How to Trim and Cut a Pineapple
If you buy a whole pineapple, you need to cut and trim it. Trimming and cutting a pineapple may seem like a daunting task, but a pineapple cuts up pretty easily: [more…]
How to Pit and Peel an Avocado
You can easily peel and pit an avocado without making a mushy mess. To peel and pit an avocado, you need a sharp chef’s knife and a spoon. Use the silky, subtle, edible part for salads, appetizers, in [more…]
Chinese Herbs and Spices
The Chinese have a long tradition of using herbs and spices to boost a dish’s flavor (and provide nutritional benefits). You can now find many Chinese herbs and spices at supermarkets and specialty food [more…]
How to Chop Vegetables
Chopping means simply cutting something into small, usually even, pieces. You need to chop vegetables, most often onions and garlic, for many different cooking techniques, including sautéing. Chopping [more…]
How to Shell Shrimp
Removing shells from shrimp is pretty easy, whether they’re cooked or raw. To shell shrimp, you need just your hands. If you want, put on a pair of vinyl gloves to prevent shrimp-scented hands. If you [more…]
Folding an Omelet
The hardest part of making an omelet is folding it properly. You want to fold your omelet into a sort of envelope (think of it as gift-wrapping your omelet filling). The basics for making and folding an [more…]
Cleaning and Trimming Leeks
Leeks make a great addition to stews, sauces, and many other meals. You need to prepare leeks for use in a recipe by cleaning and trimming them. Preparing a leek for your next great kitchen masterpiece [more…]
Sushi Rice
You might think rice is rice, but making sushi rice takes a special touch (and a lot of steps!). Because the rice is such an important part of any sushi dish, don’t forego the sushi-rice preparation. [more…]
How to Break an Egg
Breaking an egg with one hand takes finesse, but using two hands to crack eggs works just fine. Knowing how to break eggs the right way will prevent “crunchy” omelets [more…]
Folding In Egg Whites
When you fold in egg whites, you incorporate beaten whites into other ingredients without compromising the airiness of the beaten whites. Folding egg whites properly ensures success with dishes like soufflé [more…]
Chinese Appetizer Wrappers
Egg rolls, spring rolls, and wontons consist of thin wrappers containing bits of deliciousness. You can find premade Chinese wrappers with the right shape and size to accommodate any Chinese appetizer [more…]
Preparing Fresh Garlic
You can chop garlic, you can smash garlic, you can even put it through a garlic press, but using fresh garlic really is worth a couple extra minutes of prep time. The flavor of fresh garlic is superior [more…]
How to Wash and Store Fresh Greens
Wash greens before you store them for later use. Washing your greens thoroughly before you store them can make salad preparation much easier. After all, unwashed salad greens can taste a bit like a mouthful [more…]
Peeling, Seeding, and Chopping Fresh Tomatoes
You can use tomatoes in all kinds of different forms to make tasty meals. When you need a tomato peeled, seeded, and chopped (maybe as part of that great tomato sauce recipe), here’s the process: [more…]
Peeling Hard-Cooked Eggs
Peeling hard-cooked eggs can be super simple or super frustrating. The easiest hard-boiled eggs to peel are ones that were in the fridge for a while. The fresher the egg, the more difficult it is to peel [more…]
Drying Fresh Herbs
Air-drying herbs is easy and the perfect solution for saving your fresh herbs. Herbs that you dry yourself often have a superior taste to the dried herbs you can buy in the store. [more…]
The Different Types of Soy Foods
Soy foods come in dozens of forms. Some types of soy are used as ingredients in commercially produced food products, and other kinds of soy are sold as ready-to-eat products. Soy foods can take the place [more…]
Beating Egg Whites
Beaten egg whites make soufflés rise and lighten up batters. Before beating egg whites, make sure that your mixing bowl and beaters are clean and dry. The whites won’t beat stiff if there’s even a speck [more…]
Cooking Hard-Cooked Eggs
Eggs really should never be hard-boiled (in their shells), but rather hard-cooked; rigorous boiling causes eggs to jostle and crack, leaving the whites tough. To hard-cook eggs, place the eggs in cold [more…]
Trimming and Slicing Mushrooms
Trimming and slicing mushrooms are worth the effort because of the flavor they impart. Whole mushrooms need some cleaning and trimming — and slicing if the recipe calls for it. [more…]
Separating an Egg
Many recipes require separated egg whites and yolks. Don’t worry; separating an egg really isn’t as difficult as it looks. Remember, you need to separate an egg without breaking the yolk. [more…]
Coring and Seeding a Bell Pepper
Getting peppers ready for cooking involves coring and seeding them. You can both core and seed a bell pepper in the same procedure. [more…]
Using the Mise en Place Approach to Cooking Preparation
The French term mise en place (meeze-on-plahs) means to have on hand all the ingredients measured and prepared. Mise en place enables you to cook efficiently and without interruption, the way real restaurant [more…]
Peeling and Coring an Apple
To make many kinds of desserts that include apples, you need to prepare the apples before using them in the recipe. Peeling the skin off an apple and removing its core is simple: [more…]
Cooking with Oil in a Lowfat Kitchen
The single most important oil in a lowfat kitchen is no-stick vegetable oil spray. A lowfat cooking technique is to use a cooking spray — instead of coating a pan with 2 tablespoons of oil — to keep foods [more…]
