Come and share your best cookery tip passed down to you or invented by you

[mummyplonk]

Am sure there are some gems out there,

my 2

1/ Any curries you make with a jar of sauce add a big spoonful of Branston Pickle and it somehow makes it taste more authentic and less jar-i-fied.

2/ A-la Nigella, sprinkling semolina on chuffed up potatoes before roasting them really does make them taste bloody amazing.

Dash of balsamic vinegar added to tomato sauces really adds depth to the flavour. Always do this when I make meatballs in tomato sauce.

Adding two sausages to Paxo stuffing, take skins off and mix in the saus meat then cook in oven ..... yummmmm.
Actually its a tip from an old boyf

I was just going to take your cyber temp Prof..lol

TWO eggs for huge Yorkshire puddings.

Dry fry meat in Maderia wine - it's DIVINE!

Don't ever use jars of sauce to make curry. Vom.

Re rice, what's with the rinsing? Easiest way is to put whatever you need in a pan, and then add water until it reaches your first knuckle joint when you rest finger vertically on top of rice.

Put to boil and when water nearly gone (which is when you will see litle crater like holes in surface), put on the lid tightly and turn off heat.Leave for 20 mins. or up to an hour (it will still be warm by then). To fluff up, stir throguh with a chopstick so yuo don't break up grains.

Make a stock of vinaigrette and keep in a jar in your fridge.

Keep away from all commercially prepared cook in sauces and ready made dressings and marinades.

A favourite in our household; Don't say burnt, say caramelised.
And also, more of a rule than a tip - you have to have a sherry every time you baste the Christmas turkey (hic )

Very late to this.
Smash up Ritz crackers. Chop chicken breast. Dip pieces in milk, and then in bashed up Ritz. Bake. Lovely.

Grated apple in homemade burgers (any meat) makes them unctuous and moist.

For the best sponge, weigh the eggs and use that for the weight of the flour, sugar and butter.

I introduced myself to gremolata this weekend and virtually fell from my chair with the taste sensation it added to my meatballs and spagetti.
Where have I been living? How come it has taken me 34 years to discover gremolata?

Cannot think of a tip right now but will be printing this thread!

Oh yes, if you intend to bake a sponge, leave the eggs out of the fridge until they are at room temperature befor starding. your sponge will be really light and fluffy!

I always add half a teaspoon of sugar to pasta sauces that have a tomato base, I find tomato's can be a little bitter but this makes them lovely.

pinch of paprika on homemade potato wedges

pinch of nutmeg on leeks or spinach

add spoonful of golden syrup and spoonful of plain yogurt for wonderfully moist sponge cake

When you buy root ginger, peel the whole thing and cut into 1 inch pieces. Stick these in the freezer and then when you need ginger grate straight from the freezer. It grates more easily frozen and stops you finding mouldy ginger in the fridge at a later date!

I never put eggs in the fridge.

If you want really crispy chicken skin, don't use oil, dust it with flour before cooking. This works especially well on those flabby, cheap non-orgainc ones.

Crumble blue cheese into minced beef when making burgers. It gives them a depth and saltiness that is very yummy.

Use a garlic crusher to prepare ginger. You get a lovely juice andvery fine ginger.

how about double cream, onion and tuna sauce, and spread it on yourself, my dog likes it, a double treat for you!

in all seriousness roasting carrots in maple syrup, yum!

Will also be prining this thread.

For a quick and easy pasta salad:

Cook pasta, chop up some tomatoes, slice olives and add a couple of spoons of Heinz Sundried Tomato Sauce (posh ketchup) a slosh of wine vinegar and a slosh of olive oil.

Mix well.

You can freeze fresh parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme so you do not need to buy a new packet of fresh stuff every time you want a little bit of it (and frozen is a lot better than dried!).

You can freeze eggwhites and then use them to bulk up frittatas or omelettes (and it's healthy too!)

Raspberry sauce made with frozen berries is soo much easier, cheaper than fresh and tastes a lot better

Add some smoked paprika to any tomato-based stew for an incredible barbecue smoky Mediterranean flavour

Add bones to a homemade meat curry for depth of flavour (lamb bones)

Ditto with bread soaked in milk - works with meatballs too (use a mix of beef and good sausagemeat for great flavour)

Adding a teaspoon of cornflour or potato flour can stop custard from splitting

Drain your pasta a couple of mins before it's ready, and finish it off by sauteeing it in a pan with the sauce and some of the cooking liquid if the sauce is very dry.

The easiest way to cook rice?
Two cups of water to one cup of rice. Cook over a medium heat for 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed.

the easiest way is with a rice cooker

Someguy, my brother bought us a rice cooker last Christmas and DH laughed at it's utter pointlessness so we have never used it. Is it worth digging it out? How is it better than a saucepan?

I always use my rice cooker, even if just for 2. But then I am also a steamer user too. Perfect rice and if I am distracted it doesn't get burnt. THanks to hadggisaggis, I will be using the ginger one. Can I say also I am not a regular user of curry sauces and am not a fan of cook in jars but they are handy to have in the cupboard for busy moms who just want to use it as a base and add extra stuff like garlic, chilli etc fresh themselves. I also recommend bought curry pastes- I never make my own thai pastes and would not bother making tandoori etc either.
My fave purchase ever is a thai kaffir lime leaf tree. mmmmm

we use our rice cooker about three times a week. It has a permanent place on the kitchen counter.

Basically:

add two/three cups of rice (using provided cup)
fill with water to line marked 2/3, as applicable (for best results, the rice should be washed), press the button, wait, voila rice like you'd get it in a Thai restaurant (or Indian, depending on whether you use Thai or Basmati rice).

People who eat a lot of rice nearly all use rice cookers IME - they are extremely popular in Asia, it is not a case of not knowing how to cook rice or whatever, they are just better.

If you want to know more, read this:

books.google.co.uk/books?id=q3E_PwDx5J4C&lpg=PP1&ots=Ty5nv7iZSn&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Most rice cookers are also steamers, which is handy, though we have a fancy fuzzy logic one that doesn't steam.