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A few things: * Garbage bowl: allocate a mixing bowl on the counter to collect garbage and drop cuttings and other refuse in there. Saves you from having to go
by orev 9mo ago
A few things:
* Garbage bowl: allocate a mixing bowl on the counter to collect garbage and drop cuttings and other refuse in there. Saves you from having to go to the trash bin every time.
* Preheat watery vegetables in the microwave. Things like onions, mushrooms, etc. are mostly water, and you can avoid having to wait for them to reduce in a pan by nuking them for 2 minutes in the microwave first.
* When boiling water or cooking almost anything in a pot, cover it with the lid! It will trap the heat inside the pot and boil/cook faster. So many people don’t use the lid just to save themselves from having to wash it. The only time not to use the lid is if you need to reduce the liquid or allow volatiles to escape.
* Cooking bigger batches of food takes essentially the same amount of time as smaller batches. Make portions big enough that you can get at least two or three more meals from it.
* Learn to use your oven! Too many people get enamored with single use gadgets when the oven already does so many things. People complain that it takes too long to heat up but it really doesn’t.
* Keep your knives sharp: Do NOT use an electric sharpener, just a simple drag over a stone every few months is probably all you need. A sharp knife is SAFER than a dull one.
* Throw away all cutting boards not made of wood or plastic (dump the plastic too if you’re concerned about it). Any cutting board made of glass, marble, metal, or any other hard material is destroying your knives.
- hexbin010 9mo ago> Any cutting board made of glass, marble, metal I've never understood this. Those things are/were just used to prevent counter-top damage here in the UK (hot pans, things that would stain etc). We never considered them chopping boards. Did the USA not get the memo?
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- reaperducer 9mo agoWe never considered them chopping boards. Demonstrably false: https://www.ebay.com/itm/114968917182 https://www.ebay.com/itm/114968917182 Perhaps do a basic internet search before speaking for an entire nation.
- operatingthetan 9mo agoWhen I read the above comment I couldn't figure out what material they were using other than wood or plastic. I don't think using glass is common, at least I've never seen it in the US.
- throwway120385 9mo agoI was given one by a landlord once because a lot of renters here don't have the money to buy cutting boards so they will just cut directly on the kitchen counters.
- operatingthetan 9mo agoI sharpen my own knives so that would be a no from me! I know a lot of people just throw their knives in a drawer or run them through the dishwasher so I guess glass would be fine for those.
- orev 9mo agoThe thing about giving advice is that some people will think it’s obvious, but those aren’t the people who need the advice, it’s the people to whom it wasn’t obvious. And I don’t see what country/location has to do with this, as I imagine plenty of places use bad materials.
- crazygringo 9mo ago> Preheat watery vegetables in the microwave There's actually a lot of stuff you can halfway-heat in the microwave. Air frying frozen <anything>? Nuke it for 2 min and air-fry for 3 min, instead of air-frying for 12 min. Ice cream rock solid? Nuke a pint for 15 seconds. It won't melt, just soften. Cold ketchup in a dipping bowl? Nuke for 5 seconds to bring it to room temperature, so you're not putting cold ketchup on warm food. But the best? You know how tomatoes get a mealy texture when kept in the fridge, which is why everybody says not to keep in them in the fridge, even though they last so much longer that way? That's only as long as they're chilled. Nuke for 10 seconds to bring back to room temperature. The texture returns 100% to normal.
- throw0101c 9mo ago> Ice cream rock solid? Nuke a pint for 15 seconds. It won't melt, just soften. Use 50% power and check in 10 second increments: * ATK: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FZCgQp8D2Xw https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FZCgQp8D2Xw If you think ahead, put it in the refrigerator 30 minutes before you need it.
- walthamstow 9mo agoUnless you have an inverter microwave (most don't) there's no such thing as 50% power. It's 100% power for 50% of the time. The first 10 seconds might be power on, the second 10 you might just be watching it spin around for nothing.
- crazygringo 9mo agoThis is correct -- it's usually a cycle of several seconds on, several seconds off, so 50% power for 10 seconds is somewhat nonsensical. Just do 100% power for something like 7 seconds at a time, maybe, if you want to be really careful.
- arcanemachiner 9mo agoWhen I was a kid, I had some ice cream that was too goddamn cold, and I asked my mom to put it in the microwave for a few seconds. Everyone laughed at me. I'm still pissed off about it.
