Mise en place – literally, “setting in place,” or the act of preparing each ingredient you’ll need for a dish – is a crucial step toward becoming a better cook.
Let’s say you have all your ingredients. You have your recipe. You’re ready to go. Right? Not so fast. If you’re simply looking at the cooking directions, you might wind up without the right ingredients prepared. If you’re making a stir fry, and the instructions say to add the sliced beef but the pan is hot and your beef isn’t sliced yet, you’re going to be in a bind. And by bind, we mean a smoky kitchen covered in oil splatters.
Professional chefs always do mise en place so that each ingredient, whether soy sauce or sliced beef, is measured and ready to go when needed. No panic, no splatters, no inefficiencies. Though it may seem like an extra, time-consuming step at the beginning of cooking–especially if you’re hungry–in fact it usually saves mistakes and time as you cook. So if you’re looking for an easy way to improve your kitchen skills, we’ve got it right here. Do your mise en place, every time, no matter how simple the dish appears to be. You’ll become a calm and organized cook, speeding around the kitchen, cooking dinner in no time.
What do you think? Do you always do your mise, or do you skip forward in a rush to get to the finished artichoke?
We never say no to a salad, and we’re pretty much in love with every type of leafy green. Yet before you can feature your greens in a big leafy bowl, you’ve got to wash and dry those greens. We’ve perfected the technique and wanted to share the whole process with you here–the plunge into ice cold water that both cleanses and crisps, the powerful round of drying, and the important final step–eating. Here’s how it’s done!
Today, we confront the cooking monster known as your oven. Believe it or not, most ovens are not actually at the temperature they claim to be!
In fact, the heat inside is often as much as 45 degrees higher or lower than the thermometer reads, according to Cook’s Illustrated. In addition, ovens actually turn on and off while cooking, so even an accurate one will range by a few degrees during the cooking time. The result? Roast beef that’s over-cooked or undercooked, meatball subswithcheese that’s less than perfectly melty, or crostatas, like the one pictured above, that look, well, just not as good as that picture.
We all want our food to taste delicious and the directions on our recipes to yield dinner perfection, not frustration. To make sure you’re not being conned by your oven, we’ve got two solutions.
Buy an oven thermometer. An off-the-shelf dial oven thermometer costs about $12 and will reveal the true temperature of your oven. Like the oven’s own thermometer, these can become less reliable over time, but they’re easier to replace than your whole oven. (Ovens can be recalibrated by a professional.) When you start using it, you can compare what the new thermometer reads, versus what your oven asserts. Then, adjust the temperature up or down accordingly.
Use cues. To become a better chef, you have to tune into the smells, tastes, and textures of the food that you’re cooking, no matter what. (That’s also why we tell you to salt as you go.)In every recipe, we provide not just temperatures and times, but also clues about how your food should look, smell, and taste. For example, “Bake the crostata in the oven 12 to 15 minutes, or until the dough is cooked through.” That bolded clue is just as important to a good result as the more prescriptive direction that precedes it. See what we mean?
In our view, the best solution is to use these two techniques together. First, make sure your oven isn’t lying to you by picking up a new thermometer. Then, get in the habit of observing your food, so that you become a pro at picking up its cues.
Nearly as often as we ask you to mince your garlic into paste,we instruct you to transfer your minced shallot to a small bowl with some vinegar. After that, as you get back to cooking your steak or your chopped apple salad or your farro. Meanwhile, the vinegar gets to work on the shallot. It’s amazing how much better your meal will be just because you left the shallots alone!
Raw shallots (and, for that matter, onions) add an irresistible crunch to sandwiches and flavor to salad dressings. The only problem is the lingering aftertaste, which can be sour and bitter and generally unpleasant. It comes from the same compounds in onions that will make you cry when you chop them.
When you leave the shallots to soak in vinegar, the bad-aftertaste compounds leave through the cut surface of the vegetable. They diffuse into the vinegar and sort of “cure,” so that they’re not so irksome anymore. Plus, the vinegar in turn infuses the shallow with flavor as a bonus. (You can also get rid of the strong taste by soaking sliced onions or shallots in ice water.)
