How to Cook at Home
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Here are some tips sent in by Michael, who works as a Culinary Chef. They are designed to help make cooking at home easier for you, and more enjoyable!
- Read the recipe. Use it as guideline… not merely as a set of instructions. Most recipe books will give you only general instructions about the exact method they used to create the item pictured or described. I have come across many instances where certain measurements have been left out or a complete step altogether. While this may be frustrating please remember that trying new recopies is an adventure into new tastes and new cooking techniques. Though I wouldn’t suggest this with time-tested family recipes handed down though out the years.
- “mise en place”, A French cooking term for “to put in place”. This is a basic cooking term that means be prepared. Have a clean working area, have the correct utensils ready, have the correct ingredients, etc. Set yourself up for success. There is nothing worse than finding out you don’t have a crucial part of your recipe while in the midst of cooking and having to run to the local vendor to get it. Think ahead before you begin.
- Know your knife. This is fundamental for safety. Have a sharp knife! While it is a potentially dangerous tool it is not as dangerous as a dull knife. A well kept blade will easily slice, while a dull one will force you to put more pressure on the blade and may result a cut or even a trip to the hospital. In general if you want to buy a good kitchen knife that is relatively safe and wont dull I would suggest one with a serrated edge, or a high end forged blade.
- Get to know your appliances. What type of stove top range do you have? Gas or Electric? Convection oven or standard? Hopefully you have had the opportunity to know that not every stove top and oven distribute heat the same way. While a gas burning device is the best for conductivity an electric or ceramic range top can work just as well, just differently. Microwaves if you use them, look for one with a variety of settings and high wattage. Any other kitchen gadgets you may wish to own (mixers, food processors, i.e.) try buy the best that you can afford and go with a reputable brand. Quality is King. And If in doubt: always read the manual.
- Teflon(non stick)-vs-Metal pots and Pans. If you aren’t aware of this already please, and I mean please for the love of all that is holy do not use a metal utensils on a non stick pan! This is akin to scratching your fingernails on chalkboard only that you would rip off part of the chalkboard itself. Use either a heat tempered plastic or rubber utensil with non-stick pans. I may also add that if you get a non-stick pan too hot it will degrade the coating. Culinary professionals use metal pots and pans for 90% of their use and only use non stick pans for delicate items like eggs or crepes.
BONUS TIP!!!!
Experiment a little. Say you try a new recipe and you didn’t like a certain ingredient. Can you think of something that you would like to replace it with. Maybe you didn’t like the texture or didn’t like the method that it was cooked under. Well be free to take the liberty to create your own version of that particular dish. This is what cooking is all about. Practice, and you will find out you can satisfy your own taste buds.
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30 Comments
Windows Vista Torrent
December 24th, 2007
at 7:06am
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whitesoap
December 24th, 2007
at 10:17pm
How to Cook at Home
bazzo1992
December 23rd, 2007
at 11:11am
great video as always Chris :D
Cessna154
December 23rd, 2007
at 11:31am
Solid video Pirillo!!! Merry Christmas!!! :)
Devilsfan5
December 23rd, 2007
at 11:32am
loser
mbuchan420
December 23rd, 2007
at 11:55am
Thanks for reading the email. Two #5’s LOL.. doh! Paz.
nickjuly004
December 23rd, 2007
at 1:20pm
I only know how to microwave things. LOL, keep away from the microwave if your counter is too low.
RickyTomatoes
December 23rd, 2007
at 3:48pm
Learning how to cook for yourself is such a reward. No more McD’s, Burger King, etc…
It’s all good, homemade food from here on.
Ima Mac
December 24th, 2007
at 1:42am
Im bad at cooking, i follow most these tips, it doesnt work for me. I guess im doomed to eat out (though that can be hard being vegetarian).
xyz0abc1
December 24th, 2007
at 11:45am
Screech!!!!
Johann
December 24th, 2007
at 11:35am
I need to cook? Nice one!
Fernando Vasquez
December 24th, 2007
at 4:03pm
Thanks to the interweb, I began a self taught course in cooking. YouTube cooking videos replaced the cooking shows on TV for me.
kpslover
December 25th, 2007
at 7:29am
LOL popped a few kernels! no kids!
maVerick12346
December 25th, 2007
at 2:11pm
well look at that, this fuckin loser is using a macbook now, after all those years of sayin mac is better,, lol so pathetic
masterOFpuppets06
December 25th, 2007
at 2:32pm
I have a waffle-iron at home so i make WAFFLES!
