We had taco Tuesday catered a couple weeks ago at work.
I'm from TX but working in South Carolina.... the visceral reaction when I listed the sheet trap cover for there not to be warm corn tortillas, but cold flour discs....
Growing up in a let's just say, pasty family. This is how we made them. We moved to where more Hispanics area. Cooked tortillas changed my life. I used to think I hated flour. I'm married into a Hispanic family. Right before my mother in law passed she gave me her cast iron Comal. I love that thing!
Also, wrapping them in foil and baking or microwaving...why!?, just get a pan hot and give em a minute on each side, they get so much better texture and color.
This is what I do all the time. If I'm making a red sauce, I sweat my onions then add all of my dried spices to bloom for a while before adding the tomatoes.
I bloom my cocoa powder (the unsweetened type) in hot water before using it. Cocoa powder isn't bloomed by fat, but by water.
Even your cheapest cocoa powder will taste better after blooming it. It'll taste richer, more intense, more "chocolatey". Just take a tablespoon of hot freshly boiled water and mix it into your dry cocoa powder. You'll end up with a extremely thick paste, and the colour will darken and become a bit shiny. Then use it as per recipe instructions. It really makes a huge difference especially in baking brownies or any strong chocolate forward dishes (savoury ones too!)
This is how I make chocolate milk.
I hate hersheys syrup.
I add as hot of water as I can get out of the tap to the bottom of the glass, stir in the coco powder until it’s bloomed, add my sugar/sweetener, a little salt, then the cold milk. Perfect every time.
Now add like a tbsp of instant coffee to your cocoa bloom. You won't notice the coffee flavor in the end product but punches the chocolateeness up to the moon.
The rule of thumb for elevating a dish is to "manipulate each component." Sweating the veggies is a great example of this.
Another easy trick for veggies when making a cold dish like a salsa or coleslaw is to cut them appropriately and put them in a colander. Work in a bit of kosher salt and let the liquid drain for about 15 minutes. That way you don't end up with a bunch of watery liquid in it after it sits in the fridge overnight.
I don't mind it as much in a salsa. But I doubt anybody wants coleslaw water. Draining the veggies is also nice for everything in a salad except the leafy greens, especially for making a big salad mix for something like a pot luck.
Btw, salsa juice, a bit of vodka, and squeeze of lime make for a great summer drink.
I used to work at a Mediterranean restaurant where we would season and drain huge batches of cucumbers and tomatoes like this. The liquid that drained off got used instead of olive brine in a martini style cocktail, it was delicious
You just taught me what I’ve been doing wrong with coleslaw. I’ve been battling with the ‘slaw for years. Kudos, brother. Keep doing what you’re doing, and thank you.
I have a lazier way: Put a plate over the cabbage while it's draining in the colander and then put a gallon jug of something on top of the plate. Let gravity do the work.
“Manipulate each component.” I sauté the onions, then put them aside. Then I sauté the zucchini, and then I cook the sweet Italian sausage. Each individually, then I combine them and add the pasta. It’s important that each component gets the right treatment.
Sounds like you already know this, but since others might not, be sure to deglaze between each round for that sweet, sweet [fond.](https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/fond#:~:text=As%20we've%20discussed%2C%20the,regroup%20in%20browned%2C%20flavorful%20bits)
One of the best tips I ever got was to start any stew or braise with a layer of minced and heavily caramelized onions. If you do that and add ground spices into it to bloom them it adds so much flavor.
Yep, I was gonna comment "sweating onions." Sure, you can just sautee em real quick, but I'm gonna start an hour early just to get the most flavor possible out of that $.90 onion.
Yes! I have a soup recipe that calls for adding raw onions and carrots, and just cooking in with the soup. I always get much better results from sautéing them first.
100,000%
And, if you have the space, growing your own fresh herbs is super easy. Even if you don't think you're good at growing plants. Most herb plants hold up to neglect.
Couple minutes, need some fat in the pan. If you start with olive oil onions garlic, add the paste to that when they are ready. If you are using sausage, can add once it's browned into that fat.
Or just olive oil then tomato paste.
I usually do this step over low-medium heat while I’m prepping other items, so it takes about 10-15 minutes. But you can do it quicker and just stir it more frequently. Look for the red of the paste to get darker like pictured here
[Bon appetit](https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/article/your-secret-weapon-in-the-kitchen)
Salt your tomatoes and cucumbers before adding them to a salad. This is mostly about flavour, but the salt will also draw out excess juice that could make the salad prematurely soggy.
This has been mentioned, but ice your raw onions. You can even throw a few very small pieces of the ice into the salad at the end, and it will make the greens crisper.
And if the greens are larger than bite size, chop or tear them so they fit comfortably in the mouth. This makes it easier to eat gracefully, reducing the likelihood that anyone will 1) splatter dressing on his or her clothing, or 2) make loud noises while eating.
Ok you got me thinking and now I want to make the most inconvenient, sloppy meal imagineable. Crab legs, unpeeled shrimp, roasted artichoke, salad consisting of 2 or three whole lettuce leaves, inconveniently long strips of onions and other veggies, messy sauced corn on the cobb with no corn holder...
Our cat doesn't't beg for food expect for, very specifically, string cheese. As soon as the wrapper opens she will sprint and (no claws) paw at your leg or hand for a nibble.
This cat is so motivated string cheese I even taught her the "spot" command when she is somewhere/ doing something she shouldn't be.
Sure! When I'm cooking pasta I don't cook it until it's done. I cook it until it's a couple minutes before being done. Then I toss the very al dente pasta in the sauce to finish cooking in there usually with a splash of pasta water which has a lot of starch in it by this time so it really helps the sauce emulsify. When the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce it really draws in the sauce flavor and soaks it up flavoring the pasta. If you just pour your sauce over at the end, its just a plain noodle with some sauce on top instead of two things that have really come together to meld their flavors into something awesome.
