10 tiny changes that will massively improve your cooking

i'm frequently asked what is the best way to become a better cook my answer is always the same becoming a better cook isn't about learning one big skill rather it's about incorporating tons of small individual skills over time and today i'm sharing with you 10 tiny changes that will dramatically improve your cooking these don't require a ton of time effort or money but they will make you a significantly better home cook let's start off by talking about something really really tiny like salt the salt you use and how you use it during cooking can make a big difference the first thing i'll say is to stop using table salt in your cooking this stuff is heavily processed and as a result it has this chemically aftertaste it's a little tinny and metallic plus it is really really salty and it has no nuance and flavor and as a result it's really easy to oversalt your food what i recommend you do instead is to primarily rely on kosher salt in your cooking that's what most restaurant chefs do as well so you're in good company i really like using diamond crystal kosher salt in my cooking because it's got this light flaky coarse texture that dissolves easily it's also really easy to pinch and it's about half as salty as table salt tablespoon per tablespoon as a result you have a lot more control over how much salt you're adding to your food and you're a lot less likely to over salt your food with this stuff than with this i also like to keep some sea salt on hand but it is pretty pricey this is like seven or eight dollars so i like to reserve it for a few things i primarily use sea salt when i'm finishing a dish where that nice sea salt flavor is going to come in handy or in a raw dish where the uncooked flavor of the food is really important you want to bring it out or in desserts because the fine texture really distributes evenly in the batter now that you know what type of salt to use in your cooking don't be stingy with it salt is what makes food taste like food it unlocks certain flavor compounds and aromas in our food that would otherwise lie dormant and if you're worried about sodium what i'll say is that the overwhelming majority of sodium in our diets at least here in the states comes from processed foods and eating out not from cooking with salt at home if you're cooking primarily plant-based foods at home which is what i advocate you don't really have to worry about adding salt to your food the last thing i'll say about salt is like any other seasoning make sure you're adding it throughout various stages of the cooking process not just at the end more on this tip in a bit i often hear people say things like i'm just not a fan of vegetables or i hate tomatoes or i hate zucchini and when i hear that i think you probably just haven't had the best version of that vegetable if your only experience with tomatoes are these sad mushy watery soggy things from the supermarket really missing out on all that tomatoes can offer what i recommend instead is to buy your tomatoes and as many fruits and vegetables as you can in season and at a local farmer's market if you have one by incorporating more seasonal produce into your cooking and shopping at the farmer's market when you can you're going to automatically improve your cooking without having to do anything differently in the kitchen that's because the fruits and vegetables you're preparing and cooking are going to be sweeter fresher riper and more flavorful if for instance you make my mushroom stroganoff with white button mushrooms from the grocery store it's still going to be good but if you can throw in a few wild mushrooms from the farmer's market it is going to be incredible or if you make my pesto it's going to be good any time of year but if you make it with basil that's in season in the summer it's going to be outrageously good speaking of basil that brings me to my next tip if you want to add unique flavor dimension and character to your cooking gotta start incorporating more fresh herbs dried herbs are certainly convenient but they can't deliver what fresh herbs do in terms of nuanced flavor freshness and texture here's some of my favorite ways to incorporate fresh herbs into your cooking i love adding fresh herbs to salads for complexity and interest both in terms of flavor and texture this is best done with soft herbs so parsley cilantro mint basil dill chives tarragon and you can use some whole pieces of herbs you can tear them up or you can chop them for different levels of texture another thing you can do is to make a bouquet garni that's just a fancy french word for a bundle of herbs tied together this is best done with sturdy herbs so thyme sage oregano rosemary and this is going to infuse a lot of depth of flavor into soups stews or even if you're just cooking a pot of beans or lentils i also recommend finishing your cooked dishes with some herbs for fresh and unique flavors and i don't just mean adding some chopped parsley as a colorful garnish so if you're making a southeast asian dish maybe like a thai curry or a vietnamese noodle soup some thai basil is gonna go a long way if you're making an indian dish or mexican dish cilantro at the end is a great addition and if you're making my mushroom stroganoff you'll notice that i add dill at the end it imparts a grassy unique flavor that really takes the stroganoff to another level another great thing you can do with fresh herbs is to make an herby condiment like gremolata