A lot of good cooking is in technique. What’s something that you discovered or was told that really changed something meaningful for you? For me, I had struggled a lot to make omelettes. They always wound up becoming scrambled eggs because I sucked at flipping them over to cook on the other side (I like my eggs cooked pretty well so this was important to me.) Finally, watching someone else make an omelette, I noticed they didn’t flip it. They put a lid on the pan, turned the heat down, and let the top cook that way. I tried it myself and now I make almost perfect omelettes every time. Have you had anything like this happen to you? If so, what was it?
Smash garlic cloves with the side of a big knife to make the skin much easier to remove
Canned tomatoes usually taste way better than fresh tomatoes
When cooking pasta, save some of the pasta water to add to the sauce if it’s too thick, thins it out but the starch keeps it nice and saucy or something - acts as an emulsifier or something
Yeah, pasta water has been a game changer for me for the last couple years. I had never known it before but it’s kind of irrelevant for marinara sauce. Now I’ve switched from always marinara to never. I prefer pesto, and the pasta water turns it nicely creamy. My teen prefers a lemon butter garlic sauce, which also does really well with pasta water.
Now if only I can remember to save some pasta water more reliably
Pasta water as an emulsifier was also a huge technique for me :)
not a technique per se, but whole garlic bulbs are usually significantly less expensive than the jarred minced, with shitloads more flavor (and more you can do with it.). and an extra-fine microplane grater will turn that clove into paste in seconds. (or ginger, super fine zest, super fine cheese if you wanna nice melty shred.
as for tomatoes… the reason canned tomatoes taste better is that the canners set up shop near the farmers, so they don’t have to pick them green. same with a lot of frozen fruits/veggies. with fruit, you tend to loose some texture (strawberries going ‘soft’ is an example,) but, if you’re not needing the whole fruit, they’re going to be better.