Culinary knowledge is one of those skills that once you master it, changes your life. Let’s face it, we will always need to eat, so knowing how to squeeze every ounce of flavor from even the most simple ingredients will pay dividends for the rest of our lives. But behind cookbooks and old family recipes, there are mountains of secret techniques waiting to be discovered.
A netizen wanted to hear others' favorite cooking hacks and the internet delivered. Some were common sense ideas that people discovered too late, others were weird tricks that actually work, so get your notebooks and get comfortable, there are some great hacks listed here. Be sure to upvote your favorites and comment your own cooking secrets below.
#42
Whenever you make poultry in the oven, do not waste the sweet drippins' on the pan when it's done. Thats pure flavor right there bubba, grab u some red wine vinegar and scrape the pan with a spatula. Then pour that good stuff over the meat. Easier than a sonofabitch and tastes damn good too. Bless.
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39points
#44
Wash berries in white vinegar, then, rinse them in water.
Greatly extends their shelf life, the vinegar does a good job of killing mold and such, without effecting the taste.
Wash in vinegar, not soak. And rinse in water immediately.
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36points
#45
Do similar tasks all at once. Making potatoes and carrots? Peel both first, then chop, don't do one veg and then the other. You'll have a better rhythm with your tools and you'll only have to change tools once instead of three times. Breaking down a pack of chicken thighs? Do all the skins and fat at once, all the bones at once, then all the slicing at once.
Also, keep a damp rag next to your cutting board for cleaning your board and knife, and keep a dry rag over your shoulder for drying or wiping anything as needed. This saves a ton of trips over to the sink and/or towel holder.
33points
#46
If a veggie grows underground, put it in the pot before it comes to a boil. Any other veggie, and everything else (spaghetti, instant ramen, rice, meat, seafood) put it in when it is boiling
edit, not rice idk why I said that
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33points
#48
Hard boiled eggs.
Steam them in a veggie basket and they peel perfectly, no old eggs or new eggs trick or anything
Steam for 13 min and put in cold water. 98% success rate.
Steam them in a veggie basket and they peel perfectly, no old eggs or new eggs trick or anything
Steam for 13 min and put in cold water. 98% success rate.
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31points
#49
start cooking with an empty dishwasher and fill as you go.
always have a red and a white wine specifically for cooking lying around.
farmers market produce keeps longer than most other produce.
let your lettuce sit in ice water until your ready to serve to maximize crunch.
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29points
#50
Never use margarine in a recipe, always use real butter. The taste of margarine is entirely different even if people claim it isn't.
When using Lipton's onion soup mix in a recipe, always add double what the recipe calls for.
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26points