Chefs Share Basic Cooking Tips for The Masses

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Eric Lund
Dec 20, 2020 12:00 PM EST

Having even a rudimentary knowledge of how basic flavors work is a guaranteed way to improve your cooking and your quality of life. Seriously, knowing just a little bit about how to add salt to food can be night and day. Also it helps to be told that you shouldn't try to catch a falling knife. In addition, here are people's most treasured budget recipes that got them through hard times.

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  • 01
    Text - Orbnotacus 29.8k points · 1 day ago · edited 19 hours ago 11 O 23 & 20 More 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.
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    Text - YupItsMe81 20.1k points · 1 day ago 26 23 3 2 8 Oven mits can in fact catch on fire
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  • 03
    Text - lidaranis 16.4k points · 1 day ago 4 O 4 & 2 More . Sharp knives are less dangerous than dull knives.
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  • 04
    Text - Ox53r3n17y 14.3k points · 1 day ago 5 16 & 16 More 2 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 an
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    Text - 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.
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    Text - lloydimus87 13.7k points · 1 day ago 3 11 S 4 8 2 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 let's 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 re
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    Text - Journalist_Full 13.0k points · 1 day ago · edited 20 hours ago 2 2 3 3 If you plan on using juice from limes, oranges or lemons, roll them around pushing on them (not too hard) before cutting them.
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    Text - therealdxm 11.4k points · 1 day ago · edited 12 hours ago 4 3 e S 4 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 fla
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    Text - ihoardbeer 10.6k points · 22 hours ago 3 2 e & 9 More a falling knife has no handle
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    Text - trgreg 270 points · 23 hours ago A long time ago a chef friend told me if there's one word to recommend to everyone, it's "fresh". Use fresh everything where you can ... makes all the difference.
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    Text - porkedpie1 10.5k points · 1 day ago · edited 20 hours ago Three or four times the amount of butter and salt is a big part of why your food doesn't taste like restaurant food.
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    Text - ChickenMarsala4500 7.2k points · 21 hours ago 3 8 96 3 & 3 More Tongs are also oven mitts, juicers, knives, spoons, and extendo-arms. Just make sure you click them at least twice before using them to make sure they are on.
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    Text - FinanceGuyHere 6.0k points · 23 hours ago 2 2 2 e 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.
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    Text - Pugzalay 5.3k points · 1 day ago 23 2 S 2 8 Wear a tall hat to hide the small rat
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    Text - uberclont 5.0k points · 1 day ago 23 S E Mise en place - 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 over crowd the pan. it will cause meat to sweat and will not brown properly.
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    Text - IZiOstra 3.5k points · 1 day ago 2 For thick and nice sauces, use the water you cook your pasta with.
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    Text - downsouthcountry 2.8k points · 1 day ago Salt and pepper are your best friends. MyFlairIsalLie 2.2k points · 23 hours ago 2 SPOG for almost everything. Salt, pepper, onion, garlic.
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    Text - StandCroissant 2.4k points · 23 hours ago S When cooking at home, especially for guests and especially in winter, microwave the plates/bowls for 30-90 seconds before putting the food on them. Cold plates take heat from food, hot plates keep food hot longer. NB: Check your crockery is microwave proof first and obviously don't do it for food that's supposed to be cold like salads or ice cream.
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    Text - NicePPyouhavethere 1.9k points · 1 day ago I am not a chef but I know for a fact that you shouldn't cook something you aren't familiar with if you are having guests.
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  • 20
    Text - maverickmain 958 points · 23 hours ago 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 chic
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  • 21
    Text - distressedsilver 506 points · 23 hours ago Brine ur dang birds. Like salt, sugar and water makes a basic brine; let it sit in there overnight. Juicy bird guaranteed.
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tips cooking adulting chef advice food flavor
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