Tip Of The Week: Genius cooking Tricks and Tips

 

 Genius Cooking Hacks

Learn the basic cooking techniques and how to avoid mistakes in the kitchen with these wonderful cooking tips & tricks to elevate every meal you make.

• Soak bitter greens, like arugula or kale, in a bowl of ice water in the fridge for about an hour to cut their bitterness. Run the leaves through salad spinner several times with a paper towel to get them nice, dry and crisp.

• For a satisfyingly thick but dairy-free soup, add some cashew cream. It's delicious and easy to prepare: Soak one cup of raw cashews in water for 6-8 hours, drain and rinse them, and blend with 3/4 cup water until smooth.

• To cut an avocado more easily, slice it with its skin still on. Slice the avocado right in the skin to make neat cubes. Then scoop out the chunks with a spoon.

          Not using the whole thing? Leave the pit in the remaining avocado to prevent browning.

• Freeze fresh ginger and grate as needed. It will stay fresh for months.

• Easy-to-peel eggs. A hot start gives you an easier peel, and the eggs will still cook beautifully and evenly. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, and then gently add the eggs into the water. Lower the heat for a gentle simmer and cook for 13 minutes. When the eggs are finished cooking, put them into ice water for 5 minutes. Peel away; you’ll have large pieces of shell that come right off. It’s the best!  Bonus: cracking the cooked eggs slightly before putting them in an ice water bath made them even easier to peel.

Method 2: add 1 TBSP of vinegar for every 4cups of water and bring a boil and follow same steps in method 1.

• Don’t like the sulphuric smell of boiled eggs? Reduce the smell by baking them. Even though it takes more time, it’s pretty simple!  Preheat the oven to 325-350° Fahrenheit, place a whole (unbroken) egg in each cup of a standard-size muffin tin, then transfer the tin into the oven to cook for 30 minutes. Remove the tin from the oven and immediately place the eggs in ice water. Once they're completely cooled, peel and eat. 

Method 2:  crack open the egg and empty into a mug (you may scramble it or season it now, if you want) Next, tightly wrap it with plastic wrap (though I did mine without wrapping but kept close watch). Put it into the microwave and set the timer for 40 seconds. Keep an eye on it because the plastic wrap will begin to inflate when it’s near ready. Once cooked, the egg will slide out of the mug. Bonus: If the egg still needs a little more cooking (since some microwaves vary in power and therefore so does cooking times), use the fork to lift and turn the egg before placing it back in the microwave. Extra microwaving should be done in 5 seconds intervals. The egg may pop in the cup, it's perfectly safe and still edible with no change in taste (just won’t look as pretty).

• Add dried fruit to oatmeal before you add the milk or water. The fruit will cook and plump up slightly, adding a juicier, more intense taste.

• Wear gloves when handling extremely hot peppers; their oils burn like crazy, and soap and water doesn't always do the trick.

• Instantly core a head of iceberg lettuce by slamming it down on a cutting board.

• No luck finding shallots? Replace with a combination of onions and garlic.  

• Peel a whole head of garlic by shaking it really hard.  Watch the whole (awesome) video at Saveur. After handling garlic, rub your fingers on stainless steel, like your sink, to get rid of the odour.

• To prevent tears, cut off the root of the onion or put it in the freezer for 10mins to cool before you slice. Cold temperatures slow down the reaction between the enzyme and the sulphur compounds so fewer of the burning molecules will reach your eyes. Now you know. Cry no more!

• If a recipe calls for buttermilk, you can use regular milk with lemon juice.

• Pre-soak pasta and it will cook in about 60 seconds. Sounds odd, but it works! Soak the pasta in water in a sealed bag for a couple hours or overnight. Then you can cook it super-fast in boiling water or just add it straight to a hot sauce in a pan and let it finish cooking there.

• Microwave lemon and lime to get more juice out.  Heating citrus for 15 or 20 seconds helps break down carbohydrates in the fruit and promotes maximum liquidity. Get more info here.

• Recipes are guidelines; they aren't carved in stone. If it's not a main ingredient, you can usually omit it and the dish will still turn out fine.

• Ignore cooking times. Check your dishes by using your own senses (smell, taste, touch) to decide when they are done.