Heather says:
I never went to culinary school.
My first job was as a Waffle House waitress. Shut up, I’m trying to be serious. Anyway, when I was sixteen, I worked the afternoon shift and there were always a few hours where lonely, unhappy people would filter in and mark the passage of time in coffee refills and cigarette butts. Learning to chop onions was positively riveting compared to some of that conversation, besides the cook was cute and I was naive.
Later, I tended bar -it wasn’t much later and that’s a whole ‘nother story- at a neighborhood place that didn’t serve food except for Tuesdays, aka Bachelor night. The owner doesn’t make my shortlist of people I adore -I’m not sure he makes the long list of people I tolerate-, but he could cook. I learned a lot about soul and comfort food, that people will come out of the woodwork for a plate of collards, cornbread, and red rice.
I truly started cooking when I worked at a small Spanish restaurant. The owners couldn’t keep a chef and introduced me to the kitchen in a trial by fire. For this, I am grateful. I learned about paella, chorizo, tapas, all foods that seemed exotic, but really were Andalusian comfort food.
Time passed and I worked in more kitchens. I’d start in prep and work my way up by watching the person next to me. I never learned the theory, but I learned what worked. I learned hundreds of recipes and through these I developed unarticulated theories on cooking. I knew things should be done a certain way, but never had the backstory that would allow me to explain to someone else WHY these were the rules.
A few weeks ago I was contacted and asked to review Notes on Cooking: A Short Guide to an Essential Craft by Lauran Braun Costello and Russell Reich. I have to tell you, I’m in love. Here are the things I wish I’d been told. It’s the rules with a succinct explanation of the WHYs. Example:
86. Never jump food more than one temperature state at a time.
There are four functional temperature states: 1) frozen, 2) cold, 3) room temperature, 4) warm or hot.
When you move food from one state to another (in either direction), don’t skip over a temperature state by, for instance, taking a roast directly from the oven to the refrigerator. Only one state change at a time.
Jumping a state disrupts or destroys the vital process of moisture concentration and reintegration within the ingredient as its temperature changes. Place a sealed, warm, lasagna in a cold fridge, and where does all that heat and moisture go? It collects on the top of your lovely lasagna, now no longer so lovely.
There are 216 rules like the one above. Some are hard and fast and others are meant to be remembered but broken from time to time. I curled up on the couch and read it cover to cover randomly exclaiming, “I knew it!” and wishing I had a foodie friend over for coffee to discuss my find. There were so many rules I knew on a gut level from my years in kitchen, but had been unable to articulate.
If you have any love of cooking or kitchen geekery, this is an informative and interesting read. Tear through it in one go or leave it on the counter to peruse while making dinner, there will be plenty to mull over. If you’re a lousy cook, learning the rules and putting them into practice will elevate your experience in the kitchen. Y’all have no idea how hard it was to not type “will raise your XP.”
I never went to culinary school, but now I have a better grasp of the rules.
I’m giving away two copies of Notes On Cooking. The publicist will send a book directly to one winner and I’m also passing along my review copy. Please note that I am kicking myself for suggesting this as a second prize before reading the book. Readers of Home-Ec101.com have three ways to enter the random drawing on Friday October 30, 2009 at 9pm Eastern.
- Leave a comment with your favorite personal rule of cooking, it can be something you’ve learned through trial and error or a piece of wisdom handed down from one of your mentors.
- Tweet about the giveaway. Leave a second comment with the url of your tweet.
- Write about the giveaway on your own blog, Facebook, your favorite social media site, or a message board and leave a comment with the URL of the mention.
Or if you’re impatient head straight to Amazon and buy the Notes On Cooking in hardback or for the Kindle.
Good luck! I look forward to reading your rules and hope the winners enjoy this book as much as I have.
Copyright 2007 - 2010 Home-Ec101.com
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The closest I got to culinary school was 3 years of Food Studies in high school. I figured at some point I'd eventually end up on my own and would probably need to know how to cook, so it would probably come in handy. It also turned out to be a good place to meet girls too
After that, most of more technical cooking know-how came from cookbooks and Good Eats/Alton Brown.
