The Quintessential eG Kitchen Tips/Trucs

**andiesenji** · August 19, 2017

10 hours ago, lindag said:

Something I learned here...now I always steam, rather than boil, my hard cooked eggs.

Me too - I use an egg cooker - have been doing since the late 1950s.

Currently I use one from the '60s that holds 8 eggs and last evening I cooked 8 very fresh eggs from my friend who raises "fancy" chickens. He brought the eggs on Sunday, they were laid Saturday.

When the cooker clicked off I plunged the eggs into ice water and cracked them and left them in the ice water for five minutes then the peels just slid off.

I don't have to use a timer, I know exactly how much water to use and the cooker even has a needle in the center to pierce the big ends of the eggs.

I use a lot of boiled eggs, soft or hard and I don't know why everyone doesn't have one of these little appliances that function so well.

Martin Fisher · August 19, 2017

I've been steaming rather than boiling eggs for a very long time too.

I can't remember where I picked up that tip—it's been so long.

Martin Fisher · August 19, 2017

8 hours ago, andiesenji said:

...pierce the big ends of the eggs.

I use a blood glucose lancet device. Works like a charm!

chromedome · August 21, 2017

On 18/08/2017 at 0:34 AM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Something I learned in my young married life: a clove of garlic is not a bulb.

When a recipe calls for a clove, I generally use a bulb.

...Unless it's my father's garlic. Then a clove is quite sufficient (often up to 25-30g, or roughly an ounce).

liuzhou · August 21, 2017

I use Sichuan single clove garlic (独蒜), so a bulb and a clove are the same! I'm told that it does sometimes turn up in Asian stores in the west.

dcarch · August 21, 2017

Speaking of garlic, a very insignificant tip:

For right-handed chefs, when you hold the knife with you left hand to smash garlic, try to have the knife edge face towards you right hand and smash. Because when you use the knife to scoop up the smashed garlic, you will be using the knife facing the otherway. This way you only have one face of the knife getting garlicky.

Reverse the above if your are a lefty.

dcarch

liuzhou · August 21, 2017

2 hours ago, dcarch said:

Speaking of garlic, a very insignificant tip:

For right-handed chefs, when you hold the knife with you left hand to smash garlic, try to have the knife edge face towards you right hand and smash. Because when you use the knife to scoop up the smashed garlic, you will be using the knife facing the otherway. This way you only have one face of the knife getting garlicky.

Reverse the above if your are a lefty.

dcarch

I am right handed and hold the knife in my right hand when I smash garlic. Why change it to the left hand?

And if my knife gets too "garlicky", I wash it.

JoNorvelleWalker · August 21, 2017

I never smash garlic with a knife. The thought makes me cringe. If I want smashed garlic I use a pestle.

dcarch · August 21, 2017

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I never smash garlic with a knife. The thought makes me cringe. If I want smashed garlic I use a pestle.

Smashing the garlic with the knife is to make it easier to peel the skin off, not to make garlic paste. Although there is a nice technique to make paste with a knife.

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

I am right handed and hold the knife in my right hand when I smash garlic. Why change it to the left hand?

And if my knife gets too "garlicky", I wash it.

As I said, it's a very insignificant tip. I have many other more complicated tips on youtube. Here is one:

For those who use the left hand to hold the knife and the right hand to smash, it make it easier to use the right hand to pick out the skin. Also there is always some small pieces of garlic which will stick to that side of the knife face as you are smashing.

dcarch

Edited August 21, 2017 by dcarch (log)

Thanks for the Crepes · August 22, 2017

I fear smashing garlic with the side of a knife. I use the smooth side of my meat mallet to smash cloves for peeling. Come to think of it, I use it more for that and breaking up frozen veggies which have fused than I use it for actually pounding meat.

Martin Fisher · August 22, 2017

3 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

I fear smashing garlic with the side of a knife.

I drop a frozen chicken on it.

Martin Fisher · August 24, 2017

Since I'm the world's most disorganized person and I'm CONSTANTLY misplacing stuff (especially shears/scissors.)

I'm seriously considering obtaining a good pair of stainless steel kitchen shears and mounting them next to the sink—for easy cleaning—on a suitable stainless steel chain so the suckers can't 'go' anywhere!

