{"id":43519,"date":"2015-09-21T07:15:39","date_gmt":"2015-09-21T11:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=43519"},"modified":"2021-05-14T08:16:48","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T12:16:48","slug":"food-lab-cooking-hacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/food-lab-cooking-hacks\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Science-Backed Cooking Tips from The Food Lab"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No clue why your scrambled eggs<\/a> are stiff and dry, while the brunch spot down the block whips up perfectly fluffy plates hundreds of times a day? Before you throw in the towel and declare yourself a kitchen disaster<\/a>, we\u2019re here to tell you that a few science-backed techniques might make your life way easier.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 12 Brilliant Meal Prep Ideas to Free Up Your Time<\/a><\/p>\n

In his new book The Food Lab<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> author J. Kenji L\u00f3pez-Alt will introduce you to cooking hacks so simple you\u2019ll wonder where they\u2019ve been hiding all your life. L\u00f3pez-Alt, who writes a column of the same name for the site Serious Eats<\/em><\/a>, is a MIT-educated engineer turned chef. And he\u2019s made it his mission to design carefully crafted kitchen experiments to reveal how to make the perfect scrambled eggs, pasta and more.<\/p>\n

Though turning cooking into a science might sounds intimidating, L\u00f3pez-Alt is quick to point out that, \u201cScience doesn\u2019t have to be scary or take the joy out of cooking.\u201d In fact, most of his tips are surprisingly simple<\/a> \u2014 like these four tidbits he shared with us below.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 12 DIY Projects to Clean Up Your Eating Habits<\/a><\/p>\n

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Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4 Food Lab Hacks to Make You an Awesome Home Chef<\/strong><\/h3>\n

1. Salt Your Scrambled Eggs
\n<\/strong>Sure, scrambled eggs<\/a> might seem fairly foolproof. But we\u2019ve all had a pan of eggs come off the oven sticky and way too dry. Well, it turns out, the way you salt your eggs<\/a> might be to blame. \u201cA lot of chefs will say, \u2018Don\u2019t salt the eggs until the end,\u2019 but I did rigorous testing, including blind taste tests, and I found the exact opposite is the case,\u201d L\u00f3pez-Alt says. Salt prevents the protein in the eggs from binding too tightly while cooking, making them soften upon cooking. The best way to make scrambled eggs is to salt them, beat them and then let them sit on the counter for 15 minute, he says. \u201cYour eggs will come out much more tender and moist,\u201d without being too watery, he says. Test his theory yourself with these 10 Unexpected Omelet Recipes for Any Time of Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. Use Way Less Pasta Water
\n<\/strong>You thought you knew how to cook pasta<\/a>\u2026but prepare for your mind to be blown. \u201cWhen I was learning how to cook, we used a gallon [of water] per pound of pasta, but you actually don\u2019t need that much water \u2014 and it\u2019s better to use less,\u201d L\u00f3pez-Alt says.<\/p>\n

Instead, place dry pasta in a pan or skillet, and fill it with lukewarm salted water until the pasta is just covered. Then, bring the water to a boil. \u201cThis method takes less time. You don\u2019t have to wait for the water to boil before adding the pasta \u2014 and it saves water,\u201d L\u00f3pez-Alt says. Plus, if you\u2019re using your leftover pasta water to thicken sauce, this method will ensure more concentrated amounts of starch in the remaining liquid. \u201cIf the pasta water has more starch, it makes the texture of the finished sauce better, it clings to the pasta better,\u201d he says. Sign us up.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 30-Minute Meals for Quick, Healthy Dinner Ideas<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Reverse-Sear Your Steak
\n<\/strong>Meat and potato lovers, this one\u2019s for you. The way you cook steak in your home should be very different from how it\u2019s made in a typical steakhouse, L\u00f3pez-Alt says. While a steakhouse will use extremely high heat to sear a steak, flipping it once in the pan and then serving it, you probably don\u2019t own the right equipment to do that in your own kitchen, he notes.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 10 Healthy Pork, Turkey and Beef Recipes You\u2019ll Drool Over<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe method I recommend is called reverse-sear,\u201d L\u00f3pez-Alt says. Get a whole, center-cut tenderloin roast, and cook it in the oven at around 200 degrees Fahrenheit. When a meat thermometer shows that your steak is cooked to 115 degrees (for a medium-rare steak), take it out of the oven. And now<\/em>, you can sear your steak, L\u00f3pez-Alt says. \u201cWhat you find is that searing at the end and gently cooking at the beginning, you get a much more even cook, it\u2019s more tender and juicy,\u201d L\u00f3pez-Alt says. \u201cIt sears and browns much more efficiently because the meat is already warm.\u201d Drooling, yet?<\/p>\n

4. Blanch Those Vegetables
\n<\/strong>Keeping your veggies fresh<\/a> might be easier than you think. \u201cBlanching green veggies using salted boiling water, and then chilling them in an ice bath is a classic technique but it is one of the best techniques you can use,\u201d L\u00f3pez-Alt says. Blanch a bunch of veggies on a Sunday or Monday<\/a> and they\u2019ll stay good in your fridge for the rest of your week. \u201cWhen dinner comes around, I just quickly saut\u00e9 them or zap them in the microwave<\/a>. It\u2019s a great way to always have fresh, crisp green vegetables on hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 6 Easy Tips for Eating Clean on a Small Budget<\/a><\/p>\n

You can also try cryo-blanching your veggies to keep them from losing their flavor, he says. \u201cAll you do is freeze green vegetables in a single layer in your freezer<\/a>,\u201d he says. \u201cThe idea is that by freezing them, you deactivate a lot of the enzymes that cause veggies to lose their flavor and sweetness. The ice crystals that form puncture the plant\u2019s cell walls so they get a bit tender, the same way as if you put them in boiling water, and retain that fresh, green raw vegetable flavor.\u201d Place them in a sealed bag to prevent freeer burn. Then, just thaw them when you\u2019re ready, and use them in your favorite recipe!<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t get enough? For more easy cooking tips, you can find L\u00f3pez-Alt\u2019s book by <\/em>clicking here<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wish you knew the secret to transforming mediocre homemade meals into gourmet fare? These science-backed cooking hacks from The Food Lab will help get you there. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":43521,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7,11],"tags":[204,51,58,341,381],"class_list":["post-43519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","category-health-hacks","tag-cooking","tag-food-choices","tag-hacks","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2low-carb-diets"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}