Common Cooking Q & A I Ep. 9 I Community Kitchen Teachables

In this episode, Anna walks us through the most common cooking questions that she gets in the CKP cooking classes! Hope you gain some tips and tricks from this!

Key Takeaways

Should I fill the pot with hot or cold water?

  • Use cold water and bring to a boil. Reason being, hot water can possibly carry more contaminants, by using cold water you can then bring to a boil to rid of possible contaminants.

What is the difference between iodized salt, himalayan salt, kosher salt, and sea salt?

  • Iodized salt - Common table salt, salt that has been mined from salt mine, iodine is added to it. Table salt can sometimes leave a bitter aftertaste, use to taste preference. It is a fine grain salt, dissolves quickly.

  • Himalayan salt - Comes from Pakistan, pink color. Some say it tastes more natural. Need to use a salt grinder.

  • Kosher salt - Can get various sizes. It can have more of a pure flavour, typically not bitter. The granules are bigger, so doesn’t always easily dissolve.

  • Sea salt - Evaporated sea salt, some say it’s possibly more healthy/natural. Great for grilling steaks, etc.

What temperature for eggs?

  • Depends on the application, for baking you want to use room temperature. You can take your eggs and put in warm water then bring it to room temperature. It’ll make blending of ingredients easier. Don’t want to overwork your batter.

How to avoid crying when chopping onions?

  • You want to make sure you have a sharp knife! Chill the onions beforehand for 10-15 minutes, when you start with cold onion, there’s less opportunity for the vapours to come up. Onion goggles or food processors are good options too.

Do you add salt or oil to water when you’re cooking pasta?

  • Yes and no. Don’t add salt until it’s at the boiling point and stir. If you add oil to your pasta, the sauce won’t stick as well to the pasta.

Happy Cooking!

Emily Banyard