it.  Never let broth, water, etc. reach a full rolling boil when cooking protein.  Keep it just below a boil where you can see a little bubbling.  After being brought to temperature, this happy place is usually found around your medium-low setting.

14. Don’t use fat-free dairy products in cooked recipes.  Fat-free dairy products can curdle or becoming grainy after being heated and usually contain high amounts of starch.

15. Cook in batches.  When browning or searing in a skillet or pan, it is very important not to try to cook too much at once.  Food releases moisture when it’s cooked.  If you have too much in the pan, the moisture won’t be able to evaporate so instead of browning or searing, you’ll end up boiling (I drain my hamburger meat half-way through the cooking process to make sure the meat gets seared, not boiled).  The same is true when frying.  A crowded pan will result in a soggy, mushy coating.

SEE ALSO: 20 Things You Need in Your Kitchen to Cook Like a Pro

29 comments:

  1. Love the last comment. For years I made do with soggy fried chicken, not knowing why it wasn't crispy. Once I figured it out (on my own, by the way. Where were you 10 years ago?? huh??)
    my chicken comes out perfectly. It's also important, if you're using a low oven to keep the first batches warm, to not cover the dish. This also steams the coating.
    I love, love, LOVE your blog!!!

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    1. I had to figure most of this out on my own too! You're absolutely right about not covering the dish... even when you take something out of the oven and need to let it set a while. Thanks for your comment!

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  2. Amen! I don't think I could have said this any better!

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  3. I live with 5 adults, 4 of which cook at different times and I can't get not even one to season meat and veggies much less starches before or during cooking. I keep explaining that 2-3 shakes of salt in boiling pasta is not salting anything. Rice without salt is ick! and it doesn't take salt well after cooking. Even hamburgers need a little salt in the meat before cooking and for heaven sakes please stop playing with the hamburger meat when making patties.... Ok I'll step off my soapbox and slink back off into my hiddy-hole.... Thank you for posting these. Maybe I can email this and if they read it from someone else they will believe me.

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    1. Print copies and wallpaper the fridge with them! These people are prolly skinny too, right? I wouldn't want to eat much either if it was cooked like that!

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    2. Starches absorb flavor as they absorb the liquid they are cooking in. If you salt after cooking, there is no way for that salt to actually be absorbed and highlight the flavor. Meat once it's cooked/seared is the same. Season while cooking and you actually use less salt.

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  4. OMG!!!!! I burst out laughing with the measuring cup one, my husband and I just got into a discussion over this like 2 weeks ago. He was using a liquid measuring cup for his dry ingredient and I went what he called overboard with a half hour discussion on the proper way to measure ingredients. I am glad to see I was not the only one who thought this and after reading this I promptly called him to read it to him. Thanks for making me feel redeemed!!!!

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    1. There's NOTHING better than that 'ah-HA!' moment when you can prove you're right!

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  5. IMHO you are soooooooooooooooooo right on! I wish I had something like this on my web site :) Well done, Mandy! xoxo

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  6. Ha! I often want to slap someone if see them pressing down on a burger while it's on the grill. Morons lol

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    1. Steak and Shake has been known for this forever! Since it was "in sight" we thought it must be right!

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  7. Susan Howard Jenkins4/26/13, 12:41 PM

    I have found that many people don't know the difference between "ounces" when it comes to liquids and solids either. "Ounces" is a volume measurement when dealing with liquid, as in 8oz is one cup. "Ounces" is a weight measurement when dealing with dry or solid ingredients, as in 8oz equals 1/2 pound.

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  8. Love your tips, especially the one about when to add the oil to the pan. Years ago, there was a TV chef (can't remember who it was) who always said, "hot pain, cold oil...food won't stick".

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  9. Thank you! Over the last year I've become a die-hard fan :)
    -Steve, NC

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  10. My pet peeve is that with most Recipes is that the directions tend to run together. I like to separate each of the STEPS into separate STEPS instead of running so much into a single step. It makes the recipe so much easier to work with and you don't have to try any find something in the middle of a paragraph.
    Try it sometime and see if it makes sense for you!

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  11. Thank you so so much!! I've been cooking for quite awhile now so I knew most of these but #14 just literally rocked my world!! Every single time I tried to attempt homemade mac n cheese, the milk would either curdle or make the mac n cheese taste grainy. It's because I was using low-fat milk and or cheese!! I thought I just sucked at making homemade mac n cheese and I relegated myself to eating the blue box...horrifying I know!! I will be trying again with full fat ingredients and cheese that isn't pre-shredded and I will post back with my hopefully successful news!!

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  12. I don't remember this post? Anywho.... because of you, I have entirely given up shredded cheeses. I don't even miss them anymore, and preach to all the cooks around me how they need to shred their own cheeses. Yup, you are a good influence and I would never leave ya tied up out in a cypress swamp :)

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  13. I'm wondering if you have a post anywhere about what pans/skillets/baking dishes you prefer. My sad little collection needs some help...but I don't have a fortune to spend either. TIA!

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    1. I don't, sorry! My mama still has the same set of Revere Ware she's has since 1969 and I still have the set she bought me in 2004 and it's never failed either of us. I'd recommend it to anyone - especially since it's not crazy expensive. I pick up a lot of stuff at stores like Home Goods, Ross, TJ Maxx, Marshalls - high quality stuff on the cheap - but it's hit and miss. Everyone needs a good quality, non-stick 12" skillet with lid, a Dutch oven, a sturdy XL baking pan (jelly roll size but thicker), a good set of pots/pans, a few colanders, a good chef's knife and a paring knife, a mesh strainer and a good cutting board. When I set my girls up, those will be the things I make sure they have. Hope that helps!

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  14. Thank you for the tips! Sorry...didn't know how to post other than anonymous before. :-) I'm loving reading your blogs. The 10 things about motherhood made me laugh so hard I almost cried/peed!!! LOL

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    1. You inspired me to create a post on my go-to kitchen items :) Thanks!!

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  15. I had no idea about the shredded cheese. I will no longer buy it! I love to cook and have cooked many recipes but the truth is, I HAD NO CLUE about the dry measuring cups versus the wet measuring cups. I used the dry measuring cups also for my liquid measuring! NOW I need to go out and buy a separate liquid measuring cup. Thank you for these tips!

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  16. One reason you may need to purchase frozen is when the fruits you need are out of season. chris

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  17. Thank You! Very much for pointing out the difference between boiling and searing....I never knew this! I am still at struggling cook at 57! Never cooked until I was married, and it's been a learning process for 30 years...Lost my mom, 2 mo. before I got married, and computers weren't out yet! Thank God for people like you, for Pinterest and Goodle!!!!

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  18. Thanks. You got covered the key points. Keep up the good work.

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  19. Frugal Gourmet said that. It works.

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Hi there! While I’m not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven’t been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments.

I can tell you now 1) I have no idea if you can substitute Minute Rice or brown rice in my recipes because I’ve never used them and 2) If I know how to convert a recipe to a Crock Pot version, I will make a note about it (otherwise, I don’t know).

And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y’all! - Mandy