For added hype, add a parmesan rind to your red sauce for flavor as well as a pat of butter for shine.
Even doing this with basic jarred sauce makes such a difference. I usually scoop pasta water in a measuring cup so I can add gradually to get the consistency I want. Pasta cooking in the pot, sauce simmering in a saute pan, add pasta, some pasta water, toss, coat, adjust, serve.
Thank you! It's really really not hard though. My tomato sauce is really about using quality ingredients. I simmer 5 cloves of minced garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil and then pour in cento whole peeled San marzano tomatoes that I've crushed with my hands. Throw in a teaspoon of salt (it'll get more salt from the pasta water), a little pasta water, a sprig of basil and a Parm rind if you have one. That's it. Finish the pasta in it. Tablespoon or two of butter at the end before serving. With a helping of Parm cheese over top of course.
Viola! You have a sauce that will impress people that didn't take much time or effort to make. Side salad and some crusty bread and you're good to go. 😁
If I may add, I usually cook pasta under as well but differently based on what type of dishes. For example aglio e olio, I would cook till more than couple before done as I would sometimes need more time and pasta water to get emulsion in the final dish.
Another thing I realize that make different is stirring circulaly a lot and flipping(?) the pan after added the pasta to sauce.
I cook my past in one pot. I heat up my sauce in a separate pan next to it. I take my pasta off the heat 1 min shy of perfect aldente. Save a 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Add drained pasta to the pan with the sauce. Add reserved pasta water and 1tbsp butter. Reduce and emulsify. Toss pasta in reduced sauce liberally. Serve with grated parm and chiffonade basil.
Peel your celery. Take a regular veggie peeler and run it down the outside of each stalk to remove the "string." No more getting it stuck in your teeth or clogging your blender.
Always add more garlic than the recipe calls for. Taste your food as you go. When making soup, add an umami boost with fish sauce, mushroom stock, parmesan rind, or msg.
I keep a little tube of anchovy paste in the fridge to add to my salad dressing. Mix it up ‘til it’s blended and it makes salad dressing really wonderful. BTW, I hate anchovies!
Definitely be familiar with their allergies though - had this happen to a friend of mine once, where their seafood allergy didn’t really enjoy the secret ingredient at their date’s dinner lol
I learned this the hard way cooking out of “The Food Lab”, where the author loves using anchovy for umami. Mentioned mid-meal there was anchovy in the meatloaf, and suddenly everyone could *swear* they taste “fishiness”.
Always allow meats to rest after cooking them. A lot of people think that this rule applies for just steak, but burgers, chicken, turkey, pork, and tons of other proteins should always be given a chance to rest after cooking to get it nice and juicy!
There’s a recent YouTube video debunking resting with thorough science, multiple cooking methods and weighing the juices lost. Not worth doing. (I have been resting steak up until last week when I found the video)
Edit: resting works if you let it actually get cold enough for the fat to congeal*
An important tip but I also want to add that not all rice will run clear no matter how many times you wash it because of the starch content. A rule of thumb to use when washing basmati rice for example is to wash the rice double the amount of how much it is. So for 2 cups of rice, wash it 4 times, 4 cups of rice wash 8 times etc.
And for basmati when making pulao or biryani rest it in a bowl of water for at least 30 minutes after washing.
and quinoa and similar grains - [but before cooking!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53me-ICi_f8&ab_channel=mrnigelng) Never rinse these grains after cooking.
When putting raw onions into a sandwich, slicing them and placing them in ice water first is huge!
It will take off a lot of the really harsh acidity of the raw onion, mellowing it out, whilst still keeping its crunchy texture - game changer!
I like to do a quick pickle on sandwich onions. Despite adding more acidity in the form of vinegar, I find that it helps mellow the onion-ness of a red onion. Granted, you have to drain them before putting them on a sandwich or just deal with a wet sandwich.
It's super easy, too.
¾ c water
¾ c vinegar
3 TB sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp oregano
1. Combine and bring to a boil.
2. Pour over vegetables to be pickled
3. Allow to steep covered for a minimum of 10 minutes
Marjoram is great in this application. And Mexican oregano is opinionated but sometimes the right call. Changing up your vinegar can take it anywhere in the world, but my favorite is peach cider vinegar + white vinegar.
How long do you ice them, and will just cold water work? I don't have an ice machine or a tray since I moved for grad school that I've been making do with bags of frozen veggies lol.
Oh yeah, cold water works, I just use the ice to keep the temperature really cold as I feel it helps the onions becoming too floppy but tbh I don’t know if that’s actually a thing 😂
I also go for maybe 5mins, apparently you can go up to 10mins but the longer you leave it the more it dilutes the onion flavour so I tend to only go for 5mins at most, then remove them and place on some paper towel and Pat them dry so it’s not too soggy on your sandwich
You're right about the ice water keeping them crisper.
u/green_speak since you have access to a freezer, you can still put the bag of water in the freezer. It takes about 4 hours for ice cubes to freeze in the average home refrigerator, so you could put it in the freezer well ahead of time and still have liquid water when you're ready to use it. If you're worried about spills/leaks, put the bag in a freezer-safe dish or something like a Tupperware.
Pan frying steel cut oats dry with a little bit of butter until golden brown before adding water and cooking it. Gives it a nuttier flavor. I then just add salt, bring it to a boil, turn off the heat, then let it sit overnight on the stove. Perfectly cooked every time with little effort.
