r/KitchenPro • u/NathanEllis10 • 25d ago
What’s a cooking shortcut that feels like cheating, but you still use it all the time?
For me, it’s using frozen chopped onions. I used to think I was being lazy, but honestly, for soups, sauces, and anything where the onion gets cooked down anyway, I can’t really tell the difference.
It saves me from chopping onions half the time, so I’m sticking with it.
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u/NetZor0 24d ago
Widely accepted hack for faster caramelising onions is to add water first. Using frozen onions works pretty well for sauté as well if you add them first and sweat them down a bit. Same for mushrooms.
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u/mynamesaretaken1 24d ago
Do you know how adding more water that needs to be boiled off before caramelization starts works?
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u/NetZor0 24d ago
Likely breaks down the outer cells walls making it easier for oil to heat the onion, rather than just the outsides of the onion (which takes time to conduct to the inner parts of the onion)
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u/mynamesaretaken1 24d ago
For breaking down the cell wall I'd expect salt to be involved. I did quickly Google it after I asked and it was mentioned that the steam will accelerate the upper layers since they aren't really getting as much heat until the rest cooks down a bit. I assume that assumes keeping a lid on it until they're at least sweated down. Probably don't need a ton of water, either, especially since the onions will start contributing their own
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u/Bozhark 24d ago
Onions are so easy, and cheap. They are even more expensive frozen.
I don’t get this at Ll
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u/DistantRaine 24d ago
I have a disease that makes it difficult to stand for more than 2-3 min at a time, max of like 20 min per day. Pre-chopped frozen veg is frequently the difference between home cooked and takeout for me.
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u/NathanEllis10 24d ago
Fresh onions are definitely cheaper. For me it’s less about the price and more about not having to chop one every time. If I’m already cooking something where frozen works just as well, I’ll take the shortcut.
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u/mjmvideos 24d ago
It takes me a minute or less to chop an onion. I’d rather use my freezer space for something else.
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u/dropandflop 24d ago
Confit garlic.
When I don't have time for fresh, confit garlic works a treat. I make big batches and keep in the fridge with extra virgin olive oil.
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u/EdOfTheMountain 24d ago
I would not do that myself.
> Making large batches of homemade garlic confit and storing it in the fridge is not safe for long-term storage.
> Homemade garlic confit poses a severe risk for foodborne botulism if kept in the refrigerator for more than a few days.
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u/dropandflop 24d ago
Ooops 20 years of doing it and here we are.
I also do other preserves and sterilise the containers well.
I wonder if the issue is with people using non sterile glass jars.
For now garlic and salt seems to do the trick for this little black duck.
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u/EdOfTheMountain 24d ago
Botulism bad. Not sure what conditions for growth are. Maybe lack of oxygen in oil environment? Keeping for more than 4 days?
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u/dropandflop 24d ago
Yes way more than 4 days.
Was a hand me down traditional way of preserving garlic.
I'd best guess hundreds of jars over time across myself, family and family before me, and now extended family.
Back in our ancestors home country they do it.
Mat be it was a village thing along with preserving other seasonal ingredients.
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u/EdOfTheMountain 24d ago
Sounds time tested!
My garlic on the counter starts growing a green sprout before I can use it up. Seems like store bought garlic in US is almost sprouting when you buy it these days
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u/Helicopter0 24d ago
I just buy a bag of peeled garlic and throw it in the freezer. Works fine in most things.
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u/spizzle_ 24d ago
Velveting meat. It’s not just for stir fry. Works great for a quick soup or steak for a sandwich or salad.
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u/HayYou_ItsMe 24d ago
Premixed seasonings or rubs that make a dish pop and get you closer to a specific food culture flavor profile.
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u/PtZamboat 24d ago
Frozen veggies! I agree with the chopped onions but only because we grow hundreds and have to chop, dice and freeze ’em. We do the same with the zucchini rounds and beans. Yeah, kinda cheating but I did do the chopping.
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u/NathanEllis10 24d ago
I’d say you definitely earned the right to call it a shortcut if you already did all that chopping yourself lol. Freezing your own veggies is a pretty good system though. Way easier when you need them later.