Now I can't think of a cooking rule I really like.
most of *my* more technical know-how…bluh, edit fail
http://twitter.com/imabug/status/5178403796
http://identi.ca/notice/12963730
hmm, did the naked URLs in my last comment attempt get swallowed by the spam filter?
http://twitter.com/imabug/status/5178403796
http://identi.ca/notice/12963730
My favorite rule of cooking? Try anything at least once. If you don’t like it, file it under the “don’t like” tab. LOL Since I’m addicted to Food Network, I’ve tried a lot of recipes in the past year. Some were hits, some were misses. But at least we tried them.
My favorite rule is that recipies are flexible (for cooking). Substitute if you don’t have something, add something else if it sounds good. There is no reason not to try at least once.
Similar to your tip about not jumping temperature states, when I'm freezing food, I always make sure that something (usually plastic wrap) is touching the surface of the food. Even in freezer containers, I place plastic wrap on the food before sealing with a lid. This greatly reduces the formation of ice crystals and results in a much nicer product when thawed and heated.
Hi Annie! We make mini-doggy cakes from scratch and freeze them. I let them cool to room temp and we decorate them. Then I wrap them in plastic wrap and put a folded paper bag in the bottom of the air tight Rubbermaid container. This has solved any ice crystal problems we had!
I have learned to season all throughout the cooking process, and to taste! Never think you "know the recipe" so you don't have to taste throughout, and also layer the seasoning for a more professional effect in the end – your "eaters" will not know how all of that nuanced flavor got there.
My tip is simple: ask Heather! hehe
My rule: nothing is set in stone. Ever. Oh, and never add milk to chocolate while it's melting, unless you want a huge gob of mess. Learned that one from my grandfather.
Mine is to wash dishes as I cook–it makes clean-up easy!
Katherine
I've learned to trust my instincts more – a lot of that has come from years of cooking for my family… but I could've trusted them years ago instead of being so cautious and following every recipe to the letter.
Oh please let me win!!
Rule I've learned via trial by error: the key to perfect Breakfast Casserole (or egg sausage casserole, whatever you call it, its a family favorite) is to add a tbs of flour to the egg & milk 'custard' before blending, then add to the casserole; it helps the casserole set perfectly and keeps it from being watery. I guess the flour is acting as a thickening agent much like corn starch–and another thing I've learned trial by error was to always add cold water to corn starch, never ever warm! As I always forget the Thanksgiving dinner gravy until just before everyone is about to sit down, the corn starch trick has been a valuable lesson learned for life.
I'm still learning to cook, so I don't actually have a tip because I am in need of them! Maybe I could mention that when baking I love to use parchment paper because it stops the food from sticking to the pan and is easy to clean up? Does that count?
Oh wait! Don't cut open the steak/burger/chicken when grilling as it releases the juices. Test by firmness instead!
I would love a copy of this book for sure!
Tweeted! http://twitter.com/gingercorsair/status/517691360...
My daughter nearly had herself convinced to go to culinary arts school, but after we checked out one in Pittsburgh and one in Baltimore, she decided that rather than pay to learn, she'd find a way to GET PAID while learning. Her enthusiasm landed her a job at the only bakery around that's not part of a grocery store. The owner wanted to expand, and was looking for someone to train as pastry chef — a couple recommendations from mutual acquaintances, and she was in. I'll stop now before I start gushing about what an amazing feat she accomplished there.
My rule is to not be a kitchen snob. Rare is the person that can manage to do everything from scratch, all the time, and to use all natural, organic, local ingredients. Everyone who wants to have the best possible food for their families has to choose their own areas where they will compromise and what they will insist upon.
I don’t really have a rule of cooking since I’m pretty much a beginner, but I always clean up everything as I go because it makes it so much easier later! I would love to win this!
My personal favorite cooking tip is that every recipe can be made better with either lemon juice or lemon zest. It's true.
My own personal rule is not to be snobbish about food and cooking. No ONE can do gourmet scratch cooking from all organic, locally sourced foods, ALL THE TIME. With time, budgets and obligations, each of us chooses where we're willing to compromise and what we will insist upon. If you only use organic, grass-fed spring butter, don't look down on me when I choose store-brand butter. If you want to make suggestions to a friend about something they could do differently, be gentle, not arrogant. You do not know what it's like to be in their shoes.
Does this count as a rule?
