As I begin to travel this week to promote my new book, I want to give away five personalized signed copies. But I want something from you. An "ah-ha" moment.
Earlier in the month, promoting my appearance at Butcher & Larder in Chicago, owner Rob Levitt asked people for just such a moment, a revelation, a moment when you tasted something, combined two uncommon ingredients, used a tool in a new way, that changed the way you saw food, the kitchen, cooking.
I've had many, and they're always a thrill. I write about one in the new book, the time my chef instructor at the CIA, Michael Pardus, tasted my cream of broccoli soup and said, "This is good. But I want you to take this back to your station and taste it again. Then I want you to take a spoonful and put a drop of white wine vinegar in it and taste the difference."
I did. A single drop changed that soup from fine, just OK, to very good if not better. It was a lesson that would apply not only to broccoli soup, or soup generally, but to everything. The importance of acidity and the ability to use it (Technique #5), would become something I'd consider in everything I made, from soups to stews to sauces, to sandwiches, to meats and fish, to whole composed plates, even to sweet things (I add cider vinegar to butterscotch sauce, for instance, just a few drops, all about balance).
I want to know what your ah-ha moment is. Four people who leave their ah-ha moment in comments below will be chosen at random this Friday (sorry Canada, it's too expensive and headache making to ship across the border, so this is only for US residents, alas; take small comfort though that the book is dedicated to a Canadian!). Leave a working email (it won't bet published or used in any way other than to contact you, promise).
The fifth signed copy will go to someone very clever indeed. I've included in the book THE twenty techniques I believe a cook needs to prepare virtually anything in the kitchen. But I left one out (on purpose). The first person who comes up with it, gets the fifth copy. If no one does, check back and I'll give some hints, but I'm hoping someone figures it out.
I'll be in Chicago this week as mentioned, also doing a demo at The Chopping Block, followed by an open signing from 1:30 to 2:30.
But if you miss those events, and even if you don't, join me at Publican, one of my favorite restaurants, this Wednesday evening where Paul Kahan, one of my favorite chefs, and his staff have created a special menu, and where I hope to hold court with as many people as possible who care as much as I do about cooking! I'll be there from 7 to 10—hope to see you there. (Call 312.733.9555 to reserve a spot; it's not listed yet on their site but I will indeed be there.)
Jamie
When I was in college, I learned about onions: how they could be fried into deeper and deeper depths of flavor. Before, I'd just sauteed them to translucence. But Madhur Jaffrey's Introduction to Indian Cooking taught me all about the nutty and sweet flavors that an onion passes through on its way to a deep red-brown. (My favorite onions in that book: the ones fried with fennel seed and potatoes, then stuffed into cabbage leaves.)
Erin
The first one of those insights that popped into my head was brining...I first did it with my Thanksgiving turkey, but now I brine boneless chicken breasts, shrimp, pork chops, etc. Salt really does matter!
John Doty
My Ah-Ha moment wasn't about adding ingredients to make things work (I have done lot's of that) but my moment was the period of time that my two girls (11 & 13 y.o.) went from eating what I made for them to making and creating family dinners from recipes I have on hand and recipes that they have created.
So, My Ah-Ha moment was the fact that I could, in fact, teach someone else how to cook and how to cook well.
Thanks for the books & website.
John Doty
Westford Vermont
Leonard
is the 21st technique Bake?
ruhlman
nope (that falls under roast)
Dave
In my mid-twenties I learned the secret of timing the addition of spices and other ingredients. My discovery came at a time when I was making coq au vin and experimenting with different recipes. I learned that adding different ingredients at different times will bring out certain flavors or diminish others. I've since experimented extensively with my timing and found the results to be very gratifying.
Josh
When breading chicken for fried chicken. I have found that if, after you dredge the chix in seasoned flour and then you let it rest a bit, the moisture from the chicken combines with the flour to create a superior crust when fried. Just dredging and frying(without the wait) produces an unsatisfactory result.
Debby Teicher
My dad was a caterer, so I grew up eating a lot of basic, heavy Eastern European Kosher cooking. I was a very, very skinny kid. One of my favorites was sweet breads, always boiled and served with sauteed onions and mushrooms. Fast forward to my 40s (still have a few months left)...and I was served pan seared sweet breads with a sweet pea puree at a NYC restaurant (yes, kosher). OH MY GOD! I will always love my dad's version...but those sweet breads forever changed my view of what's possible when you DON'T do the expected.
Eva
My vegetable garden was especially fruitful this summer, so I've been slow-roasting and freezing A LOT of tomatoes. I spent a lot of time painstakingly coring the tomatoes with a paring knife - until I realized my apple corer could do the job much easier and faster. Since I slice the tomatoes horizontally (around the "waist" so to speak) for the slow roasting, i can easily core the top half on a cutting board. I've always been hesitant to buy more kitchen gadgets - I hate the cluttered drawers, and in most cases you can do without - but this converted me!
Ethan
My ah-ha moment was realizing that recipes are no more than friendly suggestions.
Jeff
Sanitation!
Marie
One "aha" moment for me was learning about 'flipping the bird' -- no, not what you think, but turning a baking chicken over a by quarter turns to keep the juices running throughout the bird. No more dry chicken breasts. I think I learned it in Stephen Schmidt's Master Recipes.
Steph
Sous-vide?
Mary aka The Culinary Librarian
An ah-ha moment for me was the first time I made eclairs. I think I was always haunted by the movie Simply Irresistible and how her caramel eclairs make everyone so loopy and wanted to try making them at home. Being a french pastry that I always associated with being bought, not homemade, I figured they would be difficult. The ah-ha moments came as I made each step of the pastry: the pate-a-choux, the custard and the ganache. Each ingredient literally came together from being liquidy or powdery ingredients to exactly what they should be. I learned that even though things sound or seem difficult in cooking or baking, they're often far easier than you think.
Mrs. Scrimp
Stock?
Chris
My ah-ha moment isn't some moment of culinary enlightenment when I crossed the Rubicon and became a great chef ... but rather it was the moment when I realized that I COULD cook, and I actually found I liked it. I was a bachelor at the time, living pretty much on whatever pasta I could boil and whatever sauce in a jar I could add, but I had started dating, and I really really wanted to impress the girl I was dating. So I started watching cooking shows on TV, and reading cookbooks, and I went out and actually got INGREDIENTS for my kitchen, rather than more boxes of pasta. Since my girlfriend was of Polish descent (as am I), I decided to make some Polish food, and I started experimenting in the kitchen, and whipped up some dishes from scratch, and made a mess doing it ... but enjoying the hell out of it, adding this and that, taste-testing as I went on until I got a flavor that I recognized from all the Polish dishes my great-grandmother had made. Dinner turned out great. My girlfriend, who is now my wife, thoroughly enjoyed it, and as part of our dates from then on, we actually took a variety of cooking classes at Viking store in Cleveland, and some area grocery stores. I still cook, and I still really enjoy it. I make no pretenses of being a great chef, but my wife enjoys whatever I cook, and the few things my daughter has tried haven't had any complaints yet!
S. Bradley
Against my better judgment a few years ago, I tried bacon ice cream at a barbecue joint in North Carolina. I was certain that the combination of salty, sweet, and savory would collide and overwhelm my palate. I didn't expect, however, the balance that all three elements created. To this day, I try to include a little of the unexpected in my cooking - a pinch of ginger and nutmeg in a cup of coffee, a squeeze of hot sauce in fresh hummus. It doesn't always work out, but I'm surprised at how often it does.
Tamara
My "ah-ha" moment was at my first restaurant job. One of the refrigerators had a weird funky smell every time I opened it. I kept looking and eventually the smell was coming from a wheel of cheese labeled "Gorgonzola." I had no idea what it was, but it reeked. Stunk like crazy. Out came the chef and I asked her what the heck smelled so bad. She said, "It's Gorgonzola, an Italian Blue Cheese. Taste it." I was like "Um...huh? You crazy?" But she was my chef and I of course took a piece of it, smelled it, made a face and placed it in my mouth. Everything changed for me right there and then.
The most important thing we can do is TASTE something. Even if we don't like it, taste it a few times, from different places, cooks, etc. Just taste. You may find that an ingredient you thought you hated isn't so bad when the cook knows how to handle it. And yes, Gorgonzola is one of my favorite cheeses. I'm a blue cheese addict. 😉
Tags
I've had two vinegar aha moments in the last two weeks. First I made veal stock, and when the veal from the bones was still good after simmering for 12 hours, I put what was left in the fridge with some Progresso red wine vinegar in a plastic container. The next day it was delicious.
Yesterday I put meat from some pork bones in Heinz distilled white vinegar and tried it this morning and I was amazed at how harsh it was. Of course, that may have something to do with having only a little red vinegar left but a whole bottle of white vinegar which I was very generous with while pouring.
Heather
My aha moment came when reading a Madhur Jaffrey cookbook and learned of the many different flavor you can get from spices: whole vs ground; spices stewed; roasted spices; sauteed in the beginning; fried in oil and used to polish; etc.
That was when it began to sink in that the COOKING played a key role in the end result, and not just the list of ingredients.
Jac
Mine is more a series of "ah-ha" moments, that I've had since I started cooking in my teens, every time I try something new. The latest was when I made your pastrami recipe and smoked it on a 14.5" Weber Smokey Joe kettle grill:
You can make almost anything you want at home, with very little investment in specialty tools. All it takes is a willingness to try, and occasionally a bit of improvisation. And in many -- if not most -- cases, it will be better than anything you could buy.
One of my favorite quotes is from Gary Regan, the author of "The Joy of Mixology", and it applies to cooking as easily as drink-making (and so much else in life): "If you believe that you know what you're doing, and if you can pull it off without apology, you're 90 percent there."
Mary aka The Culinary Librarian
My guess for #21 is STEAM. I think steaming is an important technique used in most cultures. Whether its vegetables or dumplings or seafood or chicken, steaming is a way to cook a variety of things without dousing them in water.
steve menke
My life changed the first time I ate smoked oyster cornbread. It was the best thing I ever tasted .
Neil
Didn't read any other comments, so I may be late to the party, but the 1 essential ingredient in everything I cook for my family is love. Even have a spice jar labeled as such.
Carri
Neil, I think you nailed it...for me anyway!
Chris
For me the moment was resting meat after cooking it. A friend pointed out to me that amazingly enough, food does not stop cooking the second you remove it from a heat source. Not only does it apply to large roasts, but even to things like sauces, spaghetti cooked to al dente, etc. A little bit of thought about temperature carry over went a long way to improving my cooking.
Michelle
Restraint. Just because you have have a lush herb garden doesn't mean you have to throw the whole thing in the pan every time you make dinner. Once I realized that restraint was as useful (maybe more so) as exuberance, I became a much better cook.
Lora Mesiano
My ah-ha moment was stumbling across David Lebovitz's blog while looking for a different take on Brownies (add altoids - yum!). Whereas previously I had resorted to Epicurious, Food Network and other disturbingly commercial sites, Mr. Lebovitz opened up a whole new world of food bloggers to me, including you, Mr. Ruhlman! I read food blogs every single day, and these days seem to cook exclusively from their offerings. I love the background, explanations, photos and mostly the inspiration that you bloggers provide. Thank you!
Linda C Hadfield
My first ah-ha moment was when I was in Germany, 15 years ago, and, for the first time, tasted tomatoes from a local farmers market. I could not believe the difference between locally grown and the mass produced, shipped-before-they're-ripe tomatoes we buy in the states. Same with their white potatoes. They need absolutely no butter. They are creamy, buttery and delicious all by themselves. This revelation has lead me to believe that the best meals start with the highest quality produce, herbs andother ingredients available. Support your local farmers.
Debbie
My ah-ha moment in cooking was discovering fresh herbs and what they can do when used correctly. I grew up with nothing but salt, pepper and sugar seasoning my Mother's and my grandmothers' cooking. Herbs changed my life and my cooking -- plus they're great fun to grow.
Cathy
You can cook just about anything if you use a recipe as reference not rote. Learning to trust and rely on your senses is key-- just because the recipe says cook it for 20 minutes doesn't mean you should -- it's about using your eyes to see if it looks done, your nose to see if it smells done, and of course your tastebuds to check the flavors.
David
Roasted garlic has given depth to so many dishes and sauces. Love it.
Jason Hayne
My moment came while eating at a steakhouse while on vacation. They offered a side of roasted garlic cloves to accompany the steak. It was phenomenal! I thought to myself why can't I have this at home? I haven't looked back since. Cooking is something I truly enjoy doing today.
speno
fermentation! Let it rot, baby. 🙂
ruhlman
I was in fact thinking specifically bacteria as #21, but yep, this is the one. a little advanced for the book, but yep, but I think I might change it to microroganisms, to include yeast. but congrats, you got it.
speno
Thanks! Yeast are popular fermenters too, but they aren't bacterial.
My favorite fermented foods are home made greek yogurt and kim chee (which I buy).
Jessica | Oh Cake
So many "a-ha" moments. Like your vinegar in soup I had an a-ha moment with a drop of truffle oil in celeriac soup; eating pear and gorgonzola ravioli when I was a college student studying Italian lit in Bologna; combining fig preserves with roasted asparagus and goat cheese. But my favorite, and the one that has quite literally transformed me, was the first time I had a roasted Brussels sprout. The heavens opened and angels sang as this much abused and maligned vegetable became like manna to me. Later, having cream of roasted Brussels sprout soup at Brasserie Four (Walla Walla, WA) I practically went into a delirious state of ecstasy. Note to self: buy more Brussels sprouts.
Jeff
My ah-ha moment was very similar to yours. The realization that some vinegar, briny capers, or citrus could bring out so much flavor and complexity in food.
The second ah-ha was seasoning as you go, especially for stews, soups, and braises. Noticing how the fiished dish tasted better if you added salt at the beginning when sateeing veggies and searing meat and then at the end to taste over just adding it at the end.
Jason Logsdon
I think my biggest ah-ha moment was when I realized that most dishes I'd been cooking where actually the same thing - season, pan fry or grill, then top with sauce or salsa. It had never dawned on me that all the different recipes could be broken down into such simple basics and understanding how those basics worked and perfecting them meant that similar dishes would (almost) always turn out great, even if I'd never cooked them before.
I'd say the key to my entire cooking is my ability to pretty perfectly cook the meat in a dish, and that alone creates awesome food. Any seasonings or sauces is just a bonus.
Heather Hunter
I was 6 or seven and making overnight cookies at Christmas with my grandmother...she taught me how to know exactly when the egg whites were perfectly meringued, why you should just add the sugar a little at a time, start with room temperature egg whites and never let any yolk mix in or it's over. Ever since that moment, I have understood that you have to feel food, see it, smell it, taste it and touch it to know when it is just right. Adding a bit of this or a touch of that can be just what a dish needs, but there is also the science of cooking. From then on, cooking was both for me--a science and an art.
Nick Cane
Chocolate and Cayenne pepper. Ah-Ha!
Ellen Malloy
Last winter, in part because of the book Charcuterie, I decided to butcher a pig in my house. I wanted to butcher the pig because I wanted to understand it, and respect its parts, more fully. Rob Levitt, of the above-mentioned Butcher & Larder, agreed to bring a pig over and walk me through. I got through the main butchery pretty well, but started to balk when I got to the nasty bits. I know, I am a food person, I am supposed to love the nasty bits. I don't. I think they are nasty. That said, my point was to honor the pig. And so the day after the main butchery, Rob came back to my house and we started to tackle the head. I was pretty freaked out when I faced the pig head-on. I hadn't ever seen one that up-close and so I asked him what I was even supposed to be grabbing. Rob's answer: the stuff that looks like meat. My aha moment was when I dove in and saw that, indeed, the head is just composed of "brisket-looking" meat. It was just meat. The head had been my Rubicon and now that I realized that the pig head isn't a scary mass of brain goo but a delicious source of meat, there will be no turning back for me.
Linda
My Ah-ha moment understanding the simplicity and infinite variety you could obtain by making your own pasta dough from scratch. For so many years, I assumed it was too time consuming and difficult, until I finally experimented with it on my own. SO easy! And the flavor and texture were like nothing I had ever had.
Kate
I was making Thanksgiving dinner. This may seem obvious to an experienced chef such as yourself, but when I added wine to my gravy, it was a revelation. What a difference! I never make gravy without wine any more!
Elaine
Like Jessica, so many moments, but a class with Chef David Bull, when he laid out a painter's palate with lemon juice, salt, chopped parsley, honey and a half dozn other rather basic tastes, then treated us to small plates to which we added the taste samples, bite by bite- how the elemental tastes changed the food and how to balance them was an epiphany!
