Von Cook asked:




A lot of us are often given blurred visions of certain food preparation techniques that we forget many vital processes; thanks to commercialized quick-to-eat food products that make us want to pop them in the oven and voila! There are certain kitchen/cooking metrics that we Food Central do not encourage, but would like you to know so that you can be kitchen-smart.

Here are a few simple cooking tips that you might find handy when you do cooking. Preparing ingredients are sometimes tedious work - Just like washing vegetables, peeling prawns, washing shellfish, dressing the sirloin and so forth. If you know what's best for yourself in the kitchen, you might be able to run away from certain fuss by using these food techniques:

Salt your water when you're hard-boiling eggs The trick to easy-peel hard boil eggs is actually adding in salt to lukewarm water, turn on the fire and start cooking the eggs. When your water is boiled, turn down your fire to simmer. Constantly check your eggs for cracks - Too hot of the water will crack your eggs (and if you want to save gas by putting in hot boiling water to boil your eggs, you might just crack a lot of them if you're boiling in a chunk); salt your water by adding in around 1 handful of salt to 5 liters of water. The salt will lengthen your boiling time but it'll make your life 100 times simpler. Keep your knife hot when you're slicing 'vulnerable' food items The trick to making the perfect slice for eggs or cheesecake (and some chocolate products) is to keep your knife hot, not warm. Stainless steel do not keep hot temperatures well, and looking at your thin chef knife, it won't keep it for long either. Clean your knife, dip it into hot boiling water for a while or put them over naked fire then make your incision - You'll notice that it makes a very clean cut. When you slice eggs, keep the yolk on top Hard-boiled eggs are best sliced (usually into half) from their yolk section first. Always look for the yolk, then make your incision there. Slicing too far away from the yolk makes it hard for you to aim well - Also makes your egg portions uneven. In certain cases where you can't see the yolk or it's already out in the open, just follow No. 2 and do it your way. Use egg whites to 'smoothen' your chicken If you're marinading chicken, you can also add egg white into your marinade and keep them inside. For example, one whole chicken (portioned into 8), and one large egg white. After cooking the chicken, you'll notice the skin is actually smoother. Italian sauces are best left for a day before consumption Many homemade Italian sauces are great - Even better if you 'age' them for a day. As liquid evaporates from your sauces (giving you a more focused and intense flavor) and/or incorporates with other ingredients using its naturals, these sauces will not lose its flavor for a day but gives you a bigger punch the next day. Best few examples are basic tomato sauces, pesto and stocks like Velout