Something else to add to the birthday and Christmas wish lists.

dcarch · August 24, 2017

2 minutes ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

Since I'm the world's most disorganized person and I'm CONSTANTLY misplacing stuff (especially shears/scissors.)

Tip:

Buy three of everything. You increase the chance of finding things 300%.

dcarch

Martin Fisher · August 24, 2017

Just now, dcarch said:

Tip:

Buy three of everything. You increase the chance of finding things 300%.

dcarch

Tried that long, long ago!

There are far more than 3 of almost anything around here that's regularly used.

It hasn't helped!!!

lindag · August 24, 2017

I also have a serious issue with kitchen scissors...I have a pair in nearly every kitchen drawer because I use them for so many things these days. Everything you buy seems to be hermetically sealed and has to be slashed open with a box cutter or shears.

Besides, I have a penchant for kitchen tools of all kinds and have accumulated quite a few over the years.

liuzhou · August 25, 2017

I think I've mentioned this before somewhere on eG, but I keep a small pair of regular office scissors, bought from my local stationery shop, on a hook above the kitchen counter. They are useful for opening many packets, snipping herbs etc. There is a large pair of kitchen scissors there too, but they don't get half the use the small ones do.

Edited August 25, 2017 by liuzhou (log)

chromedome · August 25, 2017

My father bought me this pair many years ago, and they've been great. Not well-designed for hanging from a hook, mind you.

They've helped me shuck many hundreds of pounds of lobster over the years.

Martin Fisher · August 25, 2017

31 minutes ago, chromedome said:

My father bought me this pair many years ago, and they've been great. Not well-designed for hanging from a hook, mind you.

They've helped me shuck many hundreds of pounds of lobster over the years.

Beautiful!

Lee Valley/Veritas has some great stuff!

chromedome · August 25, 2017

My dad was a big fan.

Anna N · August 25, 2017

1 hour ago, chromedome said:

My father bought me this pair many years ago, and they've been great. Not well-designed for hanging from a hook, mind you.

They've helped me shuck many hundreds of pounds of lobster over the years.

I also have these and love them but I don't consider them all-purpose kitchen shears by any means. They are great for poultry and for lobster but are not suited to many tasks where simple kitchen shears shine.

Edited August 25, 2017 by Anna N (log)

chromedome · August 25, 2017

1 minute ago, Anna N said:

I also have these and love them but I don't consider them all-purpose kitchen shears by any means. They are great for poultry and for lobster but are not suited to many tasks where simple kitchen shears shine.

Oh, agreed. We have a couple pairs of the conventional ones, purchased from Walmart or Dollarama or some similarly downmarket retailer, which get used for things like opening bags and snipping fresh herbs from the backyard beds.

Porthos · November 13, 2017

I thought of a couple of things that I do.

Crouching down has become difficult for me. Finding things on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator is particular challenge. I started using baker's half sheets on the bottom shelf to act ike a poor man's slide-out shelf. They have the added advantage of being easily cleaned if meat juices and the like spill on them.

After a real "Duh!" moment I realized that I could use a measuring cup for the rinse aid for my dishwasher and pour it in without risking overflow. For my machine it's 3 ounces.

Edited November 13, 2017 by Porthos (log)

quiet1 · November 13, 2017

I have two pairs of scissors in the kitchen - a cheap blue pair from Ikea and a slightly nicer set that came with a magnetic sheath that I have stuck to the side of the fridge. Blue pair are for whatever someone invariably wants to grab scissors from the kitchen for that will get them beat up or dirty, the fridge pair are for things like cutting open packets where they might potentially come in contact with food. Given the wide range of odd things I know the blue ones get used for, I feel better having another set even though in theory they can be cleaned. (In practice I'm not sure even the dishwasher gets into all the nooks and crannies. As I've mentioned my mom lives with us and is immune compromised due to cancer so it's just easier to minimize risk.)

Anna N · September 27, 2018

Well I think it’s time somebody added a “new” trick here. Not mine by any means. It is courtesy of Martha who is filling my TV screen because the orher things that I can watch are even more stomach-churning than she.

Use a sushi rolling mat when you are trying to make a roll of cookies or crackers to be sliced and baked.

Edited September 28, 2018 by Anna N
Extraneous word removed. (log)