TIPS FROM GOOD CHEFS

 

1. Mushrooms are 90% water and should not be washed - they’ll taste watery. Wipe them clean with a paper towel, cut away soiled parts, peel in extreme cases… but do not wash.
2. Pasta should not be rinsed after cooking - that drowns it. Not only it will taste watery, but the coating of water over it will make it difficult for the sauce to adhere. Put in a colander and let drain. Use right away and don’t let it sit there, lest it sets in a block.
3. Lettuce should never be cut with a knife, your salad will be soggy. You need to tear the leaves by hand.
4. Knives have to be kept sharp. Nothing more dangerous than a blunt knife.
5. Pots and pans should never come straight from the fire to the cold water in the sink - they’ll warp. They also need to be scrubbed thoroughly until they shine, inside and out. Otherwise, minute particles of leftover food build up in an impossible to remove layer of crud over time. Good pots and pans are expensive and also irreplaceable - they have personality and another pot is never quite the same. They ought to be treated with respect.