If you spend time in the kitchen, you already know that there are many tips, tricks and techniques that can improve your cooking. So redditor u/daisylovedoherty asked, “What’s your favorite cooking tip/hack that some people might not know?” Here’s what people said.
1.
“Always fry your tomato puree before using it to make a sauce. The browning process brings out a lot more flavor. I’m always surprised to hear that many people skip this step.”
2.
“Add frozen fruit directly to your hot oatmeal to thaw the fruit while cooling the oatmeal to the perfect, edible temperature.”
3.
“Blanch briefly and shock the greens going into the pesto so they don’t change color. It’s very simple. Boil water, blanch the greens for 30-45 seconds, immediately shock them in ice water and pat dry when cool. As a result, your pesto will be more vibrant overall.”
4.
“Add some kind of sugar to salty dishes. Savory dishes always do better with sweetness as opposed to pure salt. That doesn’t mean you have to add it to every dish—many vegetables and other foods have some natural sweetness to them. But I’ve found that a lot of sauces taste kind of flat until you add a drop of honey, maple syrup, or sugar to them. Especially vinegar or acid based sauces!”
5.
“Browning your butter does everything better taste. Make this the first step when making anything with butter, whether it’s rice krispie treats, eggs, cream cheese frosting, or Brussels sprouts.”
6.
“I cook my bacon in the oven until it’s done but soft, then I break it up and wrap the slices in brown paper towel and throw them in the freezer. When I want to cook bacon (say, on my cheeseburger), I simply unwrap a portion and cook it in a pan. Not only is it quick, but there’s a lot less mess because most of the fat is already cooked in the oven.”
7.
“Freezing ginger and grating it using a handheld microplane is much easier than peeling ginger and grinding it. This simple method makes cooking with ginger such a breeze.”
8.
“Take any boxed corn muffin or bread mix and replace the wet ingredients with a can of creamed corn. Just don’t miss the egg! Even the cheap Jiffy brand tastes like a homemade masterpiece.”
9.
“Instead of boiling in water, steam your eggs in a pressure cooker to easily peel hard-boiled eggs every time.”
10.
“Add a pinch of baking soda to your pasta sauce. The baking soda will neutralize the tannins from the canned tomatoes that give it a metallic taste.”
11.
“Baking cheesecake in a water bath. Cheesecake is the only thing I can do well. I take a 9×13 pan and fill it almost completely with water. I place it on the rack under the cheesecake and let it preheat with the oven. My cheesecake comes out perfectly, slow and steady every time.”
12.
“Sieve your eggs before you poach them. If you poach an egg normally, you get that unwanted egg white foam on the surface of the water. Sifting removes bits of white that may separate, resulting in a perfectly poached egg. “
13.
“Freeze freshly caught fish in water (fully covered) in Ziploc bags. The water keeps the fish from getting freezer burn and once it’s thawed it comes out tasting so fresh. I had fresh halibut stored in my freezer this way for two years. Thawed and cooked, it tastes like it was caught yesterday.”
14.
“The pepper cutting trick changed my life. I usually cut off the stem of the pepper from the top, which always ends up making a mess of seeds. But lately I’ve been turning the pepper upside down and making four cuts. Then I peel each slice, leaving a nice, organized clump of seeds in the middle. The result: no stubborn seeds stuck to my sliced peppers.”
15.
“As soon as I get my groceries home, I wash and trim my produce and let it dry a bit on the dish rack. Then I place them in an airtight plastic container covered with a dry paper towel. They stay fresh and fresh for weeks. This method virtually eliminates production waste and spoilage in my kitchen.”
16.
“I started brining chicken and pork before freezing it. When thawed, the salt desalts and softens the meat. It makes the end result taste amazing.”
17.
“I recently learned that pouring a little rubbing alcohol on raw fish just before cooking removes the fishy smell.”
18.
“If you add a little almond extract to a vanilla cake, it makes it richer. Your homemade cake will really taste like it came from a bakery.”
19.
Whenever I make potatoes (pan fries, baked potatoes, or even mashed potatoes), I first cook the potatoes in the microwave for about 10 minutes. It saves time and effort, and my potatoes always turn out perfect. They are very easy to peel after they are cooked, and then you can slice them up and toss them in a pan with olive oil, garlic and onions. It only takes a few minutes to brown them to perfection.”
20.
“I use MSG in my home cooking. I have a pepper grinder that contains roughly a 3:2:1 ratio of peppercorns, coarse salt, and MSG on my desk at all times. It just makes everything taste better.”
21.
“When making canned mac and cheese, don’t add the milk. Instead, use starchy pasta water and just enough to loosen the sauce if it needs it after all that oil.”
22.
“Toast your tortilla chips for nachos before adding the cheese. This keeps them from getting wet. It’s also useful for building a firmer base if you plan to add heavy toppings.”
23.
“When making a cake from a boxed mix, try replacing the water with buttermilk and replacing equal amounts of melted butter with butter. That’s what makes it taste so good.”
24.
“I used to cook my spaghetti separately from the sauce, but now I cook it directly in the sauce. It’s one less dish to clean and makes the pasta taste amazing.”
25.
“When reheating food that changes texture in the refrigerator (such as burritos, pizza, rice, etc.), cover it with a damp paper towel before cooking in the microwave. This helps put moisture back into anything that tends to dry out in the fridge. “
26.
“Whisk some cold butter into your sauces to finish them off for a beautiful glossy finish. That’s why almost all the sauces you have in a restaurant taste better.”
27.
“Cook your protein in parchment paper. Cooking a bone-in chicken breast tightly wrapped in parchment paper is the technique that made me realize I could cook. It guarantees the juiciest chicken ever and is almost impossible to overcook. This technique is also great for cooking fish.”
What’s your best cooking tip that more people should know about? Tell us in the comments.