by Neil Nicol

Created on: February 02, 2009

Cooking tips are in a sense akin to race horse tips - they vary hugely and can actually be contradictory as the opinions of no two people are the same. I have throughout many years of cooking received a wide variety of tips in every conceivable aspect of the craft, some of which I have taken on board with gusto and continue to follow to this day, some of which I have tried before deciding they either didn't work or weren't worth the additional effort and some of which I have discarded immediately as virtually nonsensical.

In this article, I will try to look at not only some of the best cooking tips I have ever been given, but some of the least controversial and what I perceive to be the most valuable. I will look at three distinct areas of the cooking process and the best tips I have received in each of them.

Preparation and Hygiene

It is vital when we are looking at preparing to perform any task, be it cooking or DIY, that we have the tools we need to hand at the time which we need them. I was taught at an early age therefore to lay out such as spoons, mixing dishes, spatulas and so on in a logical fashion and know exactly where they are when I need them. In a similar sense, whenever I am finished with an item, put it in the sink or dishwasher to be washed or put it away. This avoids clutter which can lead to both confusion and accidents.

Hygiene is of course extremely important when we are cooking. We must wash our hands thoroughly before we start the process and after each time we touch such as raw meat, or go to perhaps answer the telephone. It is also important that we make sure all the utensils with which we are going to cook, or are going to use in the preparation in any way, are spotlessly clean. If we do drop something on the floor, discard it. We cannot take chances with our health by compromising in hygiene in cooking.

Ingredients

I am sure that we have all been given the tip to use fresh ingredients whenever it is at all possible and to buy the very best of same which we can possibly afford. By so doing, we are getting them at their best and maximising the flavour and enjoyment of our meal. Laziness in modern times with the convenience of pre-prepared and packaged foods has led to a significant decline in this respect but it is a tip I continue to follow religiously.

Cooking Methods

The manner in which we cook food obviously has a big effect on the presentation and flavour of the meal but it also has a similar effect upon how healthy and nutritious the same meal is. I was given the tip at a young age to minimise the occasions in which I fry foods. I was told never to deep fry and to shallow fry only when there truly was no viable alternative. Another good tip for frying if it is deemed essential is to use an oil such as corn or sunflower oils, never lard or any other form of dairy produce.

Baking, poaching, steaming and grilling are the cooking methods which I was advised to adopt wherever possible. These are wonderfully variable techniques which can be applied to cooking almost all types of food and therefore our usage of frying-pans should be minimal.

These tips are I believe among the least controversial of cooking tips and that most people will agree as to their value. I very much hope that you are one of those people.

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