25+ Professional Tips From Chefs That Can Take Your Cooking Skills to the Next Level

Many of us have a passion for cooking. We often seek out unique recipes and endeavor to replicate them at home. However, when we dine out and contrast our homemade creations with those prepared by professional chefs, we can’t help but acknowledge that something seems to be lacking in our dishes.

At Bright Side, we have a profound affection for home cooking and we are eager to inspire all of you to delight your family and friends with delectable treats. That’s why we’ve delved into social media where accomplished chefs have generously shared their insider tips, enabling even homemade dishes to measure up to restaurant standards.

Salt

Frequently, individuals include salt to a recipe because they believe it lacks flavor, but what it really requires is acidity, such as lemon juice or vinegar. Salt plays an important role in sweet dishes too. A batch of cookies without a touch of salt doesn’t taste quite perfect. Salt, pepper, and acidity can enhance nearly any dish. If the dish is fantastic but lacks something, try adding salt, pepper, and lemon juice and then evaluate the flavor. For additional flavor in sweet dishes, a pinch of salt can work wonders. The key to flavorful pasta is always salting the cooking water. Additionally, incorporating more butter and salt can elevate the taste of your dish to resemble restaurant-quality food.

Onions and garlic

It is advisable not to add garlic and onions simultaneously during cooking. Onions require approximately 8 minutes to sauté, while garlic only needs about 30 seconds. If combined, the garlic may become burnt and bitter. Shallots are frequently used in restaurant kitchens but are less commonly utilized at home, providing a milder flavor as a substitute for onions. The intensity of garlic flavor can be adjusted based on when it is added; early additions result in a lighter flavor, while adding it late produces a bolder taste. Red onions, despite their name, are actually more purple in color and are best suited for cold or room temperature food preparations.

Potatoes

By adding vinegar to boiling potatoes, you can prevent them from breaking apart. Additionally, when boiling potatoes for mashing, consider adding 2 to 3 cloves of peeled garlic into the pot; as they soften, they can be mashed together with the potatoes, enhancing the overall flavor. Avoid using a blender for potatoes, as their high starch content can result in a glue-like texture. Instead, gently mash cooked potatoes by hand or use a ricer to preserve the majority of the starch molecules.

Herbs and spices

Dealing with herbs and spices can sometimes be challenging, especially when confronted with woody rosemary or whole peppercorns. A valuable tip is to put them in a cheesecloth and steep them in the liquid to extract their flavor without altering the dish’s texture.

Similar to salt, bay leaves should offer enhancement, not dominance, to dishes like stews, pasta sauces, and more.

In cooking, it’s the fat that carries most of the flavor. When sautéing, consider adding herbs and spices to the oil or butter in the pan rather than in the breading mix.

It’s worth having a substantial supply of sumac. Known for its lemony, salty, sweet, smoky, and earthy flavor, you can sprinkle it on a wide range of dishes or even infuse it like tea for an intense wildberry taste.

Just like the taste, the aroma plays a crucial role in flavor combinations. If uncertain about mixing different spices, try opening the bottles and sniffing them together for a sensory preview.

For a secret flavor pop in homemade mac and cheese, consider seasoning it with dry mustard.

Frying

Avoid using extra virgin olive oil for cooking as it is not suitable for high-heat cooking. Extra virgin oil has a very low smoke point, which often leads to burnt food and a smoky kitchen when used for cooking. Instead, it is best used for dressing and garnishing. Regular olive oil, on the other hand, has a higher smoke point and is more appropriate for cooking purposes. It’s essential to recognize the differences between the two.

Many inexperienced cooks fail to heat their pans adequately before cooking. It is crucial to understand the behavior of your specific pans on your stove, as many dishes are ruined from the beginning due to insufficient preheating. A good sear is impossible when the ingredients are essentially boiling in their own moisture.

When roasting, sesame seed oil adds a delicate nutty and salty flavor to dishes.

To ensure even cooking, avoid overcrowding the pan by using a larger pan or cooking in batches.

