Culinarian Tips That Could Change Your Cook’n Life!

Did you know that July 25 is National Culinarians Day? This is a special day for anyone who cooks. That means just about every one can celebrate this day. You don't have to be a chef, or a graduate of a culinary institute to celebrate this delicious day. You simply have to cook, and to enjoy the results. Perfect for us Cook’n cooks!

So in honor of this special and FUN day, here are some culinarian tips that could change your cooking life!


Pre-soak your pasta and it will cook in about 60 seconds. Sounds weird, but it works! Soak the pasta in water in a sealed bag for a couple hours or overnight. Then you can cook it super-fast in boiling water; or you could just add it straight to a hot sauce in a pan and let it finish cooking there.


Put a dish towel or damp paper towel under your cutting board to keep it from slipping and wobbling. Let’s hear a big applause for safety!


Use a spoon to peel a kiwi from the inside out. Cut the ends of the kiwi off, then slide the spoon under the skin around the kiwi. What a clever time-saver.



Grate frozen butter straight into your pastry recipe for FAST, even distribution. This is very smart technique that will prevent over-mixing when making pie, biscuits, and anything else where you want to incorporate butter quickly while it's still cold.


Hold cherry tomatoes between two plastic lids to slice them all at once. Just be sure your serrated knife is very sharp, and prepare to be amazed.


Caramelize onions in half the time by adding a little baking soda. The key is moderation. While large amounts of baking soda will dramatically increase the browning rate (by over 50%!), any more than a 1/4 teaspoon per pound of chopped onions is just too much.


Microwave an ear of corn and it'll slip right out of the husk. NO annoying silk to mess with!


Grate ginger with a microplane instead of mincing it. You can freeze the ginger first to make it firm and easy to grate.


Pit cherries with a paperclip. Any way you look at it, there’s not a quick way to pit cherries. But, at least this idea doesn’t call for any expensive equipment, or the space needed to store that expensive equipment!


Fluff your flour with a chopstick. Keep a chopstick in your flour canister and use it to stir and lighten the flour before measuring and to level the cup after scooping.


Mix dressings in a jar. Instead of that precarious bowl-balancing-whisking thing when making vinaigrettes, make them in a Mason jar. Just toss vinegar, Dijon mustard, seasoning, and oil in half-pint or pint jar, screw on the top, and shake well. Plus, you can make extra and store it in the same jar.


Dry salad greens with a kitchen towel. Salad spinners? So bulky and annoying. Instead, pile your just-washed greens into a clean dish towel, gather it by the ends, and swing it around until your salad is dry (or your arm is tired).

Sources:
  •   www.buzzfeed.com
  •   www.cucinakristina.com
  •   www.lifehack.org
  •   www.seriouseats.com
  •   www.pinterest.com
  •   www.thepioneerwoman.com
  •   www.neartonothing.blogspot.com
  •   www.bonapetit.com
  •   www.food-hacks.wonderhowto.com

    Alice Osborne
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
    Email the author! alice@dvo.com


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