20 Amazing Advice That Might Take Your Cooking Game To Another Level

Cooking is an art that brings people together, transcending cultures and languages to create a universal experience of delight and satisfaction. Whether you’re a seasoned chef or a novice in the kitchen, there’s always something new to learn and discover about the culinary world.

#1

Image source: MattieShoes, Nithin PA

Courtesy of great-grandma to mom:

To get the smell of garlic off your hands, grab your (stainless steel) faucet like it was your man.

:-D

#2

Image source: Pouyce, Pierre Bamin

Wash your rice before cooking it, it will be fluffier. Don’t put olive oil in your boiling water if it’s for pasta, the sauce won’t stick much on the pasta if you do. Olive oil is good for salad but burned it can both taste nasty and be unhealthy. It has a a burning point lower than other oils, therefore will burn more easily. To check if your oil is hot enough to fry, put the tip of a wooden spoon. If small bubbles form, the oil is hot enough. Don’t throw away your vegetables waste while cooking, put them in a bag and then in the freezer. Use it anytime you want to make some vegetable stock. This one is quite know but still great: when baking don’t forget to line your pan with butter then flour. I used to only do butter, my brownie never wanted to come out of the pan. rip all the brownies…

#3

Image source: anon, Lisa Fotios

Always use cold water to mix with flour or cornstarch to make your gravy. It won’t get lumpy. My dad was a chef & he always stressed this. He hated lumpy gravy.

#4

Image source: Purrkinje, RDNE Stock project

If you’re searing a bunch of little things in a pan, like scallops, set them in the pan in a clock-like circular pattern. That way, you’ll be able to easily keep track of where to start flipping, and then you can just move clockwise down the line.

Seems obvious, but I was just haphazardly throwing pieces of meat or seafood in a pan prior to seeing this done on a cooking show.

#5

Image source: anon, Margarita Zueva

Oatmeal turns into rock if you leave it out after adding hot water and difficult to wash

#6

Image source: JewsEatFruit, ThermoPro

– Boil your rice like pasta to get wonderfully fluffy rice

– Rest your food before eating (meat, casserole, lasagna, pizza, etc)

– A $4 meat thermometer is how you test, not cutting and releasing all the juices

– Understand the Maillard reaction to get flavor into food esp meat

– Under-salt your pasta sauce, over-salt the water when you boil the pasta

– Buy only high-quality oil. Not only for taste/freshness, but higher smoke point

– Fat has been wrongly maligned, save it and use it

– A touch of acidity (lemon juice, dry citric acid, pickle juice, etc) is required in nearly all dishes

– A pinch of cane sugar takes the funkiness out of many sauces

– Pressure cookers turn the cheapest cuts of meat into succulent, tender morsels

– Good food is mostly technique and appropriate seasoning, not expensive ingredients

#7

Image source: anon, Yvette S

Residual heat will continue cooking more than you imagine. That hot pan doesn’t stop cooking just because ou turned the stove off, and meat can cook internally as well once already hot.

#8

Image source: GideonIsmail, Miriam Alonso

S**t I learned while working in a restaurant:

The quickest way to defrost something is just let a stream of cold water run over it for a bit until it defrosts.

Cool down your hot pans in hot water, not cold water, because it’ll f**k up your pans

Throw that pasta water in your pasta sauce and you’re golden

If you’re going to make a big meal or a dish with a lot of ingredients, do ALL your prep first and then cook otherwise you’re going to struggle

Always wash your hands after touching meat

Vegetables always go over meat when you’re storing them, not the other way around

Sometimes guessing your ingredients is okay, but it’s better to underestimate than overestimate

Clean and wash your dishes as you cook so you have less things to do later.

Edit: I meant pasta sauce, not pasta because it’ll thicken your sauce and help your sauce cling to the pasta better.

#9

Image source: Gaming_and_Physics, Ella Olsson

The MOST important tip I can give to anyone is to setup all of your ingredients before you even turn the stove on. Also known as ‘mise en place’ in the culinary world.

