Tips and Kitchen Tricks (chef, vinegar, salt, melt)

[kelsie]

Thank you all for posting such great tips.

I find it fun to be able to share things like this for one another to make our lives a bit easier.

Jax I am glad you like your Food Saver. I have gone through 3 & use mine constantly.

The tip about the garlic works great No more pounding with the garlic flying over to the other side of the room.

I do a similar thing with lemons and limes. I roll them on the counter for a second and then pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds. They make more juice.

Thank you for the reps. this has been a lot of fun.

Keep the tips coming. kelsie

[Jaxson]

You know I was surprised to read so many folks have trouble peeling garlic I just whack mine with the side of my knife blade & heel of my palm. It pops the peel right off then I chop or mince it up for the recipe.

[LilyLady]

I have a very simple tip. To prevent a boilover when I'm boiling water for pasta or potatoes I place a wooden spoon across the top of the pan. I place it with the bowl or ladle part of the spoon face down. The water may boil right up to the spoon, but I've never had it boil over on to the stove. I don't know why it works, but it does.


This is a good thread, Kelsie.

[Chava61]

I like to use cooking bags to cook a whole chicken in the oven together with potatoes, carrots, onions and seasonings. The advantage of the cooking bag is that the chicken juices are kept inside. So it doesn't burn and one does not need to baste the chicken to keep it moist.

[EugeneOnegin]

Originally Posted by Jaxson

You know I was surprised to read so many folks have trouble peeling garlic I just whack mine with the side of my knife blade & heel of my palm. It pops the peel right off then I chop or mince it up for the recipe.

Same here.

Here are some of mine...

I like to freeze whole ginger and galangal roots. They freeze extremely well and it's really nice to have them on hand at all times. You can cut the skin off with a knife while they're still frozen and then let them thaw for 10 minutes or so. You can barely tell any difference between frozen and fresh and they're infinitely better than powder.

Whenever you use an orange, lemon, lime, etc. grate some of the peel and dry it on a paper plate or something similar for use later so you don't have to buy citrus zest.

Staghorn sumac grows all over the place in much of the US, you can harvest and dry the berries and to use as a spice, it has a nice lemony flavor that's good with chicken.

To get a really fine texture with ground beef (for chili sauce for a hot dog, gringo tacos, or whatever) put it in a pan on a very low temperature with a little oil and break it up as it starts to cook, then add water and simmer on low for a while until the water evaporates. The meat is more tender this way too. Never cook ground beef on a high temperature or you'll squeeze out the water/fat and the protein strands will develop a rubbery texture.

If you want to get rid of some of the grease in a soup or sauce fill a stainless steel ladle with ice cubes and then dip the bottom of the ladle into the top of the soup/sauce and the grease will cling to the bottom of the ladle.

Velvet meat or fish by marinating them in corn starch, rice wine, and egg white to get that soft, moist, velvety texture found in Chinese food.

Try Velveting for Soft, Tender Meat - Cooking Tips - Food News

I use the food processor for a lot of chopping work. It saves a bunch of time when making something like chili. To get the remaining food off the blade, after you dump out the contents of the food processor put the lid back on and pulse a couple times.

Get an immersion blender, it will save you a ton of time and cleanup.

Canned chipotles in adobo blended on low heat with honey or maple syrup to the desired sweetness makes a really tasty and easy sauce. You can devein and deseed the chipotles if you want less heat and can add sauteed garlic or onions if you want.

Most root vegetables (carrots, turnips, radishes, rutabaga, parsnips, parsley root, etc.) are great tossed in oil, salt, black pepper and roasted. Puree them if you want. They're cheap, keep for a long time, and make a really good side.

Cook a bunch of dried black beans, chickpeas, or other beans and freeze them for use whenever you need them. Much cheaper than canned beans and you don't have to use a whole can.

If you buy green onions that still have the roots, use the green parts and then put the roots in potting mix in front of the kitchen window. They'll regrow several times and you can keep using them whenever you need them.

Buy whole spices from Indian and Mexican stores in bulk and store them in Mason jars, they'll keep a long time and retain their flavor well until you grind them. Use a coffee grinder to grind them as needed. You can use the coffee grinder to grind dried chile peppers as well, or soak them in hot water for a half an hour and then blend them in a blender.

Use tomato leaves as an herb, they add a really nice tomato flavor to sauces. The common belief that tomato leaves pose a significant risk from toxins is at best highly dubious. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/di...anted=all&_r=0 Take a stem with some leaves on it and put it in the sauce while it simmers for a few minutes then remove it.

Buy celery with the leaves attached and use the leaves as an herb. They have a nice celery flavor too.

Not properly using acids is a common mistake many new cooks make. A little vinegar, wine, lemon juice, etc. can really make a big difference. If you need lemon juice and don't have any lemons on hand some mild vinegar (white, rice, etc.) plus a little lemon extract makes a decent substitution in soups and sauces.

[George Chong]

When meats go on sale - I portion, make a marinade and freeze. Then I can pull out a protein that can be thawed and popped in the oven.

[Cubanchic]

For Cuban marinates that need sour orange juice, mix one part lime to two parts orange juice.

For any meat, marinate overnight, fish no more then 10 mins if it has citrus.

For buttermilk substitute the juice of a lemon with a cup of milk, wait a bit and there you go.

Crockpot liners for sure!

Lastly but this will be hard to find.... A hubby that loves your cooking SO much that he cleans up every night! He gives me the excuse that he meditates over washing dishes, I think nope!

[70Ford]

Take a vegetable peeler and peel your carrots outside skin off, then peel your carrots into razor thin sliced carrot slices. When you can't slice any more carrot off, eat the rest of the carrot. The slices cook super fast. Easy to add to various dishes. I make a dish out of pork, carrot slices and Sazon Goya and it's pretty awesome over rice. Or take the slices and chop them up small and add to stir fry or to soups, etc. Easy way to add carrots and since they are basically just slorp-able, so easy to get some fiber and nutrition in the dish.

Rubbing your hands on a stainless steel faucet removes garlic/onion smell from your hands.
Why Stainless Steel Erases Garlic's Aroma

Spray the inside of a measuring cup with cooking spray and your honey will slide right out. Actually, most anything will.

Vinegar on a burned pan.... let it sit over night and the vinegar will eat through the burn and let you scrub and wash it out. Or a 2/3rds vinegar/1/3 sugar solution will also work.
3 Ways to Clean a Scorched Pan - wikiHow

[gentlearts]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

It does NOT melt. I did this in a commercial kitchen for 15 years with no issues.

I believe the melting point is 425, so you're ok under that. Also, they seem to always cover the plastic wrap with foil.

For sure, you can use it on low and slow recipes like ribs or brisket.

[gentlearts]

I use grocery store roast chicken a lot for quick meals and chicken salad. Even though it is quick and easy to steam chicken for recipes, I think the roasted ones are so much more flavorful.