Andrea
Most resounding "a-ha" moment came with my first high quality knives. I felt the possibilities opening.
Justin Rucker
I made my first cake from scratch when I was 12. It was relatively simple, a little coffee and rich chocolate. Before then I only knew Betty Crocker. Compared to Betty - this cake was divine. It was at this point I realized that if I was going to devote any amount of time cooking for myself - I would do it well.
Tamara
Ruhlman, why Bacteria/Micro-organisms?
Khevin Farmer
After reading "The Elements of Cooking" and having the courage to make my own broths,gravys and all sauces from scratch. I never buy any broth or sauces anymore..
Daniel
My aha moment was 20 years ago when dining at Jean-Louis Palladin's restaurant at the Watergate in DC. The fixed price menu featured a dessert whose focus was "wilted celery". Now, I was just out of college, and if it didn't have chocolate, I didn't think it was dessert. But damned if that wasn't an amazing dessert, and I still remember it all these years later.
Hector
My ah-ha moment came when I was 14 years old. I used to watch my mother cook a variety of delicious Mexican dishes and I wanted to learn how to make these. One of my favorites was hongos (mushrooms). My mom was out at the store and I wanted to surprise her, making the dish myself. It is a very simple one, just onions and mushrooms, sauteed until soft. I carefully sliced all the ingredients and put them in the pan. After a few minutes, I tasted the dish. I was bland. I had added salt and peppers, but it was lacking that punch that made them so memorable. Surprisingly, my mother arrived a few minutes after I tried the hongos. I explained what I did and, without any preamble, told me to follow her. We want to the backyard, close to where she had her chile pepper plants. Mixed among them was a small, jagged weed. She pulled a couple of leaves from it and took them into the kitchen. After a quick wash, she put these in the hongos. 5 minutes later, the dish smelled completely different. the flavor was herbal and smoky, the one that I was looking for. "You forgot the epazote" my mother told me. This was a big revelations. After that, I saw that epazote was in almost everything she cooked. From beans to stews and several other dishes, epazote was deeply immersed in her cooking. I've used epazote on a regular basis. It is part of my heritage and my traditions. It is the voice of my mother, whispering lovingly, all her secrets.
Greg Berg
Ah-ha moment: Realizing in my 50s that cooking and baking are a huge passion and then enrolling in a professional culinary program. Classes were at night so I could continue my day job. As part of the program I was able to volunteer at LA Food and Wine last year and worked in Alfred Portale's station. Thomas Keller's Bouchon station was to my left. So much fun to be a volunteer at this event.
MIssing Technique: Well TASTE TASTE TASTE would be my first guess. Since this has already been proposed....I would then say knife skills. So important as your cooking skills develop.
Nata
My mother wasn't a particularly good cook who never taught me to cook, so I assumed I couldn't. While in high school, I told a friend's mother that I couldn't cook. She said, "If you can read, you can cook." Ah-ha! That comment gave me the confidence to begin cooking. That was 43 years ago.
Shaun Tolnay
My ah-ha moment? Without writing a novel here, it was my senior year of college, on a trip to France. The back-story: I'd always been a large guy and in college I started turning that around. Instead of eating out, I began cooking all my meals - much easier to control intake if I made everything myself. Mind you, I wasn't cooking typical college food (noodles, pb&j) because I grew up with an older sister who is a phenomenal cook (and, a shout out to my mom too, who still continues to cook food that makes my heart melt). How could I eat ramen when I know just a few more minutes of effort can yield so much more? All of this combined with a trip to visit a great fiend in Lyon France changed my life. The smells, the quality of ingredients, the LOVE that goes in to the food, not just once a week, but every single meal. Gathering around with my friend and her french family for an apéritif and then a home cooked, traditional Lyonnais meal... Wine tasting in an underground cellar dug out by hand hundreds of years ago.. fresh bread HOURLY, oh god, the bread, I'm getting the shakes just thinking about it.. and on and on and on... So, while the story is still developing and unfolding for me, I attribute the major joys in my life to that single trip to Europe. I'm so happy that I continue to share moments like that with my friends and family. Also - seeing you, Michael, at Ad Hoc was also an ah-ha moment - as in, ah-ha this is awesome.
DAVE SMITH
My first AHA moment came with my first attempt rendering my own beef stock and tasting the difference between it and commercial preparations available in the 1970s...and then discovering all of the derivitives that could be had from it...
chad
my a-ha moment came when i was sitting in a restaurant reading a black and white comic... oh wait, that was a different a-ha. the first time a made a white sauce, and saw how important TIME was to the outcome. ah-ha.
Tom M Franklin
Truly fine salsa is made with a combination of as many different peppers as you can find. It's not so much about controlling the heat, but about the complexity of flavors that the combined peppers provide.
Amy Biller
My a-ha moment: Fat carries flavor. I saw the difference when I made lemon verbena sorbet, and then made lemon verbena ice cream. The lemon verbena sorbet had more flavor up front but it left quickly. The flavor in the lemon verbena ice cream stayed longer because the fat was carrying the lemon verbena flavor and had coated my tongue. This works for many things, not just ice cream.
Linda B.
Probably when I realized what a difference salt makes in sweet things. And how sometimes adding just a little more than is stated in the recipe is even better.
Todd
my a-ha moment turned me into a ravenous foodie. it was the first time I ate mayonnaise on corn on the cob at Las Tortugas in Memphis TN. it's a simple thing, but it changed my food life forever.
Jordan W
21st technique is probably knife skills.
My first ever "Ah-Ha!" moment was actually from eating in a restaurant. My mom liked to cook her steaks about 20 or 30 degrees past well done. At the insistence of a friend, I ordered a steak medium, and realized "This is what it can, and should be." I started cooking not too long after that and do my best to make sure things don't get overcooked.
Maggie Downey
It is stock making?
corey
i was a pretty picky eater growing up, if it wasn't doritos or pizza rolls i probably wasn't interested. i got better over the years but was still never terribly interested in trying new things. i was doing a brief tour of the pacific northwest, doing music, and while staying at a friends house he asked if i liked beets and kale. i obliged, being a nice house guest when really i was pretty horrified at how gross this food was going to be. he told me he just picked up everything from the farmer's market, how it was in season and all that. fine, i thought, beets are still freaking nasty... then it turned out to be one of the best things i'd tasted in a while. fresh, savory, tasty, and i just felt _good_ after eating it. suddenly i realized how great things could be when they're fresh, in season, whole, local, etc etc. when i got back home i immediately recreated the dish for some friends, equally as skeptical as i was at first mention of 'beets and kale'. i realized that all this food i thought was disgusting and horrid could be incredibly tasty if sourced and prepared right. my culinary journey had begun. i was no longer a picky eater - instead i always sought out how to cook things correctly and make them, well, awesome. fast forward to today: there are 10 lbs of olives curing in my kitchen, a fresh slab of freshly home smoked bacon, homemade pickles, various homemade sausages, sourdough brioche, and lamb brains and a whole pig head in my freezer in preparation for a dinner party.
Christina
Enjoying reading the stories and ah ha moments! My ah ha moment centers around dehydration. I'm always trying to concentrate flavors in gfdf cooking since I can't use the roundness of butter or cream in dishes. I've been playing with my convection oven and altering ordinary preparations to suit my needs and to create flavorful substitutions.
philip h
My ah-ha moment was realizing that the secret to wonderful tomato sauce is to start with great tasting canned tomatoes. I know this sounds obvious, but for the longest time I used italian canned toms that were bitter and I always struggled with them, adding sugar, salt, red wine, anything to improve the flavor.
Finally tried a few different brands and found one that hardly needed anything to make taste great. Oil, garlic, heat and time. now a simple sauce is my favorite thing to make.
Moral: start with good tasting ingredients and your job as a cook will be much easier.
Jessica
My "ah-ha" moment came when I made ricotta for the first time - I realized I could make common store bought ingredients easily from scratch and have more control ober the process and components. Now I make everything from butter to pickles and haven't looked back.
Katie H
My "Ah-Ha!" moment in the kitchen was when I realized that you have to be patient to make sure meat is browned and that this is an important part of the flavor. It made such a difference in how everything tasted! This also led to the realization that caramelization is a beautiful thing.
Dave Coyne
#21 - sous vide
Susan Monk
My "Ah-ha!" moment came the day I received a Le Creuset pot and learned the real meaning of "braise". Those short ribs were the best I'd ever eaten, thank you Thomas Keller. I now understand the importance of owning quality kitchen equipment.
Erin H
My aha moment came when I started making my own salad dressings - just enough to use right now. I no longer keep bottled dressings in the house, and I can customize the dressing to the meal. Stir fry? Salad with rice wine vinegar and ginger dressing. Lasagna? Salad with balsamic and oregano.
Nancy G.
My very first "ah-ha" moment came a long time ago when I was in college and very poor. I added sauteed mushrooms and sour cream to some cooked rice and it completely transformed the rice. Right then and there began a lifelong passion for playing with recipes and looking for new ways to improve and elevate the ordinary.
My second "ah-ha" moment came when I opened "Ratio" for the first time. This spoke to the inner geek in me and completely changed the way I looked at recipe composition.
betsyjo
My ah-ha moment came gradually, but started as I watched Anne Burrell repeat "Brown food tastes good!" on her show. Eventually I learned the truth of this statement, and it applies to so much of what I cook every day, especially when making vegetables tasty (even brussels sprouts!) by roasting them. Yum.
William Frost
This is a sad one, but it was the moment I realized that there is an honest difference between fresh and canned vegetables. I grew up on canned, and never thought about them at all. Then, I married a woman who had grown up with fresh and began eating in real restaurants. I started cooking with fresh vegetables, and just got used to using them. Then, after my divorce and some short lived money problems, my mom gave me some cans she wasn't going to use again, and I tried the canned spinach. It was so unlike the spinach I'd been eating, that it finally dawned on me how big a difference there was.
Sam
My ah-ha moment in the kitchen was when I realized the importance of salt, herbs and spices in sweet things (thanks to a trip to Baked in DUMBO...). I've been experimenting with spices in everything from fruit desserts to brownies to jams to home-canned fruits to hot chocolate. It's opened up a whole world of sweet-salty or sweet-spicy desserts.
Nancy
My most memorable a-ha moment was the one that helped me start breaking away from following recipes: the advice that, if you like the way things smell together, chances are you will like the way they taste together, too. It gave me the courage to start experimenting with flavor combinations without fear that an inedible disaster was in the making.
fuad
My first kitchen ah-ha moment came when I realized that salt can enhance the flavor of not only savory food, but desserts and even coffee and tea.
Nick Colombey
I would have to say its when I started poaching/braising meats.
redpeace
Ah-ha moment was learning to control proportions and numbers of ingredients as well as season correctly. For too long I thought good meant complex, but learning how to taste taught me that keeping it simple can lead to greater variation and better dishes. Not a particular moment, but experience and learning accumulated from watching and tasting.
Annette
I cook too rarely, so that moment when raw ingredients blend into a smooth dough, or onions flip from a watery white mass to caramelized, concentrated flavor, or a sauce hits that perfect consistency are all "ah-ha!" moments for me, when I realize that sometimes it just takes a little time and patience for what looks like an utter kitchen failure to turn into a fabulous meal.
Kevin
My “ah-ha” moment was discovering browned butter. That rich nutty flavor added to frangipane, pecan tarts, over vegetables, and other sweet and savory recipes was out of this world. I was also excited about the simplicity of making my own caramel sauce and how the addition of gray salt to it sent it over the top.
Tim Donahue
Well, I was going to say "acid" but you got that already.
I'm going to say the right amount of heat: broiling must be very hot, frying must be as hot as your oil will take, but simmering must be very slow, a bubble or two every 20 seconds is great. AND to use the right very high heat, you need a good vent!
Matt Reed
Mine was my mom's stovetop roast recipe. I hadn't had it in years, had been studying cooking on my own, and asked for it, because it's your mom's food, and your mom's food is comfort food.
So I cooked it to her specs, and boy howdy that thing was bland. There wasn't much to it, and most of the beef flavor had been cooked off into the broth.
But up until that point I'd been using recipes as a crutch without understanding what the ingredients brought to the dish. I was making pretty fussy stuff, too, and for all its blandness, there was a simplicity to the roast and vegetables that was like a breath of fresh air.
I realized that what I had here was a blank canvas, something to tweak and experiment with to try to make it better without running roughshod over that simplicity with a lot of fancy-ass ingredients I'd ordered from The Spice House. So that's what I did. It was the first dish I really began *thinking* about, rather than being some cookbook author's robot. I think that was when I really started cooking. Sort of, anyway -- I've still got a lot to learn.
Marcy B.
Letting the dough relax.
It used to be such a fight to shape my dough, roll out for braiding etc. And then I saw something on TV that made me think "Why don't I portion out the dough, give it fifteen minutes to relax and THEN shape it? Work with it, not against it."
What a change. SO much easier!
Skip
Imagination.
Ann
Similar to Michael's story...but sub oil for vinegar and add salt. The extra little bit (more than the doctor would probably say is healthy) makes the dish SO much better. Think Symon's brussels sprouts (mom, really, I ate my brussels sprouts) at Lolita. Same thing for roasted cauliflower. Yum.
Emily
I'm sure people will read this and say "Duh," but my ah-ha moment has to do with salt. So many recipes I would try would say "Salt to taste," and as an inexperienced cook I wouldn't add enough salt, for fear of over-salting. Then I would say, "Blah, this is so bland. It needs something, but what?" My dad was over one day and said, "It just needs more salt," and he was right. I still have trouble with seasoning properly though. I'll try the vinegar.
Daniel
This is a negative ah-ha! moment. I make good salsa. Friends loved it and I started selling it. One weekend I canned about 37 pints of salsa to fulfill Christmas orders. I did not make salsa, even for me, for years after that.
I realized then that cooking for me was a joy...to turn it into work would make it not fun. Some might be able to do it, but not me. I might dabble, but never again will I let it become a chore.
kristin
My first trip to Italy, I learned that you don't cook pasta to death, you cook it al dente! So much better! Now I just have to convince my husband.
Ray
For me, the revelation came when cooking chili's and spaghetti sauces. I loved to let them cook a LONG time, but they inevitably ended up bland and flat and lifeless. I found that by adding sugar at the very end, I could tune in the "sparkle" to where I liked it. Later on, I discovered same about vinegar (rice vinegar for me). The idea that something other than salt and pepper could/should be used as seasoning was a huge revelation.
christa
I am a beginner cook. I love food but don't have much patience for cooking. My Ah-ha moment is when a chef (doing a demo on healthy eating) said, by cooking your own food, you get to control what you eat. So now cooking doesn't seem like a chore any more.
Ed G
My real a-ha moment came as a result of eating dinner in a neighborhood bistro (tournedos with foie gras instead of maitre'd butter) in Carouge, Switerzerland and realizing that I wanted very badly to be able to reproduce that kind of cooking and experience at home. The rest of it (really learning about seasoning, etc) came from that meal.
James Bainbridge
The more I learn about food and cooking the more ah-ha moments I experience. That may be the greatest thing about cooking for me. I find the greatest pleasure in those ah-ha moments when you make something for yourself from scratch - mayo, fresh pasta, homemade cheese, sausage, bacon - and realize what something is SUPPOSED to taste like. But also how amazing you feel when you leave the moment armed with the knowledge and experience to make it happen again.
Jason
My preferred method of cooking is barbecue, and my big a-ha moment came when I discovered how to utilize smoke as a flavor enhancer. A common mistake when barbecuing is to overpower the natural flavor of the meat and fat with a heavy application of smoke. Toning back the smoke to be used like a spice is what took my 'que over the top. I now treat smoke just the same as an ingredient in my rub or sauce, and It's just another component that plays into the overall flavor enhancement of the meat. Smoke pork should still taste like pork!!!
DiggingDogFarm
My greatest "AH-HA!" moment came the first time I brined a turkey. I was truly amazed at how salt, sugar and water can so improve texture and flavor; converting the bird into something extraordinary.
~Martin
Eric
My ah-ha moment deals with mushrooms. Growing up, I loved to cook, but the mushrooms never browned properly. It wasn't until later in life that I learned to cook them properly. Turns out it helps to not overcrowd the pan. Delicious.
Elisabeth
It was more a slow dawning than a real aha moment. After watching a lot of Top Chef and Food TV (I was pretty addicted for a few years there) and trying different recipes, I gradually realized that there were certain techniques that are used over and over and that are very flexible. So I gained a confidence in my ability to make something without a specific recipe, using ingredients I have available. I still like to start with a recipe for direction or inspiration, but I understand better how to change things to suit our tastes and available ingredients.
