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- Oct 21, 2018
Learning to Cook - Stove top and oven
- Thread starter The Last Stand
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- Joined
- Oct 29, 2019
Why stop at 2?
I do just have one nice knife which is a Chinese Vegetable Cleaver. I wanted to get more but that thing shreds just about everything put in front of it and is virtually indestructible. All for less than a hundred bucks.
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- Joined
- Dec 7, 2013
Followup from the bread I said I’d make a few weeks ago. I think I fucked up the rise somehow. The 2nd one didn’t go high enough to really clear the loaf pan as much as I think you’d want so I wasn’t able to actually make most sandwitches with it like I wanted, though it tasted great fresh with butter. Not a bad first attempt all things considered; though I want to see about sourcing potato flakes/flour to try and go with the recipe in the King Arthur cookbook and also doing a loaf with bread flour for comparison.
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2022
Taste as you go.
This is most important thing about cooking.
Baking is a different story. That shit is chemistry. Best of luck.
This is most important thing about cooking.
Baking is a different story. That shit is chemistry. Best of luck.
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2022
Get a knife that feels right in the hand is also good advice, when it comes to knives size actually matters(in other cases it absolutely doesn't matter). And if you are new to cooking, get a shitty sharpener and buy some Ikea knives until you figure it out.
Another tip is listen, a sharp knife doesn't make a crunching sound when cutting vegetables. If it does, it needs to be sharpened, not only because it becomes easier to use but because it gets safer to use. A dull knife can slide or jump, it seeks the path of least resistance and if spot on an onion is too much to handle it might go for your finger.
You might have killed some of the yeast, don't put yeast in anything that is hotter than baby's bathwater. Or you might have used liquid that was too cold and the yeast didn't have enough time to get going(that can be fixed by giving it more time).
I see a lot of mentions of dry yeast, don't you people have fresh yeast available or something? Dry yeast always felt inferior to me and I can't work with is as well as fresh yeast.
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2019
I'll add the caveat that by itself, a front heavy knife like the Chinese Knife will never feel right in the hand, but once its cutting something, you'll appreciate how the front heavy knife just does all the work for you.
After just a month of daily use, light knives feel awkward.
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2022
Really light knives(all the weight on the handle) is fucking shit for general use, it's like trying to cut something in a Wii game. Filleting knives excluded, they have a purpose.
But there's also grip, this is sort of the way I hold most knives. Not intentionally, it was only a couple of years ago that I learned that it's an actual thing, but it makes things so much easier and those new to cooking should really give it a try.
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2013
It might be a regional/national thing. Are you talking about those pucks of yeast? In my experience active dry yeast and instant, both in the form of granules in a jar or packet, are what you’ll find in the US and get the job done if you didn’t fuck it up.
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2019
Since this is learning to cook and we're on knives, I'll add that your first sharp knife WILL cut you. Years of dull knives encourages poor handling of produce and since the knife is dull, your skin will actually resist it. You will learn proper handling very quickly.
They have that sort of balance with the fancy jap stuff right? Really thin and really light but lasers through everything. I always wanted to try one of those, but I find it hard to justify the price of even the lower end ones.
This is the exact knife model I have.
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- Sep 28, 2022
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2013
Yeah I wouldn’t know where to find those, but the granules seem to work just fine. It’s certainly that I’ve never really worked with yeast before.
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2021
This on both paragraphs. Experiment, try recipe's outside of your comfort zone too. You'll only be better for it, even if the dish doesn't live up the first time.
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2021
so kiwis...I´m a very (VERY) amateur cook but I want to try something more complex, well...I´m not at university student levels, I know how to cook rice, soup, I don´t burn things, and I know the basics with kitchen utensils, I want to give a more big step so bad, But I don´t have a single idea how, any sugestion? 