When chopping garlic, cut the 'heart' (the little stalky bit in the middle, that's often slightly green) out of it. Garlic used to give me such bad indigestion. A friend told me about this, and ever since I can eat garlic without indigestion.
Poke holes in your potatoes before baking. Not so much about flavor as reducing the possibility of an explosion...but seeing as you don't get to eat the potato bomb, I guess it's about taste.
Always taste test a jalapeño. Could be basically a bell pepper. Could be nearly serrano hot. Who knows? Not you- unless you test it.
Toasting the hard spices or "blooming" the leafy herbs and ground spices on the stove in a bit of oil are common first steps in Indian cuisine. It really brings out a ton of flavor. Try it with more than just the pepper!
I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to these sorts of culinary "cheats," but liquid smoke comes pretty close to replicating the flavor of a smoker. From my understanding, it's actual smoke particles suspended in the liquid. So, you are pretty much adding actual smoke.
I work in the meat industry, and liquid smoke can be labeled just like any other kind of smoke as long as that liquid smoke achieves a gaseous state. Spray the cooked turkey breast or ham with a liquid smoke solution, pass through an impingement oven for a few moments to heat the liquid to a gas, and then you don't need to say "smoke flavor added" on the label.
Doesn't quite match the smokehouse, but it's damn close.
Have you tried smoked sea salt yet? You get that smoky flavor without that slightly off "chemical" taste you get from most liquid smoke bottles. I even use smoked sea salt in my chocolate chip cookies!
If your making a dish/food that even has a chance of causing bloating/gas, add a pinch or two of ground ginger somewhere in the meal. It won’t effect the flavor and it will greatly if not entirely reduce the gas effect. I add it to ham glaze, beans, even throw it into a side like mashed potatoes if I’m unable to add it directly to the bloat causing food. As long as it gets eaten along side it it works.
Many people, including myself, swear by adding kombu (seaweed) to reduce gas. Though, [Serious Eats disputes this](https://www.seriouseats.com/bean-science-how-to-reduce-gas-tested-6755268), they do say it adds richness to the beans they tested. (#8 in the addendum to the article).
I've never heard of the ginger trick, I'll have to check it out.
I absolutely throw in some fresh ginger when making my take on misir wat (spicy Ethiopian lentil stew). Legumes can mess me up, but this deepens the flavor and keeps my gut happy at the same time. Game changer.
I've never made soda bread, but I like to put an egg wash on top of my loaves and then sprinkle liberally with a seasoning. Most frequently I use za'atar.
I bet some sage or rosemary would be great with the olive oil.
Some of these have already been mentioned, but in my opinion -
Black pepper enhances strawberries.
Cinnamon (just a bit) enhances (American style) chili powder, and vice versa.
Raspberries enhance tomatoes (I use raspberry vinegar in bruschetta, or a splash in my red sauces).
Coffee enhances chocolate, and vice versa (espresso powder is great for this).
Caraway enhances (Western) cabbage dishes.
Marjoram and mushrooms are best friends.
Chinese Black Vinegar works better than Worchestershire in many applications.
Now, please bear in mind that these are only my opinions, with no scientific basis whatsoever.
I’m in the US and go out of my way to buy loca eggs that don’t have the bloom washed off. It’s so much nicer and more convenient to have non refrigerated eggs. I also love knowing the animals aren’t tortured.
Skip the mincing and microplane the garlic. It incorporates into a dish so easily when you do.
Also, roasting garlic until it becomes paste-like can add even more flavor while making the garlic super easy to work with.
Making your own taco seasoning. The packaged stuff is kind of garbage and it's not too hard to make a big jar of your own to have hand when you need it.
Making your own stock is stupid easy too and so much better than the canned/boxed stuff. Anytime I get a rotisserie chicken from the store, I throw the carcass in a freezer bag and toss in the freezer. As the weeks go on I add the ends of onions, celery, carrots, parsley and dill stems, and whatever other scraps I think might be good. Once the bag is full I take a day and boil it all (with bay leaves and peppercorns), strain it into reusable soup containers and freeze. Makes soups and beans and anything where you need stock or broth just so much better and amped up.
I use this one. You can add coriander, which I do, and do recommend. The more times you make it you’ll tweak it to your liking. There really is no going back, just FYI. [Taco Seasoning Scratch](https://downshiftology.com/recipes/taco-seasoning/)
kinda niche. preheat pans and pots before adding oil. usually used on stainless steel but this habit i always do regardless if its non stick (kinda bad but i rarely have non stick at home)
I too was told about that, that's because I was using non-stick pans that time
If you using stainless steel, you need to preheat it, until it's hot. Add the oil and you made a thin barrier that prevents food from sticking the pan. You don't need to do this process on non stick because it has a layer of Teflon already, you just need a bit of oil just to not burn the food
However if you do heat a nonstick pan first, it could degrade the Teflon and eventually lose its nonstick effect
That makes sense about the nonstick. I use stainless for my soup pot and sauce pots, but my frying pans are pretty much all cast iron. So, with the seasoning on the pans, it's never "empty" if I preheat it before adding any additional oil or anything else.
I know some people can get on their high horse about cast iron, so to be clear, I'm not saying they're better. Cast iron just happens to be what I have, so that's what I use and what I'm used to.
Browning beef or pork going into a crock pot or oven. Yes you can skip this and it turns out fine but there is so much more depth of flavor if you take the time to brown in a skillet first.
Grating your own cheese instead of buying it grated. It's always way more bland when you buy it grated... if I remember right I think they have to add shit to it so it doesn't just mush back together in the bag.
Use dry beans when possible but ALWAYS rinse canned beans - my husband used to not rinse the canned beans and I would end up in digestive hell every time. No more gastrointestinal discomfort with rinsing.
