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One of the best things that you can do in life is to learn how to cook. That way, you’re self-reliant, you know for a fact what goes into the food you make, and you can impress all of your friends who like take-out meals a tad too much.
However, getting started isn’t the easiest thing in the world. There are a lot of potential hiccups: from not knowing what ingredients to put into the pan first to how to use the tools, techniques and utensils any food enthusiast should know. That’s why some friendly Reddit cooks took it upon themselves to share the best kitchen hacks they know. Scroll down for some delicious nuggets of kitchen advice and upvote the ones that think everyone should know, dear Pandas. When you’re done, we’d love to hear all about your own kitchen and cooking tips and tricks.
Bored Panda got in touch with redditor u/Sunieta25, who started the thread in the first place. Scroll down for our interview with her. Meanwhile, don’t forget to read on for Bored Panda’s second interview with pie artist, the author of ‘Pies Are Awesome,’ and cooking expert Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin. Both of them shared some advice about working in the kitchen that you Pandas might find very useful.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Tongs are also oven mitts, juicers, knives, spoons, and extendo-arms. Just make sure you click them at least twice before using them to make sure they are on.
Redditor u/Sunieta25 told us all about the inspiration behind the fun and informative r/AskReddit thread. "A friend of mine has been staying with my husband and I, and he's a good cook. We've been making recipes together but we kept debating on multiple dos and don'ts in the kitchen, so I asked the question to see professional cooks take on the kitchen. To my surprise there was a lot I didn't know," they shared.
They opened up to us about the fact that they love cooking and practicing recipes. "I feel learning new things adds to cooking skills," they said. Their suggestion for everyone is to never wash your chicken. Meanwhile, when cooking, it's best to rememeber that "you can always add but you can never take away."
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#3
You follow instructions when baking. You follow your heart when cooking (...but not too much.)
#4
Sometimes when you think something needs more salt, what it really needs is acid — lemon juice, vinegar, etc.
Hugh Cookson 2 years ago
Which is why us older Chefs use a 'Gastric' - basically a mix of Vinegar and Sugar or honey in order to add depth of flavour to a sauce.
#5
A blunt knife is more dangerous than a sharp one. Always keep your knives sharp.
Doyle Alan 2 years ago
Got my first real set of good quality sharp knives this year. What a game changer!
#6
If your towels or oven mitt get wet (or your hands are wet while using them on something hot), they will NOT protect your hands.
Jessica urged all cooks, amateur or professional, to have all of their kitchen tools and ingredients set up before they start cooking. That way, the entire process is far, far smoother.
“Working mis-en-place and having all your tools and ingredients set out, nice and tidy, before you start certainly helps cut down on the chaos later,” she said that cooks should try to look and plan ahead.
#8
A good kitchen should be equipped with a plentiful supply of clean, dry towels.
Lance d'Boyle 2 years ago
This is really important. Buy at least 20 tea towels and regularly (once a day?) pull out a clean one. Drap it over your shoulder when you start cooking and dry your hands when they are wet, whip a surface clean, dryout a recently cleaned frying pan, use it as an oven mitt to pull a tray out of the oven.... just use it all the time. Do not touch raw meat with it -- ie don't use it to pat dry meat before cooking. I often wet one and leave damp over dough that is rising or even buns or bagels out of the oven. Easily one of the most important tools in the kitchen.
#9
I am not a chef but I know for a fact that you shouldn't cook something you aren't familiar with if you are having guests.
Of course, one thing that puts people off from learning to cook is having to clean up a mountain of dishes later. Nobody’s really a fan of scrubbing endless pots and pans after making a delicious meal for their loved ones.
One way to get around this is to incorporate your cleaning routine into your cooking process. “I absolutely recommend cleaning as you go. It gives you something to do while you wait for things to chill, boil, bake, what-have-you, and it makes your life so much easier in the end,” Jessica explained that you can save a lot of time later.
#10
Contrary to popular belief, it often doesn’t work out great if you add your chopped/minced garlic first to hot oil or butter. It burns so quickly and tastes yuck. I like to brown something else first, like onions, and then add the garlic. The onions are like a burn buffer!
Titas Burinskas 2 years ago (edited)
Add the garlic at the end of the whole process, just a few minutes before you turn off the pan. It will turn golden and have that signature garlic aroma. You may add minced garlic at the beginning of the process, but you have add some water to let it simmer rather than burn it.
#11
Baking is a perfect example of 'don't tear down walls unless you know why they were built.' If you know the chemistry at play and what each ingredient is doing, you can get creative. Keep in mind that every ingredient does something, so add-ons and substitution can change how everything works together.
