30 Priceless Cooking Tips That Were Passed Down To People By Their Parents, Grandparents, And Great-Grandparents
They say if you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room. But the same can be applied to kitchens. Learning your way around the pots and pans takes a great deal of time and effort, and it's much easier when there's an expert to guide you. Like your dad. Or grandma.
Recently, Reddit user u/OoopsieWhoopsie made a post on the platform, asking everyone to reveal their most prized family cooking tips. And some people agreed to do it; sharing really is caring. From getting the most out of your leftovers to adding an extra oomph to your dishes, continue scrolling to check them out!
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My grandma would save butter wrappers in the fridge and use the leftover butter on them for greasing dishes when she baked. I can’t help but stockpile wrappers, it’s really so handy.
A tablespoon of cocoa powder creates boldens the flavor profile of chili (I know it sounds crazy, but our chili recipe is delicious.
Don’t hollow out a bread bowl; shove the inner bread down to create a thicker bottom. This will prevent leaks and sogginess.
Use a little more butter and a little more cheese than the recipe says.
Putting a little fish sauce into a stew or sauce that needs umami. It's basically liquid anchovies.
My Uncle Arthur's tip is "clean while you cook!", and he will not let you forget it, either.
Not really sure if its a tip but my Papa Searcy used to microwave bacon on old newspapers...it was always delicious! In hindsight it's probably bad for you and you should never do it. I have weird memories of the smell of newspaper and bacon.
Yes. YES! Clean while you cook is the very first law in the kitchen.
Better Than Bouillon Veggie is a million times better than any other veg stock.
Adding sour cream to scrambled eggs instead of milk will make them insanely fluffy.
Save all scraps for stocks. Almost anything can be made into soup.
Add a pinch of nutmeg to anything with dairy in it, you can't taste the nutmeg but it makes the dairy richer and taste better.
What does it mean "you can't taste the nutmeg"? Maybe you're using very old nutmegs.
Cook them onions - cook them onions loooong n slow. Then add tomato, cook that tomato, cook that tomato looooooong and slow.
Sprinkle sea salt on cookies right before or right after baking. The extra salt brings out the flavors more and helps balance out the sweetness.
A dollop of sour cream in mashed potatoes.
Bacon always comes out better if you cook it in an oven, and it’s important to put the bacon in before turning the oven on; preheating the oven will make the bacon stick to the cookie sheet
I put homemade stock into ice cube trays to freeze then store in bags. 1 cube = 1.5 Oz liquid or so.
This works even better when you let the stock reduce before for super rich and concentrated flavor
Want to make icing delicious? A pinch of salt. It cuts the pure sugar and makes it dangerously good.
A TBSP of ground coffee in brownies really kick it up a notch. The more quality the beans the better.
You're probably using too much flour in your yeast dough. Many recipes say it should not be sticky. On the contrary, you want it a little yucky and sticky before you let it rest. That's how you get yummy fluffy stuff that doesn't dry out within hours.
Also, to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands, you don't use flour. You use vegetable oil
Keep in mind I’m from a very Midwestern Scandinavian family. Cream of mushroom soup is kind of a universal solution for improving any dish.
The reasoning that this should be specifically a can of condensed soup is because a. the flavor is super concentrated in this form and b. It is very thick so it will not water down your dish's texture and will add an overall richness
Nutritional yeast in mashed potatoes.
If a dish feels flat it's often the acidity that's missing. Dash of White Modena vinegar is the secret to my red sauce for example, even though it's inherently acidic.
I see this one EVERY TIME. And it’s such a “new culinary school student” thing. As a professional chef, I can say “the thing that’s missing” is *not* always acidity and is often NOT acidity to be honest. It’s often sweetness, or umami, or even just more herbs. Adding more acidity to your tomato sauce? Even the best chefs in the world will tell you: No, a pinch of sugar.
My oma would add plain seltzer to her matzah balls… she said it made them fluffier.
Add citrus zest to enhance flavor and acidity, especially in sauces/salsas…desserts too!
Salt your water liberally when boiling pasta/potatoes, and blanching vegetables
Actually, 7-10 g/l is a very good salt-water proportion for cooking pasta.