Caroline Chang
Ah-ha... temperature. When I was just a beginning cook, it took me only a few ruined proteins and vegetables to learn that the heat applied makes a vast difference in the outcome.
Andrew
Using home rendered fats. It resonates with my ethos of using as much of the animal as possible (it died so I can have a good meal, not wasting any of it is a nice way to honor and respect that sacrifice). Along with stock, it's an awesome way to make quinoa taste chickeny, rice porky, and kale ducky. Shame how I used to just discard all that rendered fat after frying a pound of bacon or roasting a chicken. Rendered fats are a powerful secret weapon in the kitchen, and now I've always got a plentiful supply of little jars in the fridge or freezer. Plus it's basically a freebie so it'll save you money on butter and olive oil.
Jonathan Hunter
My greatest food moment and biggest "Ah-ha!" was the first time that I tried pork belly (in non bacon form). It changed my life and how I will forever think/look/feel about fat on any creature; Blissfully divine.
As far as the missing technique, would it perhaps be fermenting or wet/dry aging?
Ryan K
I'm a Chemist by trade, so I am used to following procedures / recipes rigidly. Simply tasting as I cook has taught me that recipes are better left in the lab. Taste! So simple.
Ryan McKern
My Ah-Ha moment came the first time I used a knife that wasn't from a garage sale or Walmart. Before that moment cutting food (much less cooking it) was always a chore; something done because it had to be, not because I wanted to. But from the first moment I used a real knife instead of a cheap stamped commodity knife I realized that while making dinner would always be work it didn't have to be hard work.
Jacquie Cattles
My aha moment was the first time I tasted an apple with brie wrapped in prosciutto. The apple that was both sweet & sour at the same time, the bitterness of the apple peel, the saltiness of prosciutto, and the creaminess (fat) from the cheese...That combination made me realize how wonderful the perfect balance of sweet, salty, sour, & bitter can be. Adding a bit of fat can add so much flavor & can be the difference between bland & just right.
Another aha moment was reading Ratio. Seriously, that book opened up a window to new recipes. Who knew that making bread, pancakes, naan, sauces, thickeners could be so easy. The app that goes with the book is simply a must have. I've bought numerous copies & given them away because it's that great.
Drew @ How To Cook Like Your Grandmother
When I want bacon bits for salad, or carbonara, I hate chopping hot, greasy bacon. It's messy and hazardous. Now I chop the bacon before cooking it. So much easier.
Mike
I had a simple ah ha moment. I was eating a piece of terrible pizza and to make it edible, I drizzled some olive oil on it. It gave it a warm, kind of nutty flavor. I never eat pizza without a little EVOO.
Emma C
I think my biggest a-ha! came when I realized how simple it can be to cook -- no recipes, no fancy techniques. The simple stuff will get you 99% of the way there for most home cooks.
Maggie Driscoll
My ah-ha moment was when my sister gave me a copy of "The Making of a Chef" (seriously). It changed my life. I became a caterer and have been making wonderful food ever since. I enjoy my life's work and I have a very appreciative client base as well.
Ross B
Definitely a tie between Brining and Ratios!
Alexander Deighton
21st Technique - cleaning up afterwards?
Sam
I can't remember if it was in Elements or in Ratio but one or the other mentioned to "rewet" stock bones (and make a second stock, or more of a broth really, with just new vegetables). I'd never thought of that. I'd never heard of that. I've been making my own stock for years but till that moment my homemade stock was so precious, something had to be deemed worthy or it got that canned paste instead. (Tortilla soup? Forget it, that's like 6 to 8 cups of stock, with the flavor of my delicate garden herbs obscured by chili powder.) Now though, my output is doubled, my stock is labeled with a "2" if it's "second stock" and something that's highly seasoned (or creamy enough from a puree, or, well, cream) gets the "2" stuff and the good stuff is for clear soups and sauces. It really changed everything. I had just bought a can of that paste when I read that too. I never opened it. I have never needed to again.
Attrill
What I love about cooking (and other interests I pursue) is that there are always a million "A-Ha" moments waiting to be found.
My most recent one was while reading Seven Fires by Francis Mallmann. I grill tomatoes regularly, and always make sure to get a bit of char on them - but I took one look at the photo of his burnt tomatoes and couldn't believe how much he burned them, and that he cooked them at such a high heat. I decided to give it a try and was blown away with how great they were (and I sprinkled them with Veal Salt of course).
Peter
Heat retention. Going from using a cheap aluminum pan to something with heft to retain heat made a world of difference in my cooking.
Kim Graves
My ah-ha moment: When I was first learning to cook poached and boiled preparations that I felt "needed something," I found that I didn't have to add the ingredient and then try it. I could smell the preparation and then immediately smell the proposed addition and let the smells combine in my nasal cavities to give me a good idea of what adding the ingredient would actually do do my dish. This way I could experiment with different proposed changes without actually changing the original. And then you can go wild and smell 2-3-4 changes at a time; e.g.: what would I get if I added thyme, sage and orange peel to my rabbit braise? This is not perfect, but it works surprisingly well.
simone
My a-ha moment was when I tried a recipe for roasted cauliflower. I grew up on frozen cauliflower and always thought I hated it. I thought that it was because it was frozen (and overly mushy), so I thought buying fresh and and steaming it for my family would be a huge improvement. I tolerated it but no one else liked it. Then I tried a recipe for roasting it--just a little olive oil, salt in a hot oven for about 30 minutes. Seriously yum! Pasta with roasted cauliflower is now my daughter's favorite meal, and honestly, we could probably finish off 3 heads of cauliflower between the 3 of us.
Sam Engelhardt
#21 Blanching. Kind of important.
Deanna
My "ah-ha" moment came after a trip to Belgium. While dining in the pretty village of Chassepierre, I ordered a salmon appetizer which was accompanied by a small portion of scrambled eggs. I liked scrambled eggs just fine, but I never thought twice about them. But *those* eggs! Those eggs were sublime! They were moist & creamy & ... luxurious. Months, even years later, I could not recall my entree, but I kept thinking about those eggs!
I tried over & over again to reproduce those fabulous eggs with my limited skills and by using ever more sumptuous ingredients -- butter, cream, pastured eggs -- yet I still made boring eggs. I concluded my lack of culinary skill was the issue and I'd only be able to enjoy such eggs again in a fine restaurant.
Some time later, I'm flipping through Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here for the Food" and I notice he suggests scrambling eggs in a make-shift double boiler. I had never heard of that method. I was skeptical, but what could it hurt to try one more time? Ah-ha! Would you believe it? I made *those* eggs! Those creamy, luxurious eggs! That was the moment I realized the importance of method.
These are Belgian scrambled eggs that started it all:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/p-h-o-t-o-l-i-f-e/1780810670
- - -
Is #21 fermentation / time?
Susie Bee
I think my most memorable ah-ha moment was tasting good quality salt on top of good quality dark chocolate, I've never looked back. 21st technique? How to open a bottle of wine before you start cooking?
Angie
My moment was when I realized making a mistake was a GOOD thing, even if the results were inedible. Once I started approaching kitchen time as a safe place to play around, to learn and to fail, I starting really enjoying myself and, go figure, my successes were that much better!
Nina
It was when I figured out that just a drop of soy sauce makes almost all savory foods better. It's not the sodium, but the added "umami" flavor (not that I knew that word when I made the discovery!). You name it: tomato sauce, soups, stews, steak marinade... it adds a depth of flavor that is difficult to replicate, with leaving any recognizable "Soy sauce" taste. It's my magic ingredient!
Sami
"Making of a Chef" changed the way I think about cooking. The Ah Ha moment was that instinct would not make me consistently turn out good food. I needed to learn the basics, the knife skills, the ratios, the theory. CIA was not in my future, but the ability to find what I needed was in books and on the net. I no longer cut myself because I have sharp knives. I no longer burn myself because I have learned to be more cognizant of what I am doing. I no longer (well very rarely) have something come out awful because I combined too many things. I learned you can't fudge when baking because it is a science. It all started a few years ago when I sat down on a summer Saturday and fell into "Making of a Chef". Thank you, Michael, you continue to be a great teacher.
Jill
My ah-ha moment was when I realized how dang delicious onions are if you add some heat to caramelize them. Not too exciting, but I'm always amazed at how this has changed my love for onions.
Jimmy Parks
My moment, without a doubt, was the first time I braised pulled pork in coffee and cider vinegar. The flavor imparted by coffee is spectacular and I now use it as my braising medium in a lot of dishes. My dry rub for ribs uses finely ground coffee and that is where it started.
Aaron
Going to toss a guess out there and say patience is the one not mentioned. Especially when it comes to results and people not getting what they want, when they constantly mess with their food while it is cooking.
Deanna B.
My most recent ah-ha moment was tasting perfect risotto (with smoke yams, an ah-ha in and of itself). It was a million times better than the risotto I made in Skills 1 and I am determined to replicate it.
graciecat
My ah-ha moment was probably when I realized that I could recreate flavors and dishes from restaurants that I thought were out of my reach. Simple things, like good homemade vinaigrette or fried rice, but still important.
Guess at the 21st technique - honestly I think the person who guessed Blanching might be correct but to have a different answer I will say Whisking/Mixing.
Annie
Ah-ha...making oatmeal while camping on the coast in Baja California 20 years ago (gasp!) and my friend showed me that adding just a little salt makes sweet things better- actually brings out sweetness and makes it more complex. Something I've used in almost everything I bake and cook since then..ah-ha, indeed!
trent
I used to think I didn’t like tomatoes, until I had them in Italy. I thought, “Aha, it turns out I like tomatoes, I just don’t like bland, mushy, lifeless store bough tomatoes.”
Steve
My ah-ha moment was the first time I cut an onion with a real chef's knife. I never realized how easy it was supposed to be. Until then I had relied on flimsy, lightweight, "never needs sharpening " (yet isn't exactly sharp to begin with) knives. From then on, only quality tools in my kitchen.
Durk
Ah-ha moment: Vanilla ice cream with olive oil and sea salt. This was the first time I truly experienced the way salt can transform a dessert or otherwise sweet food.
As for 21 -- courage -- what it takes to flip something in a pan, make a pie crust, try a new technique.
Kari
My moment was what brining can do to meat. It is amazing how much better it can be with a little brine.
Brian S
The big one was salt. I've always loved to cook but often wondered why my food and the food I was served at a nice restaurant were so different in depth of flavor. Then one day several years ago I was reading something that basically said the difference was salt. I began to season/salt/taste my food at every stage of cooking and the results were amazing! It took my cooking to a totally new level. It's amazing what a little rock can do!!
Jonathan
Scrambling eggs very slowly over low heat, as described in the Michel Roux book "eggs." Totally new ball game.
Steve
Hmm, the mysterious 21st kitchen technique. How about; how to stir up an appetite ? Hint, can be done while the chicken is roasting 😉 .
Kathy
My a-ha moment was when I was a kid and first saw my dad put salt on fruit. He usually salted watermelon, cantaloupe and apples lightly before eating them, and I thought he was crazy until I tried it myself. I was amazed by how much the taste changed (for the better) just by doing that. How can salt make something taste sweeter?! Fascinating.
Annalynn
I used to say that I didn't know how to cook, or cook very well for that matter. My ah-ha moment came when I realized that I started frying my own eggs on the stove before, or around, age 5, and I won the blue ribbon at my cooking/baking school for making a macapuno (young cocounut) roll which was served during my grandpa's birthday.
Rachel
My ah-ha moment came after making bread for the first time. I used four very basic ingredients (flour, water yeast and salt) and created something so much better than the sum of its parts. I haven't bought bread from the store since!
Erik
When I was twelve, my family and I drove from San Francisco to Toronto to visit two of my aunts. While at my Zia Regina's, my mother asked me to get something from the garage for her, and upon walking in, I was greeted with the most beautiful culinary sight of my life: from the rafters hung scores of salumi, a prociutto, some coppa, and other porcine delights. From that moment, I knew I would practice this craft myself.
Terrie
What comes to mind is a couple of years ago, the first time I tasted pasture raised, local pork. The flavor, texture, and even fat, were better than I could has possibly imagined. How had I spent my whole life eating supermarket pork and thinking it was good?
For 21...it has to be either "Enjoy" or "Family"
Melinda
My ah-ha moment was realizing that it was the umami flavor that made everything I loved so tasty. I now try and add that via balsamic, fish sauce, parm, tomato paste, etc. to all my main dishes and I've been much happier with my results.
ali
lots of aha moments in cooking, but how the correct use of salt in so many ways can transform a dish.
Natalie Luffer Sztern
crap i had such a good aha moment this past week...oh well donate my copy to someone special...my aha moment came via my inbox with several pics of my single daughter took pics of her making the same Arroz Con Pollo I made for while she was visitng..and w/o a recipe she did it...I swear I never knew she cooked
Karen Evans
My ah-ha moment came from reading Ratio. Knowing that I can make basically anything - especially when it comes to baking - just by knowing a few simple ratios (i.e., 321 pie crust and "Chicago" biscuits!) changed my life as a wannabe chef. Now I am fearless when it comes to baking. Knowledge is power! Even if I don't win your new book, thank you for Ratio and the "of a Chef" series. Truly inspirational!
Natalie Luffer Sztern
sorry my punctuation and syntax is an editor's nightmare
Tobi
Homemade chicken broth and homemade ricotta - both are simple to make and both make a world of difference in my cooking and baking. Heavy-bottom pots are my other ah-ha moment. I can now actually get that nice seared crust everyone talks about. How did I live without them for so long?
john
My aha moment came when I stopped trying to make famous chef X's version of a dish and started making MY version. I know how all of my tools and ingredients act in my kitchen.
Ed
My ah-ha moment occurred many years ago and it was about a very common and taken for granted food...the potato. Having eaten potatoes all my life, I was stunned when I first tasted heritage fingerling potatoes grown in Vermont. My wife and I looked at one another and said simultaneously, "so this is what a potato is supposed to taste like". A true revelatory moment!!
Sarah
I grew up eating my mom's Korean food, and I could never figure out how she could make a simple soup of (what looked to a young kid) just radishes taste so amazing. After I grew up, moved out, and started cooking for myself, I finally realized it was the onion, kelp, and dried anchovies. That subtle but crucial umami flavor is what I came to associate with my mom's cooking, and now I try to find ways to incorporate it into my regular cooking, whether it's using fish sauce, soy sauce, mushrooms, etc.
Peyton Polk
Last week, for my sons baseball game, i got together a whole group of books, food, old home ec books (i am a teacher..), true crime, what-have you, cause Lord help me baseball is so boring but if i have a book i can pretend Im involved.... and two of the books, and i bring a few, were The Soul of a Chef, and A Return to Cooking. and i am such a dork. i just put together that you wrote about Michael Symon years ago, and you are still writing, about everything, Eric Ripert, all kinds of things.. and i got to explain to my ten year old, who is my step son, and we dont share a lot, but we share a love for food, and i got to tell him "this is about micheal symon, and it was written a while ago, and this is michael symon now, you watch him with me, on Iron Chef..." and then to realize that the same author, you, put all that together, was an AHA moment for me. I felt very smart... but really, it was just me playing catch up. But I thought it was magic that you followed a now-popular chef before my son was even born, and you are still pointing the way to fabulous things in food. It was a nice moment that I wouldnt have had otherwise. and bringing families together over food..... thats really cool. thank you...
Jonathan
My ah-ha moment was realizing the simpler the cooking the better the dish. It's my goal in cooking nowadays.
Blake
It was a sweet potato soup with ginger, miso, and milk. I thought the combination would taste horrible. But it came together in a beautiful. I learned that you should really think about what each ingredient tastes like to make a good dish rather assuming milk will never go with Japanese ingredients.
Steve Culliton
Technique 21: Patience. Flavor moment: Fresh toasted corriander and toasted pepper ground together.
Ben
I had a fun ah-ha moment when sampling sorbet at a fresh and local ingredient only sorbet shop in the Bay Area.
They had many very interesting flavors, but the one that I really wanted to try was the coconut, thai basil, and lime flavor. It's like curry sorbet! Or so I thought... The flavors were really interesting, you could distinguish each one easily. But when taken in as a whole, it was immediately reminiscent of another flavor that I particularly loved... It took me a few tastes to get it (they made me buy a cup by then), but when I realized what it was, I was shocked. It tasted exactly like one of my favorite cheeses! A cheddar coated in espresso and lavender ("Barely Buzzed", it's called). The similarly is uncanny. My wife is familiar with the cheese as well, and I confirmed it with her. Such different ingredients coming to the same overall flavor profile - Food is just amazing.