Poultry Geist 2 years ago
I was making some cookies from a bag ( don’t judge me I had 3 kids asking me for desert and nothing at the house and I didn’t want to leave) but I didn’t have eggs so I used mayonnaise and everyone loved them !bi didn’t tell them about the Mayo til after they had enjoyed them 😂
“Having a finished lovely pie/cake/dish, but a kitchen that looks like a tornado hit it depresses me,” Jessica opened up to Bored Panda. “Not everyone is as mess-adverse as I am, so I suppose it depends on your personal tolerance for kitchen chaos.”
However, keeping a tidy kitchen isn’t just about looks. It also trains you to look out for possible safety issues while cooking. “I will say that keeping things tidy makes it a lot easier to spot potential safety issues, like cross-contamination with raw meat or household chemicals,” Jessica explained why it’s important to remember that cooking isn’t just about cooking.
#13
Soy sauce goes on more than just Asian foods. Try a dash in scrambled eggs or towards the end of your caramelized onions. It is a savory salt flavor that compliments many dishes.
#14
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.
#15
Olive oil is a condiment and is terrible to fry with.
Use vegetable oil or any other 'neutral' oil, it has a higher flash point and is pretty much flavourless.
And don't be scared of salt & pepper, throw that s**t in there.
Also MSG is good.
Skull in Sky 2 years ago
Use Refined olive oil (without mixed in virgin olive oil). 3rd highest smoke temperature - 240°C (safflower and rice bran are higher by up to 15°C). Other vegetable oil has lower smoke point down to 205°C.
Earlier, Bored Panda spoke to Jake Butler from ‘Save the Student,’ about cooking at home. He stressed that homecooked meals will always be cheaper than going out for fast food. However, if we’ve got a craving for some takeout, we can always learn to make some healthier versions of it at home.
“The good news is that you can easily recreate your favorites at home for a fraction of the price. It's much healthier this way too. Google is definitely your friend here as you can find fakeaway recipes from a number of sites,” Jake said that some companies have made their recipes available for everyone, free of charge.
#16
'Always be cleaning' is important to end-of-meal satisfaction. It’s such a drag to look up at the end of a great dinner and see a monstrous cleaning task ahead of you.
kathryn stretton 2 years ago
I really don't mind shutting the door on the kitchen and doing it tomorrow morning, while still half asleep. Each to our own.
#17
Not a chef but everyone should know how to cook eggs. hard boiled. omelets, scrambled, sunny side up, cooked on both sides. Once you master the Recruit difficultly of eggs. Throw some mushrooms or tomatoes or whatever you like in an omelet or scrambled eggs. Gordan Ramsey made a video on eggs and after trying what he did and really getting better at it, my family and friends just make me, make them eggs.
DDmaybeandor 2 years ago
I tried the Gordon Ramsey scrambled eggs and was so disappointed! I love him and couldn’t believe how gross they were. I’ve been cooking eggs since forever and it turns out that I do not want creamy scrambled eggs.
#18
I recommend choosing an acid based on what you are cooking. Italian? Try some red wine vinegar. Mexican? Try some lime juice. Additionally, if you are working with anything cream based, add acidity literally right at the end or else your sauce/dish will curdle.
Thomas Hunt, Jr. 2 years ago
I gotta stay away from fruit so that's outta the question. Balsamic Vinegar is good. Especially with Kale and minced garlic!
“The good news is that the ingredients for most of these recipes aren't too pricey and you can still hunt for bargains to make the dish cheaper. Buying in bulk is always a winner too when it comes to saving money so it's a great idea to get together with friends and maybe take it in turns to make your favorite fakeaways.”
According to Jake, the secret to a good meal lies in the seasoning. “Salt and pepper won't break the bank, but they can make or break a meal. Don't forget that sugar can take a dish to the next level too.”
#19
Taste as you cook, and do it at various stages of cooking (while safe, please don't taste raw meat). Not only does it let you know if you have too much or little of something, but it also helps you develop your palette for what different seasonings do.
Mika N 2 years ago
In movies they always have someone serving food to another person, who then proceeds to choke and cough because something is wrong with it (usually being super salty it seems), and I'm always thinking, how did the person cooking manage to not taste any of it at all while making it?? That annoys me more than it should lol!
#20
Massively improve the quality of your proteins (chicken, beef, tofu, anything) with fond. Fond is the dark brown stuff that sticks to your pan when you're cooking. It's not burnt unless its actually black. To get it off the pan and on the food, pour in either an alcohol or acid to dissolve it and get the now-brown liquid to coat your protein.
Different proteins work best with different alcohols. Good rule of thumb — dry white for chicken or any lighter meat. Red for beef. Lemon juice works great for almost everything.
#21
MSG doesn’t give you headaches. That myth is based upon one very flawed study a long time ago. Glutamates are found in many foods already (include almost every vertebrate.)
