How efficient are you in the kitchen? Do you use certain favorite kitchen tools to make your life easier? Or, do you just wing it and find yourself running out of time? Again and again?
Over the years, we have perfected some tips to help us stay focused. Our favorite kitchen tools also make our time in the kitchen more productive.
Keep Your Knives Sharp
We keep our knives sharp. There’s nothing worse than a knife that just won’t cut through a piece of chicken or a hard sweet potato. Chopping is easier, we have less chance of cutting our fingers with a sharp knife, and since we do not have to apply as much pressure our hands do not get as tired.
Read the Recipe and Make Space
A favorite kitchen tool is to take time and read the recipe before we start cooking. The entire recipe. By doing so, we have all the ingredients on hand, and we know what we need to prep first. Speaking of prep, we also make sure we have enough space and time to finish everything before we start cooking or baking. That also means we know whether the recipe calls for thick slices or paper-thin slices. It makes a difference in prep time and in the finished product.
Use the Right Kitchen Devices
Are your favorite kitchen tools or devices the right one? We know what works best for slicing or dicing and which shredder works for hard cheese or nutmeg.
Since we try hard to be earth friendly, not waste food or products, and use as little paper as possible, this next step is one we adhere to. We dry meat, fish, and chicken with paper towels before cooking. This is especially true if we want a crisp, brown finish. It also helps meat and skin from sticking to the pan as it cooks. We have found we really cannot substitute anything else for a paper towel. With the raw meat juices, you need to throw the paper away.
Bench scrapers are a favorite kitchen tool as well. They are an inexpensive way to scoop up what you have just sliced or chopped. Do not use your knife to scrape as it will dull the blade.
Pay attention to pan size and the amount of food in that pan. Have ever put too many mushrooms you wanted to get crispy or too many onions to caramelize in a pan…and they didn’t? Probably too many in one pan. Same thing happens with roasted vegetables on a sheet pan in the oven. Your pan is overcrowded, and the vegetables will steam instead of browning.
We also know that making a pan or an oven hotter isn’t always the solution. Sometimes a higher heat will make your food less flavorful or even bitter. This is another reason we pay attention to prep and cooking time.
We love to use butter when cooking. It is necessary when making a brown butter sauce. Did you know butter cannot stand up to high heat? Can olive oil or avocado oil? Take some time to learn which fats are best suited for each type of dish and different levels of heat.
Any time we cook a chicken and have bones left or have leftover fats and drippings from a roast, we don’t throw them away. Same goes for celery leaves, scallion tops, and other vegetable scraps. Make your own stock. You will thank us for it. Freeze everything if you cannot use it right away.
Taste as you cook. Then, taste again. Chances are you need to adjust the seasonings. What happens if you added too much salt? We know that will happen and we know what to do about it. Add some acid. Squeeze a lemon or add a splash of vinegar. Then…taste again.
We clean as we cook. That does not mean stopping to do dishes at every step. It does mean wiping off the cutting board to use again, put the pots in the dishwasher when you are finished with them, keep your work area clean. And, don’t forget to wash your hands often.
Do you have favorite tips?
We have more at https://www.forkscorksandbrews.com/knife-skills-in-kitchen/