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
A drizzle of olive oil
Often in a recipe, you have to "baste" vegetables, for example, before sending them to the oven. What the author means by this is that you need to put oil on top of the vegetables to cook them in the oven. Typically, we just quickly drizzle oil over the vegetables, hoping not to miss any, but...July 13th 20255795
Always secure your cutting board
When using a cutting board, it's very important that it's stable and doesn't move while you're cutting, for safety's sake. Boards have a natural tendency to slide on the work surface, but here are 2 ways to block them effectively.July 1st 20257925
Cherry clafoutis, with or without pits?
When it comes to cherry clafoutis recipes, there's often a camp of those who argue that you absolutely have to leave the stones in because it tastes better, and the other camp (myself included) who prefer cherries without stones, which makes a much more pleasant clafoutis to eat. But is it true...June 29th 20257875
Should potatoes be washed twice?
Let's say you have to make a recipe that includes potatoes, let's say sliced, you'll most likely proceed as follows: Peel the potatoes, wash them, slice them, wash them again, pat them dry and add them to your recipe. But there's a "but": depending on the recipe, the second washing may be a bad...May 19th 20252,418 15
Grilled bacon is much better in the oven
Some recipes call for thin slices of bacon to be cooked and added to the recipe, or to prepare one of those delicious breakfasts known as "à l'Anglaise".April 25th 20252,1285
Other pages you may also like
Fruits which can ruin your jelly
There are many ways of making a fruit mousse, but one of the simplest is to prepare a fruit jelly (basically a fresh fruit coulis with gelatine) and then mix this jelly before it sets completely with whipped cream. The result is perfect for filling a charlotte, for example. But do beware;...March 6th 201374 K4.0
The 3 kinds of meringue
Meringue – what could be simpler? Just beaten egg whites with sugar added. This makes a fairly stiff mixture which can then be cooked in a cool oven to create those lovely, light confections. But in the world of professional patisserie, meringue comes in three different kinds. Even if the...June 14th 201361 K4.5
What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?
This is a question that you may well have asked yourself and which I will attempt to answer. In France the two trades of "boulangerie" (bakery) and "pâtisserie" (patisserie and confectionery) have always been quite distinct, but where exactly do the boundaries lie? .February 7th 2017129 K 14.1
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 202018 K4.5
Shall I take the tops off?
If you buy your vegetables at the market, at a farmer's stand, once you have chosen a bunch of carrots or beets for example, you must have already heard this proposal from the salesman: "Shall I pull the tops? This sentence is his proposal to remove for you all the tops, which he puts aside, to...May 7th 202210 K4.9
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.