If cooking always feels like it’s high stakes and that you’re always rushing around in your kitchen, chances are you could use some help from the calm, cool, collected chefs of the culinary world.
Whether you’re a novice chef or someone who occasionally burns water, we’ve got you covered. Here are five chef-tested tips that will help you improve your cooking skills.
Read Your Recipes—Even if You Don’t Intend to Follow It Fully
Many a home cook have been led astray by skipping the instructions, only to find out they were supposed to marinate the chicken overnight—after they’ve already thrown it in the oven.
Reading the recipe in its entirety ensures you’re not just winging it. We embrace winging it to some extent, but only once you understand the skeleton of the recipe so you can avoid disaster! You need to at least know essentials, like what to preheat the oven to so your chicken cooks all the way through, before you start riffing like Gordon Ramsey.
Embrace Your Mistakes and Pivot
Every great chef has burned a dish or two (or twenty). Mistakes are part of the cooking journey, so don’t be afraid to mess up. It’s all part of the process; serve your food anyway (provided it’s actually edible).
Learn to laugh at your flops so you can move past them quickly and focus on ways you can improve. It’s not very fun to be super stressed in the kitchen, anyway, and cooking can and should be fun!
Use a Sharp Knife
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Invest in a good quality chef’s knife and keep it sharp. A sharp knife makes chopping, slicing, and dicing a breeze. But the biggest reason you want to use a sharp knife? You’re more likely to keep your fingers during prep.
Accidentally slicing a finger seems more likely with a sharp knife, but it’s significantly more dangerous to cut with a dull one. That’s because you’re putting in more effort and pressure while you cut, inevitably leading to an avoidable kitchen tragedy one day.
Remember: Mise en Place
Mise en place is French for “everything in its place.” And it’s the not-so-well-kept-secret of chefs everywhere—they’re organized before they even start cooking. Your first step should be to always gather your ingredients, chop your veggies, and measure out your spices.
This not only makes the cooking process smoother but also allows you to feel like a culinary rock star instead of a frantic squirrel running around searching for that, “what was it again? I have to check the recipe…” See how frustrating that sounds?
Taste As You Go
Don’t just assume that your dish is perfect because the recipe said so. Taste your sauce, soup, or stir-fry as you cook, and adjust the seasonings as needed.
This way, you can avoid the dreaded “too salty” or “what is that flavor?” moments that leave your dinner guests politely nibbling on their food while eyeing up the door so they can make their escape before dessert is served.
20 Shocking Cooking Facts That Will Change Your Kitchen Forever
Cooking is a journey filled with surprises; sometimes, the most surprising truths are the hardest to swallow.
From debunking culinary myths to rethinking kitchen practices, here are 20 facts that might make you rethink your approach to food and cooking.
20 Shocking Cooking Facts That Will Change Your Kitchen Forever
10 Grocery Store Foods Linked to Memory Loss
Medical research shows that your diet has the potential to affect your mental function and overall brain health. We often focus on foods that affect our internal health but rarely give attention to the impact food has on our brains. Our brain uses 20-30% of the calories we consume.
While you may have an idea of foods that promote brain health, you may be surprised to find out that some foods you’re consuming could be affecting your focus and memory.
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