Rub a lemon wedge on the inside of your mixing bowl when you're making meringue. It works better than cream of tartar and you'll get a more stable meringue.
I thought adding cocoa powder to chili was pretty common.
I like to add some apple cider to baked beans and a bit of cinnamon to chocolate cake.
MSG makes just about everything better. I add it to the salt mixture when I'm seasoning meats. It also helps make ripe tomatoes pop by accentuating the naturally occurring MSG, keep that in mind when you're making tomato salads and tomato sandwiches.
My family owns a catering business, starting from my grandparents who came to the states from Portugal. One thing I've learned that greatly improve my meals is to add butter to your noodles (for saucy pasta like Spaghetti)
Nope. Like oil which I've seen suggested loads of time this will simply stop the sauce from sticking to your pasta, so you end up eating buttery noodles with the sauce on the side. Better to cook the pasta just slightly al dente so that some of the sauce is absorbed into it between cooking and serving.
Adding Worcestershire sauce, a bit of soy sauce, and Dijon mustard to your pan-fried chicken livers would ascend them into deityhood (not to forget the caramelized onions, chicken stock stock, garlic, and mushrooms).
A really good sharp knife and running the onion over water can help prevent the teary eyes. (Also holding a piece of bread in your mouth).
Every knife should be kept perfectly sharp. This is not a tip, it's a basic.
Cooking carrots in your bolognese, ragú, or any tomato-based/tomato-heavy dishes (I do it in curries when there’s tomatoes present) breaks down the acidity. I have yet to have heartburn since doing this from an old Italian recipe.
Replacing melted butter with brown butter is almost always the better choice when baking.
The butter in that pan looks like it should be called beurre charcoal, not beurre noisette
Always remove the skin from chickpeas before cooking (after 24 hour soaking), makes it easier to digest and a much creamier hummus (of course never use the canned stuff).
Use some bicarbonate sodium and peeling chickpeas will be really easy. But regarding hummus, canned chickpeas are perfect. I don't know in you country, but in Spain high quality canned legumes are very easy to find in any supermarket.
Keep the onions in the fridge, won’t sting your eyes.
This is false!! I put an onion in the fridge, then shoved it directly onto my eyeballs, and they sting.
I put a splash of maple syrup in my chilli.
Dust my pizza pan with garlic powder instead of cornmeal.
Do NOT substitute garlic powder for cornmeal if you're cooking pizza on a stone. It'll burn and be bitter.
I use vanilla or plain full fat yogurt in my bathing mixture for French toast, instead of milk.
It turns out perfectly every time.
As far I can remember all the women in my family put a big spoonful of mayo in their mashed potatoes (myself included).
A decent aged balsamic vinegar adds depth to almost anything! I use a 25 year in literally almost everything, chili, spaghetti, whatever. It’s a fantastic addition, and you only need a tiny bit.
Use the animal fat for cooking instead of oil, animal fat can take more heat.
One of the hardest lessons I had to learn when I started cooking in earnest was that different fats are perfect for different heats. Olive oil is perfect for slightly pan-fyring vegetables, but does not bear enough heat to really sear meat in it. Rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil, they all have their specific characteristics. Some oils like linseed oil should only be used cold. So deep-fry in one, sear in the other and add the third for consistence. Also, I have become a huge fan of ghee for high heat dishes - which is essentially butter, but minus the water.
The chocolate chip cookie recipe on the toll house chocolate chip bag is legitimately pretty good in a pinch.
Mixing a heaping scoop of mayonnaise into your cake batter, whether it's scratch or from a box.
In addition to the (brilliant) addition of cocoa powder to chili, we also throw in like 5 green cardamom pods in there. Just be sure to either fish them out post-cooking or warn folks that they're in there; even after hours of cook time, they're still a potent (not unpleasant on their own just a bit discordant to chew on) flavor.
My wife was stunned that after 25 years together she found out I put lemon juice in my pancake batter. (Bisquick Ultimate melt in your mouth pancakes recipe)
When baking for every tsp of vanilla extract add 1/4 tsp of lemon extract
If you can't cook for love nor money, a chicken casserole is almost impossible to mess up.
