Some everyday kitchen tasks are harder than they need to be simply because a small technique is unfamiliar. From boiling potatoes and chopping onions to cooking eggs and grating cheese, using the right sequence can make tasks easier and improve the results. Here are practical tips for common kitchen tasks, with an explanation of why each method is said to work.
Tips for preparing vegetables
Adding a spoonful of vinegar to the water when boiling potatoes makes them more yellow and brings out their flavor. The acid in vinegar sets the surface starch, which helps keep the potatoes from falling apart and reduces cloudy cooking water. To peel tomatoes, dip them in boiling water for a few seconds and then transfer them to cold water. The sudden temperature change loosens the bond between the skin and flesh, making the skin easy to peel off with your fingers.
Onions release gaseous compounds from their cut cells that make your eyes water. Chilling an onion in the freezer for about half an hour before chopping slows the evaporation of these compounds, so they affect your eyes less. Wetting the knife with cold water or cutting the onion away from the root may also reduce the effect somewhat.
Tips for salads and sauces
For a more flavorful salad, first mix vinegar or lemon juice with salt and add it to the salad, then pour in the olive oil. This order helps the salt dissolve in the acidic liquid and spread more evenly over the vegetables. Adding olive oil last coats the leaves with a thin layer and delays wilting.
When making béchamel sauce, salt can curdle the milk. Adding salt after the sauce thickens greatly reduces the risk of curdling, because a sauce thickened with flour and butter is more resistant than milk to changes in acidity and salt. Stir continuously and slowly to prevent lumps and distribute the salt evenly.
Tips for cooking meat and eggs
Adding one 5 ml measure of baking soda to the flour used to fry liver is recommended; it softens the liver and gives it a tender texture. This effect is attributed to baking soda’s mild alkalinity, which loosens the meat fibers.
If you need to boil a cracked egg, rubbing lemon over the crack and lowering the egg into hot water in a spoon to keep the leaking white from spreading is suggested. The egg is ready about 10 minutes after the water boils. Cracking an egg directly into boiling water makes the white set quickly while the yolk stays soft. For pregnant women, young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems, cook eggs until both the yolk and white are firm. Because it cooks without its shell, the egg has a smooth surface and does not need peeling. Keeping the water at a gentle boil helps the egg stay intact.
Tips for rice and pasta
To reheat rice, boil water in one pot and set the pot of rice inside it to warm over a double boiler. This helps the grains stay separate, while rice reheated directly over a flame can stick to the bottom and become mushy. The method also helps the rice regain moisture evenly.
To keep pasta water from boiling over, lay a wooden spoon across the top of the pot; the spoon breaks up the rising foam and delays overflow. If a dish is too salty, adding a few pieces of raw potato may help: the potato absorbs some of the excess salt and balances the flavor.
Tips for preparing and storing ingredients
Cut a pomegranate in half and tap it with a spoon to remove the seeds; the impact loosens them from the membranes, making this quicker than removing them one by one. Soft cheese can be hard to grate. Chilling it in the freezer for 1–2 hours firms it slightly and makes grating easier.
For quince jam, adding the quince before the sugar syrup has fully reduced is recommended; this gives it a softer texture and brighter color. Freezing herbs such as mint and basil in ice cube trays with water is said to help preserve their freshness and vitamin content. Wooden cutting boards can be deodorized by boiling them in water and drying them in the sun.