Try to make everything at home, from ingredients as close to scratch as you can find and involve everyone in the family in the preparation. Even if the dish doesn't turn out right it will still make your family happy and give everyone something to laugh about as you eat it. 9 times out of 10 a near-miss at home is better than store-bought perfection.
If it does I'll post that one and also and the one about taking meat off of the grill five minutes before you think you should, then using that extra five minutes to let it rest.
Tweeted! http://twitter.com/ThatBobbieGirl/status/51777782...
Oh my gosh this Kitchen Geek-a-Rama is *right* up my alley! I'm trying to think of a good rule to share…
1. One I learned recently is that tossing cold/room temperature potatoes with melted coconut oil causes the coconut oil to solidfy, making a clumpy mess. (I love coconut oil, and it's *so* good for you, but for potatoes I switched back to olive oil!)
2. *Every* time I make cookies, I hear my brother (who *did* go to culinary school) saying, "Don't overmix!!!"
3. Just about every vegetable tastes best roasted, with just a little olive oil & sea salt.
4. And last, filling a sink with soapy water before you start cooking, to drop things in as you go, makes cleanup a snap!
Oh my gosh, why does one always think of the BEST thing to say AFTER posting??
One Tip for Kitchen Greatness:
GOOD BUTTER.
Not *just* butter, but GOOD butter.
Kerrygold Irish Butter is The Best.
Falfurrias (available in Texas, I don't know where else) is a very good substitute, and *much* cheaper.
And I Tweeted, too! http://twitter.com/geegeegee
Keep nuts in the freezer and toast them to develop their flavor… but you have me wondering if they need to be brought to room temp first?!
My rule?! Never go to sleep while you are cooking biscuits. When you look in the oven 3 hours later when the fire alarm wakes you up, they will look like charcoal briquettes. And that folks, is the voice of experience. (Second tip – if you then throw them out the back door to get the smoldering heaps out of the house, the dog insist on barking at them for the rest of the night.)
My cooking tip is for making shrimp and grits, always add some light cream to the shrimp for a decadent version of the Lowcountry treat.
OK, and here is my tweet about it too! http://twitter.com/carnellm/status/5178465911
Ooooh, I am a total kitchen geek! I'd love a copy. I'm all about getting things ready in advance. I'm not so much for measuring things out in advance like on the cooking shows but there are definite advantages to having everything on the counter before you begin.
I'd love a chance to win this book! My cooking rule is about baking cookies, and it's this: Make sure your softened butter is soft. Not too hard and absolutely not melted!
Don't use a stick blender to mix things into your mashed potatoes. The resulting consistency is not good. Just wish I'd learned that before ruining the Thanksgiving mashed potatoes!
I don't have a rule as much as a tool. I love my whisk. It helps me make perfect (usually) lump free gravy.
I'd LOVE to win the book!
Well, since looking at Home-Ec 101, I've learned plenty, and I'm using those things…so I don't know if I can count that here as "my" rule. Hmm…well, here's an interesting one I never knew until last winter…When you're baking, especially dessert breads (think, pumpkin bread, banana bread, etc.), and you've realized you're out of nuts to go in them, you can toast (non-instant) rough or rolled oats/oatmeal in some butter or oil, then add them to your recipe to replace the nuts. I thought that was kind of clever. Of course, not as tasty as nuts but good for someone who's allergic or out of them, maybe. I'd never heard that before last winter.
Thanks!
I posted on my blog. It's not my best post ever, but I'm having a weird day. http://mghollis.blogspot.com/2009/10/cooking-rule...
I have three that I've trained myself to use:
1, Whatever burner setting I think the skillet should be on, turn it down a little. Things will go better that way.
2, Overspicing – with the right spices, within reason – is better than underspicing.
3, Let good fish speak for itself. Simple simple simple (I'm good at complicating things, if I let myself!)
If you're measuring out peanut butter or honey or another sticky substance, spray the measuring cup with pam beforehand and it will slide right out!
Here is one rule for Thanksgiving or any big meal with lots of dishes: Make a schedule. Seriously. Figure out what you want to cook, how long it takes to cook everything, and plan out on a piece of paper what time to start everything and what time to finish it. Some things you can do at the same time, but keep an eye out for having too many things going on at once, or too many things trying to use the oven/microwave/stove at the same time. And make sure those end times don't all end at the same time. Schedule time to set the table and put drinks out as well.
