There is something truly satisfying about creating a meal from scratch. I’m talking the kind of meal that is accompanied by the bread you baked and the baba ganoush you lovingly roasted, mushed and spiced.
Good culinary abilities do not happen overnight, but come after years of practice and refined techniques.
A number of chefs and home cooks have shared their top tips to help others improve their culinary skills. The advice was offered after one user on anonymous forum Reddit asked,” Chefs of Reddit, what’s your number one useful cooking tip?”
Garlic is not just for bread
"Roasted garlic. Garlic is cheap and you don't even need a ceramic garlic roaster (although having one in the kitchen looks good). Just slice off the top of the bulbs and cover with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, wrap in tin foil and place in the oven at [170 degrees Celsius] for 50-60 minutes. You can add it to sauces, spread on bread etc. etc."
"A neat feature of roasted garlic is that over time its chemical composition breaks down into more and more sugar, so any sauce you make with it will become sweeter. I make tomato sauce with it and it's delicious to begin with, but just a few days later it tastes twice as good."
Listen: Superstar chef Matt Moran shares the secret to the perfect roast chicken. (Post continues after audio.)
"When a recipe calls for garlic, people need to try adding both raw garlic and roasted garlic. The raw garlic will still have that sharpness and bite (when cooked), but the roasted garlic adds an entirely different dimension, a mellow, earthy flavour, and the two compliment each other very well."