Save bacon fat for cooking by filtering cooled but still liquid bacon fat through a paper towel into a heat-resistant container. Bacon fat can infuse a delicious bacon flavor into various dishes, such as gravies and sautéed veggies like kale, spinach, or greens. Keep in mind that bacon fat is salty.

If something you’re frying sticks, it’s an indication that it’s not ready to be flipped yet.

Follow a simple method to brown mushrooms: use a cast iron skillet, heat it on high, add the mushrooms, and refrain from stirring for 6 minutes.

Meat and poultry

Ensure that when you remove steak, pork, or lamb from the heat or oven, you allow them to rest for roughly half the cooking time, loosely covering them with aluminum foil. This tip has been suggested by Empty-Refrigerator on Reddit.

Take your time to brine chicken, allow the rice to dry before using it for fried rice, and opt for slow-cooking methods for meats. Although these techniques may require some foresight, the actual time investment remains similar. Remember, creating delicious meals often takes time. RelativeOk578 on Reddit emphasizes this point.

Consider the source of the meat on the animal when determining the cooking method. Muscles from the legs and butt usually benefit from low and slow cooking, while other muscles like the back and tenderloin may require high heat and a quicker cook time. Pizzalovingking on Reddit notes that there are exceptions, but this guideline typically holds true.

According to SqueeStarcraft on Reddit, wrapping food in bacon may not always yield desirable results. Instead of enhancing flavors, this practice can lead to a stringy, wet meats mixture with an undesirable taste. Bacon’s distinct flavor should be allowed to shine by being crisp and delicious on its own.

Eggs

I always astound my partner with the incredible flavor of my scrambled eggs. He strongly believes that I possess some kind of magical scrambling skill because he can’t seem to recreate the same deliciousness when he attempts to do so. It finally occurred to me that he’s unaware of my use of butter, and now I feel hesitant to disclose it. I certainly take pride in being skilled at preparing scrambled eggs.

For flawlessly fried eggs, add salt into the hot oil and sprinkle some onto the top of the egg. Commence cooking in a hot pan for a minute, then lower the heat to medium-low until they’re almost cooked through, and ultimately finish them on high heat. The outcome is a perfectly seasoned, runny egg with a thin crispy base and edges.

Sauces

For richer, more flavorful sauces, utilize the pasta cooking water.
Prepare your own homemade salad dressings. It’s quick, requires common pantry ingredients, and tastes far superior to bottled ones. You’ll be amazed at the enhanced flavor of ranch dressing when you mix a dry seasoning packet with fresh milk and mayo and let it chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Think beyond Asian cuisine when using soy sauce. Experiment with adding a hint of it to scrambled eggs or sprinkling it towards the end of caramelizing onions. Its savory saltiness complements a wide variety of dishes.
Avoid adding dry cornstarch directly to hot liquids.

Bakery

Be sure not to skip the step of coating cake pans with flour, but when it comes to chocolate cakes, it can look unappealing. For dark cakes, I prefer using cocoa powder instead. Copyright soccermomjane / Reddit
If your cheesecake develops any cracks, simply adorn it with fresh fruit. Copyright Affectionate-Meat-98 / Reddit

Knives and other cookware

After handling raw chicken, consider pouring boiling water onto the cutting board to effectively cook any remaining residues and make cleaning easier. This useful kitchen tip was shared by ajos27 on Reddit.

Even when watching the Food Network, it’s clear that many chefs cut the tops off bell peppers and then remove the seeds by hand. Nevertheless, there’s a simpler method: slicing the bell pepper from the top down on all four sides to obtain easily manageable pieces, unless you specifically need rings. Fake***Ricky on Reddit highlights this efficient technique for preparing bell peppers.

Utilizing a reliable thermometer is essential in the kitchen. Rather than depending on guesswork, a thermometer ensures precise results each time you cook. This advice from troglodyte on Reddit underscores the importance of accurate measurements, particularly when preparing a variety of dishes.

For culinary enthusiasts:
Do you have a favorite dish that you excel at preparing? Feel free to share your culinary talents and secrets with us in the comments below!

If you possess captivating photos or stories related to the culinary world, don’t hesitate to submit them for a chance to be featured on Bright Side. Reach out to us right HERE! We eagerly await your submissions!

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