Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Cooking: Fine Cooking

[Gifted Gourmet]

article from Taunton Press

You don’t have to go to cooking school to become a better cook. There are lots of easy, small things you can do every time you cook to get better, more professional results....

7. Bake pie and tart crusts longer than you think you should...

9. Add a final splash of acid (vinegar or citrus juice) to almost any vegetable or meat dish ...

10. Trust doneness tests over the timer’s buzzer...

More ideas which you may already be aware of and use often ... any more that you might add?

[KatieLoeb]

article from Taunton Press

You don’t have to go to cooking school to become a better cook. There are lots of easy, small things you can do every time you cook to get better, more professional results....

7. Bake pie and tart crusts longer than you think you should...

9. Add a final splash of acid (vinegar or citrus juice) to almost any vegetable or meat dish ...

10. Trust doneness tests over the timer’s buzzer...

More ideas which you may already be aware of and use often ... any more that you might add?

←

Undercook things just a little. The "carryover cooking" always makes the protein more done than you think when you pull it off the heat.

[mizducky]

Fat carries flavor. Free yourself from the popular culture's fear of fat, and use enough of it, of the right type and quality, to accomplish the culinary task at hand. Deprogramming myself from my mother's blind worship of margarine and "vegetable" oil and learning not to be stingy with the butter and olive oil was a major leap forward in my coming of age as a cook. Corollary: don't be trimming off the layer of fat from that roast nor removing the skin from that poultry before cooking--that's where all the flavor and juiciness come from!

[OnigiriFB]

Fat carries flavor. Free yourself from the popular culture's fear of fat, and use enough of it, of the right type and quality, to accomplish the culinary task at hand. Deprogramming myself from my mother's blind worship of margarine and "vegetable" oil and learning not to be stingy with the butter and olive oil was a major leap forward in my coming of age as a cook. Corollary: don't be trimming off the layer of fat from that roast nor removing the skin from that poultry before cooking--that's where all the flavor and juiciness come from!

←

Here, here Miz Ducky! I agree american culture is way too scared of fat. I always thinks its funny when my friends will drink tons of soda, eat fast food, eat tons of processed food but refuses to eat the fat on a steak, chicken skin or dark meat, and uses margarine. Blech. Give me the fat and crispy skin and real butter please.

[fifi]

I second all of the above on the fat thing. Fat is a good thing. It feeds your nervous system and maintains your brain.

After that, I would say that the use of stocks and their reductions has added a lot of character to my cooking.

[Anna N]

Get the pan hot enough to accomplish the task. I keep reminding myself of this because it is the one thing that can make a huge difference between searing and steaming! Same with deep frying. Use a thermometer and get that oil to the right temperature.

[petite tête de chou]

Stop with the constant stirring, pushing, turning, poking and peeking! I used to be like a crazed church mouse running to and fro in my kitchen, lifting lids, opening the oven door, turning chicken breasts that had been in the pan for less than one minute. Basically on the verge of a cooking-induced panic. Then, in time, I learned that rice enjoys lots of steam to cook- keep the lid on, chicken won't stick to my pan if I give it a few minutes to form a crust and I bought an oven with a light inside so that I can peek to my hearts content. Also, I found that I almost never injure myself if I simply pay attention to what I'm doing!

[artisan02]

Fat carries flavor. Free yourself from the popular culture's fear of fat, and use enough of it, of the right type and quality, to accomplish the culinary task at hand. Deprogramming myself from my mother's blind worship of margarine and "vegetable" oil and learning not to be stingy with the butter and olive oil was a major leap forward in my coming of age as a cook. Corollary: don't be trimming off the layer of fat from that roast nor removing the skin from that poultry before cooking--that's where all the flavor and juiciness come from!

←

And free yourself of the fear of salting. I don;t know how many times I have eaten things that have not been salted enough to bring out the flavor. I think folks are as scared of salt as they are of fat.

[fatmat]

stop being afraid of butter and cream - they make food taste great

[gsquared]

Add a pinch of sugar to savoury dishes and a pinch of salt to sweet ones.

[miladyinsanity]

I agree on the salt thing. My saltiness threshold is very, very low--just a little quirk of mine.

So when I first started cooking, I always stinged on the salt, because I was afraid it would get too salty.

Never stinge on the cream though. It's why my scrambled eggs are so often almost white. LOL!

