“The Difference Is Insane”: People Reveal Their Best Cooking Hacks
No matter if you’re a veteran in the kitchen or just graduated from being an absolute beginner, the odds are that you might have a few tricks up your sleeve. The beauty of the internet is that so many friendly people are beyond happy to share their wisdom with others.
That’s where the r/AskReddit online community comes in. In a recent thread, sparked by user u/Aurora_Breeze, some food-savvy redditors revealed their “special cooking secrets” that they feel can help everyone out. Read on to see what they had to say.
Bored Panda got in touch with world-famous pie artist Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin (@thepieous) for some cooking and baking advice. She shared how to prepare for those potential culinary disasters looming on the horizon, as well as what to keep in mind if you’re a total beginner in the kitchen. You’ll find our interview with the expert as you scroll down.
Pie artist Jessica is the author of ‘Pies Are Awesome’ and has launched a series of online baking courses at ‘The Pie Savvy.’ She told us that when it comes to holiday cooking and baking, you should go into the whole process knowing for certain whether it is a ‘must not fail’ or an ‘it’s all in good fun’ type of situation.
There’s a world of difference between being responsible for only a single course or the entire meal. "If you’re just heading over to your buddy’s movie night and you thought it would be fun to bring some cookies, you can approach things in a much more spontaneous fashion,” the baking expert told Bored Panda via email.
“But for the ‘must not fail’ situations, there is one extra critical ingredient you cannot do without: time. Time to experiment, time to practice, time to fail, and time to do something about the fails! With extra time, you eliminate the stress of that pressure to perform under a ticking clock. Mistakes are inevitable. Disasters are optional!”
All of us have been complete newbies in the kitchen at some point in time—and nothing is embarrassing about that! But we all remember how lost we were at first. Bored Panda turned to pie artist Jessica for some practical advice that could help beginners find their culinary confidence.
“Cooking and baking success for novices in the kitchen is all about preparation. And attitude. Having a good one, that is. Find the humor in the unexpected, learn from your mistakes, and enjoy the ride!”
Doing everything in a neat and orderly way is going to minimize the number of mistakes you’ll make, no matter what you’re baking or cooking. Jessica urged everyone to check all of their ingredients before heading to the kitchen to begin baking. “That yellow-colored box at the back of the cupboard that you thought was cornstarch? Guess what, it’s actually a four-year-old jar of Vegemite. Those packets of yeast you’re excited to finally put to use? They expired last year. The dozen eggs you thought you had left in the fridge? Your partner used three of them to make an omelet this morning and didn't tell you. You get the idea.”
The pie artist said that by double-checking whether you have everything that you need for your recipe, you’ll end up saving yourself a lot of grief. On top of that, you’ll save a lot of time because you won’t need to rush to the store.
Meanwhile, make sure that you’ve actually read the recipe thoroughly, at least the night before your big culinary project. There might be some time-sensitive steps that you need to prep for well in advance. “Does your dough need to rest for 24 hours before you can use it? Do your eggs need to be room temperature? Does your butter need to be frozen? While there are hacks to help deal with many of these oversights, it’s much less of a pain in the butt if you get it right from the start!” the baking expert warned!
Something else to consider is adopting the practice of working mise en place. “That’s just a fancy French way of saying that you should set out all of your cooking/baking supplies and have all your ingredients measured and portioned out before you begin any of the steps in the recipe,” Jessica shared with Bored Panda.
“This not only makes the whole cooking and baking process really chill and pleasant, but it cuts way down on accidents and mistakes such as missed steps, spills, and overcooked dishes caused by distraction while prepping other ingredients.”
We have plenty of cooking secrets, too. However, we feel that the most important one is (drumroll, please)—having fun, no matter what you do. Yes, it might sound a tad cheesy, but it’s true. Cooking can be incredibly stressful if you don’t know what you’re doing. Or if you’ve got a whole bunch of people you care about to impress with your gorgeous dishes.
So we find that it helps if we slow down, take a step back, and remember to enjoy the entire process. That way, instead of (just) worrying about what everyone else thinks, we also think about our role. If you feel like you’re ‘forced’ to cook or bake for everyone all the time, the results might not be as good.
