Food Hacks (18 pics)

1

Cooking recipe is a suggestion, baking recipe is an instruction.

2

If a recipe says 2 gloves of garlic it means 5

3

Stop cooking with extra virgin olive oil; it is not some ‘better’ version of olive oil.

Extra Virgin has an extremely low smoke point, so cooking with it often leads to burnt food and a smoky kitchen. It is intended for dressing and garnishing. Regular olive oil has a much higher smoke point and is meant for cooking. They are not the same.

4

A lot of the time when people add salt to a dish because they think it tastes flat, what it really needs is an acid like lemon juice or vinegar

5

Not really a cooking tip, but a law of the kitchen: A falling knife has no handle

6

This one’s kind of common sense, but hotter doesn’t mean faster – turning your burners up to 10 for everything will just lead to smoke and half-cooked food with a burned exterior.

7

Clean as you go! Done with the cutting board? Wash it or put it away before you move on to the next step. A clean kitchen makes your life way easier.

8

You can always add, but you cannot take away.

9

The amount of garlic flavor is dependent on WHEN you add the garlic. Add it early for light flavor, add it late for bold flavor.

10

Mashed potatoes… NOT blended potatoes. Don’t ever put potatoes in the blender, it will turn into glue.

For anyone wondering the science behind it: potatoes contain a lot of starch. Mashing cooked potatoes gently by hand or with a ricer leaves most of the starch molecules intact. The butter and dairy you add to the mashed potatoes are able to coat each individual particle, making the potatoes creamy.

11

Toasting dry spices in a sautee pan can really bring out the flavor of the spices. Don’t put bbq sauce on until the end of cooking meat. The sugar in the bbq sauce can cause the meat to burn and char.

12

The secret that I was never taught growing up but has made such a huge difference in my cooking is thoroughly drying meat, fish, and veg with paper towel before cooking. My mom’s cooking was always too watery, not crispy or caramelized, because she missed this step, and to be fair, it isn’t mentioned in most recipes.

13

Knife magnet strips are better than knife blocks

14

Tie. Your. Hair.

I’ve watched so many people cook and half the time they have their hair loose just flying wherever it chooses. God no, just tie it. Please

15

After cutting an onion into half, soak in cold water before slicing to avoid tears