5 really useful cooking tips


5 really useful cooking tips
Cooking is about recipes, of course, but it is also an impressive collection of small gestures, ways of doing things, knowing what to do and what not to do.

All these little tips and tricks can be very important: they can affect the way a recipe turns out, simply because you did just the right thing at the right time.

I'm starting here with a series of 5 very effective tips. I hope they will help make life – and cooking – easier for you…
25 K 4.9/5 (15 reviews)
Grade this page:
Last modified on: March 29th 2016
For this post: Comment Follow Ask me a question Send to a friend
5 really useful cooking tips

1) When melting butter, cut it into small pieces first

Don't:
When you put butter to melt in a hot pan, it is easy just to put in the required weight as a whole lump, without thinking.
This is not the way to do it, as a large lump of butter will start to melt around the outside. It will then start to burn before the middle has even melted.

Melted butter

Do:
It is better to cut the butter into small pieces before putting it in the pan. Then it will melt more evenly without burning.

Melted butter in small pieces


2) Don't try to pick out a bit of eggshell with your fingers

When breaking eggs for an omelette, sometimes a bit of eggshell falls into the bowl.
Don't:
It is no use trying to catch it with your fingers – the viscosity of the egg white makes this almost impossible.

Broken eggshell

Do:
Take a broken half shell and use this like a spoon to pick out the small piece of eggshell – you'll find it works very well.

Eggshell as spoon


3) Pastry in a flat cake, rather than a ball

Don't:
Although many recipes tell you to do it, you should NOT gather sweetcrust or shortcrust into a ball. When cooled, it becomes brittle in a ball and tends to crack.

Pastry in ball

Do:

Gather the pastry into a large flattish cake. This will be much easier to roll out after it has been refrigerated.

Pastry in flattish cake


4) Grill your bacon

Don't:
When cooking bacon, avoid frying the rashers in a pan as they will shrink and become tough.

Bacon in frying pan

Do:
Cook them under the grill on a wire grid to allow the excess fat to drain off.

Bacon in the oven


5) Squeeze a lemon over your hand

Don't
When adding lemon juice to a recipe, it is easiest just to squeeze half a lemon over the pan or bowl.
But this is how we end up with pips in the recipe, which is not what we want.
Squeezed lemon

Do:
Squeeze the lemon with one hand, holding the other hand underneath to strain out any pips that fall. Hold your fingers just far enough apart to let the juice flow through, but not the pips.
Squeezed lemon with hand

Lasts posts
Cut twice as fast
Cut twice as fast
When you need to cut something long into small pieces, for example chopped chives or the stem of a spring onion, there's a simple gesture that doubles your cutting speed. Let's see how.
May 21th 20261,002
The other use for bowl scraper
The other use for bowl scraper
Your kitchen or bakery utensils may include a horn (left) or a pastry cutter (right). These practical utensils are normally used to scoop the contents of a bowl or salad bowl - the horn - or to cut dough - the pastry cutter. But they also have another, very practical use - let's see what it is.
May 9th 20261,293
The strange foam of potatoes in milk
The strange foam of potatoes in milk
As you may have already noticed, when you cook potatoes in milk, especially in small pieces (slices or cubes) for a gratin for example, a surprisingly abundant white foam forms on the surface. Where does it come from?
April 26th 20261,527
A little leftover butter
A little leftover butter
Very often when you're making a cake, your recipe will tell you to melt some butter and mix it into the batter - a classic for cookies, cakes, moelleux and the like. And every time you do this, you'll have to butter the baking tin to prevent the dough from sticking during baking. Naturally,...
April 16th 20261,4015
A tablet holder
A tablet holder
Perhaps you too cook by consulting your recipe on a tablet or phone, and putting it down on your worktop? It's practical, but not the best solution. Here's a look at how you can make an inexpensive, almost universal stand.
March 14th 20262,1105
Other pages you may also like
The art of the charlotte
The art of the charlotte
In cooking, a charlotte is a delicious moulded dessert, with biscuits around the outside that have been soaked in a flavoured syrup, filled with a light cream or mousse. The charlotte is left to set in the fridge before being turned out and served in slices. It is very light and a lovely sweet...
February 27th 201348 K4.3
Thermal inertia or "out of the fire"
Thermal inertia or "out of the fire"
When you're cooking, you need a lot of heat to cook, and most of the time it's on the fire, literally if you're on gas, more indirectly if you're not. An expression that comes up quite often is "Off the heat", but what does it really mean?
December 12th 202012 K4.6
Zester like a pro
Zester like a pro
Have you heard of the microplane? It's an extraordinary tool that allows you to grate very, very finely, and therefore zest with disconcerting ease. Here's some information about it.
December 25th 20209,6314.9
The peak of the apple season
The peak of the apple season
As I write these lines, we are in the middle of the apple season, and it's an apple year, as you may have noticed if you have apple trees around you, they are bursting with fruit! Excellent news for the people in the west of France in particular, but let's have a little thought for those in the...
October 23th 202110 K5
The preservation of bread
The preservation of bread
Eating fresh bread is always a delight, the crust crumbles deliciously, you take full advantage of the taste of your bread (80% of this taste is in the crust), it is a fleeting moment to enjoy. Who hasn't already eaten the crouton or croutons of his baguette, on the way back from the bakery? ...
June 11th 202216 K4.7
Post a comment or question
Posted by
I am not a leaving thing
Follow this page (as 2 people already do)

Receive an e-mail as soon as this page is modified or receives a new comment.

I am not a leaving thing
We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page