Yours truly tends to oversalt dishes. One thing that I chronically forget is that when you’re cooking, you constantly have to taste, taste, TASTE! everything, all the time. You cannot rely purely on luck. And you can’t assume, like some people do (hi!), that just because something looks gorgeous it’ll taste the same, too. You should try to get comfortable with making small adjustments as you cook.
If your food is bland, that’s quite easy to fix. Add some salt, pepper, and spices, and see how the taste develops from there. But even if you oversalt your food, it’s not the end of the world. You won’t have to throw the dish out and start from scratch!
In our experience, adding some potatoes or something tomato-y helps neutralize the overwhelming saltiness. That’s because potatoes absorb all the saltiness while tomatoes are acidic.
You could chop up a tomato and throw it into the stew or just add some tomato sauce and stir it in. However, other acids work, too! Squeeze in some lemon, lime, or apple vinegar the next time you’ve (accidentally) added too much salt to your dinner.
As MasterClass points out, it’s not just acid that can save your dish. You add some condiments, from sour cream and avocado to ricotta cheese if you’re making a stew or a casserole. The idea is that the creaminess of these ingredients will dilute the salt.
You can also add dairy with a high(er) sugar content to balance out the saltiness. So, for instance, you could add a splash of milk or heavy cream. But oat and coconut milk work, too. However, in a pinch, adding some sugar or even syrup can help.
Which of the secrets shared in this list did you find the most useful, dear Pandas? What are your favorite cooking hacks at home? Are there any special techniques or culinary insights that you’d like to share with everyone else? Feel free to share your thoughts and little nuggets of wisdom in the comment section!
Clean as you cook.However many cloves of garlic the recipe calls for, multiply that by at least 3x.I used to always oversalt my food if I found it a bit bland but then I read somewhere to use lime juice instead and it really does brighten up the flavors.Salt, fat, & acid. That and bouilleon were the trade secrets I picked up when I worked in kitchens back in the day.If you want to make a crisp and fresh salad, soak the vegetables in cold water for about 10 minutes before using.Tried this the other day and the difference is insane. Brings sad leaves back to life.You can do the same with vegetables like carrots or celery. Let them soak in some water for a bit and they'll go from dry and wrinkly to fresh and crunchy pretty quickly!When cooking in a frying pan, don't turn whatever you're cooking unless it moves around freely when you wiggle the pan. If it is still stuck to the bottom, that side isn't done yet. It'll free up naturally once the crust has formed.Add a bit of sugar to salty dishes. Add a bit of salt to sweet dishes. Perfection.I use carbonated water in pancakes.I have a recipe that uses vinegar and baking soda, the best pancakes I have ever eaten bar none! You don’t taste the vinegar at all but they are so fluffy.Have a spray bottle of just water on hand to squirt into your oven before putting in your baked goods. The added moisture almost always improves the texture.When I'm making a sauce for red meat using a red wine, I crumble up a small piece of dark chocolate in it. I don't know if a lot of people know that, but nobody in my family knew.MSG is not the villain. Use it sparingly.Worcestershire sauce in any beef stew/ beef mince dish.A little bit of brown sugar in a tomato base (such as chilli) doesn't really affect the flavor but will help cut the acid and make it easier on your stomach.When cooking rice or vegetables, use chicken or beef broth instead of plain water.Silking cheap meat before using in things like stroganoff or fajitas. In a bowl, mix some oil, spices/seasoning along with something acidic like soy sauce or port wine. Drop the sliced meat in and mix well, then sprinkle baking soda over the top... Enough to make everything start foaming, then stir all again well into a foamy stew and leave it set on the counter for at least 20 minutes. The meat once cooked will be super tender, like in a Chinese takeout dish.The recipe on the back of the Toll House chocolate chip bag, follow it to the letter. Everyone thinks I have the best of the best chocolate chip cookies.For an instant umami blast to any dish. Grind a mix of dried mushrooms to a powder and add as needed.Okay, this is coming from a professional chef who specializes in baking, so listen up! If you cook anything cake-like and the ridge of the pan is higher than what the thing rose to, then you can add a layer of icing immediately after it comes out of the oven. Yes, it'll melt, but then the texture will change to a midway point between ganache and normal icing after it's cooled back down again! Also, the seal it creates is so strong, that it preserves the moisture of the thing underneath. *Perfect* for making brownies that aren't hard as rocks, like most people's! Especially because, after they've cooled, if you cut the brownies up, wrap them individually in plastic wrap, and then freeze them, then they'll have retained enough moisture and crumblyness to end up with a taste and texture that's nearly indistinguishable from an ice cream sandwich! *Try it if you don't believe me*!I use Better Than Bouillon to add flavor to many of the dishes I make - I keep jars of the chicken, beef, and veggie flavors in the fridge to use as needed. I use the beef flavor in pretty much anything that has ground beef, a tablespoon per pound when cooking the meat gives it so much more flavor than using just salt.Parmesan rind in your tomato sauces, stews, etc. It gives a little flavor boost. Anchovy paste cooked in with your aromatics is fantastic it gets nutty and delicious.Asking chocolate cake of brownies? Add a touch of cinnamon. People will taste it but not recognize it. (My experience). It amps up the flavor.Took a cooking class with a chef who worked for the US Olympic team at the Bejing games. His instructions for pasta:
Salt the hell out of the pasta water. It should taste like seawater. The pasta will absorb some of that salt and taste amazing. Don’t bother with oil in the pot, the oil will float on top and not touch the pasta anyway.
