Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

Re:Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020? by samsolomon on Tuesday February 04, 2020 @07:36PM (#22242829)

A few tips I learned from a professional chef that changed everything:

— Mise en place (Get everything you need prepped)

— Clean as you cook

Get a bunch of small glass dishes and get all the ingredients you need measured, chopped and placed into those dishes. This will make combining them effortless when cooking.

If you've done prep, you'll have some down time while cooking. As you finish using pans and utensils wash them and put them away. By the time you're done cooking you'll also be almost done cleaning—save the pan that needs to soak a bit in the sink.

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Re:Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020? by dahdum on Tuesday February 04, 2020 @10:17PM (#22243699)

It took a short culinary program to really drill those into my head, but they are game changers for sure. Now I get a bit anxious when my “station” isn’t tidy, like I’m disappointing the chef. The other habit drilled out of me was watching food cook...very few things require constant attention and that’s all time that should be spent on prep and cleaning.

I use stainless steel mixing bowls, lighter and cheaper than glass and they stack really well. A large cutting board (24x18) helps you work clean.

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Re:Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020? by ethbro on Friday February 07, 2020 @08:50AM (#22265885)

I've found that listening to stovetop food sizzle will usually tell you what's going on. I imagine I'm generally hearing the amount of water left in the food?

But curious about any other approaches to "No look" you have!

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Re:Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020? by JoeAltmaier on Friday February 07, 2020 @08:55AM (#22265920)

As Alton Brown says "If its not sizzling, its burning"

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Re:Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020? by byproxy on Wednesday February 05, 2020 @01:36AM (#22244529)

Prep is like 90% of the work when it comes to cooking. Putting it all together on some heat for a specific amount of time is the easy part!

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Re:Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020? by andrei_says_ on Wednesday February 05, 2020 @11:36AM (#22248396)

Also sharpen your knife before prepping. Night and day :)

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Re:Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020? by rat_melter on Wednesday February 05, 2020 @11:50AM (#22248565)

I've lived by this advice for years and I can attest to the benefits.

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