11 Secrets From Our Test Kitchen You Need To Know

11 Useful Cooking Tips From The OGT Test Kitchen
1. Let Your Pan Heat Up
2. Toss Food While Sautéing
3. Sprinkle Your Salt
4. Keep Some Pasta Water
5. Add Nuts To Dressings
6. Rehydrate Dried Fruit
7. Quickly Warm Chilled Butter
8. Make Your Own Cooking Spray
9. Wrap Your Scale
10. Prevent Stuck Lids
11. Keep Your Knives Sharp
Raspberry and Walnut Vinaigrette

Here are some of our favorite cooking secrets and tips from the OGT Test Kitchen.

My team and I have made hundreds of recipes for the blog over the past four years! Along the way, we’ve picked up a few tips and tricks for cooking food that looks great and tastes delicious. Here are some of our favorite cooking tips and tricks that will help make your life in the kitchen a whole lot easier — from our kitchen to yours. 🙂

11 Useful Cooking Tips From The OGT Test Kitchen

1. Let Your Pan Heat Up

Give your pans a few minutes to warm up before you start cooking. This way, the pans will heat more evenly and you’ll get better browning.

You can also preheat your sheet pan before roasting foods in your oven. If the sheet pan is already hot when you put your food on it, you won’t need to flip the food to get even browning.

2. Toss Food While Sautéing

When sautéing, try tossing your food instead of using a spatula to turn it over. No only is using a utensil more likely to bruise your food, but tossing is faster and helps to brown your food more evenly. It’s easier than it looks, and the more you do it, the better you’ll get!

3. Sprinkle Your Salt

When salting food, sprinkle from a height of about 10 or 12 inches above it. The distance gives a better sense of just how much salt you’re adding, and the granules will be spread more evenly over the food.

4. Keep Some Pasta Water

When you make pasta, reserve some of the water before draining the noodles. After draining, return the noodles to the pot, and pour about 1/4 cup of water back into the pasta. The starchy water will be absorbed by the noodles and make it easier for the sauce to stick to the noodles.

5. Add Nuts To Dressings

Blending walnuts or cashews into your homemade salad dressings is a great way to add creaminess, a delicious nutty flavor, and additional nutrition. (And check out the recipe for a delicious raspberry walnut vinaigrette at the end of this post!)

6. Rehydrate Dried Fruit

Before baking with dried fruit, rehydrate it make the fruit pieces in your baked goods more plump and moist. Place the dried fruit in a bowl, pour in the hot water, and cover for about 10 minutes before using.

7. Quickly Warm Chilled Butter

If you need room temperature butter for a recipe, place the butter in a sealed bag and beat it with a wooden spoon or rolling pin. It doesn’t take long to achieve perfectly soft butter this way, and there’s no risk of over-softening it (as often happens when using a microwave).

8. Make Your Own Cooking Spray

Instead of using a store-bought cooking spray, make your own homemade cooking spray! It’s easy to make, easy to use, and a great way to save money. Plus, you can use it on your cutting board before cutting beets, berries or other staining foods, and you’ll be able to quickly wipe it clean afterward and avoiding leaving stains behind.

9. Wrap Your Scale

Use plastic wrap on your kitchen scale (or cover with a plastic bag) to keep things clean and avoid cross-contamination. It also prevent gunk from getting into the buttons and cracks.

10. Prevent Stuck Lids

Before putting the lid back on a jar, put piece of plastic wrap over the top. The plastic wrap will prevent the lid from getting sealed shut by sticky residue. It works great with jams, jellies, and molasses, and you’ll never need a special kitchen gadget to open a stubborn jar.

11. Keep Your Knives Sharp

Having sharp knives makes a world of difference in the kitchen! Sharp knives are actually safer to use than dull ones, not to mention much more efficiently. To test the sharpness of your kitchen knives, hold a piece of paper upright and try to slice through the top edge. If your knife doesn’t slice through it with ease, it needs sharpening.

What are your best cooking tips or kitchen secrets?

Secrets from the OGT Test Kitchen

Raspberry and Walnut Vinaigrette

My team and I have made hundreds of recipes for the blog over the years! Here’s one dressing we absolutely love, from our kitchen to yours. Course Condiment, Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad DressingCuisine American Prep Time 5 minutesTotal Time 5 minutes Servings 6 servings Calories 159kcal Author Jill Nystul