Foundations of Flavor: Essential Cooking Techniques
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Honing basic skills and knowledge in the kitchen can lead to more confidence when tackling more complex recipes. You’ll also find meal prep can fly by at a faster pace! We’ve highlighted a few basic cooking skills below to focus on, and have included videos for helpful demonstrations.
Basic Knife Skills
- Chopping, dicing, and slicing - all can be done with speed and safety once you’ve had practice learning knife skills. Having a properly sharp knife is also an important part of the equation.
- Video Example: How to Master Basic Knife Skills - Knife Cuts 101
Sautéing
- First, make sure you have a skillet on hand. Second, know your oil smoke points since certain oils are better than others when sautéing food. Consistently stirring is an option, but mastering the sauté snap is another helpful technique to the sauté.
- Video Example: Learn To Cook: How To Do The Sauté Snap
Fermenting
- Learning how to ferment foods is a great way to preserve vegetables, and gain added nutritional benefits for gut health. Have you ever tried fermenting veggies? Or making sourdough at home?
- Video Example: The Complete Beginner's Guide to Fermenting Foods at Home
Sprouting
- Sprouting is a kickstarter for digestion. Sprouting your beans, grains, and legumes helps make food more easily digestible, unlocking the nutrition potential of the food.
- Video Example: How To Sprout Anything
Steaming Veggies
- Steaming is another great way to prepare vegetables. Maybe you’ve had some experience with the microwavable steamer bags, but haven’t quite mastered steaming on the stovetop. Steaming on the stovetop, while it takes a slight bit more time, veggies are often less rubbery in texture using this old-fashioned method.
- Video Example: How to steam vegetables - BBC Good Food
Baking vs. Broiling
- Baking is when the food is cooked outside at a moderate temperature, while broiling uses a more intense heat for browning the food. Knowing how and when to use one versus the other depends on the food being prepared. For fish, either can be used.
- Video Example: How Do I... Broil Fish?