An arctic fox's tips for easier cooking

[Jenac Azaela]

I've been thinking of opening a thread on this part of the forum, mostly because the cooking side isn't all that active, considering the amount of locked threads. So, here goes:


As close to daily as I can muster, I will give one tip from my own experience with cooking, to hopefully inspire those who find cooking a difficult task. To me, cooking is as difficult as you make it. The hardest task is figuring out what to make. Basic foundations give room to find the path to what you wish to make. My first tip comes below:


Gravy can be tricky to get started, so many choose to omit this. An easy substitute is cream sauce. Fry up whatever you desire, whether it be pork, beef or mutton. Add whipping cream (or cooking cream for less fat) to the pan and throw in whatever spices you fancy.

[Jenac Azaela]

If you struggle to slice things evenly (such as carrots or bread), cut off one end and stand the food on its flat end on the cutting board. Then lay the knife on the side of its handle. Keeping the knife level as you cut this way will yield slices the thickness equal to the distance between the edge of the handle and the blade. Especially helpful if you struggle to cut straight down.

[Jenac Azaela]

If you need to cook a larger batch of bacon, lay strips out on a paper-covered oven rack, and bake at 200°C. The bacon is done when it looks the way you like it.

[Jenac Azaela]

Canned cheese sauces, cheddar dips and the like are practically plastic products. Melt cheese yourself. It's not that hard, really.

Post Merge: September 14, 2017, 09:38:26 PMChocolate chips and candy melts are for chumps. Get a real bar of chocolate and chop/melt that up instead. Much tastier, and actually healthier.

[Jenac Azaela]

There is no mushroom that is called "mushroom". The one most commonly referred to as such is called champignon. This one is good for stews or sauteed, but it is a horrible topping for pizza.
For venison dishes, my best recommendation is chanterelles, accompanied by puffballs and/or terracotta hedgehogs.

[Jenac Azaela]

While the "whole egg in water" method may be a decently accurate way of telling whether the egg is fresh or old, a good safety precaution is to crack the egg in a separate container and smell it. Even a slightly bad egg will have a strong smell. This way you can avoid accidentally adding a bad egg into your dish.

[Jenac Azaela]

I personally feel the best way to test a knife's sharpness is to try to cut a tomato. The skin is really tough to start a cut on if the blade is even the slightest bit of dull.
If you cannot sharpen your knife, but you need to cut tomatoes, poke a hole in the skin with the tip, and then place the edge in the tear. It'll do wonders.