Post any amazing cooking tips you've picked up over the years :)

[CustardD123]

Post any amazing cooking tips you've picked up over the years :) e.g. in prepping stuff, flavour combinations, cooking times, techniques, food pairings, etc

To thicken dairy, add citrus juice. The curdling is thickening. You just have to beat it. I use it for lemon cheesecake

@tartyflette I soften hard butter in the microwave on the defrost setting to avoid melting

@Holibobsing I use Sprite because it’s tasteless in cakes, my son is allergic to eggs and dairy it’s a well known vegan trick. I think they showed it on ‘This morning’ once but used cola in a chocolate cake mix. veganfooduk.co.uk/this-morning-bake-vegan-cake/

"Graphista , I tried your egg rolling technique last night, it's magic" see? Great stuff 😉

I must admit I peel my mushrooms.

The liquid in a can of chickpeas can be used as a vegan egg substitute in baking. Can make meringues with it too

Graphista

Apologies if someone has already quoted this, 'Life is too short to peel a mushroom.' Shirley Conran

Salad dressing - put your ingredients of choice straight into a screw top jar with a lid. Give it a good shake over the sink, in case of accidents, and it emulsifies. And you can taste, taste, taste till it's right for you. Then keep in the fridge, with another shake before serving.

I use veg oil, white wine vinegar, teaspoon of sugar, crushed garlic clove, salt, pepper and powdered Colman's/ whole grain. Sometimes a squirt of lemon juice for a change.

Easy to make your own vinaigrette...

People buy vinaigrette?

It turns out that unless you want to fry an egg, non-stick pans are pretty unnecessary. All my life I've had non-stick, and despaired as the Teflon flaked off...or I forked out for anodised...which I couldn't put in the dishwasher. Now I've got plain stainless steel and they're frickin' awesome. No more flaky black bits in my parsley sauce.

From Nigella: put some baking powder into your crumble mix. Makes it a lighter texture.

I have three cast iron pans and two enameled cast iron dutch ovens. They are fantastic for cooking on the hob as well as in the oven. The cast iron pans are well seasoned so very easy to clean. The enameled dutch ovens clean up with dish detergent and water.

I couldn't do without my non-stick saucepan for scrambled eggs and porridge. Makes a huge difference to washing up.

But my best utensil is an oval British brand copy of Le Creuset, enamelled cast iron. It's over 50 years old and I use it for soup, casseroles, even jam making.

Prepping runner beans (the ready prepared ones all seem stringy recently) - peel both edges and cut them with scissors.

The fizzy drinks in cake - I have found this recipe for scones: www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/recipes/a560998/cheats-lemonade-scones/

Use a tin of chicken or mushroom campbells soup for a pasta sauce,for the sauce in a chicken pie or added to a risotto

Cornflakes make a nice pasta bake topping.

Crushed Left over ready salted crisps from a multi pack make a great crumb coating for homemade crispy chicken. Coat raw chicken pieces in beaten egg, dip in crushed crisps, dip and coat again, then bake for 25 mins at 200c

This has been an absolute game changer for me for preparing sofrito for any recipe. So quick and easy, and I just prefer not having to plug anything in. DH hasn't chopped an onion since we got it.
Zyliss Easy Pull Food Processor, White/Grey/Red www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00XYRVZHI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_5lX6CbY23NZQT?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

user123454321

I guess the slow-cooker heat would be the same as a gentle oven. I use my Pyrex casserole with it's lid and haven't had a problem so far 👍

Actually, Shirley Conran said life is too short to stuff a mushroom. I'm sure she would have thought peeling them was utterly superfluous.. 😆
And I disagree about stuffing them anyway -- a big field mushroom stuffed and baked with chopped bacon, grated cheese, and breadcrumbs, or just cheese and breadcrumbs, is quick, easy and cheap, especially if you pick the mushrooms!