20 Aha! Cooking Tips from Chefs and Veteran Cooks

Flavour and Seasoning

1. Acid is the answer

If your dish is well seasoned (salt and pepper) but seems like it is missing something, try incorporating an acidic element to brighten it up! It could be Lemon/lime juice, balsamic vinegar, Worcester sauce…anything that will add a bit of an acidic note to your dish. – Kuosen

2. Butter and salt, bone-in meat and shell-on shrimp

Restaurants use way more butter and salt than the typical home cook. It’s just not obvious because the butter is usually emulsified into a sauce and the individual ingredients are salted at various of stages of cooking and assembly. If you don’t care about fat or salt intake, playing with these two ingredients more (instead of just dumping them on your food at the last minute) is a great way to improve the quality of your food.

Meat is better with the bone-in. It keeps it from drying out as easy and provides extra flavor. I realize boneless, skinless chicken breast is supposed to be a convenience food, but I almost avoid working with them like the plague, as it’s actually incredibly difficult to get them measure up in flavor compared to a bone-in, skin-on chicken thigh. Boneless meat is usually more expensive too.

The same applies to shell-on shrimp. The shell provides insulation while cooking and gives you nice, juicy, extra plump shrimp, instead of shrunken, overcooked rubber bites. This is especially important for grilling shrimp.

Keep your shells and bones to make stock.

Also shallots. Use shallots. Most home cooks don’t seem to use shallots, but they’re delicious. – camal_mountain

3. It’s all about balance

Balance your seasonings.

A little too salty? Add a little sugar and an acid (vinegar/citrus juice).

A little sour/acidic? Add a little sugar and salt.

Too sweet? Add a little salt and an acid.

Many a sauce has been rescued this way. – Glock1911

4. Broth for water

Cook rice in broth (chicken, vegetable. Or beef) instead of water for instant flavour. – Spock5eyebrow

Next page: Health and Safety Tips