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Tips from top chefs

Whether we love cooking or dread preparing a meal, we all have to eat.

TORONTO — Whether we love cooking or dread preparing a meal, we all have to eat. Many of us fumble our way through the kitchen to feed our families and ourselves, repeating bad habits until they become ingrained. Here are a few common mistakes and tips on how to correct them.

Eat Real Food, With Control

“People tend to be afraid of real ingredients like butter, eggs, cream and cheese,” says Bonnie Stern, author of many cookbooks including the recent Friday Night Dinners. “But I eat them because I have control of what I eat. I am more afraid of highly processed food.”

Given all the warnings about sodium levels and salt intake, Stern, who recently closed her Toronto cooking school after 38 years, notes a lot of people are afraid to use salt as well, when the amount typically used to season food amounts to only a fraction of what we should be consuming.

Get Organized

It may sound obvious, but Margaret Carson, who runs Bonne Cuisine School of Cooking in Halifax, says you should read recipes from beginning to end before you start cooking.

“You need to organize your thoughts and ingredients,” she says. “Otherwise, you’re running back and forth.”

She suggests creating your own “mise en place” (where all your ingredients are gathered and prepared) as professional kitchens do to make the process more efficient. Then, start cooking.

Use Your Knife Properly

“A knife is designed to work like a wheel; it’s always on the cutting board,” says David Robertson, chef and owner of the Dirty Apron Cooking School & Delicatessen in Vancouver. “Many people treat a knife like a hammer and, if you think about it, anything you bang will become dull.”

He also recommends getting a dough or pastry scraper, which can be used to help safely transfer food from the cutting board to your cooking pan.

Stern adds that to get full control of your knife, it’s best to hold it high up on the handle, rather than close to the blade.

Maximize Flavour

While cooking allows for a lot of improvisation, there are a few don’ts. For Robertson, this means never substituting dried herbs for fresh ones, and never using milk instead of heavy cream for sauces.

“If you’re trying to go for a low-cal version of a cream sauce, just go with olive oil and balsamic vinegar instead,” he says. “The fat of cream allows it to hold up against the heat. Milk will split and curdle.”

When it comes to onions and garlic, he says to saute them when called for to allow the heat to release the sugars and oils; putting them in a liquid without sauteing first will only result in a harsh flavour.

Watch Your Measurements

Measuring out ingredients correctly is important, according to Carson, especially when dealing with different systems of measurement both within Canada and from other countries.

“I was looking something up in a Jamie Oliver book the other day and he had written a ”lug“ of oil . . . what is that in a measurement?” she says. “No wonder why people get confused.”

To obtain exact measurements, she recommends getting a scale to go with your measuring cups and spoons.

Cook Your Meat Properly

Stern and Robertson agree that a meat thermometer is the best way to test for doneness. Many people slice open the meat to check, which releases the juices that help keep a piece of meat moist. Robertson points out it’s also important to let meat rest after it’s been cooked which, again, keeps the juices in and lets them settle. For 500 grams (one pound) or less of meat, allow five to 10 minutes of rest time.

An extra pointer from Stern: use your meat thermometer to test cakes and breads for doneness too: it should read 85 C (185 F) or higher.

When inserting the thermometer into any food that you are testing, be careful that it does not touch any bone or the sides or bottom of the pan; these retain heat and could result in an incorrect reading.

Control the Temperature

When searing meat or fish in a pan, many people don’t get their pans hot enough, causing the product to stick, according to Robertson.

“In a restaurant, we get the pan to smoking, then add the oil,” he says. “When oil goes in, it should appear to roll back and forth as easy as water does. You should be able to keep your hand three inches (7.5 cm) above for a nice searing temperature.”