Baking and cooking have become increasingly
popular activities, especially during quarantine, with a pandemic
hovering right above our heads. This has become the perfect time for
amateurs to become experts, and for experts to become real-life master
chefs. That being said, even the most proficient chef can make mistakes
in the kitchen.
In fact, many mistakes are borne out of
habit, like keeping tomatoes in the fridge or under-salting dishes.
Everything from the ingredients you choose, storage, chopping,
taste-testing, even washing ingredients can play a major role in your
expertise and experience in the kitchen. Keeping this in mind, let's
take a look at some common kitchen mistakes we can easily avoid and
other tips from chefs that'll help get things cooking!
1. Making chunky chocolate chip cookies
If you like your cookies with actual
chocolate chips or chocolate chunks in them and not melted chocolate
bits, just refrigerate your cookie dough after preparing it. This will
ensure that the chocolate chips are cooled and stay relatively solid
even after baking.
2. Smashing your burger patties
When grilling burger patties, it is almost
instinctive to press down on the patties to make them cook faster. While
some chefs have made a name with iconic “smashed” burger patties, it
isn’t always the best method to use.
This is especially true when you’re making the patties on a grill since
flattening the patty can end up releasing a lot of the juices that hold
in all the juiciness and flavor. It can also make the outside of the
patty cook faster than the inside which results in some less-than-ideal
burgers.
3. The real killer is a dull knife
It might seem like sharp knives would be
more dangerous than dull knives, but the opposite is actually true. A
sharp knife will enable you to chop your vegetables and meat with
minimal effort.
Dull knives force you to put more pressure on the knife to cut through
harder ingredients, which increases the chances of the knife slipping
and cutting your hand or finger. Since kitchen knives always get dull
over time, it’s always smart to keep a sharpening utensil on hand.
4. Order is everything
4. Order is everything
If you’re trying to create a marinade or
sauce, it may seem like the easiest option is to toss in all the
ingredients and cook them together. However, the order in which certain
ingredients are mixed can make a difference in how they mix with the
other ingredients.
Especially with baking, it’s important to keep the order in mind. If you
get a recipe that involves sugar and butter, mix these two items
together first until the mix is light and airy. Only then should you mix
in the other ingredients to ensure the final dish maintains the texture
you want.
5. Keeping things clean
After about an hour of toiling and sweating
over a hot stove, there is a wonderful sense of satisfaction that comes
from enjoying your culinary masterpiece. This is almost immediately
followed by a sense of dread when you take a look at your sink full of
dishes.
An easy fix is to wash dishes while you’re in the kitchen and still in
the process of cooking. Most dishes afford you a little time in-between
the cooking process when the food needs to simmer, boil, or cook
through. This time can be used to get your kitchen looking clean before
you sit down to enjoy your meal.
6. Don’t forget to check the weight
Though we are largely tempted to try out
our own recipes, it’s better to follow an existing one. Following the
recipe exactly may not always work out, and you may be tempted to change
it up here and there to make it just the way you like. This makes
weighing the ingredients even more important.
If you’re baking, keeping track of the weight of different ingredients
can help you understand what quantities of which items gave you the
result you wanted. You can then repeat the formula and keep each dish
consistent every time you make it.
7. The right way to season
Everyone knows how important seasoning is
to every dish, from a simple omelet to more complex recipes. But more
seasoning doesn’t always mean more flavor. Sometimes flavors can mix to
create less than ideal aftertastes, and of course, oversalting is the
bane of all food.
Start with minimal amounts of salt and pepper and add until it’s just
the way you want. Keep tasting your dish while it cooks and season
accordingly. And never underestimate the importance of acidity in
bringing out the taste of a dish. A hint of vinegar or lemon juice can
do wonders.
8. Keep your frosting frosty
Baking cakes at the last minute is always a
recipe for disaster. Always ensure to bake your cake at least an hour
before serving, especially if you want to add some frosting or icing on
top. The logic is quite simple. Putting frosting on a still-hot freshly
baked cake will make the topping melt, and your creamy cake will end up
flooded with icing.
The cake has to be at least room temperature or ideally cold before
adding the frosting. The same applies to cupcakes, pies, and any other
baked goods.
9. The importance of sifting
Many recipes call for certain dry and
powdered ingredients to be sifted through a sifter or a fine-mesh
strainer, also called a sieve, before being mixed with the other
ingredients. This can include measured amounts of sifted flour or sifted
sugar. In some cases, the recipe may call for main ingredients like
baking powder, salt, and flour to be sifted together into a bowl.
This can help ensure all the ingredients are separated and evenly
distributed prior to mixing. In the case of powdered sugar, sifting is
an important process as it keeps the larger clumps from ending up in
your batter.
10. Let it bake
There’s a certain excitement that comes
with putting something in the oven, a ticking clock with a promise of
flavor at the end. So sometimes, the temptation arises to peek into the
oven to see how your dish is cooking. Or perhaps you’re anxious and just
don’t want to take the risk that it’ll overcook.
Try to avoid doing this as much as possible. Every time you do so, the
temperature of your oven is reduced a little bit by the escaping hot
air. A few times is okay, but too many will prolong the cooking time.