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2019
Let's start with a list of things you can currently cook, what your favorite foods are, some foods/ingredients you hate, what you want to eat as everyday staples for health and affordability, etc and see where you're at. Be aware that this discussion may get moved to another thread, though. If there is already a thread about learning to cook in general, I highly recommend that you quote this post from that thread.so kiwis...I´m a very (VERY) amateur cook but I want to try something more complex, well...I´m not at university student levels, I know how to cook rice, soup, I don´t burn things, and I know the basics with kitchen utensils, I want to give a more big step so bad, But I don´t have a single idea how, any sugestion?
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2021
thanks! Understood, I was searching the general thread and I didn´t find anything, I hope is not my autism because I really didn´t find it (?
Let´s see...generally I enjoy any food, except grains like broad beans, or hummus and stuff, I´m not a fan of fried food either, and my favorite kind of meat is chicken, I don´t have a lot of cash, but I definitely can afford vegetables and basic ingredients, we have a good rack of spices, too!!
In general my family is tiny and they don´t cook with grease/fat either (my cooking is also like a personal experiment sometimes lol) I kinda want to cook chicken but honestly, I don´t know how to cook meat, I feel that I could start with something easier than any meat....but I´m out of ideas
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2019
Alright, this right here is already setting you up for success. Not the not having cash part, but the chicken, veg and seasonings part.
Not liking fried foods and some grain/starch and not working with various greases is probably going to be steering you into the direction of broiling, baking, roasting, poaching, blanching and steaming. Broiling, steaming and roasting can be very easy as long as you pay close attention and use timers while the food cooks.
Please don't be afraid of cooking chicken; there's no age or general cooking skill level that will make you magically able to cook chicken perfectly from your first time. The longer you put off learning it, it will be that much longer until you get a handle on cooking it properly. If you really don't trust yourself and don't have someone on hand to tell for certain if a piece of meat is cooked through, there are cheap meat thermometers and you can also flatten, dice or thinly slice your chicken before cooking it. So long as there's no pink, no translucence, no slimy/sticky texture to the juices, you're good. If it's not quite there yet, pop it back in for short increments at a time and keep checking. If you're cooking whole, unflattened chicken breast, it's not done yet if it's still squishy at all.
Broiling skewers of chunks of chicken and vegetables like sweet onion, zuccini, bell peppers and yellow squash might be a great place for you to get your feet wet and start building good kitchen habits. Just cook each type of ingredient on its own separate skewer, since each thing will have slightly differing cooktimes and the meat takes the longest. Canned pineapple juice is cheap and is crazy easy to reduce into a viscous goo that you can mix spices into and coat skewered food in. If you're okay with brown rice, just steam some with a little bit of original Mrs Dash or something like that to serve the broiled chicken and veg on top of, and you've got a fantastic staple meal that's cheap and healthy. If you don't like rice, just broil more of the vegetables.
What are your thoughts so far?
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2020
Piggybacking off the chicken suggestion. I want to recommend Adam Raguseas chicken soup recipe.
I have made this several times now. It freezes well and you can bulk it up with whatever veggies you want. The only real skills you need are chopping the veggies and pulling the chicken apart after you make the stock. Highly recommend if you have a stockpot, he also has a very simple bread recipe that is perfect for dipping into this soup.
BigO-in-Ohio
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2023
I started baking bread a lot more during the pandemic. Lots of no knead recipes on allrecipes.com. Also pizza. Great to see people getting into making food at home. Cooking really is an essential life skill, so much better for you and cheaper than eating out.
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2018
Protip: Use serrated knife and you can save 80 dollars and not waste time on skills made for chefs who actually benefit from these skills
Tarka Dhal
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2023
How has the bread been like for you? I’ve never come across a form of no-knead bread that didn’t turn out like dense, cooked dough - rather than actual bread. Then there are the chucklefucks that call their recipes ‘no-knead’, but they instead do ten minutes of folding - which is kneading, you utter muppets.
I’ve been having difficulties with proofing lately, due to how cold the house is, so I’ve been wanting to try a cold fermented bread in the fridge.