30 Pretty Simple Yet Game-Changing Kitchen Secrets, As Shared By Home Chefs In This Online Group

Growing up in Hawaii, everybody knows that the correct amount of water to add to a rice cooker is determined by touching your middle finger to the top of the rice and then filling the water to the first knuckle. It will come out perfect every time. If you start measuring stuff you're going to jack it up.

Before roasting, I slice the skin between the thigh and breast on whole chickens and turkeys and pull the leg quarter away from the carcass. This allows heat to circulate in the thickest part of the meat, evening out and lessening cooking time.

I learned this when I cooked brunches and holidays at the restaurant. Been doing it ever since.

The handle of the knife goes into the palm of your hand, you actually grip and control your chef's knife with your pointer and thumb slightly above the handle at the base of the blade.

It's wierd seeing people hack away at their veggies gripping the knife handle with their whole hand like a leaver. You get more control and your hands don't get as tired when you use the handle as a brace and a counterweight.

I dehydrate whole lemons by placing them on a sunny windowsill and turning them every few days to avoid soft spots and spoilage. It takes a few months then wipe them off with a damp cloth and store them in a dry container or zip bag. All the flavor of the juice goes into the rind and you just use a fine hand grater when you want a kick of the purest lemon flavor you have ever tasted! It’s perfect for when you want the concentrated flavor without adding any additional liquid to your recipe and unlike fresh lemon zest there’s no bitter taste!

I use my fingers to center the yolk in a fried egg.

1 - I bake a half dozen potatoes once a week or so and keep them in the fridge. I dice them up and brown a little before adding eggs, etc for a hearty but easy breakfast.

2 - I keep my lettuce, spinach, etc on paper towels in a dishpan in the fridge with a large plastic bowl cover (like a shower cap). It stays fresh for over a week this way, instead of slimy in a clamshell or bag.

3 - i use 3 eggs for each cup of flour for pancakes and then eyeball the amount of milk (cream!) til pourable. it ups the "healthy" and also helps them to cook nice and tall.

I like to roast a whole chicken in a Dutch oven with potatoes, carrots, celery and onion. Once cooked I take out the chicken, add some broth to the veggies + chicken fat, and blend that as the base for a soup.

Fry the rice kernels until they turn Matte white before adding broth

huge scoop of greek yogurt into pancake or waffle batter -- adds protein and structure

I’ll wad up 4 pieces of aluminum foil and place a rack on top of it to roast chicken or meats or anything really. It makes the rack stand about 3 inches or so above the sheet pan which allows for a lot of air circulation and better browning. Another plus is you can put vegetables under the meat and have the drippings fall onto them.