Rinse pasta REALLY well under running water if you will be storing it. It prevents the clumping by washing off the excess starch
Another book in this "area" that deals with common ratios, particularly in baking: Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking (*see link below).
Once you have a ratio for something like bread, you can whip together a recipe fairly easily without worrying about whether it will "work" or not. For instance, a no-knead bread follows a 13c-6c-3T-3T ratio of flour-water-yeast-salt. Knowing these has helped me find problems in other recipes and adjust them to get the results I actually want or adapt them to other purposes.
To me, the science and underlying rules of cooking made it much clearer to me why things worked or didn't work in the kitchen and freed me to have a lot more fun cooking and get more consistent results.
*http://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyda...
I'm struggling to think of a "rule". I'm such a follower, it's been hard for me to learn I don't have to follow a recipe EXACTLY. I'm learning and enjoying figuring out subsitutions/changing things.
Little Squee.. *smile*
Love the tip about the oat for nuts. Gotta try that now. Love oats.. don't like nuts IN desserts.
My tip.. read an entire recipe before you start to prepare the dish.
Now to blog..
cooking is open to interpretation, baking is a science, if you're going to change an ingredient while baking, make sure you know what the new ingredient will add or take away from the final product. I personally substitute quite often, many years of trial and error and reading tips in magazines and in cookbooks have helped. I would love to have a book like this one, I often find myself teaching teens to cook and this would help in my explanations.
One of the first "cooking rules" (even though it's not "cooking" – it IS a rule!) I remember (from my first restaurant) is never never never EVER put a chef's knife into a sink full of water. Besides the fact that it's not good for the handle, it's dangerous! Anyone could just reach his (or her!) hand in the sink and . . .
I just found your site last week. I'm loving it!
As for my tip. Invest in good stoneware baking sheets/pans. Once they're seasoned you never have to grease the pan again and they never flake teflon into your food, or burn, or warp. They make the best perfectly browned cookies and keep your meat nice and juicy. They help your cakes bake evenly too. I have an old oven with uneven heat, but in my stoneware, my cakes still come out even.
Speaking of cakes. When making layered cakes that you need to actually come out of the pan and not break apart, grease the pan with shortening. I know it's bad for you, but it's the only thing i have found to actually work every time in getting the cake to come out no matter what shape your pan is. And I've tried everything.
My tip is to never, ever cook meat with fresh pineapple. It turns chicken into the texture of wallpaper paste. I am not even kidding. Now, when I cook pork chops or chicken with pineapple, I ALWAYS use canned pineapple.
You can't make gravy from a turkey breast (just too small)!
Posted at Facebook, too. Not sure how to link directly to that post, but here's a try:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=506266130&...
Several rules come to mind from my mom, a fabulous self-trained cook. Mise en place keeps you on track – if you have something left over, you know right then you messed up the recipe and can correct. Buy the best cookware and knives you can afford, and take good care of them. Always try a new recipe on company; if it's terrible, it softens the blow since your guests will probably be tactful in their comments. But my number one rule is that food is a tangible expression of your love for others, family or friend. Food doesn't equal love, but the care you put into preparing a meal for others can be felt by the maker and recipient alike.
<s>10</s> 11 Kitchen Tips FTW!
http://fromthecheapseatz.blogspot.com/2009/10/10-...
Just walk away! That can said for making pancakes- let them sit for 5 minutes; when meat comes out of the oven or off the grill- let the juices the join back in with the flesh or when you get an eggshell in the bottom of the bowl (if you wait five minutes, it will stick to the bottom of the bowl and you'll be able to get it out with a spoon or the edge of your folk). I wish I could say that these were handed down generation to generation but I learned them from the master himself- Alton Brown. Gotta love Good Eats!
I've learned that having all ingredients at room temperature makes baking more successful. That means cracking those eggs and letting come to temperature. Who knew it?
My rule?
Salt is a flavor inhancer not just a seasoning.
I am here to admit that I am a REALLY awful cook. So here it is. First rule of cooking I ever learned. When putting Ramen in the microwave MAKE SURE there is water in the bowl. Always. Explosions will occur.
I try to get the ingredients in a cake or a bread to room temperature because then the cake will form together some better. I do not like melted butter either but softened not just out of the refrigerator.
And I tweeted! http://twitter.com/cassieaiden/status/5183900457