Matt Ray
I grew up in a processed-foods household. My Nana, who lived in my hometown for a short time before her death, would regularly prepare spaghetti with a fresh tomato sauce, and I'm embarrassed to say that I never ate the stuff (it tasted nothing like master chef Boyardee's product). Now, fast-forward to my senior year in college. I roomed with a friend who prepared dinner one night for his girlfriend. He made extra and invited me to join them. I cannot remember what the main course was, but I was blown away by the side dish: canned corn...with fresh, diced jalapenos. One simple, fresh ingredient gave the sweet yellow corn a more savory, vegetal, and brighter taste! This simple side sparked an overall change in the way I viewed food. No longer did I simply need to steep dried Ramen noodles in hot water and add a seasoning packet for a complete (albeit tasteless) meal. Now, freshly-baked bread, a few slices of great cheese, and a simple salad with a quick vinaigrette are my equivalent to the drive-thru and Hungry Man meals of my past. I like to think that this simple side dish also reconnected me to my Nana's style of cooking, which I was too young and clueless to appreciate during her time on Earth.
Curt McAdams
One of several ah ha moments was the fist time I actually lt meat rest after taking it off the grill. I thought I'd had great steaks before but was surprised at what a difference such a simple thing as waiting made.
When you're in Chicago, try a great newish place in Logan Square called Longman & Eagle. I'm biased (my brother is a part owner and did much of the woodwork there and upstairs in the inn), but they do a great job of foods I think you'd really appreciate.
Eric Scott
My ah-ha moment -- the first time I incorporated all the techniques I'd read about (brining, prep, wood, temp control, etc) and smoked the best pulled pork I'd ever tasted - on my first time, no less. My wife had bought me a smoker for my birthday and now there's no turning back. I rarely go elsewhere now for BBQ.
A close second -- ratios. The awe-inspiring simplicity of it all really hits you right between the eyes.
Jenn
My aha moment was when I finally realized that I was able to multi-task in the kitchen with little fear that I would miss something...something that used to intimidate me. Now my son is very thankful that I can put a whole dinner on the table in less than 1/2 of the time that it used to take me. My mom has even given me compliments on how I've "grown up" in the kitchen.
Stephanie
Aha, you can make coffee at home!
Brian B
turning my steaks frequently during cooking and resting for a while off the heat. the first time i did it was the best steak i had ever cooked, and ever since it has yielded perfect results.
mary lynn
My ah-ha moment came years ago while making a stew. It was almost finished and it just tasted blah. I decided that it needed a little jazz, so I had just cut a lemon for salad dressing and I gave the stew a squirt of lemon juice. Couldn't believe the difference!
Twinkles
The moment I tasted my own homemade cheese for the first time. The idea that milk plus time plus bacteria could taste so good and be so simple to put into action was crazy. I now have a "cheese cave" and keep pushing myself to make more complex cheeses. There is something so satisfying in making something so beautifully simple and delicious. I continue to learn the benefits of patience which is my biggest struggle.
E. Nassar
Many years ago I was browsing the cookbook section at Barnes and Noble and I noticed a book by some young guy I never heard of. I'm sure you know him now: Jamie Oliver. He looked, and indeed was, my age at the time. I flipped through the book and he had all these recipes for homemade pasta and -shock!- fresh bread from scratch! I had previously been so intimidated with both of these items thinking they are the domain of the professionals and always avoided them. Something just clicked when I saw his book (his first one) and i simply just thought "WTF, if he can do it, then I can too...I can at least try". Now I have a family of my own and I cook and bake a lot with and for them. More importantly I make sure they always have freshly baked bread at home. The cool thing is that the "novelty" never wears off. It's almost like magic how flour and water transform into an impressive loaf or pizza with some time and yeast. It still impresses me and any guests I have. Same goes for tender homemade pasta. For that moment I'm eternally grateful to Mr. Oliver.
Becca CF
My a-ha moment came when I realized how you can apply the same cooking idea to many variations of the same dish. If you know a simple pancake recipe, then you have unlimited ways to actually make pancakes. I have found that it helps to be a little bit fearless as well when tinkering with a recipe because most of the time it doesn't end in complete disaster. It might just not be what you were looking for at first.
Nick
My biggest ah-ha moment in food was the first time i ate sweetbreads. Although I am a very adventurous eater, there was something off-putting about their name (sweetbreads are not, in-fact, a type of sweet bread), and being a student of medicine, I knew what they were before eating them. However, they have become one my favorite foods, not only to eat, but to cook as well. From the first moment i tried them i was awarded confidence to eat more delicious offal from then on.
oliver
the aha moment-
It happens all the time, and it's the realization that everything in the kitchen happens for a reason. Understanding those reasons and fundamentals that result in the physical and chemical changes that happen to food when we cook is the key to progressing from a recipe follower to actually learning how to cook. For me, "Ratio" was a big key that helped unlock a lot of mysteries behind things like batters, doughs, etc. and to illustrate the point that really knowing how/when to use your ingredients, no matter how simple, is the difference between mere sustenance and something special.
Tyler
My ah-ha moment would have been the first time I had a home garden grown, vine ripe, tomato that was still warm from my Grandparents garden, sliced thick on a piece of toast with a little mayo on the bread and salt and pepper. It was the first time I realized how good a "real" vegetable could be. Corn picked straight from the field would be a close second.
As far as the only technique not in the book . . . . I guess you'll have to send me a book so I know what 20 techniques you've included 😀
redpeace
Very strange. My comment doesn't appear any longer. Ah-ha moment was learning complex doesn't mean good. I still make an effort to simplify when it comes to seasoning and ingredients.
Paul
For me, while working in a fairly typical american restaurant one summer while in college, one of my many ah-ha moments was that a "fancy" pink sauce for pasta was traditional red sauce with cream added at the very end. It is my go-to sauce and has met with rave reviews and questions about "what I do" when I serve it.
The 21st technique is failure?
Joey Meicher
My ah-ha moment took place shortly after reading The French Laundry Cookbook. More so than the recipes, Thomas Keller, Susie Heller and you conveyed the finesse, attention to detail, and drive it takes to cook food at a level close to the food served at the French Laundry. I cook at a restaurant, and when I critique a dish I have made, I can say to myself, "Is this how they would have made it at The French Laundry?" An example is agnolotti, and the way I organize them on a sheet tray after cutting them; I line them up in perfect rows because that is probably what they do when they make the agnolotti at The French Laundry. The French Laundry Cookbook shows the importance of doing all the little things that may seem insignificant and the resulting dish that the cook can be very proud of because they refused to compromise or take shortcuts.
Trish
I think my ah ha moment would have to be not so much a cooking technique, but the realization I actually could cook. I never gave it much thought, going into the kitchen to whip some dinner or bake a cake. I just did it because I liked it and I'd been doing it since I was young. Then one day it hit me, that I was good at this. Now I don't just like to cook, I love it.
Joe
21: Experiment/don't always follow the recipe
A-ha - the first time I tasted duck confit at Lolita. I never really got out of my comfort zone when eating before, I just stuck to chicken/beef/pork and the normal cuts of meat. Once I tried duck confit it really opened me up to trying any kind of food prepared any way. Now if there is something out of the ordinary on a menu (skate wing, pig's ear, pig's head, etc.) I have to try it so I won't miss out on something else I may love to eat.
Jon in Albany
Until about 10 years ago, I was always just so-so on chocolate. While visiting a vineyard in Napa, I tried a hollow dark chocolate orb that was filled with Cabernet. It was an amazing pairing. I had no idea chocolate could be that good.
No chapter on Sous Vide? 🙂
Peter D
Last year I was lucky to have had lunch at The Fat Duck. For the opening course our waitress rolled a steaming dewar of liquid nitrogen to the table, took a charger from underneath the tabletop, and injected a puff of mousse into the liquid. A rounded meringue shell emerged and was dusted with matcha powder. I picked it up and placed it in my tongue. It was cold, and then it disappeared... And for the first time in my life I tasted nothing. The mousse had neutralized all flavor in my mouth. It was an unexpected epiphany, and a strange intersection of food and abstraction that changed the way I thought about food entirely.
jim clay
my ah-ha moment came when i was tasting a newly made batch of passion fruit ice cream, i grabbed a spoon and took a scoop of the ice cream, put it into my mouth without realizing that the spoon had been resting on a pile of chiffonaded basil. i just about spit it out, but then the flavors hit my tongue... a truly "food-porn" moment, that i have shared with countless others since then.
Erin Wilson
I've had so many a-ha moments since living on my own and cooking for myself and friends. I would say my biggest are twofold. In the larger sense, it's been how amazing, flavorful and filling vegetarian meals can be. Without having a large cut of meat to fall on for the main entree, I have been forced, happily, to experiment everyday with how to creatively use vegetables, fruits and grains. On a smaller scale, the first time I cooked Brussels sprouts for myself, making a small X in the base and blanching them, I was blown away by the sweet, buttery flavor. I couldn't believe I (and SO many others) had spent my life hating this gorgeous veggie.
erin
my ah ha moment came when i realized onions are really not that bad if you cook them or carmelize them and pair them with a few of your favorites. my husband is a big fan of meatloaf but putting onions in it was never an option until i came across a canjun meatloaf recipe. it had several other veggies in and and i never even tasted those creepy little onions, needless to say they have managed to sneak their way in to many other recipes in our home, including homemade pasta sauce!
Erin Wilson
Missing technique-- Mise en Place?
Michael Kahn
My a-ha moment: getting distracted for a moment while cooking steaks on an iron skillet, and returning to find beautiful browning. That taught me that I needed the patience to leave my food well enough alone while it cooks. There's no need to constantly poke, prod, and stir (unless you're doing a stir-fry). It only holds food back from all it could be. After that a-ha moment, I had the confidence to let nature take its course in the pan without fear, with delicious, Maillard-inspired results.
Michael Kahn
For the 21st technique: if the first is "think" (ie, use your head), then the last might be "love" (ie, use your heart).
JB in San Diego
I'll go with knife skills as the 21st technique. Chop, mince, crush, julienne, brunoise, supreme, butcher, de-vein, slice, dice, score, sharpen!
Patrick Barringer
My ah ha moment came when the importance of using pans that retain heat was pointed out to me. So simple, yet so important.
Keith
Technique #21:
Although it goes hand-in-hand with #1 Think -
I think the most important thing is...
Taste!
Julie
For the 21st technique I'm going to say "Taste". Tasting is definitely an acquired skill as I'm sure my husband will attest.
As for my Ah-ha moment in cooking -- I have to say pan searing fish. When I was young, it seems that most home cooks -- my mother included -- only baked fish. When I took out a pan and seared my first piece of fish, I was amazed at the difference in taste and texture. A skill worth knowing.
Rob S.
I think my moment came a couple of years ago, when I realized that I didn't need to obey the letter of the recipe as law. Substituting ingredients was not only possible, but often an improvement!
Mrs. Scrimp
My a-ha moment was when I was 12. My mom taught me how to make a roux. Sprinkling flour into hot butter, stirring, and watching it magically transform into a thick, delicious sauce was totally revolutionary and I've been devoted to cooking ever since.
Laurel
I think my a-ha moment was when I first got a decent set of cookware and good knives. I liked cooking before but had no idea how much easier and precise it would be with quality tools! I was much more eager to experiment after that.
Mario Capozzoli
After culinary school here and abroad, and years of restaurant work, I finally figured out how to use water--yes H20--in my recipes. Watching Jaques use it to thin, to add gloss, to enhance texture, to expand the flavors of herbs...the use of water is endless...and we tend not to include it much as an active ingredient ...(other than use it as a cooking technique).
Brett
I have two a-ha moments.
The first is the use of a sweet component in savory dishes. Just enough to round out the flavor. I tend to use honey in many savory dishes or sauces just to add a little something that most people can't quite put their finger on. I don't use too much, as I don't want to sweeten the dish, but like your example of a drop of vinegar to completely change the character of the flavor profile, a drop or two of honey can do the same for savory flavors.
The second has to do with water content in breads. Having tested several different bread recipes, ratios, and techniques, I have come to the conclusion that the best breads are the product of many things, one of which is a nice wet dough. The ability to keep your dough at just that point of not being sticky, but also not being "dry" is important for best results from fermentation and air pockets in the finished product. It takes some getting used to to handle a wetter dough, but makes a huge difference in the end result.
Lonnie
My Ah-Ha was learning to use carry-over heat to my advantage in bringing all the components of a dish together at the same time as well as providing rest time for my proteins.
You left out a chapter on BBQ, you did include grilling, but BBQ is a whole different beast!!!
Joel Mitchell
My slowly developed "ah-ha": Most iconic dishes around the world are poor-folk food: Meals made from scraps & bits & leftovers. When I'm cooking at home, I've learned to identify what each "traditional" ingredient contributes (herbs, acid, etc) and just make do with what I have.
Mo Lisi
My ah-ha moment was a taste memory flash back to a series of events with my grandparents. I was picking my tomatoes in my little container on my apartment stoop, tasted one and it all came back to me: my nonno handing me one in the field, my nonna letting me crank the tomato press, canning them with my other grandmother, making sauce with my grandpa for his restaurant. It is the planting, the reaping, the alchemy and the sharing of food that move me. The gestalt that led me to become a chef professionally, feed people great food with gusto and share with my students. Not just an ah-ha but an aaah!
Robert S.
My "Ah ha" moments.. using a cherry pitter on fresh lychees. Learning to eat kiwis without peeling them, opening up a mangosteen without a knife, waiting until a passion fruit is super wrinkling when precise ripeness occurs, opening up a Sweet young coconut with a Young Coconut Punch tool (instead of a screw driver and hammer), using papaya as a meat tenderizer, and peeling a pomegranate under water.. pulp rises and seed fall to the bottom of a bowl.
Holly
I've had so many ah-ha moments that I can't even count them. If I had to pin point the biggest one it would have to be the one that was probably the catalyst for them all. It was just after I left home, about a year after high school, when all the shopping and eating decisions were mine and there was so many more choices (moved from small town with one grocery store to 'big' city) and all the choices were mine. Not did I not have to eat the same old things, but I didn't have to prepare them the old ways either! Seems basic, but for a small town girl of 19 back in the mid-nineties, that was quite the revelation.
Jason
My biggest ah-ha moments came awhile ago. The first was learning that pasta should be finished in the sauce. Second was learning to use quality/in-season/fresh ingredients, especially fresh herbs.
Patrick Dennis
Cooking eggs and home fries with a dollop of saved bacon grease... "A ha!"
Sherri Steiner
A ah-ha moment for me was when I tasted a lemon topped raspberry pie. I wouldn't have thought to put those 2 flavors together. It was deelish!
David Goldberg
My 'ah-ha' moment came when I first saw that crazy video for 'Take On Me'.
But seriously folks - it was when I read Kitchen Confidential and realized that cooking with soul and being a celebrity chef are two different things.
Cheryl in Lyon
Ran out of beef bouillon and realized that marmite/vegemite could be used for the umami element -- no one I know likes the stuff, most hate it, but no one has ever been able to pin it down as my 'secret ingredient'.
The other one (and I didn't want to put this as my main one for fear of looking like a kiss-up, lol) was the whole "Is something missing and you can't figure out what it is? Add vinegar" revolution!
Thanks!
Brian G.
I can think of two Ah-ha moments:
1. Learning to season and salt as you cook. Growing up, my mom would salt (exactly the amount the recipe called for) just before serving. It wasn't until years later that I tasted food at a friends that had been seasoned as it was cooked, truly developing an amazing depth of flavor on simple ingredients I never would have imagined.
2. Second big moment was was learning to let meat rest. After eating well-done steaks for years off my dad's Weber, I eventually learned to appreciate steaks and meat that weren't cooked to the consistency of charcoal. Despite having unbelievable meat at restaurants for years, I couldn't figure out how I kept overcooking my meat. Once I learned to let the meat rest after taking it off the grill, I have truly mastered grilling steaks on my Weber at home.
Dru
kale, made into the base for a salad, by adding brown rice vinegar and letting it rest..changed my world and relationship with dark green leafy things.
Maneesha
My Ah-Ha moment came a when my daughter said, "Why can you not make the picture in the book?" Once I started trying new recipes and getting out of my comfort zone, it just got better from there.
Janis
My epiphany was realizing that it took only a few ingredients to make one of the best leg of lamb I ever had. It was a compound butter made with anchovies and garlic and shoved in slits in the leg of lamb. Transcending.
Kris P.
