Cooking

There are still people who don't user probe thermometers. This is the single best cooking tip I can give:

• Get a probe thermometer (preferably a fast reading one).
• Use it.
• Know your temps.

Use an instant pot for beans. Saves water and a ton of time. You can also use it to cook rice or pasta.

Exact measurements and specific spices aren't that important if you're just making a meal at home. The point is just to make it tasty and probably healthy.

Patience. Good food doesn’t have to take a long time, but you need to give each step the respect it deserves, sometimes it will take a little longer. Mise en place is an important step, and so is reading the entire recipe thru before beginning. Also read recipes, even if you never intend to cook them, because you’ll discover new techniques and combinations that might elevate an old favourite.

Just from a practical perspective: use your microwave as rarely as possible! Leftovers can be really amazing - sometimes as good or better than the original dish - but only when heated properly!

Taste as you go and taste everything! Understanding how the components of your meal taste is a great way to make yummy things. It also helps you learn how ingredients manifest in the end result and will help you expand your cooking versatility

Not really a hack but just something important, always remember to account for how much salt you need if you don't have the recipes specific type of salt because different salt types have different shapes and sizes

Instant pot wasn't just a craze. You can take a 6 hour chili and get it done in 90 minutes.

That said, while they're not one trick ponies, they're not as good at most of their other tricks as regular cookware. That said, you need to sear meat and cook a stew in one it, it's completely reasonable.

Sousvide is amazing, as long as you like rare-medium meat and corn. If you're going to cook it to medium well, sousvide is a waste of your time.

To caramelize onions quickly, sprinkle them with a small amount of baking soda.

If you need to cool your pot down now pour running cold tap water on the outside of the pot. Not something you need when everything goes smoothly, but trying new recipies sometimes things go a little bit wrong and cooling the pot down quickly can save your dinner.

Running cold water will cool a pot to room temperature in seconds. Just beware if your pot is really hot cooling it down that fast could damage it. Should be fine at sensible cooking temperatures though.

Mise en place! Clean as you go.

• MSG. My favorite use for it is in soups. It only takes a small amount and it makes a significant difference.
• Slow cookers are awesome for preparing dry beans, infused oil, and roasting beets in aluminum foil.
• Know your emulsifiers and keep them handy. I always have a nice mustard as well as soy lecithin on hand, and if I’m ever worried about an emulsion breaking or I want a nice even sauce or dressing, I have at least one neutral and one savory option. Soymilk also works if it works for your recipe.

Clean as you go, don't just leave it all for the end. Onions are sauteing and you're done chopping everything? Good, wash your cutting board and knife and clean up any messes before the next step. Sausage is done browning and you're dumping it in with the onions for a minute with the garlic and some herbs? Great, wash that pan and spoon and set it down to dry and wipe up all the oil splashes.

Just makes clean up so much easier after you've eaten and you're much more efficiently using your time.

Take care of your knives. Hand wash them, dry with a towel, and put them back in a block when you're done. They'll stay sharper for much longer that way, instead of letting them bang around in the dishwasher and then thrown into a drawer.

Also the Ninja Foodi is the best cooking device ever made, second only to the invention of pots and pans.

Buy a jar of msg to sit next to the salt. Game changer.

Also, salt+fat+acid+heat = flavor. Sometimes a pinch of sugar. I was chronically underutilizing fat and acid.

To actually cook things enough. I wasn't cooking them to unsafe levels before, and please don't cook my steak above medium rare, but some foods just taste better cooked more. Almost no one cooks ground meats enough, who the hell wants grey beef, get some color on that bitch. Also if you cook sausage meat enough it gains color and the flat renders out a little it tastes better. Get some colour on those roast veggies and no one likes a pale insipid fry. A change in color is flavor, use it to your advantage. And yes sometimes you want your veggies firm and for the love of god don't overcook your garlic.

Best thing I've done for my bread baking is weighing my flour rather than doing it by volume. It also makes it easier to check your ratio of flour to water

Brine chicken breast. I save brines from things like pickles and feta for this and choose whichever one best matches what I'm making. Feta + chipotle makes awesome burritos.

I always see recipes say to heat a pan until the oil shimmers but I've never been able to see the difference. Instead, I drop a couple pieces of diced onion into the pan and wait to hear a sizzle. This is extra helpful for someone with adhd like me who would absolutely start a fire if I didn't have a noise to remind me that I'm cooking.