which is going to add a lot of brightness and zing to your cooking so classically it's just made with parsley garlic and lemon zest but sometimes i also add basil and you can also experiment with the flavor so swapping cilantro for parsley and lime zest for lemon zest and if you're worried about fresh herbs going bad and not being able to use them up try adding some fresh herbs to whatever sauce or condiment you're making or making a sauce entirely out of the herbs such as pesto and for sturdy herbs you can freeze them in ice cube trays with olive oil and then you have herb oil at the ready if you've ever made a dish that fell flat or felt like it was missing something you probably didn't add any acid no not that kind of acid this kind of acid an acidic ingredient can draw out other flavors in your dish and unlock different dimensions there's something else in here the most common acidic ingredients that you're most likely familiar with lemons and limes but there are so many other options like vinegars from red and white vinegar to sherry balsamic and rice vinegar also wine both red and white tomatoes from whole tomatoes which are a little bit less acidic to canned tomatoes tomato paste and tomato sauce and there's so many other plant-based sources of acid including creamy things like vegan yogurt and sour cream and mayo other condiments like hot sauces and mustard ferments and pickled vegetables like sauerkraut or vegan kimchi certain baking ingredients like molasses and natural cocoa powder and several ingredients that are common in global cuisines like preserved lemons sumac black limes and indian pickles a lot of what i've learned about using acids to leverage other flavors comes from this fantastic cookbook from samine nosret i promise if you read this book you will become a better cook i like using acidic ingredients to brighten up heavy rich creamy dishes that's why i add dijon mustard to the end of this creamy rich stroganoff it adds a perky tang i also add a little bit of dry mustard powder to my creamy vegan cheese sauce for the same reason acids also help to balance other flavors and produce well-rounded dishes like spicy flavors this is why you often see indian dishes served with yogurt on top it's an acid that helps to cool all the spiciness this is why i finish my dishes like chana masala and red lentil curry with some lemon juice and my chilies with some lime juice and sweet flavors acid is what makes lemon cakes and lemon bars so irresistibly good that balance of the tart tanginess and the sweetness you'll also find this balance in the savory side of cooking sweet and sour sauces common in chinese cuisine are a great example as is nook jam a vietnamese dipping sauce that's sour sweet and savory you can also use acids to balance bitter flavors in your cooking which i know many of us do not like that's why i love to use citrusy lemony dressings with a kind of peppery bitter leaf like arugula or radicchio when i'm making a salad and this is why in baking i love pairing coffee with chocolate because coffee is acidic dark chocolate is bitter and when you combine the two with sugar with the sweetness you get magic if you're using some lemons or limes in your cooking to bring acid you might also want to add some of the zest you're going to get more concentrated citrus flavor when you use the zest instead of just the juice because the natural oils of the citrus fruit live in the peel and because the peel doesn't have that potent acidity it actually has more pure citrus flavor that's milder and a little bit floral and the zest works not just for lemons and limes but other citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits when you introduce citrus zest into your dishes you're going to get a lot of complex flavors for instance in my recent hummus video i showed you how to top the hummus with lightly fried lemon peel that adds a really unique dimension that will delight your taste buds you can also try finishing roasted vegetables with a bit of lemon zest and lemon juice to perk them up and give them some pizzazz lemon zest is also a great way to bring some brightness and zippiness to a creamy pasta dish it's also great in several kinds of desserts that's why lemon desserts made with lemon zest and not just the juice are so much more lemony and zingy in flavor orange zest is also fantastic in sweet foods and enhances the flavors already present i love adding orange zest to desserts like cakes as well as breakfast foods like oatmeal granola and french toast citrus zest can also really enliven your salad dressings and sauces if i'm making a sauce or marinade for tofu that uses lime juice i might also add some lime zest and if i have some grapefruit on hand i might also zest that into a salad dressing or you can use zest to make gremolata which i talked about in an earlier tip if you're cooking a complicated recipe something you've never made before or baking it really helps to invest in some precision there are lots of fancy precision tools and kitchen gadgets out there but if you can spring for just two i recommend a digital scale and an oven thermometer i swear by one of these in all of my recipes and cooking you can get really precise down to the gram so it is really helpful in baking plus you don't have to dirty all of those measuring cups also oven thermometer like five to ten dollars and super important because most home ovens are not properly calibrated for example at one of my old apartments the oven would