They say that the architects cover their mistakes with ivy, while the chefs with mayonnaise. Unfortunately, not all cooking accidents can be fixed with the help of a thick layer of sauce. Sometimes you have to use much harder tricks. But do not worry! In fact, from overcooking to over-salting, you can use simple ingredients to balance the flavors and cover up these accidents.
So, before you throw away the dish you just made or offer it to your dog, take a look at our gastronomic tricks that will help you save your dinner and your pride.
1. Hard meat
Have you ever bought meat that looked very good, but after cooking it became hard and difficult to chew? If your answer is "yes", do not worry. Here are some tricks to have tender and delicious meat every time.
- Use fruit. Apple, pineapple, mango and pear do the job. Peel a squash, grate it and squeeze the juice. Cook the meat covered with fruit slices. Fruit juices are great for making a tough piece of meat tender. That is why pork is often cooked with pineapple.
- Use sake. Prepare a marinade in a separate bowl by combining it with grated onion and apple. When finished, add olive oil and a little sake. Marinate the meat overnight in the refrigerator for extra flavor and tenderness.
- Use Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola works perfectly to soften meat. Before frying, soak the meat in Coca Cola for just 10 minutes. Then remove the meat from the marinade, let it dry a bit and mix it in the pan with black pepper. Use this method to give your meat a wonderful taste. And one more bonus: this recipe is suitable for quite thick slices.
- Use lemon. Marinating the meat in lemon juice for 30 minutes before cooking is enough to make it much softer. You can also use vinegar. However, in this case, the meat must be soaked in the marinade overnight.
2. Too salty soup
If you have added too much salt to your soup, here are some chefs' secrets to help you save the day:
- The easiest solution is, of course, to add more water and cook your soup for a few extra minutes. However, this method may not be very convenient, as it can affect the taste of your dish.
- If it has leftover unsalted broth, add some of it to the pot. This will help make your soup less salty without changing its taste at all.
- If the trick with the broth does not work for you, you can try putting a small bag full of rice in the pot. Rice is an excellent absorbent and has a way of absorbing excess salt.
- Some chefs also use refined sugar to correct the taste. Just place a sugar cube in a spoon and put it in the soup. Wait until the sugar has dissolved and add another spoon. Repeat several times until the excess salt is weighed.
- Foods such as potatoes, noodles or pasta can also help absorb salt. If the recipe allows, just add more of these ingredients. If none of these products are included in the recipe, add a few potato peels and let them cook for about 10-15 minutes before removing them. The potatoes will absorb the excess salt and will not spoil the taste of the dish.
3. The strong taste of the onion
The strong smell or taste of uncooked onions often leaves you feeling uncomfortable. However, cooking without onions can be a difficult task. Fortunately, here is an easy way to taste raw onions. Just chop or chop the raw onions as you like and put them in a bowl of cold water. This will help you get rid of the bitter taste.
4. Too salty meat
Sour cream can help balance excess saltiness in a meat dish. Put the meat in a bowl with sour cream and let it cool. Alternatively, you can also add a little unsalted oil or flour sauce (flour, water and sour cream) to your dish. An unsalted garnish is another way to save food. If you have overdone the salt in the beef, add chopped cabbage, zucchini or chopped potatoes. These ingredients will make your dish even more tender and juicy.
5. Too salty vegetables
Ragout vegetables will become less salty if you add a few tomatoes to them. Just chop them and cook them with the overly salty food. To remove excess salt from cooked vegetables, you can pour unsalted boiling water over them and cook for a few minutes. Mushroom dishes can also be saved by using unsalted sauces, garnishes or sour cream.
6. Burnt meat or other burnt food
If, while cooking the meat, you end up with a charred piece of protein that is essentially uncooked inside, remove the burnt layer and then simmer the rest of the piece with oil, water or broth. To remove the burnt smell from your plate, transfer it to another bowl and cover it with a damp cloth. It will absorb much of the unpleasant odor. Another way to get rid of burnt taste and smell is to add hot milk to your plate.
7. Cold dishes
Have you ever made a buffet at home? If so, you probably know that keeping hot and cold dishes hot until it's time to serve can be a challenge. Fortunately, the solution is quite simple. Just heat the dishes in the oven for 5 minutes before placing food in them. Or refrigerate the dishes if you plan to serve cold food.
8. Broth with a lot of fat
If the broth has a lot of fat, put it in the fridge to cool. Wait until the fat hardens on top and then remove.
9. Pancakes that stick to the pan
There are many reasons why pancakes stick to the pan. If the batter is very wet, add a little flour. If the flour is low quality, add a little semolina. It is also important to preheat the pan with oil before placing the batter in it.
10. The caramel cream is very thin
The caramel cream should have a denser texture than the cream or whipped cream. However, sometimes it can be very subtle. Fortunately, there are some tricks to doing it right. Take some flour and mix well. If it still does not thicken, add a little more. You can also try cooking the cream for a few extra minutes or just put it in the fridge.
11. Frozen vegetables
Allowing the frozen potatoes to heat up gradually for 5-7 days at room temperature (18-20 ° C) can reduce their sweet taste. An iced onion will not spoil if you let it thaw at 3-5 ° C.
via