One of my ah-ha moments came after subscribing to a farmer's co-op. Fresh, local produce every week to the tune of an entire tote bag+ worth. What to do with a handful of ground cherries? How about the three enormous cucumbers? Or the pound and a half of peppers? When faced with a bevy of a single ingredient get creative... make a sauce, make a dressing, make a chutney, make a soup, add it to bread, blanche and salt, or go the raw route. I learned the power of preservation and application.
Tasha
My A-ha moment was moving out and discovering the world beyond my mom's small town / limited menu. I could never get over my first taste of goat cheese & strawberries.
Pigflyin
My ah-ha moments was my introduction to proper canned tomatoes. Never understood the appeal of tomato sauce until I had dinner at a Italian friend's parents place. Garlic, tomatoes, olive oil and pasta. Easily the best meal ever.
I didn't realize what a good product they can be. I always thought that "fresh from supermarket" is better than canned. But the "fresh tomatoes" from supermarket was never this good! In understanding why, I slowly learn more about food.
how supermarket able to store green product and force ripe them. that's how come I got apples all year round!
How there are supermarket variety that looks good on shelf but taste nothing like it.
How canning and preserving are part of our civilization - evolve from the need of food in winter and the lack of refrigeration. Canning at the peak of ripe tomatoes is actually a good thing.
I learn about seasons and rotate food across the year...save me money too!
The next summer after the "tomato incident", I help with canning the tomatoes my friend grown and my obsession with food just grows from there.
Polly Crowninshield
I love your new book and will be giving it to my three grown children for their upcoming birthdays...leaving me without one...hence the need for one. An Ah Ha moment came to me recently in Sardinia when I had spaghetti with Bottarga...the spaghetti was cooked to perfection, and the Bottarga was incredible! I had never experienced it before, but knew I'd love it after a description that Mario Batali gave of it on his show one day.
. A technique that I use in my kitchen several times every week is...fermentation! I make my own yogurt, creme fraiche, kimchee and pickles...I way prefer the taste of my own yogurt made with organic non ultrapasturized whole milk...and making kimchee is awesome! I'm happy to tell you more if you're interested.
Brad
I've had so many moments I don't know which to pick.
I guess the most recent was learning how easy it is to source food from local growers. I live in a fairly rural area, and there are loads of small farms around here that you would never even notice unless you started talking to people. It doesn't even have to be expensive. I often barter rather than buy. I trade a jar of mayo for a dozen eggs, or get peppers free if I dehydrate some for the farmer as well. I've got one lady that will give me three pounds of tomatoes for a pint of ketchup.
It all started as a way to get cheap produce, and share the things I make. The a-ha moment was something that I didn't expect.
It was the realization that these are people that love food just as much as I do. Food is more than what you put on a plate. It's also the people that produce it, and often times those people will surprise you with their willingness to share.
Now when I make mayo, or ketchup, or gazpacho, I don't just see the ingredients. I see the people that produced them.
Jered G.
My a-ha moment was when I was cooking an intricate recipe and got way behind, the food in the pan was cooking faster than my knife could cut up the rest of the necessary ingredients. I had to take the pan off the heat to finish my prep and realized, this is why the books tell you to prep in advance, things'll go smoother when you get to cooking if everyine done ahead of time.
Chris
I've been mixing Manhattans at home for years, so it was a shock the first time I used good orange bitters. They really deepened the flavors of the cocktail and made it so much better!
Steven Sexauer
My Ah Ha moment was when I discovered that techniques would change my cooking forever, like using a pinch of baking soda in a tomato dish to remove the acidity and bring out the sweetness (thank you James Beard). No longer did I have to labor over recipes one at a time, I was now free to mix and match and to draw from past experiences and to choose how I would create. I now thought of my creations as art, I was not just a top 40 cover band.
Derek
My a-ha moment was the first time I made a pan sauce. I was cooking from "How to Cook Without a Book" and made a pan sauce using red wine and dijon mustard. The final flavor blew me away. I had no idea I could make something that good myself. Sadly, I've never been able to get that recipe to come out so spectacularly well, but I've been chasing that feeling ever since. That one night's dinner showed me that I could make extraordinary food. Every time I cook now, I get excited by just the possibility that I am cracking the code to something special. I also feel like I got a glimpse into a world of better food that I had no idea was out there. That flavor combination was unlike anything I'd ever tasted before. I want to find more flavors like that!
Nancy Sussan (@NancySussan)
I've been cooking pretty much all my life and it's never been hard for me, so I'm not sure I've had one of those let the light dawn sort of cooking epiphanies because it's all taste, consider, say hmm what if.... But in life there are some moments of serene and perfect beauty and I did have one of those. I was at a cooking demonstration class watching Alice Medrich make desserts. She had a chocolate cake on a metal turntable and was about to glaze it. She poured some glaze on top and gave the turntable a little spin. One touch with her spatula was all it took and voila, the cake was glazed. It was gaspingly perfect, like an elegant dance move. The spatula might as well have been a magic wand waved over the cake. I will never forget the thrill of seeing that mastery in action.
Shannon
I'm still working to have more ah-ha moments, but the one that stands out for me was when - after several frustrating attempts to make "perfect" sugar cookies - I finally sat down and watched Alton Brown's sugar cookie episode from Good Eats. I'd always been making grandma's cookie recipes, but they were slightly different than what she made. The ah-hah was regarding how something as simple as temperature effects the dough and the baked goods. First - the temperature of the butter: when Grandma would make chocolate chip cookies, she'd always remembered to leave her butter out to let it soften. I would forget and would heat it up in the microwave - often mixing it in when it was rather hot. The cookies would always turn out much flatter than how she'd make it. (my family actually prefers them flatter, ironically) Second: Alton showed me that chilling the dough before rolling them out and/or cutting them would help them keep their shape (instead of the massive globs I'd been turning out). It made ALL the difference. I'm very excited to read your book to discover more ah-has that will change the way I prepare food!
Dave
My favorite 'ah ha!' moment was years ago; I'd decided to take a gamble on my enthusiasm for home cooking and make a career change, trading in a pretty cushy desk job for the heat, noise and near-chaos (so it seemed, anyways) of the commercial kitchen.
I'd started learning from the bottom up and worked my way up to getting a spot on saute' - after a quick orientation (a bit more than, "Here you go", but not much), I was on my own on a Saturday night.
And it was busy. Monumentally busy. Printers running non-stop, the buzz of the kitchen reaching a dull roar, the temperature climbing sky-high. And I did it; well, I survived anyways. I wouldn't get even halfway good at it until later.
But that night, when the last table was pushed out and the pass cleared, I stood for a moment, looking at the aftermath of my station and had my "Ah ha!" moment. Having busted my ass all night, I felt....fantastic. Victorious. I was right where I belonged. And I've never forgotten that moment--it reminds me, on those days that I need a little reminder, of why I do this for a living.
Todd Wilson
My a-ha moment came during a James Brown concert in Tennessee. I was an extremely picky eater-- pizza, burgers, chicken, repeat. I was eating a sad excuse for a pizza, and my wife was devouring sweet&sour chicken. I finaly broke down and tried it...and loved it. Now, i seek out the oddest foods and make two hour meals routinely.
Jen
As a national level competitive athlete, I was very focused on healthy eating which meant very lean protein from childhood throughout my college years. It wasn't until 2 years after I stopped competing that I discovered how absolutely fantastic fat tasted. Not just the deliciousness of animal fat in a steak or cut of pork, but also the smooth luscious mouth feel of a great olive oil or high quality butter. I've never looked back!
Janell Dirksen
My ah-hah moment is silly but I thought I'd share it anyway. For those of us that are "oh so hungry" and always in a hurry for the rice to finish- what do we do? We sneak in the kitchen and turn that little knob slighly to the right...just a little more heat won't hurt, right? WRONG. I finally had my ah-hah moment when I opted to let my chicken cook on low ... and the ah-hah came when I cut in to it... Chicken is actually moist? OMG. I felt like an idiot but at least I don't overcook everything know and have learned that patience provides much better tasting food.
Brian V.
My ah-ha moment was when i finally learned how to use and time a wok correctly, i.e. cooking meat first, then veggies, then sauce, then meat back in. Turns out it was all in the mise en place. Once i had everything ready to go, it all went like clockwork, i turned out my first batch of delivery style chow mein. But it tasted way better.
Also the first time i did pan seared steak, and it came out like a restaurant. A bunch of smoke, and a finish in the oven. Still my fav.
Anne Latham
My "a-ha" came fairly recently, when I developed Celiac Disease and had to give up gluten.
Guess what my superpower is.
Yep, it's baking. I was the queen of gluten-y goodness.
My great-grandmother taught me how to bake, and her technique involved a great deal of simply knowing how things were supposed to feel, whether dough, meat, vegetables. It was all about touch and texture.
None of that works with gluten-free baking.
My first loaf of gluten-free bread was cover photo gorgeous.
It crumbled into dust the minute a knife touched it.
The next one didn't look so good. Didn't taste so good, either.
There was the sourdough oat bread. Just in case anyone is wondering, 20% oat flour by total volume is probably excessive. There are also reasons why you never see the words "sourdough" and "oats" used together.
I was ready to give up and try a mix.
Then I remembered Marcel (? last name ?) and Richard Blaize (?) on Top Chef. Actually the chefs they regarded as heroes . . .
I started reading about Ferran Adria, Wylie Dufresne, and the other molecular gastronomy chefs.
The "a-ha" was in the importance of technique. These chefs were doing amazing things with food, simply by knowing the techniques to make it behave.
Enter xanthan and guar gums, gelatin, etc.
For me, that "a-ha" of specific technique leading a dish changed my entire perspective, both of myself as a cook and gastronomy in general. While I was almost stumbling along in the dark before, now I know exactly how to do what I want, and it becomes a matter of matching the right ingredients to the technique I want to use. The possibilitiea are infinite.
And I am a much better cook because of it.
Although in all fairness to Marcel, I have never found a moment when it seemed appropriate to use a foam. 😉
Bob Y
My aha moment came the first time I cooked 'for real.' It was in Julia's first book and the recipe was Chicken Livers in White Wine sauce. When the recipe called for stirring in a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce, it actually thickened right before my eyes. I have cooked 'for real' ever since.
Scott Davis
I've been cooking for so long and had so many moments it's hard to choose. One of my very early ones though was when I labored for hours, made my own chicken stock and then followed the directions in Joy of Cooking to clarify it and serve it as consommé with just a very few tiny pieces of vegetable. It was heaven in a cup.
Aidan Kennedy
For me, a big 'ah-ha!' moment was learning to step away from the guidebook and think on my feet - in my case, it was making steak au poivre with just a cursory glance towards a recipe, and not the obsessive over-attention I was heretofore married to. A simple step, but an exciting moment for a young cook!
Eric G.
For years (since a trip to Vietnam) I have been adding Vietnamese fish sauce to savory dishes, especially braises, stews, tomato based sauces. My partner doesn't like it and would protest it's addition so I would always sneak it in. She loved it and never realized it was there. When I saw your post on a baked beef and pasta dish, and noticed that you listed fish sauce, I finally stopped feeling like a weirdo and admitted to her that I was putting it in. So I guess my Aha moment was when you validated my use of smelly fermented fish guts in my osso bucco and bloody marys.
Nancy
Ah-Ha, back off and they will learn and grow (my kids and my cooking from cook books! :))
cybercita
I would have to say the first time I used a Microplane zester. When I saw those beautiful, delicate shards of lemon peel floating off the grater and directly into the cookie dough, I wanted to cry from happiness.
Tricia C
My aha moment came when I was a Peace Corps volunteer living in Morocco. I hadn't learned to how to cook Moroccan food yet and was making what I was used to, from home. My roommate looked at it and said, "All your food is beige!" She was right! With her help (she's from West Texas) and with a newfound love of Moroccan food, my cooking has never looked back!
Nicole Price
My "A Ha" moment was the first year I cooked a Thanksgiving Turkey for my new husband and his parents. I don't think I had ever had anything but jarred gravy, and I was still learning how to really cook. I put the roaster on the stove top while it roasted, deglazed the pan, and... and... the gravy was just about the most delightful thing I had ever made. I think my father in law's eyes rolled into the back of his head!
Nicole Price
*rested* not roasted... :-/
Melissa B
My "aha" moment may seem a little pedestrian, but I had made a White Chicken Chipotle Chili that tasted surprisingly bland until a simple squeeze of lime brightened up the flavors and made the chili pop.
Warren
I was a vegetarian most of my college years. This was a time when I really learned to cook and appreciate food. It was through this appreciation that I felt I respected animals enough to begin eating meat again. Ever since I've been discerning and appreciative of everything I eat.
Barbara
I've had more than a few aha moments since I began cooking professionally 10 years ago, that's for sure. But the one that stands out as the most life-changing happened last summer. My partner and I planted our first garden and one night I picked our first harvest of green beans, carried them into the house and gently steamed them, then served them drizzled with just a touch of butter and a bit of salt and pepper. I was BLOWN AWAY by their flavor. Nothing, nothing had ever tasted that good to me before! Once you've tasted food that fresh, especially if you grew and pampered it yourself, your life is changed forever. My thoughts about food changed, ideas about preparation blossomed and a passion was born that day!
Patrick Hollinger
My aha moment came when I added salt to the top of ice cream with caramel... brilliant
Adam LS
Nothing radical, but my "aha" was the realization that I needed to invest time and money in upgrading my equipment. As a college student, my bias was toward spending that money on better ingredients, but buying better knives, pans, etc. has been worth it many times over, even if it means eating more simply for a bit as a result.
Eric
Several years ago, my uncle, an immigrant right off the spaghetti boat, gave me two small fig trees that he had potted from cuttings from his several decade old trees.
All that work, and all I could think about was the work to plant prune, wait and really, who likes figs anyway?
Took two years for trees produce. the first purple sweet sticky gorgeous bite was divine. But the jam that comes from those trees, that was defining. Delicious, but it came from OUR trees... Through OUR efforts....from OUR Family... OUR history... OUR food...
Ah freaking ha...
Arlene
This is such a hard question to answer because I still feel like I'm learning and changing my attitude in the kitchen with every meal I make....the day I realized I could recognize when I'd kneaded dough correctly, the day I noticed the difference of homemade pasta from boxed dried pasta, the happy accident of subbing in lamb for pork sausage and suddenly riffing on a dish that's now become a regular in my kitchen, and so on and so forth. It's all been a wonderful journey.
nossi @ The Kosher Gastronome
I was reading On food and Cooking, and was reading about bread, and there wasn't a recipe in sight, and all Harold McGee said was different percentages on what would make bread...kind of like a ...ratio! It was one of those moments where I said to myself: I don't need a recipe? I can just use a scale, and one bowl? Nuh uh...let's give it a try...and it worked! Craziness right?
Well not to give an unnecessary plug, but since then I've found your book, and it's only helped, but I have to credit my ah ha moment to Mr McGee (as are most of my ah ha moments in the kitchen...like where the names avocado and vanilla come from?! wouldn't call it an ah ha moment per se, but a pretty cool kitchen fact...)
Michael
My "a ha" moment came when I finally realized the importance of the food I have been eating all my life. Being from the south and growing up on the southern staples I took for granted the cultural as well as culinary importance of the food from my region of the country. I now have a new love for the food I grew up on and a sense of place in my cooking that was missing before.
Cathy White
I had an aha moment while sitting next to you at a dinner prepared by John Neumark at Serafina in Seattle. My brother Chris was regaling you with tales of the fabulous Octo-dog and you appeared mesmerized by his descriptions of various Octo-ciooking techniques. I thought to myself "what a guy." Chris' b-day is next week and it would be great to have a signed copy for him.
Isabel
I love baking. When I was finishing college, I decided that since I loved pies so much, I should become a skilled pie-maker. So I began experimenting. Since then, three "a-ha" moments stand out (good and bad).