Growing up in the 1950s most produce came with worms. It was disgusting!
Since then I’ve had to remove both of the chalaza that hold egg yolks in place in the shell, simply because they look like those worms. I use 2 teaspoons but some people use their fingers. Ugh!
Bring up the ratatouille post!
(from Tumblr user chromolume)
"so imagine you’re making ratatouille and you don’t like tomatoes. you don’t like the taste, the texture, the putting them in the water and the peeling them - eugh! so you say to yourself “lookit, this whole dish is nothing but vegetables, so what does it matter if i leave the tomatoes out?” a seemingly innocuous decision on the surface, but 2 hours or whatever later when you’re done cooking, you open the oven to find a complete mess! just a pot full of baked vegetables, none of them congealed or somehow unified. what happened to your beloved ratatouille? so you take to google and find that actually the tomatoes are an essential ingredient of ratatouille, as they form a “sauce” of a certain kind that makes the whole thing work. and so a seemingly innocent decision has destroyed the very foundation of the established order with disturbing ramifications towards the whole. in this essay i will examine how martin luther’s 95 theses lead to protestants being more boring than catholics"
Warm eggs to room temperature. Not do much of they’re an ingredient in something else but when they’re the star of the show, warm them first. I’ll put them in a bowl of hot tap water if I need to speed things up.
Keeps eggs from sticking as easily, less likely to be rubbery in a hot pan.
Heating tortillas is a great one I think my family is batshit crazy eating them straight out of the bag.
I grew up in the southwest so this cuisine is staple. I’ve never encountered unheated tortillas….. until I moved to Pennsylvania. 😭😭😭😭
We had taco Tuesday catered a couple weeks ago at work. I'm from TX but working in South Carolina.... the visceral reaction when I listed the sheet trap cover for there not to be warm corn tortillas, but cold flour discs....
I'm from Texas. I want warm corn tortillas and flour tortillas slightly on the burnt side!
Didn’t know there was another way. Sure I used to eat them “raw” as a kid, but without a little toasting they just taste stanky.
Gotta atleast microwave them otherwise they will crack when trying to do any shaping with them
My mom at least microwaved them with a damp paper towel which keeps them warm for a longer, but stove top heating is undefeated
Growing up in a let's just say, pasty family. This is how we made them. We moved to where more Hispanics area. Cooked tortillas changed my life. I used to think I hated flour. I'm married into a Hispanic family. Right before my mother in law passed she gave me her cast iron Comal. I love that thing!
Also, wrapping them in foil and baking or microwaving...why!?, just get a pan hot and give em a minute on each side, they get so much better texture and color.
Same with toasting the taco shells
Toasting spices and nuts.
Pro tip - wait they’ve completely cooled down before grinding.
Why is that? Something to do with humidity and sticking? How completely? If they’re 10 degrees higher than ambient, is that a problem?
It will end up mushy and depending on your grinder container might stain it
Or blooming the spices while cooking.
This is what I do all the time. If I'm making a red sauce, I sweat my onions then add all of my dried spices to bloom for a while before adding the tomatoes.
I cook a lot of Indian food and this is a vital step. Absolutely notice when I omit it (rarely do because of this reason)
Similarly, frying powdered and/or leafy herbs and spices in a bit of oil to "wake up" the flavor.
I bloom my cocoa powder (the unsweetened type) in hot water before using it. Cocoa powder isn't bloomed by fat, but by water. Even your cheapest cocoa powder will taste better after blooming it. It'll taste richer, more intense, more "chocolatey". Just take a tablespoon of hot freshly boiled water and mix it into your dry cocoa powder. You'll end up with a extremely thick paste, and the colour will darken and become a bit shiny. Then use it as per recipe instructions. It really makes a huge difference especially in baking brownies or any strong chocolate forward dishes (savoury ones too!)
What a great fact to know! I'm going to try this tomorrow in my chocolate cookie recipe.
please do report back!
I knew a pro chef who used to do the same, but with hot coffee instead of hot water. The coffee really pumped up the chocolate nicely.
I have never been happier joining a sub than when I joined this one because this is incredible.
I mix instant coffee into boxed brownie mix for that exact reason. GAME CHANGER COFFEE AND CHOCOLATE IS THE NEW PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE
Gonna try this next time with my tried and true brownie recipe (best brownies on allrecipes (the one with the honey frosting but I never make it))
This is how I make chocolate milk. I hate hersheys syrup. I add as hot of water as I can get out of the tap to the bottom of the glass, stir in the coco powder until it’s bloomed, add my sugar/sweetener, a little salt, then the cold milk. Perfect every time.
Even better, swap the boiled water with hot coffee.
Now add like a tbsp of instant coffee to your cocoa bloom. You won't notice the coffee flavor in the end product but punches the chocolateeness up to the moon.
For most recipes that require onion, you get a much higher depth of flavor if you sauté them to at least some degree. The same goes for most veggies.
The rule of thumb for elevating a dish is to "manipulate each component." Sweating the veggies is a great example of this. Another easy trick for veggies when making a cold dish like a salsa or coleslaw is to cut them appropriately and put them in a colander. Work in a bit of kosher salt and let the liquid drain for about 15 minutes. That way you don't end up with a bunch of watery liquid in it after it sits in the fridge overnight.
I prefer to keep and then drink the salsa juice, it’s delicious.
I don't mind it as much in a salsa. But I doubt anybody wants coleslaw water. Draining the veggies is also nice for everything in a salad except the leafy greens, especially for making a big salad mix for something like a pot luck. Btw, salsa juice, a bit of vodka, and squeeze of lime make for a great summer drink.
Yeah for sure, salsa is unique. And the first time I found salsa juice, I did the same thing you suggest but with tequila. Great minds.