Reserve a splash of pasta water for the sauce. It helps thicken it. But since it’s super salty, plan the salt in the sauce accordingly.
Don’t oil the pasta. You want the sauce to stick to the pasta and it’ll slide right off if you use oil. Select a good quality olive oil for a finishing touch. Good quality olive oil will taste grassy and peppery in the back of your throat.Put a couple cloves of garlic in the water with the potatoes you’re going to mash. They get soft enough to blend in. Perfect garlic mashed potatoes.To make grilled chicken more tender and delicious, marinate the meat in salt water for about 30 minutes before grilling.Use salted butter in chocolate chip cookie recipes. Game changer!Use a little espresso (powder) in your brownie batter. It doesn't give a distinct coffee flavour, but it really brings out the taste of the chocolate. Even my coffee hating friends don't notice it, but love my brownies.Add food coloring to your food, or turmeric, to make people not want to eat your food when they see it in the fridge.
Unless you're my grandma, who saw a bright orangey yellow gloppy tuna salad in the fridge and went "Time to scoop this with my bare hand onto my baloney sandwich."
Don't be like grandma.Use a meat thermometer. That stuff is expensive and you want it cooked just right.Okay, brace yourselves for the ultimate flavor bomb: add a dash of fish sauce to your spaghetti sauce. I know, I know, it sounds wild, but trust me, it's the secret umami weapon that'll have everyone asking for your recipe.Cut fresh garlic cloves lengthways if you're going to fry them. They are so much more resilient to burning than cross-cut. Agitate heaps, of course. Works with chilli and ginger, too. Thanks, Bali! The best 3 things you taught me When making cakes, always sift the flour before mixing to make your cakes softer and smoother.If you’re baking and want something to be really tender but stable (like a cake), try reverse creaming. Instead of creaming your butter and sugar and then adding in ingredients, add your softened butter (or shortening or what have you), to your flour mixture first. Essentially, it limits the development of the gluten which is what can make baked goods tough. It’s a good way to closely mimic store-bought mixes while still being home made. There’s a reason genuine San Marzano tomatoes are triple the cost of other canned tomatoes.
If you’re making quality sauce, buy them and don’t second guess it.To lessen saltiness in a dish, I add potatoes, especially on broths/soup.Don’t rinse your raw meat! It’s actually a really good way to spray bacteria all over the place!Add pancake mix to your omelet to make them fluffier. That's what IHOP does!That dish you make all the time from scratch that you've never measured anything for? Figure it out, write it down. We go through phases where we just don't care for our favorite foods as much, and don't make it for a few years. A decade later when you suddenly crave it, you want to be able to make it again. And when you die, your kids or grandkids will love having the recipe.When making beef gravy, add some instant coffee, regular or decaf. It gives you a darker, richer look and taste.A bit of cream cheese in spaghetti sauce cuts the acidity and reduces the chance of heartburn.Don't cook while hungryPutting mayonnaise in Mac and cheese makes it creamierPutting mayonnaise in Mac and cheese makes it creamierMaybe it's well known, but for me discovering adding brown sugar to carrots and parsnips was a game changer
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