re: Kitchen / Cooking tips that you learned late or that you want to share?

Rolls of plastic wrap and foil have cardboard tabs on each end you can punch in that hold the roll in place so it doesn't try to jump out when you are pulling out a sheet. I was 43 when my mother in law taught me this.

quote:

---

What brand was the tuna? Water or oil?

---

Safe Catch in Water. I do not recall if it was chunk light or albacore. I went to check the pantry but my wife used the last can this week so I can't tell you exactly which it was.

ETA- my wife is pretty sure it was albacore.

quote:

---

When measuring out honey or any syrup or sticky viscous substance by the spoonful for recipes with specific quantities required, oil the spoon first. The syrup will pour right out like water. I learned this around age 35 when I briefly got into mead making.

---

Good tip. Always thought you had to overcompensate for the stuff left on the spoon

I just got a scale in from Amazon yesterday

But it's more for meal prep than baking

I've heard that's good advice though from some professional bakers I know

quote:

---

Never run out of green onions ever again. Put the bulbs in some water and regrow them hydroponically on your counter.

---

I've just stuck them in pots with dirt in them and had them grow, but never with very many green parts. Still good to have them since I LOVE them and I buy them every week religiously.

quote:

---

I rarely use brown sugar. So I buy a box, use a couple tablespoons, then when I go to use it a couple months later it’s a solid brick. Now I mix a little molasses (which stays forever) with plain white sugar on those rare occasion. Same result and I don’t need a pick axe.

---

A better tip is to microwave your brick to soften it up. Microwaves excite water molecules and make them vibrate against each other, any moisture in your brick will vibrate the whole thing loose. No ice pick needed.

Buy beef tallow and use beef tallow. Frying up some breaded pork chops? Do it in tallow. Friend chicken? Tallow. Fries or hashbrowns? Tallow. Tallow has a pretty high smoke point and imparts a particular savoriness which is difficult to describe.

Buy MSG and use MSG. Soups, sauces, salads, rubs, you name it...MSG will make it better. Some recipes call for a tsp for a entire pot. Those recipes are wrong. You can be pretty liberal with MSG and have amazing results. When you get your jar/bag, take a lil' taste of plain MSG...it's crazy on your palette.

Choose your salts wisely and use them consistently. For instance, Domino Kosher Fine is a fantastic salt and is not overpowering...this gives more margin for error. By using the same salt consistently, you instinctively know how much to pinch and add at each stage of cooking.

Trust your senses! Recipe tells me to cook this item for 12 minutes, but I can literally smell that it's done in 10 minutes. Don't let it go the additional 2 minutes because someone using a different stove/oven said it takes 2 more minutes. Pan frying a fish filet and Google tells me 4 minutes per side....but I'm cooking it and see that the whiteness from cooking is creeping up the sides toward the middle after 3 minutes. Flip it! Trust what your senses tell you.

Air fryers are great for reheating pizza slices or other breads. Just set the temp to 300 ish for about 4-5 minutes and it comes out almost like it were fresh.

Rachel Ray's Onion Chopping Hack LINK

An immersion blender is a must for soups where you want things blended. Blend it in the pot instead of transferring hot liquids to a blender, which is dangerous and a pain in the arse.

During a crawfish boil, fill up a pot with heads and add water to cover them. Boil for one hour and reserve the stock. Freeze it and use it later for a stock in seafood gumbo or etouffee.

Use weight, not volume. On the range, use temperatures 325F, not dials (Medium-High). Use a thermometer and plan for the carryover cook.