The knack
A baker's dozen of useful tips and tricks to make you feel like a pro in the kitchen.
Hec: It’s an eel. Got it down the creek.
Ricky: Yeah, but how? With what?
Hec: Oh, I don’t know. The knack.
Ricky: Oh yeah, the knack. What’s that? How do you get it?
Hec: It’s not a thing. It’s just… You just get it. 1
Before you get excited, I’m not about to teach you how to catch an eel. (Once upon a time I did learn how to catch koura in Lake Atiamuri by using some chopped up bits of liver and twine, but that’s another story.)
I’ve been thinking a lot about ‘the knack’ recently, as expressed so eloquently above by Hec (Sam Neill) to Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) in Hunt for the Wilderpeople. While everyone has the knack for something (and some people are unfairly blessed with the knack for a lot of things), I’ve been thinking about how when it comes to cooking, you can learn the knack with practice. Many years ago a seasoned runner told me that the trick to distance running was nothing more than “time on your feet”. I think that applies to confidence in the kitchen too. However, to speed things up while you’re putting in the miles, you can learn the knack from people who’ve already put the years in (or who have learned from other people who’ve put even more years in).
Here, then, is a small collection of useful things I’ve learned while clocking up the miles (often from others who have clocked up even more).
1. How to deep fry without a thermometer: If you’re deep-frying, the first tip is to remove pets, children and interfering spouses or relatives from the room. Turn your phone off and stop listening to anything inflammatory (radio, TV, podcast, relatives). Next (when the oil is in the pot, set over medium heat), plunge the tip of a wooden spoon handle into it. If oil bubbles up vigorously, it’s at the right temperature. Easy. Safe. Cheap. Brilliant.
2. How to store feta: We eat a lot of feta, but I am forever either a) throwing some out after it’s turned furry in the fridge or b) eating too much of it to avoid it going mouldy and being thrown out. Discovering that you can store it in brine has changed my life. All you need to do is make up some brine – use 3 tsp salt to 500ml water – and pour this over the feta in a suitably sized plastic container with a lid. The feta should be immersed in the liquid. Seal the lid on, put it in the fridge and hey presto, no more stinky, wasted cheese.
3. How to divide an egg in half: Beat the egg until yolk and white are well combined, then measure out 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp – it will weigh about 26g for a large egg.
5. How to tell if the barbecue (or frying pan) is hot enough: Hold your hand about 10cm above the hot plate. If the heat’s at medium strength, you’ll be able to count to eight before having to pull your hand away. If it’s hot, you’ll only be able to count to four. This is one of many things I learned from working with Ruth Pretty - it’s totally foolproof, even for someone like me, who at the age of 10 put my hand flat on a ceramic cooktop after my cousin told me to ‘to see if it was hot enough’.
6. How to rescue over-beaten cream: Whipped cream looking a bit too stiff? Slosh in a bit more cream and fold it through. This should do the trick, but if the cream is too far gone, commit fully and turn it into butter. (The real secret to success here is to either a) not whip the whole bottle so you have some left to slosh in, or b) keep your mind on the task at hand.)
7. How to stabilise whipped cream: Speaking of whipped cream, here’s a nifty trick I picked up from Dean Brettschneider. Whipped cream tends to separate when it’s left to stand overnight, but you can stabilise it with gelatine. Just dissolve 1 tsp gelatine in 2 Tbsp warm water. Let cool (but not set). Whip a cup (250ml) of cream until soft peaks start to form, then pour in the gelatine and a tablespoon or so of icing sugar. Beat until stiff – but not too stiff, you don’t want butter – then cover and refrigerate until ready to use. This is really good when you’re filling a sponge or similar.
8. Keep onions and potatoes separate: Onions release ethylene, which hastens the going-off process for spuds. Keep them in separate places (as in, not in the same bowl or box, rather than in a different room or house).
9. How to prevent accidents involving any kind of essence, spice or raising agent: No matter how steady your hand, measure these things AWAY from the bowl to which they’re being added. Nothing guarantees disaster more than measuring a teaspoon of rose water or almond essence or cayenne pepper over a bowl.
10. How to save yourself endless angst about whether or not something is cooked: Honestly, buy a meat thermometer. (This is another Ruth Pretty tip, delivered at one of her amazing all-day cooking classes. She sold a heck of a lot of thermometers that day, I’ve never regretted buying one.)
11. What to wear if you are cooking on TV: Well, you never know when this might happen, do you? When I interviewed Dame Alison Holst back in 2011 she laughingly told me that the only piece of advice she was given before her first television appearance in the mid-1960s was ‘don’t wear a patterned apron’.
12. How to cut up an onion without tears: I learned how to cut onions from the redoubtable Mrs Tredgold, home economics teacher at Mangakino High School.
Peel the papery layers of skin away, then cut a thin slice down one side so the onion has a steady bottom to sit on. Make neat, even incisions from root to tip. Repeat this laterally - slide in the knife to make a series of cuts parallel to the chopping board. Finally, make the last cuts at right angles to the first ones to reduce the onion to neat dice. Job done.
13. How to get the smell of garlic off your hands: After peeling or crushing garlic, turn on the tap and hold your fingers under it while rubbing them on the bowl of a stainless steel spoon (or even the sink itself). This works every time, thanks to some reaction between the compounds in the garlic and stainless steel.
What would you add to this list? I’d love to know your versions of ‘the knack’.
Good things
The knack for Shanghai Shengjian Bao
There is definitely a knack to making these, which I’ve been low-key obsessed with since discovering them in a hectic Shanghai food court six years ago. I made the ones in this photo to a Verna Gao recipe after watching this reel so many times I came close to reciting it in my sleep. In hindsight I should maybe have rolled the dough thinner - if you know any tricks to getting these exactly right, I’m all ears.
‘Champagne right to the end, I hope’
Much has been written about the death of author Jilly Cooper last Sunday, but few of the tributes have been as heartfelt as this one by Sophia Money-Coutts, which details her visit to chez Cooper a few months ago. Let’s hope season two of Rivals isn’t far off.
An appetite for good food writing
I’m very honoured to be on the board of the NZ Food Communicators Scholarship, which was set up by Kathy Paterson to mentor new, aspiring food writers. We’ve added another ingredient to the mix in the last week - a weekly newsletter offering ‘unexpected’ food writing from Aotearoa’s most celebrated food writers, chefs and storytellers. Check it out here.
Thanks for reading along. Next time on Fancy Butter… good things to do with the billionaire vegetable. Can you guess what it is?
‘Uncle’ Hec explains to Ricky Baker how to behave in the bush in The Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
If I may add one more to your list of knacks I’d say the best way to get rid of fish smelling hands is to take a bit of coriander and rub them between the hands. Smell disappears right away.
I’ll be trying the hand counting trick next time I barbecue!