[Shalmanese]

1. Cook with animal fats: Duck fat, Bacon fat, lard, tallow, schmaltz, even butter. All of these will add a deep, rich flavour you can't get from vegtable oil

2. Roast Garlic & Garlic Oil: Add a deep and rich yet subtle garlic flavour to many dishes. Leafy green vegtables sauteed in just a little bit of garlic oil and salt in a non-stick pan is a healthy and very tasty side dish.

3. Get a thermometer and use it in everything: Once you starting thinking of foods in terms of temperature instead of time or colour, then your cooking will become more consistant and you will gain a better understanding of how to cook

4. Get a set of accurate scales: Same deal

5. Brown something completely: The more you brown something, the more flavourful maillard reactions happen and the richer in flavour. Ideally, you want to cook it until just before it starts burning and producing acrid, bitter components. Most people are often surprised at how far you cook something before it starts burning and usually back off to early for fear of burning. It takes a good 20 minutes or so of cooking to get something fully browned.

6. KISS: Keep the flavours simple and complimentary. Don't dump seasonings on willy nilly or pile plates full of assorted sides. Think about the role of each ingredient in a dish and how it will serve to complement the whole.

[kaneel]

Gimme some garlic, onion and high heat and i'll make almost anything taste good

[PCL]

I like Thomas Keller's advice:

Slow down and think about it... or words to that effect. Moving with deliberation is so important.

[Shinboners]

Keep your knives sharp. It'll make cutting ingredients to their proper size so much easier and so much more pleasurable.

And don't be afraid of the cooking process. Be confident without being cocky. As Fergus Henderson noted, food has a habit of misbehaving if you're afraid that things won't turn out.

[snowangel]

Ask eGullet members for advice.

[fatmat]

Step away from the recipe book - do your own thing, experiment. It won't always be perfect. Somtimes it will be awful, but you will learn so much more. Anyone can follow a set of instructions, but doing it for yourself will teach you a feel for your food. With feeling comes passion

[Chef Fowke]

If you take care of the outside of the meat, the inside will take care of itself...

1. only cook meats that are at room temperature

2. season right before cooking with FINE salt (sea or otherwise) to allow blood to be evenly pulled to the surface for proper caramelizing

3. do not overload a pan (leave lots of space between items to avoid steaming)

4. use more oil then you think

5. add butter to oil when sautéing

6. even on the stove top; baste, baste, baste!

7. always remove meats one degree below desired degree and let sit

These 7 steps were DRILLED into me as a young chef and they still make any meat taste better!

[Corinna Dunne]

Step away from the recipe book - do your own thing, experiment. It won't always be perfect. Somtimes it will be awful, but you will learn so much more. Anyone can follow a set of instructions, but doing it for yourself will teach you a feel for your food. With feeling comes passion

←

I agree with this, but only after you have followed the recipe to the letter. In the past, I would often tweek a recipe as I go, changing things to suit my tastes. But I find that by adhering to a recipe for the first try out, I discover so much more and get a true appreciation of say, why a certain herb is suggested over another. Good cookbook writers have already played around with many variations and what they propose is generally the result of much research.

[Anna N]

When using a stand mixer, always take the time to scrape down the bowl frequently. I learned this, as I learn most things, the hard way!

[fud]

Age your meat (steak) and use a hanger. At least 2 to 3 days.

This one little thing will make a HUGE difference. I totally agree with the "never cook meat until it has reached room temp fist". This is also true.

Plus you get to "watch your meat" develop. It's so exciting. Oh boy oh boy we're having meat in 2 days, LOOK at it <drool>

And of course...read my sig.

[Genny]

Taste. Everything. Often. It is amazing to taste something as simple as pasta in it's various stages: uncooked, partially cooked, al dente, overcooked. Tasting sauces, broths, for salt, pepper, seasonings, flavors, textures throughout the cooking process is a great teacher to get to know the difference between Raw, Almost and Perfect.

[PCL]

I read that in the Zuni Cafe cookbook. Was camping out over the Christmas/New Year season and I extended the practise of tasting to things being cooked over the fire/coals. A bit difficult at times with smoke and sparks and sometimes lack of light, but generally, I believe my campfire cooking has improved too!!

[docsconz]

While using a thermometer to cook meats, unless cooking sous vide, never leave the meat in the oven until the target temperature!

[JLam]

Some of the best things I've come up with in the kitchen are the results of screwing something up. Of course, some of the worst things I've come up with are the results of screwing up, so it evens out.

My humble advice would be to not be afraid of making mistakes.