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…
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…
21 K 4.9/5 (15 reviews)
Last modified on: March 29th 2016
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Do:
Gather the pastry into a large flattish cake. This will be much easier to roll out after it has been refrigerated.
4) Grill your bacon
Don't:
When cooking bacon, avoid frying the rashers in a pan as they will shrink and become tough.
Do:
Cook them under the grill on a wire grid to allow the excess fat to drain off.
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.
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.Lasts posts
Travel cakes
You may have come across the term "travel cakes" ("gateaux de voyage" in french) for certain pastries, so let's take a look at what they're all about.January 27th 20252,159
The aromatic power of sugar
In the kitchen, sugar doesn't just sweeten, it also has an exceptional ability to capture flavors. Combined with aromatic ingredients, such as citrus zest, it acts as a veritable sponge for aromas. By taking the time to let the sugar soak up the flavors, you can transform your desserts, making...December 25th 20242,4945
The little trap of thick cream
When you need to add cream to a recipe, you might be wondering: thick (heavy) cream or liquid cream? In most cases, there's no big difference: you can use either. But there is one exception, and that's when the cream needs to be cooked, for a sauce for example, and here the difference between...December 13th 20243,0945
Sauce and salad: When and how to mix them?
When dressing a salad, there's a kind of golden rule: add the dressing very shortly before serving, especially if your salad contains crunchy elements such as croutons or fresh vegetables, which will retain their crunchiness or crispiness. But, as is often the case in the kitchen, there are...November 29th 20243,2605
No need to boil gelatin
Gelatin is a magical ingredient for making light, creamy, structured desserts, yet it's often misused in the kitchen. A common mistake in some recipes is the idea that it needs to be boiled for it to work properly, but this is a mistake indeed: gelatin melts at a much lower temperature, around...November 21th 20243,1355
Other pages you may also like
Perpetual stock
It's something you have probably have done yourself: cooked or pre-cooked vegetables before adding them to a recipe. This is almost always done the same way: peel the chosen vegetables (carrots, for example), cut them up, boil them in salted water (using a tablespoon or so of coarse salt per litre),...November 22th 201626 K5
Coarsely chopped herbs
Although we are in the middle of winter as I write these lines, you should not hesitate to make salads at this time, it is actually quite simple, rather fast, and so pleasant. A while ago, I already told you that a salad is a salad, but a salad with herbs is immediately something much better:...January 9th 202110 K4.9
85 grams of eggs?
Some time ago, I already spoke to you about the difference between baking and pastry-making, I emphasized, among other things, the precision of pastry-making which requires grams, cm, degrees and minutes. That's why, on the one hand, you have baking and cooking, where a certain tolerance is...November 26th 201850 K4.6
The green of leeks
We are all, consciously or not, very sensitive to the colour of our food. That's why a red strawberry will always seem more appetizing than a pale one, even if it's not necessarily true. This is true for red, but it is also true for the green of certain vegetables.March 30th 202017 K4.0
Baking a cake at the right time
When you make a cake, which most likely contains butter, a cake for example, chances are that as soon as the batter is finished, you put it in the pan and bake it immediately. Classic, everyone does it like that, and then if, on top of that, you have a few kids around you who are getting...April 18th 202017 K4.5
Post a comment or question
Follow this page (as 2 people already do)
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: 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.