Blog:Grust's Final Top 10 Cooking Tips

First Covid, then the riots, and now the Karen pandemic (which due to their super obnoxious behavior has forced me to pull a hiatus on threatening, torturing and yelling at administrators so they don't go catatonic). At this point eating out might be tough (though if there's a restaurant you like and you can eat at or do curbside you should) so as before here are ten more cooking tips. However this will be my final blog on the subject so soak up that knowledge. Onto the countdown.

10. Baking Soda, the Ultimate Multitasker: Sodium bicarbonate better known as baking soda has been in use for thousands of years and in addition to cooking as an alkaline which neutralizes acid for quick breads, has a ton of other uses besides cooking and is the ultimate multitasker. For one it can go into the fridge and absorb odors (I don't do that myself), it can be used to help clean heavy stains by acting as a natural abrasive, its abrasiveness is even good for hygiene by removing dead skin by making it into a paste with water. And because it's alkaline, when you add 1/2 teaspoon to about 4 ounces of water and drink it slowly, it makes for a great antacid and relieves acid reflux (which I suffer from). With all its uses, having this in your home at all times should be a high priority.

9. Instant Read and Candy Thermometers: I love mine and use it often especially when making ice cream to spot the bare simmer (190F) and when I need the end result of the base to hit 170F to kill the salmonella and proper coagulation of the custard I made for the ice cream. It's also great for bread baking as most breads are done when the temperature hits around 200F. Just make sure to keep it calibrated often for accuracy. However for candy making or deep frying I recommend a candy thermometer since you don't want to agitate sugar solutions when candy making or run the risk of dropping your instant read thermometer in that hot oil.

8. Don't Get Mad If Your Kids Don't Like Vegetables: It's every parents worst nightmare when preparing dinner, getting your kids to eat veggies. We know the stereotype of kids repulsed by these superfoods and reject eating them no matter how healthy they are. However this stereotype has a very legit and biological explanation. It's the bitterness. Most kids have a survivor's instinct that senses danger over bitterness as this is caused by alkalis in certain veggies. And alkalis are also found in poisons so its not the kids fault. Thankfully over time this instinct dies down which is why a kid may not enjoy coffee while I adore it. So rather than force your kids to eat veggies, you should try to sneak it into their diet so they get the nutritional benefit without the taste.

7. Grease, Oil, or Butter Your Pans: I can't believe I have to explain this one but I had a private chat with a user on Discord (name will be anonymous) who claimed he had difficulty with cooking eggs. When I asked why, he said they stuck to the pan and when I asked if he buttered or greased his pans he said no. So here I am explaining this. Even the most non stick pan aren't fully smooth on the microscopic scale. When food cooks, those imperfections can swell and grab hold of food and increase friction so food sticks. Butter, grease or oil get between those imperfections (and season cast iron as well so extra bonus well not butter) and decrease friction so food slides right off. What you use depends on the food. For bacon, I don't bother as the grease it releases does the job already. For hashbrowns, I use the bacon grease itself for browning and frying and added flavor. For sauteeing I'd go with oil. And for eggs, I'd go with butter just because butter tastes good with eggs. I'm sure those nonstick pans advertised on TV might be perfect but I have no room for them and the one my dad owns is already scratched and has a permanent stain on it. I'll stick with good old cast iron thank you very much.

6. Don't Overuse Your Oven's Auto Clean: It's a very convenient function on most modern ovens, the auto clean. It works by heating your oven up to almost 1000F to turn even blackened smudge to ash. And once cool, you can wipe the ash away, what can go wrong? Well here's the thing. Your heating coils can't handle that high heat for long and will eventually wear out and you're shilling out money to fix it. Some even say the function should never be used at all. However with the convenience of removing extremely difficult stains it's tough to not want to use. So my own personal rule with the auto clean is to use the auto clean once a year and only when I absolutely need to. I've already used it once so far this year and while there's another batch of smudge and oils on the oven floor, I'm biding my time.

5. Keep Certain Ingredients on You At All Times: There are certain things I love to make so there are things I like on me at all times and make sure to buy every month or when I know I'm running low. As such I keep stuff like yeast, sugar, eggs, milk, flour, unsalted butter, and oils stocked as often as possible. With the exception of Baking Soda, I'm not suggesting anything as I'm not the boss of your taste buds. Just know what you like to make and keep those ingredients that make it on you at all times.

4. Teach Your Kids to Cook: You've raised them, you loved them, you took care of them but eventually they have to leave the nest so you want them to take care of themselves. You don't want them eating fast food forever or be forced to come over to their place to make their breakfast do you? Teaching kids to cook can boost their self-esteem, become more self-reliant, and even save them money when they get a job so they have a nice bank account and don't come running to you for cash all the time. Hell a YouTuber I'm subbed to, Joshua Weismann, claims he's been cooking since he was eight years old and look at how well he cooks now. If parents want what's best for their kids, this is one of the best things to teach them.

3. Comb Your Hair: Combing your hair is not just to make you look good, it also removes fallen hair (relax it doesn't mean you're losing your hair), dead skin and dandruff. This is good because this reduces the chances that hair can get into your food and get hair in your mouth or worse stomach (hair can stay in your stomach for a very long time) and that dead skin won't contaminate the food with bacteria. This can probably be ignored if you get a haircut though, but if you are unable to get one or like your hair long, COMB YOUR HAIR. There's a reason professionals and food service workers wear hairnets.

2: Know What To Put in the Dishwasher and What to Handwash: I'm assuming most of you own a dishwasher now and use it for dishwashing and that's very convenient and saves time. But the harsh truth is not everything should go into the dishwasher. For instance, a sharp knife. Putting these into the dishwasher is bad for two reasons. One is the knife can cause damage to the racks (I had to get a silverware holder replaced because of that). The other is the environment is harsh on the knife and dulls it faster. So what you should do is use a stiff brush and use a tiny drop of dish soap to clean the knife and then leave the knife to air dry. I also personally hand wash all the parts for the burr grinder and french press and if a dish or other item made of plastic is too big for the top rack, I hand wash personally as the bottom rack is hotter and can risk melting the plastic but I'll leave smaller plastics like measuring spoons on top. And of course the gravest sin is cast iron. Cast iron is heavy and can damage the racks and even the washer itself and the harsh environment can ruin the seasoning you've worked so hard on for the cast iron. What I do with cast iron is run it over very hot water and scrub with a brush. Then I dry over the stove or oven and if a bit dull, I give a very light coating of canola oil and spread to give a new coat of seasoning.

1. Make a Grocery List: I have a list notepad in my kitchen I use to write stuff I need to buy at the grocery store which I often start working on after my previous trip. This ensures I don't forget anything I need to get for my next trip which I do once a month. With the list I'm even able to plan what what I want to make two months ahead of time such as when I planned to make a beef stew two months ago and made it this month. The list helps me stay focused, organized, and more efficient with my shopping. Now I only do my shopping once a month but for any of you living on your own or running a family, you'll have more use of a grocery list than me so this is why for my final top 10 cooking tips I give this the number 1 spot.

Well with all the tips I've given I hope you make some delicious meals, yummy goodies, and hopefully save a ton of money for video games. Speaking of video games. Take a peak at next blog. Grust's Top 10 games of the 2000s.

Grust: Sweet!