MSG is sold under the name “Accent” and a tiny bit can really bring out that umami taste in all foods.
#22
Cooking bacon in the oven is exponentially easier to perfect and clean up than on a stove top.
Set the oven to 405º, line a baking sheet with tin foil, and lay your bacon flat on it. Cook it for 13-15 minutes. It's perfect every time, and you can cook a lot more at once this way. Also, the fat hardens on the foil, so you can just throw it away with no mess.
Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
Throw it away? Throw away bacon fat? Are you insane?! Put that bacon directly onto the sheet pan. When it's done, let the fat cool, then spoon portions onto plastic wrap. Wrap it up and freeze it for later use. Yeah, you'll have to wash the sheet pan. That's a small price to pay for half a cup of liquid gold.
#23
For thick and nice sauces, use the water you cook your pasta with.
indiecognition 2 years ago
I keep a mug by the pot to remind me, and use it to scoop out some pasta water right before draining the noodles. Then you can add however much you need to the sauce.
#24
Cinnamon isn’t just for sweet foods. It can be really, really good in savory foods, too.
#25
Salt your boiling water.
indiecognition 2 years ago
But not if you're making tea. Or enjoy your salty tea if that's how you like it.
#26
Adding is easy, but removing is hard. People like to argue that you should liberally add butter and seasoning, but tastes differ. It's totally fine to put in less if that's what you fancy.
Nadine Bamberger 2 years ago
And it's no shame to put salt and spices on the table so everybody can season to their liking.
#28
Salt is seasoning. It makes food taste more like itself. Acids, like citrus or vinegar can also do this. If your food tastes flat, or like it is missing something, try some salt or acid. Acid is also critical for balancing very rich fatty foods. The reason Americans love tomato ketchup so much is the fact that it adds acid and salt to their food. Adding a bit of "heat" like a pinch of cayenne can also accentuate a the flavor of a dish. Spices are something else. They bring a new and different flavor to the dish.
In sweets, sugar often takes the place of salt and is usually balanced by acid - see passionfruit, raspberry, citrus, etc. But salt plays an important role in sweets as well - often in unexpected ways. Try putting a pinch of kosher salt into your next batch of whipped cream.
I could keep going but I'll leave it there. If you can master these concepts you will have a big advantage over most home cooks.
#29
If you’re getting annoyed because it’s taking you too long to peel garlic, place an unpeeled garlic clove under the flat side of your kitchen knife and press on it with your hand. The garlic peel will separate easily and your garlic will be crushed.
#30
If you want crispness on the outsides of your meats, you should pat them dry before seasoning and putting them in oven or over heat.
What do you think ?
Eric C. 2 years ago (edited)
Not to be pedantic, but I hate when the term 'hack' is misused like this. These aren't Hacks. Almost all of these are simply tips based on experience. A hack is using things in ways other than their intended function. Using sharp knives isn't a hack, that's just common sense and good advice. Salting pasta water isn't a hack, it's good advice. - - - - Using tongs for juicing citrus - that's a hack. Using a zip-top bag for piping frosting, instead of a piping bag - that's a hack. I really wish people would would quit misusing the term. EDIT: Thank you BP for changing the title. 'Pearls of Wisdom' is much more appropriate. I know it's a silly peeve of mine, but it really bugs me.
Biofish23 2 years ago
Try to learn methods, not recipes. Don't be afraid to try new things. The first attempt probably won't be perfect, but will hopefully be eatable. Each time you make the same, or similar dish, the process will be easier and you can improve the final product.
Meister Grimbart 2 years ago
meanwhile me: pot with water, throw everything I find inside, cook it for 15 minutes, dinner done.
Daniel (ShadowDrakken) 2 years ago
Too much of this advice is geared towards professional kitchens. Much of it can, and likely should, be ignored for a home kitchen. In a home kitchen, you don't need to curl your fingers to chop food. You're not moving that fast, you're resetting after each cut, you're not trying to prep a mountain of vegetables where the time savings of the hyper speed chopping actually matters. You don't need to clean as you go, you need to clean before you start, and keep organized as you go. Don't waste water running to the sink every 5 seconds with a frigging tasting spoon or dirty prep bowl. Just stick it straight into the dishwasher and move on. If you don't use them almost daily cast iron pans are a waste of money. You won't care for them properly, and they WILL rust, stick, or otherwise ruin your cooking experience. Better to invest in a good non-stick pan for eggs, and a few good oven-safe heavy bottom stainless pans for everything else.
Remi 2 years ago
First time cooking something, follow the recipe. Later you can improvise. Also when looking for a recipe for a food from a certain region, try to find one where the writer is actually from there. If it's a family recipe, even better. If you can't find it in English - google translate usually works well enough.