- bob1029 9mo ago> Cooking bigger batches This is also one of the central ideas around making computers go really fast. > Throw away all cutting boards not made of wood or plastic https://www.johnboos.com/collections/cutting-boards https://www.johnboos.com/collections/cutting-boards > Garbage bowl I have one of those rubbermaid tall/thin trash cans where my kitchen island used to be. Sometimes I will pull my fridge into the middle a little bit so it's easier to get at. That's the kitchen optimization advice that I would offer - The kitchen island is often a productivity & convenience scam. It took me a long time to learn this. From a simple geometric & topological perspective, being able to walk directly between everything without having to always pick a direction around some obstruction will reduce your cortisol levels by a scientifically-quantifiable amount.
- throwway120385 9mo agoSame thing with giant peninsulas and breakfast bars. They're there to look nice for real estate photos, not to be a useful thing that gets used often. If you want a table in the middle of your kitchen rip out the island and put a kitchen table there. It's more comfortable and you can actually look at the people you're eating with.
- mschild 9mo agoI like the kitchen island as a massive prep space. Large enough for 2 large cutting boards, plenty of bowls, and other ingredients. Not using it for anything else though.
- mejutoco 9mo agoThey are good to socialize while cooking. Friends csn have a glass of wine next to you while you cook. Also to put the trash under without blocking other peoples flow.
- mschild 9mo agoThrow away any cutting board thats not wood. (Bamboo being the exception although I dont know if bamboo is wood?) Plastic cutting boards will contaminate whatever you are cutting on it with a load of micro and, in many cases macroplastics. Seriously, give your plastic board some action without food on it and then carefully collect the shavings.
- jpdb 9mo ago> A sharp knife is SAFER than a dull one. I do a lot of cooking and own quite a few kitchen knives, most of which have bitten me at some point. I understand the idea around sharp knives being safer...but I don't agree. If a razor sharp 210mm Japanese carbon steel knife touches your finger, it's split open and might need stitches or glue. A less-sharp knife would need more weight behind it to cut effectively which can lead to you completely severing a finger, but simple slices are a much more likely scenario than your finger being completely under the knife to the point where it's effectively a digit-guillotine.
- evilduck 9mo agoThere's no reason your fingers should be under the blade while it's in motion. That's just poor technique.
- ozim 9mo agoNot everyone is a chef. I guess 80% of people in the world have poor technique for cutting stuff but they mostly get away not cutting themselves because they have dull knives.
- jeffbee 9mo agoI recently had to glue my thumb back on after I lopped it off with a Japanese knife while I was dicing vegetables. At my age, I have probably moved that knife millions of times and only cut myself once. Nobody can have a perfect record.
- dpark 9mo agoHad a friend do that recently. Knife freshly sharpened, took a dime sized hunk of his thumb right off. They stitched it back on, mostly to protect what was left underneath while it healed.
- dpark 9mo agoIf your blade is dull enough you’ll be using excess force to cut. People cut themselves regularly because they are using too much force and the thing they are trying to cut shifts and suddenly they have a finger under the blade. Or they are working with a dull paring knife and having to use too much force and it suddenly cuts and keeps going into their thumb.
- glial 9mo ago> Do NOT use an electric sharpener Why?
- joatmon-snoo 9mo agoThe argument for not using electric sharpeners is that they (1) cut down the lifetime of your knife substantially and (2) they do a mediocre job of sharpening. Mechanically, it's just high-abrasive motorized spinning discs at preset angles. So rather than getting a good edge by taking a few microns of material off by doing it manually, you get an OK edge by taking 0.2mm off at a time. (If 0.2mm doesn't sound like a lot, think about how many mm wide your knife is.) --- I'm personally 50-50 on this advice: most people don't sharpen their knives at all, and I think people are better off getting 10 OK years out of a knife than 50 terrible years out of it. I'm also not willing to learn how to use a whetstone, so I landed in the middle on this: https://worksharptools.com/products/precision-adjust-knife-sharpener https://worksharptools.com/products/precision-adjust-knife-s...
- dgacmu 9mo agoI still sharpen my knives on a whetstone, but given the general cost trajectory of most manufactured items, I've decided that I'm okay if I wear out my knives. Buying a new chef's knife in 10 years is basically free on a per-day-of-use basis. (I say that, but I'm still using knives that mostly range from 25-50 years old, but some didn't get sharpened enough when they belonged to our parents and grandparents.)
- gtowey 9mo agoI landed on using a diamond stone with 300 grit and 1000 grit. Unlike whetstones they never need to be flattened. I just use one of those cheap plastic angle guides. After a bit of practice you will learn to hold the angle well enough. Finish with a leather strop and some polishing compound and I can keep my knives shaving-sharp with only a few minutes effort before I cook.