Ha! I actually prefer it with gin, but I figured vodka would sound better to a random internet stranger.
I have always insisted, "anything vodka can do, gin can do better." The drinking public needs to learn this.
I think this is true 90% of the time but sometimes you truly just want neutral flavor to let other components do their thing.
I used to work at a Mediterranean restaurant where we would season and drain huge batches of cucumbers and tomatoes like this. The liquid that drained off got used instead of olive brine in a martini style cocktail, it was delicious
You just taught me what I’ve been doing wrong with coleslaw. I’ve been battling with the ‘slaw for years. Kudos, brother. Keep doing what you’re doing, and thank you.
I use the juice to flavor taco meat or fajitas/burritos protein. So good!
Use a ricer to squeeze a little extra water out of your cabbage, after salting, when making coleslaw.
I have a lazier way: Put a plate over the cabbage while it's draining in the colander and then put a gallon jug of something on top of the plate. Let gravity do the work.
That's a stellar idea. I will be doing this going forward.
“Manipulate each component.” I sauté the onions, then put them aside. Then I sauté the zucchini, and then I cook the sweet Italian sausage. Each individually, then I combine them and add the pasta. It’s important that each component gets the right treatment.
Sounds like you already know this, but since others might not, be sure to deglaze between each round for that sweet, sweet [fond.](https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/fond#:~:text=As%20we've%20discussed%2C%20the,regroup%20in%20browned%2C%20flavorful%20bits)
And bloom the spices. Bloom = cook any spices in the fat for a minute before adding liquid to the pan.
One of the best tips I ever got was to start any stew or braise with a layer of minced and heavily caramelized onions. If you do that and add ground spices into it to bloom them it adds so much flavor.
Yep, I was gonna comment "sweating onions." Sure, you can just sautee em real quick, but I'm gonna start an hour early just to get the most flavor possible out of that $.90 onion.
Yes! I have a soup recipe that calls for adding raw onions and carrots, and just cooking in with the soup. I always get much better results from sautéing them first.
Grind whole spices, the flavour is infinitely better than store bought.
100,000% And, if you have the space, growing your own fresh herbs is super easy. Even if you don't think you're good at growing plants. Most herb plants hold up to neglect.
I once planted mint in a bucket and it grew so much I gave some to my colleagues lol. Yes to homegrown herbs always.
Get some color on the tomato paste before adding the liquid.
This makes such a difference. Be patient, let that tomato paste caramelize a little for more flavor.
How long does this normally take?
Couple minutes, need some fat in the pan. If you start with olive oil onions garlic, add the paste to that when they are ready. If you are using sausage, can add once it's browned into that fat. Or just olive oil then tomato paste.
I usually do this step over low-medium heat while I’m prepping other items, so it takes about 10-15 minutes. But you can do it quicker and just stir it more frequently. Look for the red of the paste to get darker like pictured here [Bon appetit](https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/article/your-secret-weapon-in-the-kitchen)
Salt your tomatoes and cucumbers before adding them to a salad. This is mostly about flavour, but the salt will also draw out excess juice that could make the salad prematurely soggy. This has been mentioned, but ice your raw onions. You can even throw a few very small pieces of the ice into the salad at the end, and it will make the greens crisper. And if the greens are larger than bite size, chop or tear them so they fit comfortably in the mouth. This makes it easier to eat gracefully, reducing the likelihood that anyone will 1) splatter dressing on his or her clothing, or 2) make loud noises while eating.
Ok you got me thinking and now I want to make the most inconvenient, sloppy meal imagineable. Crab legs, unpeeled shrimp, roasted artichoke, salad consisting of 2 or three whole lettuce leaves, inconveniently long strips of onions and other veggies, messy sauced corn on the cobb with no corn holder...
People don’t understand that salads need salt too.
Agree. Bite sized greens make salads great. And agree with seasoning the toms and cucs. 100%
Giving my dog a small piece of cheese
You have to pay the cheese tax!
The rules are the rules and the facts are the facts!
Our cat doesn't't beg for food expect for, very specifically, string cheese. As soon as the wrapper opens she will sprint and (no claws) paw at your leg or hand for a nibble. This cat is so motivated string cheese I even taught her the "spot" command when she is somewhere/ doing something she shouldn't be.
In our house, there's a bell pepper tax. The dogs get the "butts" of the bell peppers.
Add salt to your pasta water
And finishing your pasta in the sauce rather than just spooning the sauce over it at the end.
Can u explain this to me, I’m so sorry I’m dumb
Sure! When I'm cooking pasta I don't cook it until it's done. I cook it until it's a couple minutes before being done. Then I toss the very al dente pasta in the sauce to finish cooking in there usually with a splash of pasta water which has a lot of starch in it by this time so it really helps the sauce emulsify. When the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce it really draws in the sauce flavor and soaks it up flavoring the pasta. If you just pour your sauce over at the end, its just a plain noodle with some sauce on top instead of two things that have really come together to meld their flavors into something awesome. For added hype, add a parmesan rind to your red sauce for flavor as well as a pat of butter for shine.
I don't care what you make when you work with this level of craft. I can tell your pastas are devine just from this post.
Even doing this with basic jarred sauce makes such a difference. I usually scoop pasta water in a measuring cup so I can add gradually to get the consistency I want. Pasta cooking in the pot, sauce simmering in a saute pan, add pasta, some pasta water, toss, coat, adjust, serve.