The first was when I was attempting a strange mixture of Caramel & Butterscotch pie. I love home-made caramel, and I love the taste of butterscotch. So I thought: great! This should be a fantastic-flavored pie. Adding nuts or making it a layered pie would have been the way to go. But I decided to make it a caramel and butterscotch ONLY, and thus, the result (obviously!) was disastrous. Let's just say, there's a reason why caramels are sold in small little squares. A whole piece of pie like that is way too rich to eat! (First note to self: the pie baker should learn to layer and mix ingredients in proper proportions)
The second "a-ha" moment came about due to practice and technique. I was making a Layered Banana pie. It was to have a delicious crunchy layered (butter-brickle), a sweet and soft cream layer, the fruit (bananas), and a topping (nuts/whipped cream). The recipes I was following mostly all called for stirring the sweet cream non-stop for about 8-10 mins. under low heat and adding certain ingredients in the middle of it, then refrigerating it, and keep stirring it every 20 mins. until the consistency is just right. Yet, after doing this pie several times, the consistency was never the same! So, after making the cream over and over again, I've discovered, it is actually a mixture of temperatures, good timing, and good eye to get the perfect cream texture. Now, I know how high I can go in my temperature, how much I should stir, when I should remove the cream from the fire and when to best add spices and additional flavors for making the perfect cream! It's all about practice and looking at what the different processes do to whatever you're baking! (Second note to self: know the processes that work best for what you're trying to achieve, use my eyes as much as my taste buds)
Finally, the third "a-ha" moment, came about when I was doing a simple butter crust, but I wanted to use it in a layered Chocolate Chiffon pie, and I wanted it to be able to heightened the Chocolate flavor rather than just be a flat base cookie for it, which is what I felt it was. So, I prepared extra flaky butter crusts, but instead of using only water or eggs to put it together, I tried one with Amaretto, one with Grand Marnier, and one with thick rich vanilla. This simple, yet effective crust change made me realize I could combine my Chocolate chiffon with another layer of almond, orange, vanilla, or any other flavor that would complement the chocolate, and make my crust match that flavor. It is a simple small change, but it makes the biggest difference, because the crust does not necessarily need to be JUST a basic crust. (Third note to self: little details, flavors, variations, can go a long way. Experimentation on every piece of the pie is of dire importance!)
And yet, 5 years later, I still find myself learning all those little things that can propel my pies from 'good' to 'awesome'.
Matthew
21st technique: Taste.
Lou Iorio
Fresh pork, as in watching the pig get butchered and bringing half of it home. The difference between that and supermarket pork is astounding.
dee es
I learned about the importance of acid while living in Mexico. Most everything had a perfect balance of acid, fat and salt. My favorite manifestation was al pastor tacos with the sweet acid of pineapple, the savory fat of pork and the salty spiciness of the chile mix.
But, since acid was Ruhlman's example, I'll give a more recent one that has more in common with Proust's madeline than Ruhlman's twenty. The other day I ran out of cinnamon, which I usually add to my morning oatmeal along with honey. Instead I used coriander and brown sugar. It tasted *exactly* like the Flintestone's Fruity Pebbles my parents would never buy me as a kid. I thank them now for the custodial attitude they took toward my adolescent diet, but I've been enjoying my revelation for the past two weeks.
MrsNumbles
My ah-ha moment was when I really started updating and maintaining my spice cabinet, and keeping an eye on what herbs are freshest in the market. My entire kitchen repertoire expanded! It's become so much easier to cook my favorite ethnic dishes. And don't get me started on the baking....!
Cale
Great idea having all of these people share their own 'Ah ha's!" I'm Ah ha ing the whole way through.
I started brewing beer about 6 years ago. I have a 5 gallon gravity setup in my garage. My hot water tank is a stainless steel 7 gallon pot that has a stainless steel ball valve in the bottom.
So I had saved about 4 chicken carcasses and HAD to get some stock made. So I made a huge batch and this 7 gallon pot was the only thing I had to fit this much stock in. When the stock is finished all you have to do is give it a few minutes, Let the fat rise to the top, turn on the valve at the bottom and, Ah-ha! Almost no skimming! I let the stock run through a strainer lined with a cheese cloth and into another vessel. Just turn the valve off just before the fat reaches the valve at the bottom of the pot.
Of course you don't have to have a 7 gallon pot, you can use any size. All stock pots should have a valve in the bottom.
Brad
My aha moment: slow roasting and eating a leg of mutton from a ewe we had slaughtered the day before. First, that mutton was delicious, superior to lamb. But the real aha was that all of the fat we trimmed off of it was the key to the flavor - so we put it back on, in strips, to render out all over the meat. So that's my guess for your missing technique - learn to love and use fat. Not sure if the butter chapter covers that or not.
marnie
When I realized you're supposed to cook the french toast in the bacon fat. a-ha!
Dave B
I had an ah-ha moment in Catalonia with the use of salt after the cooking has been done. The staple pan con tomate--toasted bread rubbed with fresh tomato--was brought with a side of olive oil and coarse salt to dress it immediately before eating, to one's own preference. It was amazing how many different tastes were possible just by varying the amounts of each, by applying one before the other, by allowing the oil or salt to integrate a little with the tomato, or by eating a bite right after the salt had been applied. I had a similar experience with a garbanzo and sausage stew served with dressings of vinegar and the same coarse salt.
Seasoning is important, I was reminded, but so is timing. Salt at the beginning is one thing, salt at the end is completely different. One of the great food pleasures available is a fresh sliced tomato eaten right after sprinkling it with a bit of kosher salt. The tomato bread showed recognition of that which would be lost if it had been completely salted in advance. So, I've started looking for those possibilities to use salt, fat, and acid at the end, tasting more things as I cook with that in mind, and it's like a new door has been opened. Oh--and the people you cook for love it when you show the faith in them, for example, to salt their own tomato bread. 🙂
Ryan
The best part being a professional cook is the ah ha's that happen everyday. I think this feeling should be a regular one, necessary for progression.
Finally understanding something for the first time that you've been doing forever, like browning meat before you braise it or proofing bread before you bake it. It's learning why we do what we do.
Yet thee other I received a big ah ha that has been brewing for awhile. I got my copy of Mission Street Food book in the mail. I've followed them for awhile and to be able to read their whole story and concepts and beliefs was inspiring. It reaffirmed and open my eyes even wider to the idea of community and taking part in it and giving back to it. Ah ha! I'm doing what I am truly passionate about and I can use it to give back to my friends and family and to my whole community.
Teresa
not so much great lightning bolt A-HAs, but a whole bunch of little ones lately as I try to broaden some of my cooking skills lately, many of which would seem like "duh" to others. The difference with adding vanilla bean instead of just using extract. That there's more than just all purpose wheat flour our there - there's different styles of wheat flour AND different types of flour that don't come from wheat. That a lil microplane zester could be so much fun & add so much flavor (talked my best friend into getting one to play with too).
still learning & looking forward to new lil a-ha moments each day
Mary Beth
I grew up in a home with two good cooks. Dad covered the meats, some German/Polish-American dishes, and thrift cooking (ask us kids about his Saturday night "pepper pots"!) Mom gave us homey Italian dishes learned from her mother and aunts. She also extolled the virtues of garden fresh, seasonal cooking. My four sibs and I all grew up knowing how to cook and most of us can do some pretty good baking, too.
But something about the thrift cooking must have struck a particular note with us because, it came to me one day, if someone were to check the contents of our freezers, they would find stock or soup broth in each and every one of them. Oldest brother has good old chicken broth; middle brother has beef and chicken stock; sister has lobster and shrimp stocks, as well as a nice lamb broth she is saving for a risotto; youngest brother has beef, chicken, veal, lamb, and fish stocks. I have broths made from oxtails, as well as chicken, turkey, and duck. I also have a lovely veggie broth made from broccoli, green beans, potatoes, and pasta water. And garbanzo bean cooking liquid. And ham broth.
After separate conversations one day with two of my sibs about what we were all cooking, I just started laughing. I realized that making stock/broth had come up in both conversations. And that at some point, all five of us had recently each spoken of making stock! What are the chances, ya think?
Dana V
#21: presence/awareness/paying attention
suguna
AHA moment was when i made a genoise. oh the eggs getting whipped up and up and up!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Madonna
The kitchen scale; the product is the same every time. Now I am never sure why chefs suggest a scale when they should insist. My level of baking just jumped to a new level. It was more than ah-ha moment – it was an epiphany.
Thanks for all the good info you share with us. I have been watching your friend Chef Symon on his new show. He is an excellent teacher (if the rest would just be quiet while he is telling us the good stuff.)
Thea Lornie
Only having just started culinary school I have had a lot of these ahha moments. Everytime I learn to put something together or make something I think is going to be awful that turns out more than fantastic, and my insane ability to keep trying to reach perfection with something as simple as my cuts. My best ahha moment as of late though was when I was sitting in a room full of foodies and not only could relate to what they were talking about but could teach THEM and correct them about some of the things they were talking about and add to their conversation. It was one of those moments where everything I've learned in the last few months came bubbling up and I couldnt' stop talking because I was so excited to have reached that area in my brain that all of that information is storing. It made me feel good and reminded me once more (not that I need it) why I love food and cooking and my soon to be career 🙂
Your recipes are bold and works of art and you have some damn good technique sir. 🙂
Brian Matheson
My aha moments are usually mistakes in the kitchen, because they really hone in my technique. But I do have some true learning moments that are founded in success. This weekend, I taught my younger brother to make bread. He's made bread before, but always by mixer. This time, our hand was forced because I was refrigerating cookie dough (the old NY times/Jacques Torres recipe from a few years back). So I dumped the flour onto the table, made a well, and forced him to knead by hand.
Needless to say, the convenience of a mixer or kitchenaid has made me forget the feel of dough. The difference between feeling what you are working with, knowing how much water you need to add, and then realizing what makes the finished product, makes a huge difference in how you translate that to the mixer bowl. These are big, perceptible differences that are sometimes lost when using the mixer.
Kirsten
I feel like Rule 21 is Spice-and the reason you left it out of this book is that is such a HUGE topic, that your next book will be on it!
My aha moment came many years ago at Charlie Trotter's. We were eating at the "kitchen table" and the pastry chef came up with a dessert on the fly based on the dessert wine our table chose. It was the first time I had ever really understood the how wine can bring out the best in food and vice versa. Still my number one meal ever.
Jeanne in Toledo
I was very young. I was out at my grandfather's farm, and as we were walking thru the fields, he picked up a small tomato, brushed it off, and popped it into my mouth. That gorgeous, sunwarmed, acidic, yet sweet flavor was so unlike what I was used to in our "big city" grocery stores - it fueled my interest in eating "close to the land". We had a garden the next year, and every year I lived at home my entire life! I still try to shop locally and use minimally processed foods in my cooking...and I can still taste that tomato if I close my eyes and concentrate!
Ben
Growing up in mid-Ohio, I most of the fish I tasted as a kid was pretty terrible. I was convinced I hated seafood. But, it was on a tasting menu at Topolobampo, and I decided not to ask for a substitution. That whole meal, including the seafood, was revelatory. All of a sudden, I understood the value of quality ingredients and careful preparation. It was no longer enough to chop things haphazardly and throw them into a pan until everything was mostly hot; quality ingredients deserve to have their potential maximized.
In the same tasting menu at Topolo, the dessert was a blue cheese cheesecake topped with caramel corn. Certainly not a traditional combination, but it showed me that background knowledge and careful consideration can facilitate a successful combination of flavors and textures regardless of familiarity.
Saffoula
What a coincidence that your aha moment involved adding vinegar because my number one thing to add when a dish is missing something is lemon juice. As a Greek, lemon juice is key to our cooking heritage, as is vinegar and they are used interchangeably and together. However, my most recent "aha" moment is salting meat early per Judy Rodgers (how early depends on the meat, but for the best roast chicken at least 2 days before cooking and allowing time for the bird to air dry in the fridge) and also leaving the meat out to come to room temperature before cooking. I've even started salting my arugula early with olive oil to let it soften and flavor the leaves (adding lemon juice to finish, of course).
Russ
I'm guessing the essential technique is simply tasting the food.
James G
My a-ha moment was when I realised that slavishly following a recipe was not the recipe for success. Recipes are a good buliding block, but taste is the real determiner of a good dish. Having the guts to break away from the strictures of a recipe and going with my own tastebuds has completely revolutionised my own cooking, and has resulted ina lot more compliments from people eating my dishes.
M. Lehto
My moment is realizing that a good deal of cooking is just about controlling water. A simple notion that totally changed the way I looked at my cooking.
Irvin @ Eat the Love
I have many a-ha moments in cooking, but one of my most pivotal ones came when I opened the book The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard. It talked about master recipes, and how to build your own plated dessert. No longer was I bound to just replicating other peoples recipes when I made my desserts. All of a sudden I could learn a number of master recipes, tips and techniques, and then mix and match and form my own recipe. It was an eye opening experience, discovering that I no longer had to be shackled to what someone else came up with, but instead could explore and create on my own.
Brian W.
One of my recent moments was when I made canadian bacon for the first time. I have never met anyone who makes it homemade and realized how incredibly easy it was. Not to mention the flavor. No more store bought C.B. for me!!
Michael Freid
I remember pan-searing chicken breast as a simple protein that would accompany many of my dinners. One day I drizzled some cold Extra Virgin Olive Oil over it. The dish changed completely. I literally had to step back in wonderment at how a little splash of liquid gold could so magically enhance the taste. Ever since I then, I never skip garnishes and last minute additions to recipes post-cooking.
ljm
The first time I ate a real pastured chicken changed my eating forever. Oh, this is why people ever started keeping chickens in the first place.
Patrick Barnes
Poaching the shrimp in butter was almost life-changing for us! I had some Low Country grits left from our trip to Charleston/Savannah in the spring and I did it proud by following your guidelines and cooking it longer. My wife said it's the best shrimp she ever ate. I agree. Thank you so much for another wonderful book.
Maisa
Just a comment.... Canadians can't participate but there are other countries besides US and Canada!
Patricia McMullen
My moment was, in fact, just last week. I have been stocking up on pork from the guy at the Chagrin Falls Farmers Market all summer. Fresh pork is so great and so different then what I used to buy at the supermarket, I just love it. Anyway, I had just pan fried four chops in the cast iron pan, rather then of grilling them because it was raining outside. It was so rainy here in Cleveland this summer, just unbelievable! So, I wanted something to put on them, but making a roux for gravy just seemed to heavy. So, my ah-ha moment!! I put in a tablespoon of butter and and two tablespoons of dark grainy mustard and made a nice, light mustard sauce for the chops. SO GOOD!! Didn't look in a cookbook, just did it. I was so proud of the results, and I know I will make it again and again.
Tracey Broussard
My aha moment was in the fifth grade, while baking brownies for a
4-H competition. On this day I learned that baking soda is not the same thing as baking powder and that kitchen spoons are very different from measuring spoons. The main thing this taught me was not only to learn from my mistakes, but to persist. That, to me, is the key to being a success in the kitchen.
Rachel
Ahhhh...there have been several benchmark moments. Like when I learned, as a young cook, what a little salt would do for a sweet dish. Like when I discovered, in my 30's, how adding sherry to some of my soups, dressings, and so many things, really, took them to the next level. But the most recent Ah-Ha was when I discovered the delight of de-glazing a pan, not just as the basis for a sauce, but as it's own little flavor enhancer for a seared meat. Simple, I know, but profound.
Steve Steinbrueck
Mine was realizing the cooking was a whole lot like religion--a few basic principles, but the rest...we make up! The problems arise when we decide there is only one way to do things and that everyone else is wrong--that inspiration stopped a long, long time ago--usually in another country--and if we want to be really good, precise adherence to the instructions, instead of the principles, is required. As I write, I had another moment...it's not a whole lot, it's exactly like...
KristineB
Brine.
Karen Schumacher
My 'aha!' moment was not too long ago, actually... I considered myself 'yeast deficient', turning out hockey pucks and heavy, thick pieces of bird food instead of light, airy, flavorful baked things. I made a decision to finally master it and realized...
Don't mess with it. Don't poke it, check it, fuss with it, mess with. Leave it alone. It's food, and although there is science involved, it'll work for you if you let it.
There's a loaf of soft wheat-rye on the counter right now. It's about as perfect as I could ever hoped for. I didn't mess with it.
Edwin
The day I moved into my apartment prior to starting law school, I picked up a copy of the "All New, All Purpose" version of the Joy of Cooking. Shortly thereafter came my first real a-ha! moment: a properly pan-broiled steak with a spice-rub crust. I could hardly believe that I'd been able to mix a few spices together, heat up a skillet, and create so much flavor...after that, there was no turning back.
A close second was years later, when I first roasted cauliflower - and suddenly a vegetable I grew up pushing around my plate became one of my favorite dishes of all-time.
As for the 21st technique: I'm gonna go with smoke (another a-ha moment for me - my first smoked chicken). It preserves, it flavors, and it hits some really primal spots on our tastebuds - like umami on steroids. Definitely worthy of an entire treatise. Presumably you'll get to this when you dish more about your Big Green Egg.
Sarah
My ah-ha moment is using a scale to weigh ingredients. It has really helped to up my baking game.
