Cooking can be a demanding task, especially for beginners. Increasing efficiency can ease the workload, which in turn provides more motivation for cooking. The more you improve your kitchen expertise, the more cooking for yourself and your loved ones becomes enjoyable.
Like professional chefs, every seasoned home cook has tips for preparing and cooking food. Some are individual practices, whereas others are widely established shortcuts. If you are new to cooking, knowing about them at this stage can be a big help. This article lists 10 best kitchen shortcuts that all home cooks must know.
Keep reading to learn more about kitchen tips that will make your life easier and make you feel like a professional chef.
- Soak legumes with baking soda or baking powder
Many of us love legumes and the taste and versatility they bring to the table. Legumes are the star ingredient of several renowned dishes, such as a hearty chili con carne or a velvety hummus. Sure, you can make them using precooked beans and chickpeas. However, cooking them from scratch provides a strengthened sense of culinary achievement.
Soaking legumes can be intimidating for many home cooks. It's a straightforward process; adding a pinch of baking soda or powder makes all the difference. The baking soda shortens the soaking time and makes the legumes more digestive. You can use this shortcut to soak beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, etc.
- Moisten and crease the baking paper
Many people find placing the baking paper properly inside baking trays and dishes challenging. There are several techniques for fitting the baking sheets perfectly in bakeware. Moistening the paper with some water is one of the easiest ways to place. After the paper becomes slightly wet, crease it, and you can easily place it in any baking tin.
- Add sugar to vegetable casseroles and curries
Creating delicious dishes is mainly about balancing flavors. Adding a touch of sugar to casseroles and curries make them tastier. You can think of it as a balancing act. Mediterranean and Indian cuisines use this principle a lot. Vegetable casseroles and curry dishes benefit a lot from the extra sugar.
- Freeze a whole lemon and grate it as a finishing touch
Lemon zest is a secret ingredient for many chefs. It's fragrant, tangy, and citrusy. Many of us know the elevated taste of grated lemon zest in savory and sweet food. Keeping frozen whole lemons in the freezer is a kitchen shortcut every home cook must know. Wash the lemons off and store them in the freezer. You can grate them for salads, sauces, and dips. It's best to use organic lemons for this purpose.
- Scoop avocados with a spoon without peeling
Avocados are a staple for plant-based and healthy diets. You can enjoy an avocado better when it's ripe enough. A ripe avocado is creamy, soft, and full of flavor. However, preparing it may be tricky. Our recommendation is to skip the peeling step altogether. Cut the avocado, remove the seed at the center, and scoop it using a spoon. This is the easiest and waste-free way of preparing an avocado.
- Add a pinch of salt to your sweets
Cakes, brownies, and cookies, especially those with chocolate and cacao, benefit significantly from the extra salt touch. The salt adds a contrast to the sweetness of the dessert and elevates its taste.
- Remove food from the heat before it's done cooking
Remember that when you turn off the stove, the food will continue to be cooked with the retained heat. This is especially true with cast iron and heavy-bottomed stainless steel cookware. Removing the food from the heat source lets you reach the desired consistency without the risk of overcooking.
- Sharpen your knives frequently
Good-quality knives are a must-have for any home cook, and maintaining them in pristine shape contributes a lot to cooking. So, to keep your knives perfectly functioning at all times, remember to frequently sharpen them. Various affordable sharpening tools are widely available for home cooks.
- Save orange and lemon peels
This shortcut may seem related to sustainable culinary kitchen practices, but it offers much more than that. Drying or freezing citrus fruit peels provides fragrant taste enhancers that can be used in many ways. You can make tea with them, add them in puddings, or use them in marinades.
- Marinade meat for the best grills and barbeques
A simple, homemade marinade can significantly enhance the taste of grilled meat, be it veal, pork, or poultry. The basic homemade marinade consists of vegetable oil, herbs, and spices. All you need to do is to toss the ingredients in a zip-lock bag and let them rest in the fridge for at least an hour. The longer you wait, the better. There are sophisticated marinades made with milk, soy sauce, or lemon juice. Each one makes your meat tender and juicy.
