cooking 'tips' you learned and want to pass on

lollipopsarah

ewwwwwwwwwwwwww pease pudding my dad loved it with a fried egg on top (bleugh - sorry smells like sick to me).
Agree with the bovril type stuff fantastic in a casserole.
xx

Debtphobic_Dinah

Some people have mentioned adding dark chocolate to a chilli con carne but I add cocoa powder 1 tbs which is just as good and I am not tempted to eat it in the cupboard.

A beaten egg added to mashed potatoes makes them richer and needing less butter.

Microwave potatoes for 3 mins each before baking in oven to minimise cooking time.

meritaten

Eenymeeny wrote: »

A dollop of bovril (about half a tablespoonful according to taste!) added to stews, casseroles etc adds a lovely deep, meaty flavour.
A tub of pease pudding added to vegetable soup helps to thicken it and adds more protein. ( I keep a couple of tubs in the freezer, very handy for when I've forgotten to add lentils or split peas or am in a hurry) You can also get it in tins if fresh isn't available.

I add a teaspoon of Marmite to beef stews - but yes, Bovril would work too! I love both Marmite and Bovril and prefer Bovril beef stock cubes over OxO any day! but my nan and mum never used these, they are 'discoveries' of my own!

If stew is too 'thin' then I reach for a tin of either butter beans or any cooked white bean. mash it up with a fork and add to the stew. thickens it beautifully while adding to the nutritional value!

jackieblack

I add marmite to any beef dish, cottage pie, spag bol etc as well as stews, casseroles and beef gravy.
I started as an attempt to get a few extra vitamins into DD when she was a toddler, now it tastes like something is missing if I don't!

LittleBill

Inherited a couple of huge bags of pudding rice from my brother's house when he died last year (a consummate bulk buyer)

Far too much to use for puddings, so have used now instead of Arborio rice in risotto .. Works very well and a man on a speeding horse, couldn't tell the diff

Plus, just remembered .. If you have no wine for risotto .. Use vermouth .. You only need an egg cup full mixed with water to the equivalent of what you'd use in wine (a glassful) .. Also saves opening/using white wine even if you have it!

Eenymeeny

lollipopsarah wrote: »

ewwwwwwwwwwwwww pease pudding my dad loved it with a fried egg on top (bleugh - sorry smells like sick to me).
Agree with the bovril type stuff fantastic in a casserole.
xx

You're right, couldn't fancy egg with pease pudding:(
We have it with ham in sandwiches. I have a vegetarian sister who introduced me to beetroot and pease pudding sandwiches recently. Not bad...
We were brought up on Bovril sandwiches, still love it on fresh white bread, although it doesn't taste the same as when we were kids. It actually used to say suitable for soups and sandwiches on the lid although that's been removed now. (Must have been part of the building-up-after the war thing!)
I think that it's suitable for vegetarians now as it doesn't contain anything meat-related!

Poppy27

Fen1 wrote: »

Freeze bunches of parsley, the stalks tied together with a band. No need to chop before freezing. Just chop as much as you need from the top of the bunch, straight out of the freezer.

I do this with lots of fresh herbs! Buy in bunches and freeze, then just chop/crumble the frozen herbs straight into your cooking. I've had success doing this with herbs such as rosemary, tarragon, parsley, coriander and sage.

room512

Poppy27 wrote: »

I do this with lots of fresh herbs! Buy in bunches and freeze, then just chop/crumble the frozen herbs straight into your cooking. I've had success doing this with herbs such as rosemary, tarragon, parsley, coriander and sage.

We do this with basil - pick the leaves off the plant and put in a plastic bag and then in the freezer

Frogletina

Eenymeeny wrote: »

We were brought up on Bovril sandwiches, still love it on fresh white bread, although it doesn't taste the same as when we were kids. It actually used to say suitable for soups and sandwiches on the lid although that's been removed now. (Must have been part of the building-up-after the war thing!)
I think that it's suitable for vegetarians now as it doesn't contain anything meat-related!

From Wikipedia

In November 2004, the manufacturers, Unilever, announced that the composition of Bovril was being changed from beef extract to a yeast extract, claiming it was to make the product suitable for vegetarians and vegans; at that time fear of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) may have been a factor. According to Unilever, "in blind taste tests, 10% didn't notice any difference in taste, 40% preferred the original and 50% preferred the new product" It now once again makes Bovril using beef extract and a chicken variety using chicken extract, although the vegetarian formula is still sold in some countries, such as Australia and Hong Kong.

Eenymeeny

Frogletina wrote: »

From Wikipedia

In November 2004, the manufacturers, Unilever, announced that the composition of Bovril was being changed from beef extract to a yeast extract, claiming it was to make the product suitable for vegetarians and vegans; at that time fear of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) may have been a factor. According to Unilever, "in blind taste tests, 10% didn't notice any difference in taste, 40% preferred the original and 50% preferred the new product" It now once again makes Bovril using beef extract and a chicken variety using chicken extract, although the vegetarian formula is still sold in some countries, such as Australia and Hong Kong.

Thanks for that Frogletina, it still doesn't taste the same to me. Maybe it's my rose-tinted taste buds...
(We have friends living in Holland who bemoan the fact that they can't get Bisto and Fruit gums over there since the BSE thing)
Sorry to go off topic OP:o