Instead of tearing up as you eat and breathing fire breath for hours afterwards, try this trick, as we do in most of our salad dressings. You’ll get the extra texture and taste from the shallots but won’t suffer the less-than-optimal side effects.
HERE’S HOWis a series where we share the best useful tips from our cooking adventures. We’ll answer questions before you have them and illuminate food mysteries with a blend of science and legend.
Blue Apron is now on video! Every Thursday, we’re posting a new video on our YouTube channel and over here on the blog.
We’ve already helped you cut down your prep time in the kitchen by finessing your knife skills and making short work of onions, garlic, and carrots.
Today, we’re talking about one delicious use for the garlic you now know how to peel and mince really fast: garlic paste. We turn cloves of garlic into paste in at least half of our recipes. Most of the time, that garlic paste goes into salad dressings, giving them extra body and flavor. Anytime you’re going to eat garlic raw, you always want to make it into a paste so that the taste dissolves evenly into the dressing or marinade. If you leave garlic minced, you risk biting straight into a little cube of raw garlic, not a pleasant sensation at all.
Here’s how it’s done:
You’ll need to turn garlic into paste to make the marinade for our Sweet Miso Codand the dressing for our Chopped Napa Cabbage Salad. Watch the videoagain and again, until you’ve mastered the motions of our Chef Matthew Wadiak and pulverize your garlic, no mortar and pestle needed. Go!
Blue Apron is now on video! Every Thursday, we’re posting a new video on our YouTube channel and over here on the blog.
We’ve already helped you cut down your prep time in the kitchen by finessing your knife skills and making short work of onions, garlic, and carrots.
Today, we’re talking about a skill every good cook needs to have in his or her arsenal: the ability to season food to taste. But what does that even mean? Basically, to make food taste its absolute best, it’s key to add just the right amount of salt. In this video, featuring our own Chef Matt Wadiak, we show you how to add salt to your food little by little, tasting as you go, so that you achieve taste perfection. Under-salted food is bland and over-salted food is, well, salty. Avoid both fates by following along as we prepare a special soup on which to test our salting theories.
Watch the video, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and then get salting!
One of the ways we add heft, flavor, and satisfaction to our food is with fat. Yes, fat. Don’t run away! We know fat has a bad reputation with some, since it’s calorie dense and should, naturally, be enjoyed in moderation (you won’t find us frying our French fries around here). But chefs know that any meal will be more enjoyable and satisfying with a reasonable amount of oil or butter or gooey cheese, and we want to show you how to use fat in your cooking with a deft hand. So, let’s start with oil.
There are dozens of varieties of cooking and eating oils out there. Different cuisines tend to make use of different oils and you’ll find endless pages of advice about the health merits of each type. For now we want to tell you about three basics that we make use of most often.
**Your Guide to Cooking with Oil**
Olive Oil
We consider olive oil the workhorse of the kitchen. If you only own one bottle of oil, this should be it. You can use the multi-purpose oil to sauté onions, crisp up tortillas, or dress salads. A decent supermarket brand of extra virgin olive oil will go a long way towards making your meals delicious, whether you heat it in a pan or drizzle it into your dressings.
If you find yourself getting excited about olive oil, however, run with it! Try picking up various imported varieties from your local gourmet market–you might start to notice that olive oils from Greece, Spain, Turkey, and France each look and taste a little bit different from one another. One tip: the pricier the oil, the more reason to save it for raw uses–in dressings, for dipping, or drizzled on a ripe tomato. That way you fully appreciate the flavor. In general, avoid heating olive oil to really high temperatures, which can cause it to break down and lose some health benefits.
As our subscribers know, olive oil is one of only three ingredients we ask customers to stock themselves, so it’s up to you–stick to the basics or see what happens if you branch out!
Vegetable Oil
Vegetable oil is a more neutral option that comes in handy at a variety of different kitchen moments. Whenever you’re crisping ingredients like the above okra, as opposed to sautéing them, this oil works beautifully. You can heat it to a higher temperature than most olive oils, and it costs less too. Under the umbrella term “vegetable oil,” which refers to almost any oil that comes from a vegetable, our favorites are safflower, canola, avocado, and grapeseed oil, all of which have neutral flavors and heat up nicely. You don’t need to stock vegetable oil at home, but if you are looking to diversify, a bottle of vegetable oil is a great complement to your olive oil collection.
