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    Home » Essentials

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    Be a better cook - 5 tips to up your game

    Follow these 5 easy cooking tips to help be a better cook, taking the stress out of cooking and baking and giving you better results. They may be basic, but they're useful for everyone, from beginner to experienced cook.

    Ingredients ready to be used for Apple Scone

    Becoming a better cook

    I recommend these tips to all my readers, however long you have been cooking and baking. Some of these I have done forever, some I have only implemented consistently very recently (and I have been cooking since I was a child).

    All these cooking tips make a difference to the process. You will feel calmer and more in control of what you're doing (and your kitchen won't resemble a bomb site). I can honestly say that, apart from washing my hands, I have had times of not doing all of these things and I have had problems because of it - from messing up clothes to omitting ingredients.

    So take a read and apply anything that that you feel will help you become a better cook.

    1. Read through the recipe

    It's a great temptation to just start cooking, but reading through first does help to:

    • Spot everything you will need, e.g. grater or sieve, and get it out
    • Remind you to get ingredients such as butter and eggs to room temperature before you start
    • Make sure you understand all the techniques used
    • See if you need to add in time for chilling or standing

    I also recommend using a cookbook stand for your cookery book/tablet/phone. You know where the recipe is and you can easily read it. If you're a messy cook, try a stand with a perspex cover.

    2. Get out all ingredients and equipment you need before you start

    Ingredients in small white dishes
    Gather ingredients

    This isn't something that I've always done but I always get all the ingredients out first now because:

    • You don't leave anything out
    • You don't end up searching for an ingredient you don't actually have or you've mislaid
    • You are calmer when you cook

    Likewise, with equipment:

    • You don't have to stop half-way through to search for something
    • If you are baking a pause can affect the results
    • You can focus on the cooking and enjoy the process

    Don't forget your oven gloves!

    3. Wash your hands and find your apron

    When you cook, you're always washing your hands:

    • Before you touch any food
    • After you've handled raw meat or fish
    • If your hands get sticky from handling pastry or dough etc

    Make wearing an apron when you cook a habit and you will save your clothes from spills and splashes. However careful you are, one day it will happen - I speak from bitter experience!

    4. Do your prep

    Preparing ingredients and equipment before you start cooking means that everything is ready and the process runs more smoothly. Even though I've been baking since I was a child, I still find this makes a ton of difference to my state of mind (calm vs. dashing about) and the dishes turn out better for not waiting while I peel the potatoes or wash the cherries.

    Some recipes give you clear preparation instructions, but if not, scan through the recipe to find what to do, e.g.:

    • Turn the oven on before you start making the recipe
    • Grease and/or line baking tins and dishes
    • Wash, trim, peel, chop vegetables and fruit
    • Juice, zest, grate, sieve as required
    • Put eggs in warm water to bring to room temperature if necessary
    • Soften butter in the microwave (carefully) if it's needed at room temperature
    • If you need hot water, boil the kettle
    • Weigh everything

    5. Clear up as you go along

    Very boring and tedious, but it has to be done. It doesn't make you a better cook, but it makes the process easier. Take advantage of the time when:

    • The mixer or processor is going
    • Food is cooking without needing attention
    • Food is chilling or standing

    During that time you can:

    • Put used ingredient packets away
    • Throw out vegetable peel, empty packets etc.
    • Wipe down surfaces
    • Load the dishwasher
    • Run a sink of hot soapy water for utensils to soak in
    • Start the washing up

    So, start to become a better cook and take the stress out of cooking, but most important of all, keep calm and enjoy your cooking and baking!

    If you like this...

    ...Why don't you try some essential recipes made easy:

    Cheese sauce in a red saucepan - ready to eat.

    Foolproof Cheese Sauce

    Cheese Sauce is one of the staple recipes that every cook needs. From a simple mac and cheese to a cheese souffle, cheese sauce is the basis for many meals.
    Half a loaf of Easy No Yeast Bread with 2 slices, butter and butter knife on a beechwood board.

    Easy No Yeast Bread

    Emergency loaf, made with everyday ingredients in your store cupboard. You don't need yeast or bread flour. Ready in under an hour.
    Bowl of homemade custard

    Homemade Custard

    Thick and creamy custard, just milk, eggs and sugar. Make it thick or thin and serve hot or cold. Easiest with a food processor or blender.
    Homemade Mayonnaise with prawn cocktail sauce and curry mayonnaise

    Homemade Mayonnaise

    Homemade Mayonnaise is easy with a food processor or blender and some patience.

    More Everyday Essentials

    • Bowl of homemade custard with 2 eggs and a jug of milk
      How to make Custard from scratch
    • Half a loaf of Easy No Yeast Bread with 2 slices, butter and butter knife on a beechwood board.
      Easy No-Yeast Bread
    • A ball of marzipan on a wooden board
      Marzipan
    • White Sauce in a saucepan
      White Sauce

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    Hi, I'm Susie. Mostly I love cooking and baking, but combining work and home life often leaves me feeling that providing healthy, tasty food for my family is a chore. On those days I am decidedly an Everyday Cook...

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    Ingredients ready to be used for Apple Scone