Top 40 Recipes - Simply the Best

Best Ever Cooking Tips and Guides from Top 40 International Chefs

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• Always deglaze your pan - This traditional French technique provides a delightful glaze for food and adds flavor to the sauce. After frying, sautéing or searing meat or vegetables, add a tiny amount of liquid (wine, stock, water) to your pan when hot and scrape-up all of the caramelized pieces and sauce on the bottom or the pan. It also makes the pot much easier to clean
• Clean frying pan or wok when frying multiple ingredients - If the recipe calls for you to use a pan or wok for frying multiple items it pays to clean the pan each time. Otherwise the remnants may burn or taint the items cooked second.
• When stir-frying cook the vegetables before the meat, fish or other protein While most recipes call for the onions, chilli and garlic to be cooked first followed by the meat and then the vegetables. Reversing the order and cooking groups of items separately in batches ensures that all items are cooked properly. Stir-frying the meat last, after cleaning the wok, and then adding everything back into the pan just before adding soy sauce, salt and pepper is the best way. The vegetables can be set aside while you fry the meat. Adding a splash of water when cooking the vegetables helps cook and blanch them without excessive browning.
• Cook pasta for 2-3 minutes less, finish in pan with sauce - If the recipe says to cook some pasta for 8-9 minutes, cook it at least 2-3 minutes less. Dry it and add to the sauce in the pan. Finishing the pasta cooking in the pan stops the pasta getting overcooked and allows it to infused the flavor of the sauce
• For tender, juicy meat the resting time should equal its cooking time - Resting the meat, covered with foil helps the juices driven inside to flow out to the extremities increasing tenderness and juiciness.
• Add a squeeze of lemon juice to finish a risotto - Finishing your risotto with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice., mixed through just before serving add a touch of acidity that readies the palate and enhances flavor.
• Add a little water when 'dry' frying spices to activate them - When cooking dry, powdered spices, it’s easy to burn them. Instead mix the spices together with a couple tablespoons of water and fry while stirring over high heat to eliminate the chance of scorching the spices.
• Try cooking fish wrapped in aluminium foil with spices, olive oil, salt and herbs (en papillote) - This is easy to do. It keeps the fish moist, creates some wonderful tastes and aromas and avoid the clean-up involved with pan roasting.
• Add extra egg yolks to homemade pasta - When making homemade fresh pasta always add two egg yolks for each egg white in the recipe. The yolks help improve the texture and keep it nice, pliable and firm.
• For a great Chicken Curry => rub the marinade into chicken and refrigerate overnight to help the spices penetrate - For the best chicken tikka and other curry, rub the marinade over the chicken until all surfaces are well coated. Then, set aside the refrigerator for 3-4 hours, or overnight to marinate.
• For a healthier dessert replace 3/4 of the cream with whisked egg whites - Using 3 egg whites (whipped) for each cup of cream will greatly reduce the amount of fat in the dish and will lower the calories. The dessert will be airy, light, with a firm texture.
• Use a little more oil than is specified in the recipe- Adding a little extra oil will make the sautéing and frying easier to do. The food will brown more easily and stop sticking. It also improves how the food 'feels in the mouth'. Oil is required to aid the conduction of heat, so the food cooks better. The extra oil is inconsequential.
• Add a dash of fish sauce - Add it to your red curry and Asian dishes. But it also improves the taste of your stock, your beef bourguignon, spaghetti bolognese, fish and seafood dishes and even added to your salad dressings with vinegar.
• Add a pinch of sugar to savoury dishes, and a pinch of salt to sweet ones as well - Adding a little sugar whenever you use soy sauce helps balance the saltiness and savouriness in the dish. Adding a little sugar to a marinade or brine will help caramelization. Adding a sprinkle of sugar to most stir-fries enhances the taste and smooths the flavors. Likewise, most sweet dishes will benefit from a pinch or two of salt. It helps balance the sweetness, and adds to the taste of flour, eggs, butter and milk that you add salt to in other dishes such as cakes, custards and tarts. Another secret is to add a sprinkle of salt to black coffee which smooths the taste. Try it!