Condoulo
December 25th, 2007
at 4:23pm
All great tips
but what I really liked was the bonus tip. Because the bonus tip is a great metaphor for what the open source community is. :P Don’t like something, change it to fit your needs.
anyway, I plan on showing my brother these tips, he is really into food. :P Both cooking and eating. lol
~ Condoulo
eXedk
December 26th, 2007
at 6:40am
I really needed this video for a long time :p I can’t cook an egg!
paintcan4
December 26th, 2007
at 1:00pm
that was a good video this was helpful to me
Thomas
December 26th, 2007
at 4:08pm
Sadly to say but I really needed this post..!
I’m such a bad cook, I can’t even boil an egg. Or an egg I can boil but there it all stops. I’m living of boiled eggs.
KY_Wildcat
December 26th, 2007
at 4:09pm
There is where the problem starts… my wife doesn’t let me cook. :( I don’t think she trusts me with the gas range… That’s sad… :( lol. But I love eating, even if it is left overs zapped in the microwave… either way, It’s food, and I love her!
kpappletech
December 27th, 2007
at 12:13am
Chris is DOOMED to wash dishes for life!
lol
kp
Cygnus
December 26th, 2007
at 6:11pm
Herbs and Spices Blessing and Curse!
Spices are one of the best ways to perk up otherwise bland dish! But take it with a grain of salt (Salt being a spice.) If you use too much of a spice, or too many spices, it can overpower, or make the dish confused. Some spices love to work together, (Cinnamon and Nutmeg in apple cider is the best) but if you over use the spices, or use too many, you’ll overpower or confuse the palate, so be careful.
Also, if you know the person you’re serving to doesn’t like a certain taste, then don’t put it in the food you’re preparing.
-Cygnus
Angelus
December 26th, 2007
at 6:16pm
I don’t cook But I would love to learn But I have a burned thumb as in I burn everything I cook
I’m still waiting on your pretty wife to start her cooking videos
Good Luck getting her to do it
Dmitri
December 26th, 2007
at 6:18pm
I recall when I was a young kid (no I’m not old :P) My mom would always complain about my experiments in the kitchen. I couldn’t blame her though, some of the things I used to come up with were pretty far out there (like adding grape jelly to pancake batter to make green pancakes) Now all my friends and family love to have me make stuff in the kitchen. Which I love to do. I’ve always been the type to look at something and say “hmm, what if i add this to that?” be it with cooking or electronics. Thinking outside the box FTW!
CAA1000 (Carol Alfonso)
December 26th, 2007
at 6:57pm
But I don’t follow recipes to cook. I do it the old way, with a spoon at hand for taste. Just don’t abuse of salt! Have lots of garlic and chicken broth seasoning at hand. That would help also.
Mario372
December 26th, 2007
at 9:52pm
I kno how to cook frozen foods does that count as cooking?
Sara
December 27th, 2007
at 11:42am
Great tips! Particularly reading the recipe thoroughly, making sure you have all the ingredients,having sharp sharp sharp knives, and having everything in place before you start. I am one of those people who can read a recipe and tell how it will taste and what it will look like., and what changes I need to make in the recipe. My husband and his best bud are the creative “cooking concepts” types who rarely look at recipes, just like the geeks who neveral look at instruction manuals. I think that those of you who want to learn to cook should start out by learning how to cook some of your favorite foods. Catch some of the many online cooking videos to get some idea of what you need to do. Possibly Tivo them or download them so you can get repeated exposure to the techniques. The Food Network has a lot of good cooking shows and so does your local public television station.There are also many good cookbooks for the novice cook. They are available in your local public library(yes, there are people who still have library cards), in brick-and-mortar stores, and online. Learning to cook (Chris, take note) is a valuable survival skill, and even those of you who can’t boil water can learn to cook the basics.
buchan
December 28th, 2007
at 4:54pm
Another great tip from Cygnus.. I did forget to include spices in the list I sent. There were so many tips I could have included but I wanted to keep it simple. Thanks again.
kylewants
January 28th, 2008
at 1:13pm
nice vid budd! cheak it ^^^
Miguel Chavez
May 16th, 2008
at 2:20pm
I think it would be sweet if Chris and Ponzi did a cooking episode in the kitchen. I would love it.