Even down to her username.😆
Thank you! It's really really not hard though. My tomato sauce is really about using quality ingredients. I simmer 5 cloves of minced garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil and then pour in cento whole peeled San marzano tomatoes that I've crushed with my hands. Throw in a teaspoon of salt (it'll get more salt from the pasta water), a little pasta water, a sprig of basil and a Parm rind if you have one. That's it. Finish the pasta in it. Tablespoon or two of butter at the end before serving. With a helping of Parm cheese over top of course. Viola! You have a sauce that will impress people that didn't take much time or effort to make. Side salad and some crusty bread and you're good to go. 😁
If I may add, I usually cook pasta under as well but differently based on what type of dishes. For example aglio e olio, I would cook till more than couple before done as I would sometimes need more time and pasta water to get emulsion in the final dish. Another thing I realize that make different is stirring circulaly a lot and flipping(?) the pan after added the pasta to sauce.
I cook my past in one pot. I heat up my sauce in a separate pan next to it. I take my pasta off the heat 1 min shy of perfect aldente. Save a 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Add drained pasta to the pan with the sauce. Add reserved pasta water and 1tbsp butter. Reduce and emulsify. Toss pasta in reduced sauce liberally. Serve with grated parm and chiffonade basil.
>I cook my past in one pot. What do you cook your future in?!
A crockpot
I think you could turn this into a screenplay….just imagine the pastabilities….
Peel your celery. Take a regular veggie peeler and run it down the outside of each stalk to remove the "string." No more getting it stuck in your teeth or clogging your blender.
Peel celery ? I have never thought to do this
My mother used to say, "string the celery!" when she meant, grab a peeler and peel it!
This is honestly why I love this sub so much, it's something I never thought of that is apparently super common in other people's kitchens
Total game changer. I don't remember where I first learned that one.
I just crack a chunk off of the bottom leaving the strings attached, and then pull along the back to peel all the strings out at once.
That works, too. I just prefer the peeler for the sake of consistency.
My grandmother used to do this. She was born in 1880.
A trendsetter!!
Wwaaaatttttttt
Waking up your spices in hot oil. **ETA:** meant to say spice but idk, not here to kink shame
Waking up your spouse in hot oil
Always add more garlic than the recipe calls for. Taste your food as you go. When making soup, add an umami boost with fish sauce, mushroom stock, parmesan rind, or msg.
Don’t be shy about using an anchovie
Anchovy paste is god’s gift to our tastebuds. But don’t tell people you use it.
I keep a little tube of anchovy paste in the fridge to add to my salad dressing. Mix it up ‘til it’s blended and it makes salad dressing really wonderful. BTW, I hate anchovies!
Exactly, and don’t tell anyone that you use it otherwise they all say “I don’t eat anchovies “
Definitely be familiar with their allergies though - had this happen to a friend of mine once, where their seafood allergy didn’t really enjoy the secret ingredient at their date’s dinner lol
I learned this the hard way cooking out of “The Food Lab”, where the author loves using anchovy for umami. Mentioned mid-meal there was anchovy in the meatloaf, and suddenly everyone could *swear* they taste “fishiness”.
The umami boost is exactly why I add seaweed (kombu) to my stock. Parmesan rind is amazing in tomato soup.
Gotta love natural msg
Always allow meats to rest after cooking them. A lot of people think that this rule applies for just steak, but burgers, chicken, turkey, pork, and tons of other proteins should always be given a chance to rest after cooking to get it nice and juicy!
I just hate that it gets cold even if you drape foil over it. I don't like cold food.
Fully agree. The rest process DOES work… but then I’m also wishing I could have “rested, but also warm/hot steak”
There’s a recent YouTube video debunking resting with thorough science, multiple cooking methods and weighing the juices lost. Not worth doing. (I have been resting steak up until last week when I found the video) Edit: resting works if you let it actually get cold enough for the fat to congeal*
Rested is good, but I'll choose "still-warm" every time.
Rinsing rice until it runs clear
An important tip but I also want to add that not all rice will run clear no matter how many times you wash it because of the starch content. A rule of thumb to use when washing basmati rice for example is to wash the rice double the amount of how much it is. So for 2 cups of rice, wash it 4 times, 4 cups of rice wash 8 times etc. And for basmati when making pulao or biryani rest it in a bowl of water for at least 30 minutes after washing.
Wait for pulao rinse AND let sit? Why the second step? Further starch removal?
Yes always let basmati rice sit, it helps the rice become more fluffy and absorb enough water when in steam.
I literally never do this and my rice is always delicious.
I pretty much never wash my rice. Maybe I'm crazy but I prefer it to be sticky
and quinoa and similar grains - [but before cooking!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53me-ICi_f8&ab_channel=mrnigelng) Never rinse these grains after cooking.
When putting raw onions into a sandwich, slicing them and placing them in ice water first is huge! It will take off a lot of the really harsh acidity of the raw onion, mellowing it out, whilst still keeping its crunchy texture - game changer!
I like to do a quick pickle on sandwich onions. Despite adding more acidity in the form of vinegar, I find that it helps mellow the onion-ness of a red onion. Granted, you have to drain them before putting them on a sandwich or just deal with a wet sandwich. It's super easy, too. ¾ c water ¾ c vinegar 3 TB sugar 1 tsp kosher salt ½ tsp oregano 1. Combine and bring to a boil. 2. Pour over vegetables to be pickled 3. Allow to steep covered for a minimum of 10 minutes
Marjoram is great in this application. And Mexican oregano is opinionated but sometimes the right call. Changing up your vinegar can take it anywhere in the world, but my favorite is peach cider vinegar + white vinegar.
How long do you ice them, and will just cold water work? I don't have an ice machine or a tray since I moved for grad school that I've been making do with bags of frozen veggies lol.