• Aim for a light brown color, caramelization and the Maillard chemical reactions - There is a set of chemical reactions, called the Maillard reactions which are part of the caramelization process, but can occur during other cooking processes. High heat induces chemical reactions between carbohydrates (sugars) and proteins that generate the rich brown, savoury and meaty flavor characteristics in the dishes you are cooking. A light brown color is also pleasing to the eye. These reactions can take many minutes, such as when caramelizing onions. They can happen very quickly, for example when you sear meat over high heat. They can occur away from the food itself, such as when a pan is deglazed, or a stock or stew is reduced in volume over several minutes. And they can even take a really long time, like when making soy sauce or balsamic vinegar or aging wine. When you brown chuck steak for a casserole, make sure the pieces are well-browned, and done in small batches to induce the caramelization. Adding a sprinkle of white or brown sugar can hasten the process as it adds to the natural sugar already in the food.
• Use a damp cloth or towel to keep a cutting board in place on your bench. - This will stop your cutting board sliding all over the counter as you prepare the food. A wet towel underneath provides a simple solution.
• Add baking soda to tomato sauce to reduce acidity without using sugar - Instead of adding sugar to marinara sauce, or to other tomato based sauce that are a bit acidic, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda instead. This will smooth and reduce the acidity of the sauce without sweetening it and affecting its flavor.
• Dry all meats, fish, seafood and poultry before cooking - This helps the items heat and brown more quickly. For fish and poultry it helps the skin to crisp. Rubbing salt over the surface also improves the flavor.
• Use a damp cloth or towel to keep a cutting board in place on your bench. - This will stop your cutting board sliding all over the counter as you prepare the food. A wet towel underneath provides a simple solution.
• Add baking soda to tomato sauce to reduce acidity without using sugar - Instead of adding sugar to marinara sauce, or to other tomato based sauce that are a bit acidic, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda instead. This will smooth and reduce the acidity of the sauce without sweetening it and affecting its flavor.
• Dry all meats, fish, seafood and poultry before cooking - This helps the items heat and brown more quickly. For fish and poultry it helps the skin to crisp. Rubbing salt over the surface also improves the flavor.
• Use a small ice-cream scoop to make even size portions of cookie dough, pancakes or muffins - The dough or batter will come out easily. It ensures that each cookie or portion is the same size, which means they will bake evenly and take the same time to cook.
• Warm knives that are used to cut cheesecake or other sticky desserts - Run very hot water over a knife or place it in a jug of boiling water. Quickly dry it off. The warm knife blade will make clean cuts through cheesecake or any other sticky dessert.
• Invest in a kitchen thermometer for cooking and to test your oven - Buy some quality kitchen thermometers, including meat and poultry thermometers for insertion into meat to test core temperatures. This takes the guesswork out of to make sure recipes are cooked to perfection. It also eliminates the risks associated with uncooked meat and poultry. Checking your oven temperature over its full-range is also a good idea. Many oven gauges are inaccurate and change as your oven gets older.
• Choose the Right Oil for the Job - Your oil may not be 'fit for purpose' - Each type of cooking oil has its own unique flavor and use. Various oils have different smoke points, which means that many are unsuitable for high-temperature frying. Olive and peanut oils have strong flavors that can ruin or dominate the delicate flavor of ingredients such as fish or seafood. Oils such as rice bran and grape seed oils have very high smoke points, and neutral flavors. They are ideal for frying. Peanut oil is good for frying and many people like its strong taste which complements some dishes such as stir-fries. Fragrant and mild tasting oils, like extra-virgin olive oil, canola and sesame oil, are ideally suited to be used raw for salad dressings. They are also ideal as finishing oils that are drizzled over a dish just before serving.
• Use high-quality stock and broth - Home made is Best - Nothing beats the depth of flavor of home made stock and broth. If you have to use a store-bought stock make sure it is a liquid one with excellent quality. Buying a cheap low quality one may ruin your meal and is a false saving given the cost of other ingredients.