say it was at 400 degrees but usually it was actually closer to 450 to 475 in the oven so i would often burn my food whether it was a baked good or roasted vegetable of course you should also use your senses when it comes to cooking so if you're roasting potatoes in the oven for instance and you notice that halfway through they're browning pretty quickly go ahead and lower the oven temperature that's where common sense comes into play because cooking yes is part science but it's also part common sense many of us have a fixed mindset when it comes to cooking we believe that our abilities are static they're givens that we can't really meaningfully change this is how i used to think about my own career i used to be a lawyer i was really rational analytical and i thought there's no way i could ever be creative or work in a creative field in contrast people with a growth mindset believe that they can improve their skills with effort and persistence so in the kitchen a growth mindset would involve trying out new recipes and techniques getting out of your comfort zone and forgiving yourself for mistakes along the way it's not good at all no one learns how to become a great cook overnight it takes time and repeated failures that's why you'll often find me sharing on my instagram stories when a recipe doesn't work out because those failures make me a better cook learning how to incorporate spices into your cooking is going to make your food taste better but if you want to take it to the next level i recommend experimenting with grinding your own whole spices now this isn't something i do every day or with every recipe but when i do it definitely makes a difference spices start to release their aromas as soon as they're ground so the pre-ground stuff starts to lose its potency pretty quickly in contrast a whole spice has a protective seed coating so the aroma the flavor doesn't get released until it's ground or heated up and the result is a flavor that's richer more complex and more aromatic depending on the recipe you're making you can toast your whole spices as is or you can grind them up before toasting them there are two main ways to grind spices a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder this little thing has really transformed my cooking sounds like a lot of extra work but really only takes a couple extra minutes if you're wondering what kind of recipes should i be using whole spices in i think the obvious answer is indian food that's the cuisine most associated with whole spices but there are lots of other ways to incorporate them into your cooking i like to use whole spices to jazz up simple meals like this lentil salad it's made with really simple wholesome ingredients but the spiced oil is what really takes it over the top or the seed sprinkle which is a great all-purpose condiment it features warm and toasty lemony coriander seeds that really make it shine and when it comes to baking especially those fall flavored desserts using freshly grated nutmeg is going to make a world of a difference my next tip is to layer flavors at various stages in the cooking process to show you what i mean let's visit my lentil shepherd's pie i start this lentil filling off by sauteing some onions and olive oil i also add salt to this because it helps to cook the onions down with a nicer deeper browner flavor next comes another layer of flavor by cooking down garlic which takes it from pungent and raw to slightly sweet i also add some fresh thyme and rosemary at this stage for some earthy woodsy lemony piney flavors that accent the lentils now we have tomato paste and instead of just plopping it in with the liquid i cook it down for a few minutes which unlocks its true potential it gets sweeter and becomes a more potent source of umami next i deglaze with some red wine it brings a depth of flavor and rich body that intensifies the meatiness of the lentils now i finally add the lentils and i cook them in vegetable broth instead of water to add a little more flavor and also add some bay leaves you could leave the lentils as they are and just season with salt and pepper but i take them over the top by adding tahini it adds a nutty creaminess tamari or soy sauce for another source ubumi and balsamic vinegar a source of acid that brings a nice sweetness and tank now finally some salt and pepper for that final layer this tip might be my easiest tip of all you can become a significantly better cook by just tasting as you go for instance with that shepherd's pie lentil filling as soon as the lentils were cooked i gave them a taste to have a baseline then i added the tamari tahini and vinegar and if this were my first time making the recipe i'd probably add just half the amount taste and then add more one of the benefits of tasting as you go is that it gives you the ability to detect problems in the dish when they're still small if you wait until the end to taste your dish for the first time though the problem or problems might be too big to fix by adopting this process you'll get better and better over time at learning when a dish is lacking a certain flavor or element [Music] all right that's it for me i'll see you in the next video bye

Channel: Rainbow Plant Life

Views: 1,009,785

Keywords: how to improve your cooking, how to improve your cooking skills, cooking tips, vegan cooking tips, how to become a better cook at home, vegan cooking

Id: raszqflBXW8

Length: 14min 10sec (850 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 10 2021