- lkbm 9mo ago> When boiling water or cooking almost anything in a pot, cover it with the lid! Blows my mind when I see people boiling water (huge pots of water!) with no lid on. In many cases, they were waiting around 30 minutes for the water to boil. It surprises them to learn that a lid will speed it up. I never see anyone trying to bake with the oven door open, but somehow boiling water without a lid is okay?
- carlosjobim 9mo agoWhen you have a good stove, the difference between lid or no lid is very small. You have to cook on gas or induction, and throw away electric stoves.
- walthamstow 9mo agoIndction maybe, it's very efficient, but not gas. It's heating the room as much as the pot, especially if the pot is mismatched to the ring size, so a lid is essential in my experience.
- socalgal2 9mo agoCalifornia has been trying to make gas stoves illegal for new construction for a while now. I don't know what the current situation is.
- dragonwriter 9mo ago> California has been trying to make gas stoves illegal for new construction for a while now. No, if “California” was trying, it simply would have done it. Some California localities have done something like that, though (some of which have subsequently faced adverse rulings in court.)
- socalgal2 9mo agoI stand corrected. Thanks. SF has done it.
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- dgacmu 9mo agoI have a very large hard rubber cutting board that I adore, to add to the list of reasonable materials. If you compost, your in-kitchen compost tote works really well to move near where you're trimming veggies.
- carlosjobim 9mo ago> Keep your knives sharp Or throw away blunt knives and purchase new ones every once in a while. Many people can't be bothered with sharpening their knives, so it's better for them to just get new ones. Or send them to professional sharpeners.
- dpark 9mo agoFor people like this, the best path is probably to buy cheap knives and a one of those cheap knife sharpeners that destroys the blade over time. One of those angled carbide sharpeners believe a terrible edge, but better than a dull knife. I guess if you prefer nicer knives, you could always buy new ones periodically and give the old ones away on buy nothing to someone who will take care of them.
- carlosjobim 9mo agoIn practice people will never use their knife sharpeners, and instead use horribly blunt knifes for years on end. They're better off buying new cheap knifes every year.
- dpark 9mo agoThose cheap carbide sharpeners take literally seconds to sharpen with, but you’re probably right.
- muti 9mo agoPay someone to sharpen them for petes sake. I can't fathom why you would suggest that seemingly off hand, secondary to throwing away and buying new knives.
- carlosjobim 9mo agoBecause people refuse to sharpen their knifes, no matter what you do. So it's better for them to throw away old blunt knifes and buy new ones. That they will do. And buy a real cutting board at the same time.
- socalgal2 9mo ago> * Garbage bowl: allocate a mixing bowl on the counter to collect garbage and drop cuttings and other refuse in there. Saves you from having to go to the trash bin every time. How about just put the garbage near your workspace while you're working so you can more easily dump stuff into it? I just generally put a bag on the floor near the sink
- mattmaroon 9mo agoI bought a really powerful disposal so I cut next to the sink and slide any organic matter right into it. Cannot recommend upgrading your disposal highly enough. Mine says in the manual to clean it by tossing a lemon in. Use a produce bag for what little is left.
- jonstewart 9mo agoThis is a terrible practice. If you have a septic system, you’re screwing yourself. If you’re municipal, you’re screwing your city. Compost your compost, don’t dump it down the drain.
- socalgal2 9mo agoCurious where you draw the line. What is even the point of having a garage disposer if you're not supposed to use it? I'm not disagreeing with your overall point. I'm geninely curious since I think every apartment I've ever lived in in the USA had a disposer so I'd expect them to be used and to a degree, if the disposer can chop up the stuff small enough to be safe, why not put things in it? Note that disposers are not common in some countries so I've lived for half my adult live without one. Typically those countries have a basket in the center of the sink to catch stuff and then you empty that basket into a bag. People also find various sink attachments to hold a larger bag for bigger waste while they cook.
- jonstewart 9mo agoThe older I've gotten, the more I've learned to scrape my plate clean into the trash. Then I rinse it, then I put it into the dishwasher. I'll run the garbage disposal as I rinse plates and pots and pans. This way I don't have to clean carrot peels and disgustingness out of a clogged drain catch, and don't need to clean my dishwasher filter frequently. When you have to do your own maintenance, your habits change. The disposal isn't for making things go away magically, it's to help keep your drain from clogging.
- TacticalCoder 9mo ago> * Garbage bowl: allocate a mixing bowl on the counter to collect garbage and drop cuttings and other refuse in there. Saves you from having to go to the trash bin every time. My wife has got the ultimate solution. She cooks (I really suck at it) but I clean the kitchen. And, well, while she cooks she hardly puts anything in the bin: mostly everything stays on the countertop, which becomes a gigantic mess. She empties the cutting board on the countertop. Rinse and repeat. Easy. Well, for her at least ; )