Ten tips to change your life in the kitchen

Read Terry Farris's 10 commandments and stop slaving over a hot stove

All of us have habits in the kitchen - some good, some bad, and most of them learned decades ago from watching mum or dad in the kitchen as a child. Ask someone who is painstakingly peeling a single garlic clove or whole onion why they are doing it that way and they'll probably say, 'It's just the way I do it'. But if you 'unlearn' a few habits, you can significantly reduce the time you spend in the kitchen. Follow these shortcuts - they could change your life.

Terry's top 10 tips

  • Get your knives out
  • Use kitchen scissors
  • Crush garlic like they do on TV
  • Learn how to chop an onion
  • Don’t waste eggs
  • Microwave magic
  • Freeze ahead
  • Get organised
  • Make size matter
  • Keep it simple

    1. Get your knives out
    Knives are the utensils used most often in any kitchen. Make sure they are good ones. Try and collect a number of sizes and shapes, matching the tool to the requirement.

    • Buy more than one: a good range of knives should include at least three types, a large (20-25cm/8-10 in blade), medium (10-12cm/4-5in) and small (5-8cm/2-3in). These are BLADE sizes, not including the handles. They should be of a substantial weight in your hand and of the best quality you can afford. Go to a shop that allows you to handle them before you buy. A large-bladed knife, say 20cm/8in, will allow you to line up your carrots, celery and courgettes and slice three or four in one go. It's also helpful to have a lighter, medium-size, serrated knife, excellent for cutting fruit and deseeding peppers and chillies. The large, flat side of a Chinese cleaver is also great for crushing garlic.
    • Sharpening: it's true what they say about a dull knife being more dangerous than a sharp one. They best way to keep them sharp is to use a sharpening steel - a round, rough and pointed tool usually made of high-carbon or diamond steel. Draw the knife blade across it, applying slight pressure at a 20-30 degree angle. This does not actually sharpen a knife - it simply KEEPS the blade razor-sharp. If your knives become dull, they must be sharpened on a whetstone. You can have this done professionally at smart kitchen shops, but a better tip is to ask your local butcher. Most use a service that will come round once a week to sharpen all of their knives. It's cheaper and should only take a day or two.
    • Storing: the worst place to store knives is in a drawer where the blades constantly crash into other utensils - this causes them to go dull or even become chipped. It's also dangerous fishing around with your hands trying to pull them out. Wooden blocks are good if you have room on your counter top, or use a magnetic metal strip screwed to the wall. Try and mount it right above the surface you do most of your chopping on - you'll be amazed how efficiently it allows you to work.

      2. Use kitchen scissors.
      Instead of knives for some jobs: snipping herbs; cutting the fat off bacon, chops or ham; chopping anchovies, sun-dried tomatoes and spring onions.

      3. Crush garlic like they do on TV.
      Take a whole, unpeeled clove of garlic and lay it on a cutting board. Take a broad-bladed knife or cleaver, lay it sideways on the clove and pound it once with your fist. The skin will easily pull away. Continue chopping or crushing as needed.

      NB: garlic gives out more or less of its flavour depending on what you do to it. Crushing it releases most of its 'garlicky effect', chopping it slightly less; slicing it less still, and leaving it whole the least of all.

      4. Learn how to chop an onion.
      It may sound simple but it's surprising how much of a job some people make of chopping onions. Read this and (don't) weep:

      • There is no reason to peel a whole onion unless you are cutting it into rings or hollowing it out to stuff it.
      • Lay it on its side and cut the pointed top end off first. This gives it a flat surface to stand it on while you cut it in half through the root end.
      • Peel the skin back towards the root, leaving it attached to make a 'handle' to hold on to while chopping.
      • Make straight, vertical cuts through the onion, taking the tip of the knife just to the root. Turn it sideways and cut in the other direction to produce a fine chop. The distance between cuts will determine how fine a dice you make.
      • To slice an onion, make the vertical cuts with the blade parallel to the root. This will give you a half-moon shaped slice.

      5. Don't waste eggs.
      Did you know you can freeze leftover egg whites and yolks? Place a small plastic sandwich bag in a cup and break the whites into it. Tie securely and freeze until needed for meringues (their best use.) If you forget how many you have, each white is about an ounce (or 25-30g) and can be measured using a baster. For yolks, stir in a little sugar or salt, for sweet or savoury uses, then freeze in a small tub. They tend to go a bit rubbery when defrosted and the salt or sugar helps combat this.

      6. Microwave magic.
      We all use the microwave to reheat leftovers, warm baby's milk or freshen up leftover coffee (yuk). But there are other quick jobs that aren't really cooking, just speedy shortcuts:

      • If you forget to take the butter out of the fridge to soften for baking give it a quick blast (not too long or it will melt).
      • Instead of using a bain-marie for melting chocolate, break it in pieces and put in a glass bowl. Again, give it just a short zap to start the melting process.
      • Give honey a quick blast to make it easier to measure in a tablespoon.
      • If you don't want to heat the grill for a bacon sandwich, lay the rashers on a plate, cover with a piece of kitchen paper and microwave for several minutes (depending on the power level) till done.
      • You can also toast nuts and seeds in the microwave instead of in a conventional oven, where it's so easy to burn them. Cook until they just begin to turn colour and give off a toasted aroma. Allow to cool before tasting for doneness

      7. Freeze ahead
      Did you know you can freeze milk, bread, butter, cream, coconut milk, leftover cooked rice and cooked dried (not fresh) pasta? You'll need to divide them into the portion sizes you will want to use.

      • Pour cream and coconut milk into ice cube trays, then transfer to a bag when frozen to save space.
      • If a lot of your dishes begin with chopped onions and garlic fried in oil until soft, make a big batch and freeze individual portions for future meals. They won't freeze solid because of the oil, so they are ready to use almost immediately.
      • Freeze chopped fresh herbs in bags or covered with a splash of water in ice cube trays.
      • Freeze extra chopped chillies, lemon grass and lime leaves (all used in Thai dishes.)
      • Peel fresh ginger and freeze in a bag - it keeps indefinitely and is easier to grate from frozen.

      8. Get organised

      • When you first walk into the kitchen, preheat the oven or grill to get it up to temperature while you prepare other things.
      • Get water on for pasta and rice or boil the kettle for even quicker cooking.
      • Pull the ingredients out of the fridge and cupboard instead of going for them one at a time.
      • If chopping vegetables, use a small bowl for the trimmings and other waste - it can go straight into the bin or compost heap all at once.

      9. Make size matter
      The smaller the item, the faster it will cook.

      • If boiling or steaming veg, spread them out in a shallow layer in a larger pan instead of piling them up in a smaller one.
      • Make burgers or chicken breasts similar sizes and thickness by patting them with your hands or flattening with a rolling pin so they grill or fry quicker and at the same rate.

      10. Keep it simple
      This applies especially with entertaining. Think quality not quantity.

      • A two-course meal is perfectly acceptable, especially if it means you spend more time outside the kitchen than in.
      • Buy a few really good quality ingredients (fresh fish, free-range chicken, finer cuts of meat, fresh-as-possible veg) and prepare them simply.
      • Serve a couple of good cheeses with fresh fruit instead of a complicated dessert.
      • Don't set yourself up for disappointment by serving fussy, un-tried dishes to guests. Save the experimentation for family.
      • Above all, don't stress. At the end of the day, it's not brain surgery, only dinner.

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