Everything. Salts, spices, veggies, proteins. Everything should be on your counter and easy to reach.

It’s seriously probably the biggest thing keeping someone from becoming a ‘meh’ cook into a good one.

Ex. If you want to put chives into your omelet, you obviously dont want to start cutting them when your eggs are already on the pan. You’ll overcook your omelet.

#10

Image source: Nedgeh, Krista

**F**k up.**

Burn food. Overseason. Have a pot boil over. Make flatbread on accident. Make soggy latkas. Spice that curry up to lava temps. Just learn from it. Don’t be afraid to ruin a meal. Be willing to ruin a meal so it ensures you’ll make a better one in the future.

Nobody bakes a flawless souffle the first time. Pretty much everyone will forget to put eggs in brownies once or twice. I’m sure most people have put too much salt in their eggs, or cooked a steak to a brick. Don’t let mistakes stop you from learning new things, and don’t let the fear of f*****g up a meal prevent you from trying new recipes.

Edit: I don’t even know what reddit silver does but thank you kind internet stranger. Keep cooking and making mistakes!

#11

Image source: atony1984, Mike Mozart

I like to spray my measuring spoon with Pam before I scoop up some honey. Comes right off the spoon

#12

Image source: 9LivesAndCounting, RDNE Stock project

Don’t fry naked.

#13

Image source: sunset_cruiserr, Ketut Subiyanto

When using a pan with a handle on a stove top, turn the handle inwards to avoid accidentally walking/knocking into it and causing disaster

#14

Image source: littlebetenoire, Pille R. Priske

1/2 a cup of uncooked Rice per person. I always see people mentioning they can never get their portions of rice correct. You either end up with enough to feed a tribe, or barely enough for one meal. 1/2 per person, and every now and then I’ll add in an extra 1/2-1 Cup if I’m cooking for a large group.

#15

Image source: anon, Pixabay

This isn’t a secret or anything, but I think a lot of folks don’t realize how important acid is in a lot of cooking. When you’ve seasoned something perfectly but it still tastes like it’s missing something, it’s usually acid. A bit of citrus juice or vinegar will take it to the next level.

#16

Image source: bookmole86, Brands&People

Always scrape the ingredients from the cutting board into a pot with the back of the knife, it will help the blade stay sharp longer

#17

Image source: Feebs101, lasse bergqvist

Don’t pour water on a grease fire.

#18

Image source: PM_ME_YER_TITTAYS, Ronmar Lacamiento

Think about what you’re throwing away. People discard so much when it can be repurposed.

Got a dried out lump of cheese? Make mac and cheese with it. Dont throw it away.

The stem from a head of broccoli, once that gnarly bit at the very end has been removed, is great if finely diced or sliced in soups or stir fries.

Bones and carcass can be made into stock with no effort. Just a bit of salt and water, dont be intimidated by recipes that ask for $20 worth of other stuff.

Pies and stews are great for sad looking veggies and bits of meat that are close to being off.

Even potato skins can be fried into delicious treats. Cold rice is perfect for egg fried rice. Old bread is good for breadcrumbs. Dont have a blender? Grate them instead.

It frustrates me when I see how much good food goes to waste, food that can be re-used and cooked into recipes that even a total amateur can cook.

Also, people need to stop frying food on maximum heat, if your stove dials go to 8 for example, frying an egg should be on 5-6.

#19

Image source: DreadnoughtPoo, Toa Heftiba

There is no such thing as cooking chicken “rare”. Beef and pork have some granularity in how “done” the meat is, but chicken is either “done”, “overdone” or “salmonella”.

Edit –
Yes, sous vide changes these rules somewhat, and all ground meats should generally be cooked through.

#20

Image source: Henrek, Mélissa Jeanty

Wash your hands before preparing ready to eat foods and after handling raw meats, especially chicken.