Rachel
My a-ha moment is totally different from most. It was a meeting with a snickerdoodle. I've always hated snickerdoodles. I thought they were a waste of time until one day, my daughter was signing people up for cookie orders for her school. They all ordered snickerdoodles. REALLY? What is in a snickerdoodle? I checked the recipe, called my mom who is an expert cook and baker. She always loved snickerdoodles. I reviewed the ingredients and racked my brain, no chocolate, no caramel, no walnuts or almond extract. Nothing. How can people love these cookies? So I made them. I had to get an answer to reaffirm my distaste for these bland cookies. I tweaked the recipe a bit (adding just an extra tsp. of vanilla and rolling in brown sugar instead of white) and hello yummy creamy spicy cookie! A-ha! So, this little buttery delight was hiding from me and they go soooo well with coffee! I'm addicted.
Erik
Stock. First time I made it after reading "Elements". Wasn't really an ah-ha moment so much as it was a "holy sh!t" moment. Stock transformed my food.
Rod Zwonitzer
One my favorite ah-ah moments was when preparing a dinner menu for some friends. Typically I ask what ingredients they like or dislike and this individual wouldn't give me a clue. Continued bantering and probing back and forth came to the point when he said: "What I want is Szechuan Frog Leg Ravioli." For sure I thought he was just being a smartalec, so decided I would invent the dish.
The ah-ah happened when I served it and he replied: "This is better than the dish I had in Beijing!" Couldn't believe that there was such an actual dish and that mine was in that class, since this guy spent lots of time in China.
Dave M
That is awesome!
Paul
The missing technique - tasting.
Jen
I've had a few moments. First, realizing that I'm much more relaxed and less stressed about things when I have the right equipment to do what I'm doing. Which means not having to make do with a crappy pan that is too small (get a larger one, or work in batches if I need to). Or, get a proper citrus juicer so I don't have to squeeze a lemon into a cup and then strain out the seeds/pulp - now I can get more juice out of each lemon and it takes less time to squeeze the juice out.
The second one was when my son got to be old enough to help me out in the kitchen a little bit (he was about 3, maybe a little younger). He likes helping me bake and is always interested in what I'm doing in the kitchen. He may not want to help all the time, but he likes to help often, and he is usually capable of more than I think, so I try to give him more leeway each time. I realized that it's important for him to grow up not only knowing how to cook, but knowing that it can be fun, interesting, and that appreciating good food is important to leading a fulfilling life.
John
It was the first time I used stainless steel pans instead of teflon-coated aluminum. I was amazed at how you could build up the fond and then with just a splash of wine or stock transform it into a rich pan sauce. Pan-roasted chicken and pork chops are now a staple in our house.
Rachael
The power of contrasting, accent ingredients, such as salt in chocolate chip cookies. I mean when you first begin to bake/cook you don't think these things are important but when you really learn to use salt in a sweet dish well or say lemon on fried fish you really have begun to understand how to make great food!
Culley Pearson
Three words (and in French to boot): Monte au beurre. Ever since I started finishing my pan sauces with that little emulsifying knob of butter life has been exponentially better.
JDM
It was a very simple idea that I have heard reinforced by Ruhlman and Alton Brown many times. BE ORGANIZED! I plan all the meals for the week on Sunday, including a prep schedule for every day and I get my "meez" ready the night before. I am able to cook healthy and tasty meals for my family every night with little stress.
David
What little I learned of food growing up was based only on repeating what had been handed down through the family. There was no technique, no explanation, no vocabulary, and certainly no thought of questioning or changing what you were shown. Everything was overcooked, over-processed, and under-flavored. So for me, every new piece of info or technique I’ve picked up has been a revelation. Here are a few:
Roux: so simple, so useful, and it has a name!
Herbs: flavor beyond salt and pepper? How is it that nobody in my lineage had ever encountered a fresh herb?
Acid: Citrus, Vinegar… I ate 20 years of food with no brightness?
This list could go on, but the essential lesson was one of building blocks. With a very finite number of ingredients, one can make endless variations.
Adam Lipkin
For me, it was realizing how easy it was to microwave popcorn. I'd always thought that commercial microwave popcorn was at least convenient, but it's hard to beat taking chemical-free kernels and putting them in a paper bag. And I can control exactly what seasonings go on the corn.
Jackie C.
For me, it was the day I reached for a tagine instead of my usual pots and pans. I am a cowardly cook - a tad afraid to try new things -- recipes, tools, techniques -- as more often than not, I fail miserably and yes, get ribbed for it. But given the gift of a tagine, I gave it a whirl. Four slow-cooking hours later, dinner was ready and it was pretty darn good -- the tenderest, savoriest meat I'd ever made. I learned in that moment that maybe, just maybe, I could survive on my own cooking after all. 🙂
darius
Mine came with strawberries! My grandfather grew strawberries, so I knew good tasting strawberries from pale imitations. Recently I added a splash of aged balsamic vinegar and a grind of fresh pepper to fresh strawberries, and my ah-ah was that taste can reach sublime levels I hadn't thought possible!
Pam S.
On making roux or gravy the printed word or teaching chef makes it clear, adamately clear you may never walk away like if the phone rings or the bathroom calls or the baby has his head stuck in the banisters. Yes you can walk away. Just take the pan off of the heat source. When you get back just put it back on the heat and whisk or stir as before. Ah-Ha!
Bob
My a-ha! moment was discovering 'Ratio' - I'd played with baking bread before, but it was like anything else, gather ingredients and labor through mixing ... but Ratio distilled it down to a simple process.
My guess at #21: mise en place (and my apologies if that's already one of the 20 ... the book is on my wish list, and I stop buying books around Oct.-Nov. so my family can surprise me).
Emily N.
What I would consider my "ah-ha" moment happen quite awhile ago now. I grew up in a house where my parents cooked everything from scratch. Every night we all sat at the dinner table eating something my dad had chopped, simmered, seared, really worked on after he got home from work. Nothing ever came out of a box or a packet. As a child I assumed that those instant foods must be amazing. My parents must have been keeping me from all those freeze dried delicacies because they knew how good it was. When I went to college, and became responsible for feeding myself, those were the first foods I bought. Boxes of easy, and what I assumed must be delicious foods. It only took a few of those meals to realize that my parents were amazing cooks. They put all that work into cooking because it was BETTER. Also importantly to a poor college student it was CHEAPER! I was changed person, and have since developed a love for cooking myself.
Dan at FoodieLawyer
It's hard to pinpoint any particular "a-ha!" moment, but I think one of the most significant is when I realized that I no longer closely followed recipes when cooking but instead use them more as a guide. Freedom! (Although I do still measure and weigh closely when baking, because that's science.)
rainey
I suppose mine would have to be when I was just out of college and living in France everything I knew about cooking and eating suddenly changed. We were a bunch of American kids living in a very old farmhouse that had a room that we *called* a kitchen -- because it had a sink -- but the only thing it had that resembled an appliance was a 2-burner hot plate.
We had to relearn everything. We couldn't accumulate food that sat ignored because there was no fridge. We shopped daily or kept a very few things outside on a window ledge. If something as too big for sauteing or stewing on the hot plate it had to be roasted on a grate over the flames in the fireplace. And mayonnaise came not from the grocery shelf or Periodic Table of Elements but from an egg yolk patiently whisked with dribbles of oil.
We learned to cook and to eat differently and we learned it could be done and done well without the assistance of GE and convenience foods. It was a wonderful experience. Thank god for the locals who were warm and kind and taught us everything! I'm not sure I've eaten as well in the 40 or so subsequent years.
Ryan Owens
REAL balsamic vinegar on strawberries...Nirvana.
Al Whitaker
In the early 70's, after a high school dance a couple of us skipped the usual IHOP meal and went to my parent's house where I made omelets. My AH-HA !! moment, when I discovered girls were disproportionetly impressed by a guy who could cook. An observation, I might add, that has withstood the test of time.
Stephanie
Homemade chicken stock is great. SMOKED chicken stock is better. SMOKED DUCK stock is possibly the best "behind-the-scenes" ingredient EVER! Soups in this house are now AMAZING-ly rich and complex. I feel fortunate enough to have learned of this gem of an ingredient in my (semi)-youth and I can always keep neighbors, friends, and family coming back for more fun over food at the homestead. They can't get it in the store after all. hehehe
KD
My ah-a moment came when I realized that any pan is essentially non stick if you wait till the pan is nice and hot before adding oil to it.
The oil flows everywhere smoothly and food never sticks to the pan. The small bits that do stick come off easily if you deglaze or just even wash the pan.
Josh
Probably my most important epiphany as a cook was when I really internalized what it meant that the tongue can only taste the five basic flavors of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami. I knew it as a school fact, but only after plugging my nose and tasting things without smelling them did I really understand this, and understand how these basic tastes can and should always be adjusted as a part of cooking anything. My concept of cooking and cuisine changed immediately from a massive, unordered collection of fortuitous combinations of ingredients to something that grew from basic principles, something with structure that I could understand and control.
Stevie B
I guess I'd been cooking for decades before I caught on that knowing things like truffles and saffron were expensive didn't mean I wasn't entitled to use them. It just meant I had to use them thoughtfully.
Kevin
My "Ah-HA" came shortly after graduating college with a degree in chemistry. After cooking for myself a bit, I realized cooking is chemistry I can EAT! And I don't mean molecular gastronomy stuff, I mean temperatures, acidity/ pH and how it affects different foods, emulsions, extractions, preservation, the whole gamut. It's certainly made me a much better cook, and given me a much deeper appreciation of both chemistry and cooking.
Peter
My first culinary ah-ha moment happened when I was 11 or 12. Like most kids, I wasn't a fan of vegetables- especially squash and zucchini. The year before, my best friend had moved out to a more rural area and his father had started a small, backyard vegetable garden. That night he made a ratatouille with his freshly ripened tomatoes and summer squash. I'd had it before, I'd never really enjoyed it until that day. Even though I'm often opinionated about where the balance should exist between emphasis on the ingredient and a chef's creativity, I could never deny the benefits of fresh, local ingredients after that.
Glenn
Ah-hah! I was trying my hand at eggs benedict for my wife's breakfast after yet another series of medical battles (the last 18 months have been harrowing) & after consulting several online "hits" I went back to "Ratio" for the recipe. AND when the Hollandaise sauce "broke", rather than disaster, Ratio had the steps to "fix" it. It was a true ah-ha as I learned something important about how this wonderful concoction actually works. Thanks, chef!
Charlie Wetzel
When I was about twelve, I had a rare chance to go out to dinner with my mother, and I talked her into going to a joint called Luigi’s because a friend said it was so great. I ordered a fettuccini dish, which I loved, and remarked that it had a distinctive flavor. She tasted it and said, “That’s oregano.”
I was stupefied. It had never occurred to me that a person could identify seasonings in a dish or figure out how to make it by tasting it.
That comment changed the trajectory of my life. I started playing with food as a teenager. At eighteen, I created my first recipe by tasting: eggrolls. I read everything I could on food and started collecting cookbooks. (I have hundreds, including three of yours.) I started working in restaurants, and in my mid-twenties I became a chef.
I’ve since stepped out of the professional kitchen, but I still love food. And I love to cook for family and friends. It is one of life’s true joys.
My mother lived to be eighty-four. I became a better cook than she was, but she’s the one who got me started. And that remark at Luigi’s almost forty years ago is one of my favorite memories of her.
Gina Wilson
My first ah-ha moment ocurred while eating at a very short-lived restaurant in Minnepolis called Five. It was a pork tenderloin with diced squash delicately covered in a velvety sauce that had cinnamon and nutmeg in it. At that time, I would have never thought to combine traditionally sweet spices to a savory dish. It was the best meal I had ever had.
Linda
I just love roasting, vegetables of any kind, fruit, meat, seafood, everything tastes great roasted!
Jackie
An "aha" moment for me was when I was shopping for skillets and the salesperson was telling me about how Pam will breakdown your skillets faster. She reminded me that a non-stick skillet shouldn't need to be sprayed with anything to be non-stick... doh.
Guy
I would suppose my "aha" moment was this -- when laid off from a tech job in '01 I was out of work for almost a year. My wife had been laid off at the same time. For a year, we didn't go to a restaurant, or even buy anything carryout, rather we cooked at home. Prior to that, I'd thought of myself as a good cook (a home cook), but during that year it was like I was learning from scratch. I did it by borrowing books from the library and researching techniques and recipes on the internet. I now keep a few 3-ring binders with recipes that I've printed and adapted. Haven't bought that many cookbooks in the last several years (no kidding, the exceptions are: Ratio and Elements). The job situation resolved itself eventually, but we still tend to cook at home, and make about 6 restaurant trips a year.
About vinegar -- when I was a teen, I worked in a summer camp kitchen (in SW Ohio). The wise old cook gave me a piece of advice, which was this: "you'd be surprised how many things can be spruced up with the addition of a shot of vinegar and a pinch of sugar". At the time, I recall she was doing just that with a vat of canned peas -- some butter, a shot of vinegar and a pinch of sugar.
Mari
The importance of salt! I made my grandma's Blonde Brownies recipe, and forgot the salt. They just tasted...wrong. Flat. The same goes for pasta in unsalted water, unsalted sauces, unsalted meat--the world needs salt, dammit!
Demetrius
The importance of textures in food. While sharing a celebratory meal with my family this past week, we started our meal with a ceviche of diced red snapper in lime juice with tomatoes, onions and corn nuts. The salty, crunchy texture of the corn nuts contrasted with the sweet and delicate fish. It was outstanding.
Christina Spencer
The importance of a GOOD set of knives! And for extra credit??? Realizing that I do not need to follow a recipe exactly. Years ago I would find myself rushing out to the store because I only had Russet potatoes and not the Yukon Gold the recipe called for... now... I throw in those Russets and don't look back... I've actually come up with some great variations by getting creative with what I have on hand.
J. Matthews
My ah-ha moment came when I realized that slow roasting vegetables greatly changes the texture and flavor of them. The simplest of ingredients acquire a whole different taste, therefore changing the taste of the entire recipe. Having been a vegetarian for more than 30 years I had thought that I had used taste/flavor combinations well - but I was wrong - roasting gives unlimited possibilities.
YOD
my moment came when I learned that 10 seconds in boiling water makes tomato skins practically fall right off.
Ben
My ah-ha moment came when I realized that, for me, it was more important (and fun) to learn the "why" and "how" versus any single recipe. When is braising best, how different flavors of wine when reduced impact a sauce, whats best to cook slow versus quickly, how is texture affected when I slice with or against a grain. I'm not a chef (actually a salesman) so I started cooking by recipes. But the true fun and excitement for me comes when I look in my fridge or pantry and can come up with a few dishes that go beyond a "usual" method of cooking. It's the best and why I love learning more about cooking.
Matt
Even though substitutions and creativity are encouraged, you need to know your ingredients before you start changing things around and just because it sounds the same doesn't mean it is. Long time ago I wanted to make pesto and recipe called for whipping cream. None to be found in the house, but plenty of cool whip whipped cream. Needless to say even the dog wouldn't eat the final product.
JoAnn
My aha! moment was when I realized I could simmer down my cooking liquid from poaching chicken or fish and save it in the freezer to use as a basis for homemade stock -- along with the veg scraps I was already saving.
Jamie
This is very unsurprising, but my aha moment was realizing (after hearing people harp on the virtues of seasoning) that adding more salt than I ever would have imagined had a huge impact on the taste of a dish.
whistj
My A-ha moment was making my first tomato sauce. Realizing how much better the product was than anything off the shelves with little effort was the beginning of my greatly reduced dependency on processed foods and toward making my meals using minimally processed, or fresh, seasonal foods.
Sara
That i need to add more salt.
darius
WHY did my post disappear? I saw it posted right away, earlier today...
darius
Never mind... I found it!
Jeremy Hulley
Lemon juice or vinegar added to polenta really deepens the flavor.
Laurie
My ah-ha moment was learning to sear meats. I kept hearing chefs on various cooking shows mention the importance of this, so I tried it. Ah ha! It changed the way I cook as well as the way i choose my meals at restaurants. Tonight we are grilling steak at home, because we are from Texas where restauranteurs know the importance of searing a great piece of steak. How we miss that flavor. Here in Northern Virginia, we've yet to find a restaurant who knows how to do that. I think they need an ah-ha moment. Simple seasoning, a great sear on the steak and blue cheese butter makes the neighbors jealous. I think they need an ah-ha moment too!
Laurie
allen
Making beef heart for the first time, I researched a few recipes such as chili, or pickled to make tacos with an lime mayo and ended up making a simple shallot and olive oil marinade.
The first bite was ah-ha! Why mask the good flavor of the heart? Feature the flavor you want to highlight and keep the recipe simple.
rob fettig
Eating a taco al pastor in Guadalajara, Mexico for the first time when I 16 years old was my moment. The simple taco of pork, cilantro, onion, fresh salsa, and squeeze of lime was the perfect expression of what I have come to love about food. With good technique, great ingredients and passion for what you are doing, even a humble taco can be some of the best food you have ever tasted.