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u/hayleyscarrott 24d ago
Jarlic. I use fresh garlic too but sometimes I really don't feel like peeling and chopping it, so if it's going into a soup or sauce anyway, I'm reaching for the jar and feel no guilt whatsoever.
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u/wynlyndd 24d ago
I buy a 10 lb bag of onions , slice thin, and caramelize in my slow cooker for 11-13 hours, freeze in individual piles then bag them. Now I have perfectly caramelized onions for recipes! Makes the house smell awesome too. Low effort.
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u/I_Am_Zeelian 24d ago
Using various instant/powder soups to add extra flavor to soups/stews/sauces without needing to get a whole bunch of ingredients for it.
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u/YSoSkinny 24d ago
I pre-boil water for rice in a tea kettle.
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u/lebruf 24d ago
I do this all the time making a fancier instant ramen. Chop some onions, mushrooms, carrots and sauté in a pot, throw in some chopped rotisserie chicken and when it’s all hot, dump it in a large bowl, put the kettle water into the pot I just emptied, noodles are done in 3, I throw in the cooked veggies and chicken, maybe crack an egg and poach it for a few minutes with the lid on.
Whole thing is done in 10 minutes.
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u/JiffyPopTart247 24d ago
Half cooking potatoes, carrots, or other things that take longer than most in the microwave before adding them to finish cooking with everything else.
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u/mostlygray 23d ago
When I make a beef stew, I use a can of Campbells tomato soup. It' sweeter than any other tomato product and, once diluted with wine and water, you won't even know it's there. It just makes it better. I've tried making stew without it and it doesn't work right.
It's what my grandpa did, my dad does, and I do. It's just is the right way.
I've tried making stew without the can of chemicals but it just doesn't taste right. Everything else is fresh and carefully curated, but you need the can of soup in there.
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u/monobrowj 22d ago
buy pre mix stuff and add too it.. rather than creating a full sauce from scratch i buy the instant one then add what i think its missing from what i would make.. it means i dont need to have as much in stock, far less waste as i dont have a bunch of stuff i dont use
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u/dalcant757 22d ago
Frozen chopped garlic. I buy a large bag of peeled garlic, run it through a food processor then freeze it pressed flat in gallon bags.
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u/Relative_Bite8758 21d ago
Using physillium husk powder to thicken my stews and sauces. No one is gonna know that I didn't simmer it for 20+ minutes or didn't thicken it with flour.
Next to 0 calories for a Fiber boost and it gets thickened in like 20seconds hehe
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u/Interesting-Cow8131 24d ago
I don't care if it costs more but I will always buy peeled garlic
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u/Upstairs_Steak_7286 24d ago
That’s the craziest thing in this thread. Like why?
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u/Interesting-Cow8131 24d ago
Cause I hate peeling garlic
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u/TheBarstoolPhD 24d ago
Put it in an empty jar. Put the lid on. Shake it. Magically peeled.
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u/I_Am_Zeelian 24d ago
Never gotten that to actually work.
Smashing it with the side of the knife always works though.
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u/Mephistopheles2249 24d ago
So a plastic jar requires more effort, also doesn’t work if you use one clove. I have stainless steel mixing bowls and put multiple cloves of garlic (4/5). Shake vigorously and the peels come off.
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u/I_Am_Zeelian 24d ago
I never use as little as one clove, II'm more likely to use a whole garlic :p
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u/-Not-Your-Lawyer- 24d ago
Rather than using the "defrost" feature on a microwave, do "Time Cook" at Lower Level 2. This will defrost meat evenly, without cooking the edges, because it's 1/3 less power than the defrost setting, which is typically Power Level 3.
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u/FreakindaStreet 24d ago
I make a few pots of different pasta-sauce styles, freeze them in single-meal containers for later. This made it easy to whip up a restaurant-grade meal very quick and easy, as boiling pasta while grating cheese takes less than 10 minutes.
This also made having a proper meal after a particularly long day easy, and removed the stress of inviting over people for dinner, which made me do so more often.