• Always careful weigh and measure your ingredients when baking - Unlike cooking many savory dishes, where measurements can be flexible and do not matter that much, baking is a science and weight and volume measurements should be precise. Weighing is more precise than volume measurements for dry ingredients as volume depends on packing in the container. Inaccurate measurements are often one of the reasons why apparently good recipes, from reliable sources, can fail.
• Add fresh herbs at the end, instead of dried herbs at the beginning with the spices - Always use fresh herbs if they are available rather than dried ones. Make fresh swaps if the ones in the recipe are out of season or unavailable. Add the fresh herbs right at the completion of the cooking, not at the beginning. Cooking over a long time will extract the flavor of the herbs, muting and dulling their potency. Adding them last give more flavor, freshness and aroma. However, tough herbs like rosemary or thyme can be added earlier as the cooking process releases the flavor from their tough leaves. The flavor can then infuse into meat and other ingredients. But, delicate herbs like basil, parsley, oregano and cilantro, are best added at the end.
• Fat is flavor - Reduce it, but do not eliminate it - While reducing the fat in dishes is good for your health and well- being, some fat should be retained for flavor and taste. When you eat fat it coats your tongue and helps to translate all the other flavors in the dish. The trick is to eliminate the 'bad' fats and replace or substitute them with 'good' fats. Foods such as nuts and avocado, and even butter are healthy and full of flavor. Retaining small amounts of fat is important otherwise the dish may taste bland and lifeless. You can reduce the calories in other ways.
• Add a splash of vinegar - Always taste your food as you cook and if it tastes lifeless, bland or dull add a dash of vinegar. The strong acidity of a wine or apple cider vinegar rejuvenates the dormant flavors in the dish and adds a slightly acid, sweet and fruity flavor to the dish. However, use it sparingly and choose a vinegar that suits.
• Never add a dressing to a salad in advance - The acidic components of the dressing start to break down the tender salad when added, making lettuce and other ingredients wilt and become soggy. Dressings should be served in a jug to be added to the salad after serving.
• Ensure fried chicken is juicy by soaking the chicken in buttermilk - Many chefs marinate the chicken in buttermilk overnight. The enzymes and acids in the buttermilk break down the proteins in the meat, making it tender and juicy when it is fried.
• Use an onion to clean a grill or BBQ - The best easy and natural way to clean and season your grill or BBQ, is rub a half an onion on the grates. The enzymes and acidity in the onion loosens the grime and oil residues on the grill.
• Quick ways to warm eggs for recipes - To warm eggs in the refrigerator to room temperature quickly, crack the eggs into flat bowls before starting to make the recipe. You can also run them under a hot water tap or place them in a bowl of warm water.
• Handle pie crust, pastry dough, bread dough and other dough balls gently - While dough needs to be kneaded it pays to handle it quickly and gently. Use only a very light dusting of flour on the rolling pin, board or counter-top. Too much handling and too much extra flour causes the pie crust or bread to be tough and lifeless. Likewise do not stretch pastry or bread dough as this breaks its structure and elasticity you have worked so hard to develop. Place the pastry dough onto the pan, after working it to the size and shape required. Push it into shape rather than stretching it. Another tip is to let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes, which will make it easier to handle. Work quickly so it will still be cool when you put it in the oven.
• Always foam yeast before adding to the recipe - Foaming the yeast to create a sponge or bloom prior to adding it is very important. This is done by adding the yeast to a small amount of warm water to a bowl with 2 teaspoons of sugar, molasses or honey. Make sure the water is around blood temperature, which is ideal for the yeast to bloom. If its too hot it will kill the yeast; too cold the yeast won't grow. Set the bowl aside for the yeast to sit for at least 10 minutes. If a foam form you know that the yeast has started to grow and bloom. This ensures a quick response from the yeast.
• Choose the best potato variety for the recipe - Not all potatoes are suitable for all recipes. Russet or Idaho potatoes, contain a lot of starch which makes the potato become soft and fluffy inside as they cook. These types are ideal for fries, baked or potatoes. For potato salad, stews and soups you need a waxy, low starch potato variety that keeps its firm texture and shape when cooked in a sauce or liquid.