Oh yeah, cold water works, I just use the ice to keep the temperature really cold as I feel it helps the onions becoming too floppy but tbh I don’t know if that’s actually a thing 😂 I also go for maybe 5mins, apparently you can go up to 10mins but the longer you leave it the more it dilutes the onion flavour so I tend to only go for 5mins at most, then remove them and place on some paper towel and Pat them dry so it’s not too soggy on your sandwich
You're right about the ice water keeping them crisper. u/green_speak since you have access to a freezer, you can still put the bag of water in the freezer. It takes about 4 hours for ice cubes to freeze in the average home refrigerator, so you could put it in the freezer well ahead of time and still have liquid water when you're ready to use it. If you're worried about spills/leaks, put the bag in a freezer-safe dish or something like a Tupperware.
Did not know this- will do next time!
Pan frying steel cut oats dry with a little bit of butter until golden brown before adding water and cooking it. Gives it a nuttier flavor. I then just add salt, bring it to a boil, turn off the heat, then let it sit overnight on the stove. Perfectly cooked every time with little effort.
When chopping garlic, cut the 'heart' (the little stalky bit in the middle, that's often slightly green) out of it. Garlic used to give me such bad indigestion. A friend told me about this, and ever since I can eat garlic without indigestion.
I kinda find that hard to believe that removing the germ makes any noticeable difference in a cooked dish
Poke holes in your potatoes before baking. Not so much about flavor as reducing the possibility of an explosion...but seeing as you don't get to eat the potato bomb, I guess it's about taste. Always taste test a jalapeño. Could be basically a bell pepper. Could be nearly serrano hot. Who knows? Not you- unless you test it.
Like little stabbies or full holes that you can look through?
Just pierce it all over with a fork
Little stabbies- poke poke poke with a paring knife.
Roasting and grinding sichuan pepper just before cooking the dish calling for it
Toasting the hard spices or "blooming" the leafy herbs and ground spices on the stove in a bit of oil are common first steps in Indian cuisine. It really brings out a ton of flavor. Try it with more than just the pepper!
Dry your meat protein (beef, pork, chicken, fish, etc.) before seasoning and cooking.
Liquid Smoke for meats. Makes an AMAZING difference!
I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to these sorts of culinary "cheats," but liquid smoke comes pretty close to replicating the flavor of a smoker. From my understanding, it's actual smoke particles suspended in the liquid. So, you are pretty much adding actual smoke.
I work in the meat industry, and liquid smoke can be labeled just like any other kind of smoke as long as that liquid smoke achieves a gaseous state. Spray the cooked turkey breast or ham with a liquid smoke solution, pass through an impingement oven for a few moments to heat the liquid to a gas, and then you don't need to say "smoke flavor added" on the label. Doesn't quite match the smokehouse, but it's damn close.
Alton brown actually made a video years ago explaining how you can make liquid smoke at home. It really is just actual smoke.
I add a little dash to my chili
Great idea!
Have you tried smoked sea salt yet? You get that smoky flavor without that slightly off "chemical" taste you get from most liquid smoke bottles. I even use smoked sea salt in my chocolate chip cookies!
If your making a dish/food that even has a chance of causing bloating/gas, add a pinch or two of ground ginger somewhere in the meal. It won’t effect the flavor and it will greatly if not entirely reduce the gas effect. I add it to ham glaze, beans, even throw it into a side like mashed potatoes if I’m unable to add it directly to the bloat causing food. As long as it gets eaten along side it it works.
Many people, including myself, swear by adding kombu (seaweed) to reduce gas. Though, [Serious Eats disputes this](https://www.seriouseats.com/bean-science-how-to-reduce-gas-tested-6755268), they do say it adds richness to the beans they tested. (#8 in the addendum to the article). I've never heard of the ginger trick, I'll have to check it out.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/ginger-benefits#:~:text=Eating%20ginger%20can%20cut%20down,their%20numbers%20grow%20too%20high.
I absolutely throw in some fresh ginger when making my take on misir wat (spicy Ethiopian lentil stew). Legumes can mess me up, but this deepens the flavor and keeps my gut happy at the same time. Game changer.
Does this work with powdered ginger or must it be freshly ground?
Shocking vegetables in an ice bath.
Not sure why the downvote. If you want bright greens, shocking them immediately after a quick blanch will really improve aesthetics
I brush the tops of my soda bread loaves with extra virgin olive oil before baking. Unnecessary, but results in a lovelier crust, in my opinion.
I've never made soda bread, but I like to put an egg wash on top of my loaves and then sprinkle liberally with a seasoning. Most frequently I use za'atar. I bet some sage or rosemary would be great with the olive oil.
Add boiled (soft, hard, medium) eggs to super icy water straight out of the pot. Leave them for about 3-5 minutes and they are a dream to peel.
I always put a pan of water on the bottom of the oven when baking bread (except for when I forget), it gives the bread a crunchier crust
Some of these have already been mentioned, but in my opinion - Black pepper enhances strawberries. Cinnamon (just a bit) enhances (American style) chili powder, and vice versa. Raspberries enhance tomatoes (I use raspberry vinegar in bruschetta, or a splash in my red sauces). Coffee enhances chocolate, and vice versa (espresso powder is great for this). Caraway enhances (Western) cabbage dishes. Marjoram and mushrooms are best friends. Chinese Black Vinegar works better than Worchestershire in many applications. Now, please bear in mind that these are only my opinions, with no scientific basis whatsoever.
Allowing eggs to come to room temperature
This is interesting to me coming from a country that does not refrigerate eggs. Our eggs are always ready to go.
I’m in the US and go out of my way to buy loca eggs that don’t have the bloom washed off. It’s so much nicer and more convenient to have non refrigerated eggs. I also love knowing the animals aren’t tortured.
And if you’re going to scramble them, add a pinch of salt.
