if it's sweet and you haven't added acid, add a splash of vinegar.
if it's too hot, add fat
if you burn it, throw it out.
IF you taste it early, it should taste weak. If it's fantastic when when it starts to simmer, it'll be too harsh once it's reduced.
Taste it and it tastes empty or boring? Smell it. Smell all your herbs/spices on hand, which ever one it smells the closest to, add a healthy pinch and salt if it doesn't taste salty already.
know your oils and use the right ones. Olive oil can handle some heat and is great for savory, grapeseed is almost flavorless. Canola has a distinct flavor that doesn't go with everything.
Only thing I'd add is that, on 8, learn what rancid oil smells like. Most people keep things like olive oil in poor conditions (that's without us even getting into quality of oil, or how people buy FAR MORE oil than they'll reasonably be able to use), and the oil goes bad far faster than they think it will.
Take care of your knives. Hand wash them, dry with a towel, and put them back in a block when you're done. They'll stay sharper for much longer that way, instead of letting them bang around in the dishwasher and then thrown into a drawer.
Also the Ninja Foodi is the best cooking device ever made, second only to the invention of pots and pans.
Another thing to note is that its not just the banging around, but putting (some) knives in (some) dishwashers will heat them to the point of ruining their temper, so they won't keep their edge for as long.
More ways to measure are always better. It can give you more data as to what works, what doesn't, and how to reproduce it.
Simply adding a kitchen scale and a digital temperature kettle has upped my coffee game. A meat thermometer has removed the guesswork from my fish/steaks/roasts/chicken, and they're perfectly cooked every time. Out of the three, the kettle is the only one that was more than $30 (because I decided to go boojee and get a gooseneck for pourover coffee).
Also:
its a lot easier to add salt/sugar/spice than it is to take it out.
Never add directly from the container. Always go container>palm>food. This saves you from accidentally having a runaway seasoning avalanche (see previous point).
Patience. Good food doesn’t have to take a long time, but you need to give each step the respect it deserves, sometimes it will take a little longer. Mise en place is an important step, and so is reading the entire recipe thru before beginning. Also read recipes, even if you never intend to cook them, because you’ll discover new techniques and combinations that might elevate an old favourite.
I'm a big fan of frozen herbs, frozen cubes of garlic save a ton of time breaking open cloves, frozen basil still has that fresh taste and smell relative to dried.
If you make pizza in a home oven, baking steel is a game changer. It gets nice and hot and makes your crust crispy. Like a pizza stone but better.
If you have a blender, try making your own almond milk for a fraction of the cost. It's easy.
Oat is so easy. And you can easily get organic, gluten free oats if that is important to you, plus you can make it when you need it - no store trip or disposable containers.
You just need a blender/food processor and a milk bag (you can get away with almost anything but the milk bag removes the most silt, if you only have a strainer w large holes, let the milk sit and pour off the top gently, it will leave the silt)
Add 2-3 cups of water and a pinch of salt to 1 cup quick oats. Immediately process it.
Gently strain it thru bag.
It keeps almost a week in fridge in a mason jar.
NB: some people add oil or vanilla or a couple cashews - I like it plain, if you want more excitement, you can find recipes where they use other stuff, or just have fun experimenting!
Also NB: the recipes I started with said that immediately processing and only gently straining will prevent any sliminess. I haven’t had that problem, so I don’t know if it’s because I do it that way or because I don’t have slimy oats?!?
Soak ~1c raw almonds (or cashews or oats etc.,) in water overnight
Put them in the blender, fill the rest of the way with water (leaving a little room for froth)
Blend on highest setting until it's a smooth consistency
Some people like to strain it through a sieve or add a stabilizer, but I think that's too many steps, so just be aware it just might need a shake or a stir before serving. I started making my own when regular protein shakes at the gym caused my consumption of almond milk to go way up.
Blend at 1 to 4 ratio. Ex: 1 cup almonds, 4 cups water. Strain through nutbag or cheesecloth. Save pulp for recipes (Google will help)
Some people drink the milk as is but to me, but it tastes even more amazing if you cook it on a stove just until it starts to boil and immediately turn off heat. Add a tablespoon sugar.
Cashews: same but don't need to boil. These don't strain as well so some people prefer using high speed blender and not strain but I didn't care for it that way. I haven't made oat milk that I'm happy with so no advice on that
frozen cubes of garlic save a ton of time breaking open cloves
I take issue with that one specifically. Frozen, jarred, canned, tinned or tubed garlic is so much worse than freshly chopped garlic and it really isn't that much of a hassle to peel and chop it.
I'm lazy as shit and use tons of garlic and you just smash it with the broad side of the knife and give it a little slap slap to chop it up and you're done. I've never had non fresh garlic that's anywhere near as good as fresh garlic, same with ginger. Pickled ginger's good too, but it's not the same thing as regular ginger and isn't interchangeable in most recipes.
I'm not even that much of a snob about fresh ingredients, I almost exclusively use refrigerated lemon and lime juice because I don't go through those often enough to keep them fresh and it's 95% there, but garlic is probably the one thing that I refuse to get preprocessed.
@BettyWhiteInHD I agree with you when it comes to canned or jarred garlic, but I can't tell the difference when I cook with frozen, at least for minced or mashed garlic. I use the kind they sell at Trader Joe's, 'dorot' brand, not sure if others taste different. Usually I'm using it as an aromatic for sautéing. I really only bother with fresh if I need to slice the cloves a specific way.
Mine is, don’t eat anything solid, hold your poop for 3-days. When the redditors arrive why won’t understand, but whatever food you eat will be the best you ever tasted, they also will remain confused about why there is so much karma on your foodporn posts!
I also like to freeze leftover stock into an ice cube tray for deglazing, when I just need a little but and not have to open a whole new carton.
If you can take 1 or 2 cubes (or how many you need) out before cooking so they're melted before, great, but I've also had success just throwing the frozen cubes directly into the pan in a pinch.
Instead of using a pastry cutter to incorporate butter, freeze the butter then grate it with a box grater then mix it in. It stays much colder. Perfect for pastry or biscuits.
I'm not super experienced with making pickles. Would you want to reheat the brine before adding back into the jar to better help it penetrate the pickles?
Taste as you go and taste everything! Understanding how the components of your meal taste is a great way to make yummy things. It also helps you learn how ingredients manifest in the end result and will help you expand your cooking versatility
Best thing I've done for my bread baking is weighing my flour rather than doing it by volume. It also makes it easier to check your ratio of flour to water
More of a baking tip, but if you want a chocolate cake to taste extra moist and chocolatey, add a cup of coffee to the batter. It should be thin and runny, it'll sort itself out in the bake.
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