When making chicken and dumplings, remove all the chicken from the pot before cooking the dumplings, then stir it back in at the end! Also, dumplings must be made from Bisquick, none of the canned biscuit abomination! And no cream of anything soup, cooking the dumplings in the broth thickens it up nicely.
Hey guys, how about we stop judging people that use shortcuts to make their life easier? I make everything from scratch but I'm not going to judge someone that uses a box mix. Some people can't afford a lot and find it more affordable to buy one box mix than having to buy flour, leavening agents, butter, eggs, etc all separate. Some people work a lot of hours and have other stuff like family to take care of on top of it. Some people just honestly hate cooking or aren't good at it. Stop shaming people for trying to make their life a little easier by taking a shortcut.
Always taste your roux before adding anything else to it - you’ll know if the balance is off and can make adjustments before it’s inclusion in your dishes and screwing up flavors.
There isn’t a leafy green vegetable or bean that can’t be cooked this way:
Sauté onion in bacon fat. Add red pepper flakes. Add broth. Add a smoked turkey neck (or wing if you want it meaty). Simmer until meat is near-tender, add veggies/beans and cook until those are done. Season, probably with adobo.
Green beans, collards, kale, white bean soup, black beans, lima beans, make the onions the trinity and you’ve got the start of red beans and rice. Add carrots, celery, and sweet potato and make a smoked turkey soup that puts chicken soup to shame.
Something to keep in mind for next Thanksgiving: if your deviled egg mixture is too runny, adding instant mashed potato flakes will improve the consistency without messing with the texture or flavor.
All tomato based sauces need a pinch of sugar and a bit of cinnamon.
As Bruno Barbieri said at the Italian Master Chef: "Lo zucchero nel sugo è Satana" ("Sugar in sauce is Satan").
LaChoy soy sauce in place of salt when I cook (to taste). Adds more depth and a nice umami flavor. It’s also gluten free (most soy sauce is not)
Gluten free soy sauce is called tamari and, if I’m being honest, LaChoy would be my last choice - there are better options at the same price point.
For deviled eggs - use whipped cream cheese or avocado instead of mayonnaise. More versatility for spices and flavors, but also more fiber, calcium, and protein than you would without them.
A can of condensed milk in mashed potatoes works stupidly well. Not the sweetened stuff but unsweetened. Shelf stable so if you need to make a side unexpectedly, you can do mashed potatoes. Add your butter and other things as normal.
No one here like American Sour Cream so we never have it and crema doesn't work as well.
Any place you're adding brown sugar for flavor (not for science reasons) you should add a splash of maple syrup. If you can find the extract, use that instead. Punches up the brown sugar flavor without making it too maple syrup flavored.
Use the "fancy" Liquors for adding flavors to baking. Good way to use them up if you're not really a drinker.
I thought that was called evaporated milk, condensed milk is always sweet
Pork and beef umami kicker = flaked black truffle salt
There is nothing wrong using box stuff. I hate it when people act like the cake doesn't count because it came from a box.
Those weird elitist types would lose their s**t if they found out most professional bakeries start with boxed cakes and focus on enhancing that, decorations, and properly shaping for the occasion/aesthetic My stepdad was super into making so many things purely home made. And he wasn't bad at making cakes or anything. But one time i showed up and he was super impressed by this cake i made and wanted to steal tricks from me. Only to become some offended because i used a box as the base and then built up from there and that was some kind of an insult towards him and how he taught me
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Of course there’s negative comments, it’s BP. We’re judgemental here, it’s what we do. 😉
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There is nothing wrong using box stuff. I hate it when people act like the cake doesn't count because it came from a box.
Those weird elitist types would lose their s**t if they found out most professional bakeries start with boxed cakes and focus on enhancing that, decorations, and properly shaping for the occasion/aesthetic My stepdad was super into making so many things purely home made. And he wasn't bad at making cakes or anything. But one time i showed up and he was super impressed by this cake i made and wanted to steal tricks from me. Only to become some offended because i used a box as the base and then built up from there and that was some kind of an insult towards him and how he taught me
Load More Replies... Of course there’s negative comments, it’s BP. We’re judgemental here, it’s what we do. 😉
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