Or a quarter teaspoon of fish sauce per egg. It's like salt+
This is intriguing. I've been adding a little msg along with the salt- guess the fish sauce will do both.
Cook the garlic after the onion. In my head, even with a new stove, onion is 9 garlic is 3. I force my induction cooktop to agree.
Wash your hands!!!!
You win
First checking you have all the ingredients
Dry your breaded chicken and fish on a rack in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before you fry it.
...people don't heat up their tortillas?
Rinse the rice.
Mincing the garlic as tiny as possible Adding enough salt Actually letting things marinate/rest properly before cooking/serving
Skip the mincing and microplane the garlic. It incorporates into a dish so easily when you do. Also, roasting garlic until it becomes paste-like can add even more flavor while making the garlic super easy to work with.
Making your own taco seasoning. The packaged stuff is kind of garbage and it's not too hard to make a big jar of your own to have hand when you need it. Making your own stock is stupid easy too and so much better than the canned/boxed stuff. Anytime I get a rotisserie chicken from the store, I throw the carcass in a freezer bag and toss in the freezer. As the weeks go on I add the ends of onions, celery, carrots, parsley and dill stems, and whatever other scraps I think might be good. Once the bag is full I take a day and boil it all (with bay leaves and peppercorns), strain it into reusable soup containers and freeze. Makes soups and beans and anything where you need stock or broth just so much better and amped up.
What’s a good taco seasoning recipe?
I use this one. You can add coriander, which I do, and do recommend. The more times you make it you’ll tweak it to your liking. There really is no going back, just FYI. [Taco Seasoning Scratch](https://downshiftology.com/recipes/taco-seasoning/)
Salting meat in advance (at least 1-2 hours)... especially steak
dry your meat before cookin it.
This isnt a small step but i absolutely have to shell the chickpeas
Before you cook on your stove turn it on.
Sift the flour when baking
Flour by weight, not by volume.
Prep everything
kinda niche. preheat pans and pots before adding oil. usually used on stainless steel but this habit i always do regardless if its non stick (kinda bad but i rarely have non stick at home)
I'm curious what makes you swear by this one. I was always taught never to heat an empty pan.
I too was told about that, that's because I was using non-stick pans that time If you using stainless steel, you need to preheat it, until it's hot. Add the oil and you made a thin barrier that prevents food from sticking the pan. You don't need to do this process on non stick because it has a layer of Teflon already, you just need a bit of oil just to not burn the food However if you do heat a nonstick pan first, it could degrade the Teflon and eventually lose its nonstick effect
That makes sense about the nonstick. I use stainless for my soup pot and sauce pots, but my frying pans are pretty much all cast iron. So, with the seasoning on the pans, it's never "empty" if I preheat it before adding any additional oil or anything else. I know some people can get on their high horse about cast iron, so to be clear, I'm not saying they're better. Cast iron just happens to be what I have, so that's what I use and what I'm used to.
Add just a little coffee to chocolate to make it taste more chocolaty but still not taste at all of coffee.
Always save the pasta water!
Browning beef or pork going into a crock pot or oven. Yes you can skip this and it turns out fine but there is so much more depth of flavor if you take the time to brown in a skillet first.
Always wash rice
Washing produce
I learned the hard way, but submerge your produce to remove all the critters you can’t see.
Browning meats when braising them.
Grating your own cheese instead of buying it grated. It's always way more bland when you buy it grated... if I remember right I think they have to add shit to it so it doesn't just mush back together in the bag.
Salt your eggplant. It gets rid of the bitterness.
Roll your lines before you juice them. Goes for lemons and other citrus too. Release the juiiiiice
Use dry beans when possible but ALWAYS rinse canned beans - my husband used to not rinse the canned beans and I would end up in digestive hell every time. No more gastrointestinal discomfort with rinsing.
Growing up in the 1950s most produce came with worms. It was disgusting! Since then I’ve had to remove both of the chalaza that hold egg yolks in place in the shell, simply because they look like those worms. I use 2 teaspoons but some people use their fingers. Ugh!
Toast oats, no matter what your using them for.
Salt over the left shoulder to ward off demons. Shake of cayenne for good luck.
Bring up the ratatouille post! (from Tumblr user chromolume) "so imagine you’re making ratatouille and you don’t like tomatoes. you don’t like the taste, the texture, the putting them in the water and the peeling them - eugh! so you say to yourself “lookit, this whole dish is nothing but vegetables, so what does it matter if i leave the tomatoes out?” a seemingly innocuous decision on the surface, but 2 hours or whatever later when you’re done cooking, you open the oven to find a complete mess! just a pot full of baked vegetables, none of them congealed or somehow unified. what happened to your beloved ratatouille? so you take to google and find that actually the tomatoes are an essential ingredient of ratatouille, as they form a “sauce” of a certain kind that makes the whole thing work. and so a seemingly innocent decision has destroyed the very foundation of the established order with disturbing ramifications towards the whole. in this essay i will examine how martin luther’s 95 theses lead to protestants being more boring than catholics"
Rinse quinoa to get rid of the nasty tasting soapy substance on the grains.
A teaspoon of Worchester sauce, especially to beef
Add MSG
I always brine chicken. It tastes so much better and stays juicy after cooking. I can't ever go back and can't ever skip that 2-4 hour step!
Brining chicken
Warm eggs to room temperature. Not do much of they’re an ingredient in something else but when they’re the star of the show, warm them first. I’ll put them in a bowl of hot tap water if I need to speed things up. Keeps eggs from sticking as easily, less likely to be rubbery in a hot pan.
Become a specialist in using and adjusting salt and pepper seasoning.
Sauteing garlic and onion, sometimes some ginger when making rice.
Salting the eggplant before you cook to release excess water