Cooks' Tips

Useful tips come from all the cooking classes and schools many of us have attended along with our experience and those of our mothers or grandmothers.

• The screw on top of the pepper mill is tightened or loosened depending on what type of grind you prefer. The loosest will be the coarsest and tightest will be finer.

• If you have a quality mill and it is not working, dump out the peppercorns. Replace with uncooked white rice and grind that until no more dark specks are coming out the bottom. Dump the rice and replace with pepper and your mill should be like new. FYI, better quality peppercorns tend to be oilier and more prone to plug a mill.

• Use a potato peeler to cut thin slices of a lime or lemon for drinks or garnish. When it is thinly cut, you can use your sharp knife to make it any shape.

• Sprinkling salt on onions causes them to release more moisture and will make them cook better.

• While shaping meatballs, wet your hands so the mixture will not stick to your hands and will be easier to roll them.

• Always toast nuts whole and then chop. Toast extra and freeze.

• Cutting dessert bars is easier if you score the bars as soon as the pan comes out of the oven. When the bars cool, cut along the scored lines.

• Chop toasted almonds with a knife on a board. Do not use a food processor, as the almonds will turn to powder.

• Every kitchen needs an oven thermometer. Test your oven by putting it in a cold oven, middle shelf. When the oven is at the temperature you set, check the thermometer. You can Google your make/model of oven to get instructions on adjusting the temperature if it is needed.  

• Wash salad and vegetables with bottled water. If vegetables are going to be cooked, tap water is fine.

• Pasta should not be put in pot of water until the salted water is boiling. Always keep a half-cup of the salted pasta water in which the pasta was cooked to thin the sauce. It may only take a few tablespoons, but it will make it easier to dress the pasta and it will be moist before serving.

• The only time you rinse pasta is when it is going to be used in a cold pasta salad. After rinsing, dress it immediately so it does not stick together.

• When the movers come to pack your kitchen, throw a pinch of salt into your empty airtight containers. It will keep them from getting smelly during the trip.

• To keep green vegetables bright after boiling, immediately put them in ice water - for a few seconds.  

• Spray your measuring cups or scoops when working with batter, honey, or peanut butter. It will release very easily and makes cleanup easy, and you get a more accurate measure.

• For crisper lighter pancakes or waffles, separate your egg yolk and egg white. Beat the room temperature egg whites to a soft peak and fold them into the batter. Do not mix, just fold and use immediately. 

• Eggs come in different sizes, jumbo, extra-large, large, medium, and small. In Thailand, they come 0, 1, 2 or 3. Many recipes call for a specific size of egg. In that case, be sure to use the recommended size. Eggs are like pre-measured ingredients. If a recipe calls for three jumbo eggs but you use three large eggs, the recipe will be missing integral moisture and protein content to create the correct result. If the recipe does not specify what size of egg to use, default to large eggs (size 1 in Thailand), as this is often an assumption on the part of the cook or recipe writer. Always buy Grade AA eggs when available.

• Eggshells are porous and will pick up odors if stored in the same area as other foods, especially onions and garlic. Eggs will last up to one month in the refrigerator, but eggs will change slightly as they age. The freshest eggs (under a week old) are ideal for using in baking, while slightly older eggs are great for hard-boiling, older eggs peel more easily. Cracked eggs will go bad within a day or two, so always check the carton before purchasing. Fresh eggs that have never been refrigerated do not need to be refrigerated. Once refrigerated, you must refrigerate.

• Eggs should always be at room temperature when baking or separating. Room temperature eggs will achieve a higher volume when whipped.

• When cold eggs are added to a batter, butter (which was probably also room temp and soft) solidifies in little fat globules that can lead to uneven distribution of ingredients, lumps, or voids where globules of butter used to be before baking.

• Baking cookies – parchment paper makes it so much easier. Roll your cookies out on parchment paper, leaving a little space between cookies when you cut them. Then, lift off the scraps, leaving the cookies on the parchment. Lift the sheet of parchment onto your cookie sheet and bake them. Lift the whole sheet to the cooling racks to cool, then remove and allow them to cool completely. This keeps the cookies from being distorted or stretched when transferring to the cookie sheet.

• After filling your cake pan, always tap it on the counter a few times. The air bubbles will surface, and you can smooth them out. If you have air bubbles in the mix, you will have holes in your cake.

• Every cook needs a really good chef’s knife that feels comfortable in your hand, with a blade 8 to 9 inches long, and buy a honing steel to keep it sharp. Sharpen your blade every time you use the knife.

• Brine - Brining infuses water and some salt into the meat. Brine with salt, herbs, and spices. Be sure to completely rinse and then rinse again to remove all the salt from the meat. There are many brine recipes online. 

• After polishing, seal silverware in plastic bags. It can be laid flat and even packaged in individual place settings.

Do you have a food saver machine? If so, see if any of these tips help:

• Cereal bags, potato chip bags and baking supplies are just a few that can be resealed in their original packaging. Seal the bags before putting them back in the box

• Any bag that comes with a sealed edge can be resealed with the food saver machine.

• DO NOT use the vacuum, just seal as close to the edge as possible and each time you use, cut off just the seal.