Toasted Sesame Oil
Fragrant toasted sesame oil distills the nutty essence of the sesame seed into a potent extract that’s delicious mixed into any stir-fry or Asian-style noodle dish. Sesame oil is what we call a finishing oil – you drizzle a bit on at or near the end of cooking, or even once your dinner’s off the stove. A little goes a long way! Note that heating toasted sesame oil will rob it of its deep flavor. (On the other hand, if you ever see unrefined sesame oil that doesn’t say “toasted,” use it like vegetable oil but don’t expect it to have the same rich flavor.)
Here’s to enjoying flavorful oil as part of a balanced meal! Stay tuned for our fat-filled meditations on butter, cream, cheese, and nuts.
HERE’S HOW is a series where we share the best useful tips from our cooking adventures. We’ll answer questions before you have them and illuminate food mysteries with a blend of science and legend. Today, we’re talking about mushrooms, everyone’s favorite fungus.
We love to throw mushrooms into our dishes. Whether shiitake, cremini, oyster, or just plain white mushrooms, mushrooms turn super savory when sautéed. They add needed umami to round out dishes, especially vegetarian mains like our Fettucelle with Wild Mushroom Bolognese or Mushroom & Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie.
There’s an important tip to know when preparing any kind of mushroom for cooking. Ready? You want to clean each mushroom by wiping it with a damp towel instead of running it under water–as you’d do with any other vegetable.
Because mushrooms’ texture is spongelike, they can easily absorb water when you wash them. This becomes a problem. A watery mushroom simply just won’t sear as well in a hot pan and can even turn sort of soggy in the finished dish. There goes the umami and the melt-in-your mouth texture. Don’t risk it. We have a better method for cleaning. (Since mushrooms do grow in the soil, you might find remnants of dirt caked on their surfaces, so you don’t want to skip the cleaning step altogether.)
Run a paper towel or clean dish towel under cold water. Squeeze out the excess liquid, then wipe off the surface and stem of each ‘shroom. If the towel starts to look dirty, simply run it under the water again, squeeze it out, and repeat.
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Beets present a delightful vegetable transition from summer to fall. On the one hand, their bright yellow or red hues bring us back to sunny days on the beach, while on the other, their essential sweetness and earthiness give a nod towards the root vegetables soon to overwhelm our shopping baskets.
Unlike, say, a cucumber, which really requires no cooking instruction (1. pick. 2. wash. 3. eat), beets put up a barrier to enjoyment. They’re a little ugly. Remnants of dirt cake onto their skins. You probably don’t just want to bite into them. So that you can appreciate all that beets have to offer, we put together this guide to making the most out of the super nutritious root vegetables with the enviable Russian pedigree. Here you go!
**How to Cook with Beets**
First Cook, Then Peel
The skin of the beet is hard to remove when the vegetable is raw. If you use a peeler, you’re apt to lose half the beet as you attempt to sever the skin from the vegetable. We have a better technique. Cook the beets first–then the skins will slide right off. You can boil for 25 to 30 minutes in a big pot of water, until they’re tender. Set in a bowl of cold water ’til cool enough to handle. You can also bake skin-on beets on a foil-lined baking sheet at 450°F for 45 minutes, or until tender.
Either way, once the beets are cool, you should be able to slip the skins right off with your fingers. You can also use a paper towel to rub the skin off if you don’t want to turn your pinkies pink (see next tip).
Don’t Dye Your Kitchen Pink
When we talk about discoloration, we’re usually referring to ripe avocados turning brown when left out. Here, there’s no problem with the beets’ appearance. No, we’re talking about the fact that beet prep can turn your fingers, arms, shirt, counter, cutting board, hand towels, and knives a gorgeous shade of hot pink. If you weren’t in the mood to repaint, use a paper towel to remove the skin from the cooked beet and choose one easy-to-clean cutting board for all your beet prepwork. If you really hate the hue, opt for yellow beets, which don’t stain. (And, if your fingers do turn pink, don’t worry–a shower or two and they’ll be back to normal.)
