There is always a treasure trove of tips and tricks to transform your time in the kitchen.
They help chefs and cooks to make their jobs easier and more enjoyable, and they will do the same thing for you.
Whether you are a seasoned pro or just starting to explore the world outside of ramen noodles, cooking is a constant learning experience.
Below are the top five kitchen tips you will find helpful and never forget:
1. Peeling Ginger and Garlic
Ginger and garlic are available in peeled and diced varieties, but any professional chef will tell you that using fresh ingredients is always better.
Both of these add a great deal of flavor to a dish and are essential ingredients in many recipes. Their only downside is that they are notoriously difficult to peel.
Garlic has many tiny jackets, and ginger is best peeled with a spoon, not a peeler, like you might think.
To take the frustration out of peeling garlic, place it in some water and microwave it for 30 seconds. The peels will slide right off.
2. Immersion Blending
One of the most underrated trendy kitchen tools is an immersion blender.
These small, but powerful tools can be used for pureeing soups in the pot on the stove, getting rid of lumps in mash or sauces, and whipping up mayonnaise in under five minutes.
While you can, of course, use a countertop blender, these are cumbersome and difficult to work with without creating a mess. Immersion blenders are easier to use and eliminate the need to transport hot ingredients from a pot to the blender, and then back to the pot.
3. Sharpening Knives
Keeping your kitchen knives sharp is in the best interest of your fingertips, and it makes slicing, chopping, and dicing much easier.
A sharp knife can seamlessly glide through ingredients, allowing precise and clean cuts.
Sharpening knives can be tricky, but using a sharpening stone will make your job a lot safer and easier.
Before sharpening your knives, it is essential to know its material, shape, and which angle to sharpen it in.
Everyone should know how to sharpen a knife, so take a bit of time and learn different sharpening techniques.
4. Mise En Place
Mise en place is a French cooking term that means to “put everything in place.”
In the chef world, this means having all the ingredients prepped and ready to go before you start cooking.
Read the recipe fully before starting to ensure you have all the ingredients you will need. Chop, slice, dice, and measure all required quantities before turning the stove on.
Have all pots, pans, and cooking utensils cleaned and ready to use.
Following this cooking concept will allow you to focus on the cooking process instead of scrambling to find and prepare ingredients.
5. Oil Cooking Techniques
A common kitchen myth that many home chefs believe is that you should always start cooking with a hot pan and hot oil.
That isn’t always the best advice. For certain cooking techniques, such as sweating onions and rendering bacon, allowing the ingredients and oil to heat up together is best.
For searing meat, however, a hot pan and hot oil are the way to go. To get a perfect sear, you need your oil to reach 365 degrees F or 185 degrees C.
To End
Follow these five handy tips above, and they will change the way you cook, making your time in the kitchen that much more enjoyable.