Braising and other flavor-enhancing techniques

[alintx]

One thing I think hurts a lot of people when they transition to a whole foods lifestyle is the lack of cooking skills.

You know, we're used to flavor blasts from bottled sauces, packaged foods and artificial flavor enhancers.

Quick-and-easy recipes often leave food tasting flat because it can take time and skill to coax out the best flavors.

So, I pose to you:

What do you consider to be the most essential flavor-enhancing skills? Do you have recommendations for where people can go to learn better technique? (Specifically, not generally)

I can say that when I learned better skills for roasting vegetables (for use in other recipes), braising, toasting (spices), and de-glazing a pan, my cooking street cred increased and my kids starting eating more and complaining less. I feel like I did it the hard way, though.

So, I would love see your own lists, links to resources, etc. Seriously . . . think about the techniques that set you apart from other home cooks, especially the ones that are making your Paleo and W30 experiences more likely to become permanent lifestyle modifications.

[quotidianlight]

I learned to cook very young from both my mother and obsessively watching Julia child. The best book imo for learning to cook is her The Way To Cook. It's a textbook rather than recipe book teaching traditional cooking techniques with whole ingredients. Also, if you can afford it grab the dvds for her pbs show

Now, I have three tips for learning to use spices. 1) use individual spices 2) spices should enhance not overwhelm and 3) spices that smell good together taste good together. Seriously, I learned that very young and taught my daughter the same. Get your nose in there and smell you spices.

[Susan W]

My modern favorite is "How To Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman. You can Kindle it or buy the book from Amazon. It has 5 stars, so it's not just me. You speak of roasting, braising, and de glazing, so you aren't a new cook.

[alintx]

Those sounds like two great books to get! Amazon also sells one called "All About Braising" by Molly Stevens. The first section in particular tells why braising makes food taste so good (and it's so easy!).

You know how some people know a little and think they know it all? I feel like the more I know, the more I realize I don't know, and have to learn more!

Kinda like the Paleo/W30 epiphany!

Surely other folks reading this have some resources to add?

[1Maryann]

Can you share your tips on roasting veggies? I've never done anything but steam, and now I want to branch out.

[starre]

pretty much any veggie can be roasted. Here are some tips

cut veggies in uniform pieces

toss with some olive oil. You don't need alot

spread out on a baking sheet and don't crowd. You want the intense heat to circulate around the pieces so they aren't steaming.

400 to 450 oven temp

i like to drizzle some balsamic before or after roasting

try veggies you don't like roasting can transform them

toss in some whole garlic cloves. they get soft, sweet and creamy

ENJOY

[Susan W]

Here is a new favorite of mine. It's in the Well Fed cookbook. I now do Sunday cookathons. I steam saute a bunch of veggies until just barely cooked through. Then, when it's time to eat them, I simply throw whatever healthy fat into a pan and toss the veggies in, spice them and they are ready in 30 seconds. To steam saute, you cut whatever you are cooking into uniform sizes. I have done broccoli, cabbage, carrots and celery root. Place the veggies with the moisture still sticking to them into a pan and fire it up. You can add a tablespoon or so more water if you'd like. Then, when it's done, I run cold water over it to stop the cooking and strain it, place in containers and I'm done. More of a cooking idea than a cooking technique, but I love it.

[Xandra]

For my kids, it's as much about texture as it is flavor. In particular, they don't like the textures of sautéed spinach, mushrooms, onions, or peppers.

So I make crispy kale chips (300 degrees for 30 minutes). Or I can make a bowl of the unfavored vegetables and pour boiling chicken stock over them to keep everything a little crunchier (always precook the onions and garlic or they can overwhelm).

Of course, coconut oil adds its own distinct flavor.

And I always keep homemade chicken stock going in the fridge and the freezer. When I'm out of chicken stock, it's time to roast another chicken (try a crockpot chicken stuffed with two halves of a lemon; then include the lemon in the remains you use for chicken stock). There aren't too many dinner recipes out there for which I'm using water instead of chicken stock.