Whether you are a professional chef or an amateur, it is always a good idea to refresh on the basics of cooking and baking in your kitchen. Here are a few fun, great tips I read that came from the editors of delish.com of tips that changed their lives in their own kitchens.


Take notes as you go.

If you substituted an ingredient or thought a dish was too spicy as it was written, make sure to write that down on a sticky note or something if it is a physical cookbook.

Or for us who like our digital cookbooks with Cook’n it is so easy to add a note right there in your recipe so you will see what you would like to adjust the next time you open up the recipe. You can edit it and add it in ALL CAPS if you want it right at the top of the directions so you will be sure to remember. That is just one of my favorite great things I love about the Cook’n software!

Read the recipe all the way through before you start.

Always a good idea with pretty much any facet in life. You will save yourself some frustration and probably a curse word or two if you read everything beforehand so none of the steps or their order come as a surprise to you during the process.


Add a little salt to everything.

Not only does salt do wonders to savory food, as we know, but it can really also bring out, accentuate, and deepen all sorts of flavors in sweet treats as well.

Put a damp paper towel or regular towel under your cutting mat.

This will prevent the cutting board from sliding around while you are chopping away with a sharp knife.


Set your timer for less time than is recommended.

This is definitely a rule of thumb you should remember, especially for baking. Not all ovens heat exactly alike and you might not know how yours handles a new protein or veggie at first. Almost every oven we’ve ever had cooks a little (or a lot) hot so it takes a bit of time to get used to your oven and how it cooks and bakes things. Remember you can almost always fix an undercooked situation, but not really something that is overcooked. 

Season and taste as you go.

That is another thing that is hard to fix if you’ve really overdone it one the garlic powder, for example, and now you can’t taste anything but. Never season just at the end. It’ll be far too gone at that point.

If you like to bake, you need a scale.

If you get nerdy about baking and love how it’s so scientific and you don’t have a scale yet--get one ASAP. You’ll really take your baking to a whole new level and can make sure things turn out exactly how they are supposed to each and every time. You have a lot more control with weight than just general measurements.

Never use damp oven mitts.

The heat travels through a damp towel or oven mitt a lot faster so you can easily get burned if you do it. Not worth the risk!

Mince garlic by hand.

Okay, I am definitely guilty of this one because I love my Pampered Chef garlic press, but apparently a garlic press actually compromises the texture of your beloved garlic and are, of course, a pain to clean, so ditch them and go old school by finely chopping them with a sharp chef knife. Never a time like the present to work on the ol’ knife skills.

Do you have any fun, basic tips for the kitchen that you’d like to share with us? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.