If you’ve been listening to Food Network Canada Quick Bites on Corus Radio, you’ve been hearing some great tips and tricks to elevate your skills in the kitchen. Little tricks can make all the difference from beginning to end. It can be anything, like having a designated waste bowl to avoid going back and forth to your garbage bin, or pealing your ginger with a spoon. These quick bites of knowledge can take your kitchen skills from good to great.
1. Read the recipe
When cooking a new recipe, always read the recipe all the way through before starting the cooking process. This may sound so simple and basic, but you can avoid many cooking mistakes this way. Take the time to fully understand and process the upcoming steps in your cooking or baking. Go a step further by prepping your ingredients before you start cooking. Professional chefs call this mise en place.
Related: Our Baking Expert Reveals 10 Baking Supplies You Can’t Live Without
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2. Bloom your cocoa powder before putting it into your recipes
Nothing is better than a rich, chocolatey dessert, so you always want to be sure you’re getting the most out of your cocoa. When a recipe calls for cocoa powder, bloom it before mixing it with your other ingredients. Doing this will bring out the cocoa’s rich flavour while also enhancing the chocolatey smell. You can bloom your cocoa powder with a number of different things such as hot water, coffee or milk. Each one will bring out different flavours in the cocoa so test it out to see which flavour you like best.
3. Invest in a great chef’s knife
There are so many kitchen gadgets on the market. But when it comes to kitchen gadgets, less is more and cupboard space is valuable. Skip the one-use gadgets like an apple slicer or a garlic press, and invest in a good quality chef’s knife instead.You will use it much more than a gadget that you may only use once a week. It is also a great opportunity to practice your knife skills.
Related: Top 5 Kitchen Knives Every Home Cook Should Own
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4. Freeze your butter
Instead of cutting butter into a baking recipe the old fashioned way, freeze it and then grate it into your dry ingredients. It’s easier to do, requires less strength, and is generally quicker. Another tip is to make sure you are using the best butter for whatever baked good you are making.
5. Measure by weight
Measuring your ingredients by weight is a lot easier than you’d think. You can find a small kitchen scale at many home or kitchen stores. Measuring by weight can also be more exact than measuring cups.
6. Turn off the heat
When cooking eggs, whether they be scrambled, fried or sunny side up, turn the heat off just before they’re done cooking. The residual heat will finish cooking them for you so they’re not overdone. Click here to learn how to perfectly poach an egg.
7. Keep your cutting board still
It is the worst when your cutting board is slippery, or lopsided. To stop your cutting board from sliding around or tipping, place a damp kitchen towel, paper towel or tea towel underneath the cutting board. This will keep it in place, which will be safer and allow for better chopping.
For more quick tips and tricks to elevate your kitchen skills and cooking, listen to Food Network Canada Quick Bites, exclusively on Corus Radio.
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