Cooking Tips Thread

dorsetmiss_2

My fave cooking tip ever and I still smile every time I do it, (think someone on here posted about it originally!) I've always hated crumbling stock cubes...yuk..all that gunk left on your usually damp fingers
However, :j if you open the foil 'wings' then place the heel of your hand on top of the cube and lean on it then the cube breaks into granules and you can just tear the foil open and pour out the contents....and no messy fingers

kethry

something i learned fairly recently but didn't know for a long time: if cooking anything with both onion and tomato in it, make sure your onion is completely cooked before adding the tomato. Apparently the tomato contains something which stops the onion cooking any further once its added.

i'd also say: boullion, marigold's boullion is wonderful, i add a sprinkling of it to just about any casserole/stew going, it just adds so much in the way of flavour. I use the basic one, and hardly ever add salt.

worcestershire sauce has been mentioned but mushroom ketchup is another good one to add to just about any dark meat based casserole dish (like beef, lamb etc.) but i've also used it in the sausage casserole packet dish from Colemans.

if doing a minced beef/lamb dish (chilli, spag bol, shep pie) try using half your beef and bulking out the rest with green lentils. boil 4 oz for 10 mins before using, and then you can just stir into the beef mix once the beef is brown. It'll pick up the flavour of the beef, and because its green, its not as obvious as the red ones. I even got this past my dad, who is notorious for not wanting his food "messed around with", with any "new fangled ideas" and HATES garlic. He even asked for the recipe (it was a spag bol dish)... i hated to point out that there were three cloves of garlic in it.. !!!

will add more when/if i think of em..

keth
xx

competitionscafe

kethry wrote:

if doing a minced beef/lamb dish (chilli, spag bol, shep pie) try using half your beef and bulking out the rest with green lentils. boil 4 oz for 10 mins before using, and then you can just stir into the beef mix once the beef is brown. It'll pick up the flavour of the beef, and because its green, its not as obvious as the red ones.

Good idea - I guess you could try puy lentils (the brown ones from France) too as they are the right colour, tasty and healthy too + go particularly well with lamb.

mikeywills

Boiling Pasta as OP first question, I always make sure the water is rapidly boiling first before adding the pasta. When the pasta goes in I stir for the first minute or two while the heat gets back to boiling, this stops the pasta sticking together and to the bottom of the pan.

I have heard about the oil before, but you should put the oil in before you add the pasta and stir the water so it gathers the oil to the centre then add the pasta into the centre through the oil.

This stirring water techniques works with fresh eggs when making poached eggs too, but not to hot if they are slightly older, as the white tends to be looser and less prone to staying together with the yolk.

competitionscafe

Can recommend an excellent book which is full of cooking tips, advice and know-how - got it last year for Christmas and use it all the time. It's called 'Don't Sweat the Aubergine: What works in the kitchen and why' by Nicholas Clee and I think it recently came out in paperback too. Highly recommended - put it on your Christmas wishlist.

Hardback (for reviews/info):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Sweat-Aubergine-works-kitchen/dp/1904977278

Paperback (cheaper):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Sweat-Aubergine-Works-Kitchen/dp/1904977782/

kethry

competitionscafe wrote:

Good idea - I guess you could try puy lentils (the brown ones from France) too as they are the right colour, tasty and healthy too + go particularly well with lamb.

aye, you could, but i've found that green lentils are cheaper than puy lentils, maybe because of the snob factor? anyway, for me, the ££ factor is prime - i simply don't have a lot of spare cash, so i have to make do with green

keth
xx

pickle

If you want to thicken a dish eg. stew then stir a teaspoon of cornflour with a little water in a cup to make a paste and then add to the pot and stir in. It will thicken in a minute or two.

Peem

competitionscafe wrote:

C'Don't Sweat the Aubergine: What works in the kitchen and why' by Nicholas Clee

Aww Man! that's yet another cook book I want to buy - my list is faaaar too long.:o

junior_j

If you are cooking a onion and only need half , but the half with the root in the fridge , its lasts a lot longer then the end without roots.

I made banana cake today

we always have bananas in the house so that cost me nothing but for 2 pounds i made two batches with sultanas , this will be a cheap and nice snack for the family and goes well with after dinner and luch things to..

Add onion tomatoes and veg to any meals used with mince.

Turn the oven (if fan/eletric oven) of for the last 5-15 mins as it takes AGES to cool down
When boiling veg for the last 5 mins turn the hob off put the lid on the veg and it will finish cooking with the oven off.

Erm think thats all my recent little tips

Jess x

Stephen_Leak

Good tips, especially the one about the oven.

And I shall repay you with some cooking tips of mine ...


HOW TO CHOP AN ONION QUICKLY, SO IT DOESN’T MAKE YOU CRY

Peel it. Cut off and discard the top end. Cut it in half from top to bottom. Place the halves cut face down. Hold it by the bottom end. Make one horizontal cut halfway across through it, but only as far as the bottom end you are holding. Make parallel vertical cuts down through it, from one side to the other, but only as far as the bottom end you are holding. Then make parallel vertical cuts across through it, from top to bottom, but only as far as the bottom end you are holding. Discard the bottom end. Repeat for the other half.


HOW TO CUT A ROUND SWEET PEPPER INTO STRAIGHT SLICES

Cut the top and bottom off but don’t throw them away. Remove and discard the middle bit with the seeds. Make a cut down it. Open it out. The round pepper is now a flat rectangular pepper. Cut into slices. Cut the stalk out of the top end and then chop it and the bottom end into tiny pieces. Add the chopped pepper to the dish.


HOW TO CUT A TOMATO INTO TWO HALVES WITH FANCY POINTED EDGES

Hold the tomato on its side. Make a series of continuous "sawtooth" cuts around the middle by holding the knife vertically and at a 45° angle and stabbing it right down through the tomato until the tip hits the chopping board underneath. Adjust the last few cuts to meet the start of your first cut. The two halves of the tomato should pull apart.