GadgetGirl 2 years ago
The kitchen sink is not a "food trashcan", even if it's got a disposal. You need to keep it as clean as your cookware - minimum. Impress on your family members that it must be kept clean. Not "I wiped it out after rinsing the dinner dishes" clean. "I scrubbed it with a bleach cleanser and then rinsed all the residue away" clean. You will have a lot less stomach problems in the family.
Craig Reynolds 2 years ago
The best thing you can do is to learn what every individual seasoning and condiment tastes and smells like. That way when you have something out in a restaurant or somebody's home, you will know what is in it and have a rough idea of how to replicate it. This works best with non-spicy (as in hot) foods as the capsaicin will dull your taste buds to the finer ingredients.
Marcel Wolf 2 years ago (edited)
I just got done watching Kitchen Nightmares and now after this, I feel like cooking :) Edit: What if someone on a cooking show actually doesn't know how to cook, so when you actually do what they said to do, and cooked it the way they did just for it to taste nasty, you'll probably think that you did it wrong?
Sarah Wilson 2 years ago
I recently discovered garum masala, a little in chicken soup gives it a fuller flavour.
Mary Ann Bailey 2 years ago
Thanks for a great and informative article. I’m going to forward it to my two sons who love to cook. Mare
Pungent Sauce 2 years ago
I feel like I just commented on nearly all of these about a month ago…
Eric C. 2 years ago (edited)
Not to be pedantic, but I hate when the term 'hack' is misused like this. These aren't Hacks. Almost all of these are simply tips based on experience. A hack is using things in ways other than their intended function. Using sharp knives isn't a hack, that's just common sense and good advice. Salting pasta water isn't a hack, it's good advice. - - - - Using tongs for juicing citrus - that's a hack. Using a zip-top bag for piping frosting, instead of a piping bag - that's a hack. I really wish people would would quit misusing the term. EDIT: Thank you BP for changing the title. 'Pearls of Wisdom' is much more appropriate. I know it's a silly peeve of mine, but it really bugs me.
Biofish23 2 years ago
Try to learn methods, not recipes. Don't be afraid to try new things. The first attempt probably won't be perfect, but will hopefully be eatable. Each time you make the same, or similar dish, the process will be easier and you can improve the final product.
Meister Grimbart 2 years ago
meanwhile me: pot with water, throw everything I find inside, cook it for 15 minutes, dinner done.
Daniel (ShadowDrakken) 2 years ago
Too much of this advice is geared towards professional kitchens. Much of it can, and likely should, be ignored for a home kitchen. In a home kitchen, you don't need to curl your fingers to chop food. You're not moving that fast, you're resetting after each cut, you're not trying to prep a mountain of vegetables where the time savings of the hyper speed chopping actually matters. You don't need to clean as you go, you need to clean before you start, and keep organized as you go. Don't waste water running to the sink every 5 seconds with a frigging tasting spoon or dirty prep bowl. Just stick it straight into the dishwasher and move on. If you don't use them almost daily cast iron pans are a waste of money. You won't care for them properly, and they WILL rust, stick, or otherwise ruin your cooking experience. Better to invest in a good non-stick pan for eggs, and a few good oven-safe heavy bottom stainless pans for everything else.
Remi 2 years ago
First time cooking something, follow the recipe. Later you can improvise. Also when looking for a recipe for a food from a certain region, try to find one where the writer is actually from there. If it's a family recipe, even better. If you can't find it in English - google translate usually works well enough.
GadgetGirl 2 years ago
The kitchen sink is not a "food trashcan", even if it's got a disposal. You need to keep it as clean as your cookware - minimum. Impress on your family members that it must be kept clean. Not "I wiped it out after rinsing the dinner dishes" clean. "I scrubbed it with a bleach cleanser and then rinsed all the residue away" clean. You will have a lot less stomach problems in the family.
Craig Reynolds 2 years ago
The best thing you can do is to learn what every individual seasoning and condiment tastes and smells like. That way when you have something out in a restaurant or somebody's home, you will know what is in it and have a rough idea of how to replicate it. This works best with non-spicy (as in hot) foods as the capsaicin will dull your taste buds to the finer ingredients.
Marcel Wolf 2 years ago (edited)
I just got done watching Kitchen Nightmares and now after this, I feel like cooking :) Edit: What if someone on a cooking show actually doesn't know how to cook, so when you actually do what they said to do, and cooked it the way they did just for it to taste nasty, you'll probably think that you did it wrong?
Sarah Wilson 2 years ago
I recently discovered garum masala, a little in chicken soup gives it a fuller flavour.
Mary Ann Bailey 2 years ago
Thanks for a great and informative article. I’m going to forward it to my two sons who love to cook. Mare
Pungent Sauce 2 years ago
I feel like I just commented on nearly all of these about a month ago…
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