Balance Beets’ Flavors
The intense earthiness beets bring to the table calls for two balancing flavors: rich or creamy and tangy. You’ll often see the vegetable tossed with a vinaigrette even before being added to a salad–that helps neutralize the sweetness. Most of all, we love to top the finished beet dish with goat cheese or walnuts, or pair the beets with creamy avocado. You can check out all our beet recipes here.
Almost all of our favorite recipes start with the same step: sautéing garlic. If you cook frequently, you should always have a head of garlic on hand. This fragrant allium creates an aromatic base that’s the perfect launching pad for building sauces, soups, stews, or roasts. Learning how to peel and mince garlic properly will make all of your cooking projects easier.
Your local supermarket probably has a few garlicky options waiting for you. Our advice is to steer clear of the aisles selling jars and tubes of pre-peeled and minced cloves. Stick to the outer walls, where grocery stores typically stock fresh produce, whole onions, and, of course, whole heads of garlic. If you’re a Blue Apron subscriber, you’ll receive a whole head of fresh garlic in your box.
Once you get your garlic home, it’s time to peel. Start by breaking the head apart into cloves. The next step depends on how you plan to use your garlic. If you’re looking for perfect whole cloves, you can use your fingers to carefully peel the papery skin off of each segment. If you’re planning to mince the garlic after it’s peeled, use the flat side of a chef’s knife to flatten the clove. This will loosen the skin and start breaking the garlic apart. Watch our chef demonstrate this technique in the video below.
Once you’ve removed the skin, the hardest part of your job is done. To mince garlic, start by using a chef’s knife to create thin slices. If any slices stick to your knife, just scrape them off and place them back on the cutting board. Once you have a small pile of slices, use a rocking motion to run your knife back and forth between the slices to chop them into smaller pieces, as our chef does below.
These two simple skills are the key to hundreds (or thousands? millions?) of recipes. If you’re looking for an excuse to get chopping, try making our favorite garlic bread.
Blue Apron, now on video. Welcome to our channel! Every Thursday, we’ll be posting a new video on our YouTube channel and over here on the blog.
To start, we’re embarking on a quest to help you cut down prep time in the kitchen by finessing your knife skills.
Today: how to chop an onion in no time at all.
You’ll need to chop onions for almost all of our meals, for chicken stew, curry, and string beans with cabbage. Watch the video again and again, until you’ve mastered the motions of our Chef Matthew Wadiak and can chop your onion in under a minute. Ready, set, go!
It’s pretty. It’s popular. Its name starts with a z. But what is za’atar?
First off, za’atar refers to a varietal of wild thyme that grows in the Middle East. Second, za’atar is also a spice blend eaten in Middle Eastern countries, especially popular in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan.
Cooks use za’atar for seasoning meats and other main courses, but the most popular form of consumption is as a dry dip for bread. Vendors sell the mix in little paper cones, along with fresh bread for dipping. If you try this method at home, we definitely recommend that your bread make a pitstop in olive oil to help the za’atar stick to it.
Each Middle Eastern region–even each household–has its own mix for za’atar. At the most basic, za’atar contains thyme, sesame seeds, sumac, and some salt, but some traditions have the cook throw in pistachios, turmeric, or hazelnuts, according to Heidi of 101Cookbooks.
As you can imagine, the thyme offers a wonderful earthy herbiness. To that, sesame seeds bring their rich nuttiness. Sumac, made by grinding the dried berries from the sumac shrub, contributes a slightly sour, citrus-like flavor to the mix, with a similar effect on the final dish as a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Salt, of course, brings out each of the individual flavors.
We grind together these ingredients in the fresh za’atar mix we use in our shrimp and socca. For our Blue Apron touch, we throw in some oregano for some added earthiness. If you have any za’atar left over from your meals, try sprinkling it on your morning toast, half an avocado, roasted chicken, or a simple green salad. We’ll be back to demystify some of our other spice mixes soon!
Mise en place – literally, “setting in place,” or the act of preparing each ingredient you’ll need for a dish – is a crucial step toward becoming a better cook.
One of the ways we add heft, flavor, and satisfaction to our food is with fat. Yes, fat. Don’t run away! We know fat has a bad reputation with some, since it’s calorie dense and should, naturally, be enjoyed in moderation (you won’t find us frying our 