Alexis Muermann
It was when I learned to use my intuition. I was making a recipe written by a well respected chef, and it just didn't feel right. It was a sweet potato cake recipe and it didn't call for an egg, but it needed one. I didn't add it because I wanted to follow the recipe as written first. They were a complete fail. I made them again with an egg and they were amazing! Sometimes things get left out, so from now on I will trust myself.
Daniel
My ah-ha moment came when I figured out that it's more important to focus on learning techniques and skills rather than recipes. That Thanksgiving, I came up with the idea to fry won-tons filled with pumpkin pie filling. No recipe taught me this - just the knowledge of how to deep fry, wrap won-tons, and make a pie (filling).
Tiffany
My ah-ha moment came in the midst of a proclaimed crisis when I accidentally used a little salt (thinking it was sugar) to bring out the sweetness in a homemade sorbet. Little did I know, my little mixup proved to be my best tip in the kitchen! A little pinch of salt brings out the sweetness in any dish! Now my favorite use of salt is in my spiced hot chocolate during the holidays. 🙂
Yoshiko
My ah-ha moment was learning to use sugar in savory dishes to balance acidity.
amy
I'd say it's when I started using fresh herbs instead of dried. I grew up cooking with dried herbs so the switch to fresh made a huge difference.
Dee
My moment arrived on the day I realized that the process was just as enjoyable as the product. The chopping, mixing and other mundane tasks became my moments of zen. I'm convinced my change in attitude improved my cooking and continues to do so. What once bored me, now is a source of wonder as I discover more about food and cooking.
Anu
Biting into an heirloom tomato that had ripened on the vine -- and realizing that a tomato is one of summer's greatest gifts to us. Especially when it's sliced, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and piled on artisan bread that's slathered with homemade mayo. It drove home the importance of eating seasonally and simply, and enjoying the bounty of our Ohio farms.
Nancy
My moment came at the age of 10. I had made a cake with my mother and while it was cooling (and she was taking a nap), I decided I'd make the frosting myself. I had the recipe in front of me and figured I could do it without help since no heat was involved. The recipe used egg whites, which I knew how to separate from yolks, and called for adding cream of tartar to the whipped egg whites. Not knowing what that was but recognizing the word "tartar," I went to the refrigerator, found the tartar sauce, and used that. Needless to say, the frosting failed. Fortunately, my mother laughed when she woke up and saw what I'd done. And I learned to always question an unfamiliar ingredient and make sure I knew what it was and why it was used before proceeding with a recipe!
Marsha Nikooforsat
My "aha" moment was when I realized that using the technique of "mise en place" as a priority for every aspect of my life (not just cooking) or in other words, working the hardest on the plan would make the desired outcome easier to attain!!
Brian Matheson
Is the 21st technique just experience?
Jan Farrell
My a-ha moment involves thickening, making sauces, and gravies. About ten years ago I was camping, cooking breakfast sausages in a frying pan on a camp stove, and I wanted to make gravy - I'd never HAD sausage gravy, but I'd heard of it. So I tried putting a little flour on the sausages, added liquid, and stirred the lumps out. And it got thick. The more it cooked the thicker it was. So I added more liquid. And it got thick again. It was like MAGIC. And it tasted wonderful!
Then I learned to make a roux. I stopped thickening gravy with cornstarch and cooked flour and fat and added liquid. It tasted SO much better. And then my brother showed me how to use a roux to thicken broccoli soup, a lesson I use constantly to make cream soups.
I am an 'OK' cook, but the people around me think I am a star because I can make soup or gravy or sauce that tastes great. I chuckle to myself, and I still remember the magic of that sausage gravy!
Sharyn Dimmick
I had an "aha" moment when I realized I could roast butternut squash cut side down for soup and collect all the seeds, strings and empty roasted shells to make stock with -- and de-glaze the roasting pan for the same stock: now my soup really tastes intensely of squash (I do add thyme, fresh ginger, tamari and some milk or light cream).
P.S. Saw your "Ratio" book the other day -- want to get it soon.
Birddogs
I spent a summer in Spain right before I graduated from college. I had dinner at a local family's house. They put a pan of paella and a salad and a dish of olives in the middle of the table and we all ate from the dishes. It was one of the best meals I had eaten at that point in my life. I realized that food is social--it's best experienced with fun people. I learned to cook so I could eat, but I love to cook so I can eat with friends!
Christina G.
My ah ha moment was when I realized that you can usually reduce greatly the amount of meat in a recipe (and thereby save money) by measuring how much protein is already in the rest of the recipe and side dishes. Thanks for the giveaway!
Michelle
My ah-ha moment came in the 7th grade, my first home-ec class, Mrs. Binns, a very good teacher. She said, "Do not over-stir your muffin batter." I won the blue ribbon for best muffins that year. She made cooking seem like magic. I was enthralled.
Michelle
I'm not sure if hunger is a technique, but I find hunger is basically what drives most people to cook ... a hunger for food, a hunger to please others, a hunger for creativity. Perhaps that is the technique you are talking about.
Jen in SF
One of my ah-ha moments was learning to use (and trust) all my senses when cooking. Yes, you should always taste as you go, but you can also smell when a cake is done (even if the timer hasn't gone off) and hear when the potato chips are done frying.
Angela
My ah-ha moment was realizing how important it was to salt the components of a meal separately. I'd made jap-chae a couple of times before and could never get it to taste right now matter how much salt and soy sauce I added at the end. One day (after watching some chef say it on the Food Network), I tried lightly salting each vegetable as I sauteed it. The finished dish......magic! It wasn't just that it was salty enough, but the whole dish had so much more balance, depth, and overall flavor!
Jess Warren
I had my "Ah-Ha!" moment happened when I was 22. I had been cooking for a while, but always relied on recipes and cookbooks to guide me through. One day I was maing a rue for cheese sauce for my now famous mac and cheese. I said to myself, "Let's see if I can do this without a recipe..." And, I did it! And, it was delicious! Now I only rely on recipes for inspiration.
Katya
Strangely, for someone who meanders in recipes at her own sweet will, one of my breakthroughs came from following one--Martha Stewart's recipe for Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Eggs in the buttercream changed everything, my whole approach to pastry. Such perfect stuff.
andy
ah-ha moment: green tomato sauce with chocolate over ravioli, ces't magnifique. The combining of these seemingly incongruous ingredients which resulted in a terrific dish. really my mind was like AH-HA!!!!!
Kelly
Salt. Salt. Salt. As a teenager I realized that salt brings out flavor like nothing else can.
Jodi
My a-ha moment was when I learned from a cooking show that meat doesn't stick to a pan if you actually wait until the oil you are cooking with is hot enough. I know it sounds silly and really basic, but it took me years to get that. Maybe I was just too impatient to wait!
Daniel
My ah-ha moment happened earlier this year when, after 8 years of learning to cook at home with steadily increasing sophistication and many "hmm" moments along the way, I realized that the best ingredient in any preparation is the one that you leave out so that the others can shine.
Jay
As a competitive chili cook, I ah ha'ed at the addition of a small amount of anchovy paste mid way through the cooking process. It could not be identified in the final product but added a rich, deepness of flavor. (PS..6:00 am and I'm eating a burrito of guava braised chicken gizzards and sauteed swiss chard...YUM!)
Justin LeBlanc
My biggest ah-ha moment was when I first learned how to make vinaigrette. I learned several things then:
1. It's way cheaper than the store bought stuff
2. It's way better.
3. Once you figure out the ratio between the acid and the oil, the number of different dressings you can make are pretty much infinite.
In fact, someone should write a book about that idea...
Paul C
I had an aha moment recently when watching a video on how Grant Achatz builds a recipe by starting with a main component and then adding more components making sure each new one relates both to the main and every other component. With that understanding and a copy of 'The Flavor Bible' I can do the same thing at home whenever I have an ingredient that I'm not sure what to do with.
lewaletzko
My ah-ha moment came form my husband. He eats only fish as protein and I had never cooked it before. Wow, was I overlooking some great dishes that are quick easy and fresh. Another would be the power of great sea salt compared to the unnamed iodized brand in the round container.
As far as technique-my guess would be experiment. People get so caught up in cookbooks and online recipes and how "they" do things instead of using them as a jumping off point and making a dish that fits their own life and their own palate.
Patrick Snook
My ah-ha moment became a humming happiness when I discovered how to taste using music. One day a few years ago, struggling to fix something not quite right in what should have been a yummy pot full of something saucy, I struck on the idea that I could think about the taste in musical terms, having notes arranged in soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. I wanted not "harmony" in the usual meaning of "balance" so much as an interesting-tasting chord. My sauce lacked something, and as soon as I thought that I could translate my musical training in to tasting it became as clear as the nose on my face. I could taste the problem now just as easily as I can hear a dissonance in harmony, or fogginess in timbre (or instrumentation). My sauce needed perhaps more acidity, to brighten the top notes, or bring out the altos, or perhaps some pepper to draw attention to the earthy bass. . . . Or perhaps everything just needed a lift, with salt. . . . Or more umami, to tune the whole effect. . . .
Incidentally, does the ingredient "music in the air"--essential to me for one during my time in the kitchen--make it in to your list of 20?
Sounds good enough to eat, doesn't it?
michael d
my ah-ha moment was when i realized that cooking is a dance not a task...i'd been so focus on my end results that i wasn't cooking in the moment. when i realized the dish and i are supposed to be working together i found that the true beauty of cooking lies in the process. it was like opening pandora's box, now i see that in every stage from the ingredients to the plating a dish gives you the cues you need to make it wonderful. sometimes i lead and sometimes the dish leads me, but more than anything else learning to cook in the moment--enjoying the whole process from finding the ingredients to washing up--elevated my cooking from something i enjoyed to a life's passion.
madeleine
I'm guessing if the first technique is think, the 21st has got to be love...love the food, love the cooking, love sharing delicious food with everyone!
Melanie T
Mine was when I realized that I don't have to be afraid of heat. I was taught to cook without browning, braising, or searing. With heat, I have found awesome flavor and color.
Cay
Aha. Going to a friend's house for dinner as a child (probably 8 years old) and having spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce, which I had never been willing to try at my own house. I loved it! I still remember that moment, and going home to tell my mother that I DID like spagetti with red sauce after all. It made me realize that tastes could change, and that I could be open and decide for myself what to like and dislike. Result: I like almost everything I can put in my mouth!
Richard Suydam
When I first tasted a meat from one of the hogs that we had raised in our woods. They were a cross between a Berkshire and a Large Black. We fed them a diet of organic grain, vegetable scraps, and whatever they scrounged out of the forest. We spent time with them and gave them names. The pork was amazing. Well-marbled, deep red, flavorful and moist. Nothing like the "other white meat". We currently have 17 Heritage breed hogs and plan on taking 6 Red Wattle/Tamworth crosses to market next month and we'll sell the meat at our local Farmers Markets. Or trade. We recently roasted one, "Nads" (180 lb. hanging weight) for a barbecue we held for friends and fellow farmers. There wasn't a whole lot left over.
Roy
My first ever Aha! moment came at a young age when I first tasted my grandmother's tamales. From that moment on, food became very important to me. As a child I would taste things and think, "Nope, not as good as the tamales." It was sort of a barometer of how everything should measure up. I would eat the school cafeteria food or the food over at a friend's house, and nothing would compare to the food my grandmother or my father made. It made me become a food snob, but it also made me want to taste new things. I was never picky, and I wanted to eat everything. This one taste shaped the way I thought about food forever, and I am grateful.
Terry
My Aha was for my first locally farm raised, pastured turkey. I had never known in 45 years how incredible a good bird could be, and how incredibly blah those turkeys I had eaten all my life were.
Josh
Being a male in the kitchen, I've had countless ah-ha moments. I'd have to say the biggest moment however was cooking with my mom. We use to make a family breakfast every Sunday morning and it wasn't until she passed that I realized just how important family meals are. I now carry on the tradition with my family every Sunday morning in memory of her and hope to pass it along to my family as well.
Cale
Now I know I posted this Monday, but I'll say it again.
I'm an avid homebrewer. I've been brewing beer for about six years on a 6 gallon system. My hot water tank is a stainless steel 7 gallon pot that I've outfitted with a small stailess ball valve on the bottom.
Last year I had saved up about 5 chicken carcasses and HAD to make stock. The 7 gallon pot was all I had to fit this many chickens in. After the stock had finished I let it sit a bit to allow the fat to rise to the top, then openned the valve to let the stock drain from the bottom, through a cheese cloth and into another large pot on the floor. Just before the top, or fat, reaches the valve, I shut it off. "AH-ha!" I said. NO SKIMMING! or at least very very little.
All stock pots should have a small valve in the bottom!
Kevin
I used to think I didn't like a lot of different foods, but as it turns out I don't like some of THE WAYS foods are prepared. AH-HA!
Since that realization I am always on a search for the correct preparation FOR ME to enjoy certain foods.
Adam
I think #21 has to be TASTE. TASTE, TASTE, TASTE. Everything. Often.
My AHA moment came at a local cooking school demonstration. The chef made tuna salad, but allowed us to taste it as each component was added. Tuna, mayo, celery, lemon juice, bitters, salt. Simple, but really an eye opening experience to understand how the balance of sweet, salt, bitter, and sour affect the final outcome of a dish. And, it was probably the best tuna salad I've ever had. Who knew???
Kyle
My AH-HA was when I realized that caramelization adds depth and flavor to just about everything. When I stopped worrying about burning everything, and started using high heat, I realized I would never cook the same way again.
Billie
My aha moment was that both my pantry and freezer are my best friends economically and creatively.
Grady Griffin
deglazing with water for a quick pan sauce; I never believed you, thinking it could never reach a depth of flavor, but indeed it does. And the missing element: bravery. Act on your instinct, it'll probably work out just fine. Just try.
M.C Hunt
My ah-ha moment came while watching "Joyce Chen Cooks" on PBS in the 60's. I made my mother drive me to the only Asian market in Orange County, CA to buy a tiny tin of hoisin sauce and then to our local store for a chicken and some scallions. I came home and set to work boning the chicken and combining it with the precious hoisin to recreate the succulent paper-wrapped chicken that Joyce had prepared. This was the very first thing I had ever cooked and the first inkling that chicken could be more than fried. I haven't stopped cooking since to my great pleasure and satisfaction. My latest obsessions are curry, and pozole, and roasted tri-tip, and pho, and Asian salads and ...
Laura Salmon
A pinch of salt in all sweets really makes a difference in the final product.
mjacqz
Balsamic and Berries was a Major revelation.
Gaëlle
My ha-ah moment was when I cracked the secret ingredients of my dad's garlic butter for snails. Butter, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper are the obvious ingredients. But ground hazelnut plus a little bit of dry white wine will get the final result from a predictable good to a flavorful great. Poaching the snails out of the can in a court-bouillon with an onion, white wine and a bouquet garni is also a must.
Kim
My aha moment was when I I followed Thomas Keller's method for preparing green beans that you shared in your book--lots of boiling water, lots of salt, a few green beans, cook until done (not al dente) and an ice bath. The first taste was magnificent and a revelation.
MessyONE
I started doing a lot of cooking when I was about nine years old. Mom had started back to work and she would get everything ready to go on the stove and leave me a note about what to do with each bowl and pot, down to what shelf of the fridge each element was and when to put everything on so it would be ready on time.
Being a contrary kid, I decided that since everyone seemed to salt their food at the table, I should add it while I was cooking instead. I told no one this, since that was back in the "salt is poison" days. Everyone loved it, thankfully.
A couple of years ago when I was making ginger/molasses cookies for my husband, I came across a recipe that called for all of the usual spices (cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg) PLUS a quarter teaspoon of finely ground black pepper.
It was a revelation. You can't taste pepper at all, it just seems to make the intensify the flavor of the other spices and make them leap out to stand on their own. Ever since then, I've added a bit of pepper to any recipe that calls for those spices and it is always an improvement.
ec
is the 21st technique SPICE?
Ben
My a'ha moment was the first meal my roommate made for me after college - chicken with sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes. Never knew I liked artichokes so much. An enlightening meal. A couple good ingredients are all you need for a memorable meal!
Chris Hines
My aha moment was when I finally tried to cook Steak au poivre (essentially something other than box maccaronni and cheese or toast) and had it turn out fabulous and introduced me to actual depth of flavor. I was hooked on cooking and now, over a decade later, my family knows and appreciate home cooked meals and I only wish I had discovered it sooner.
devlyn
My a-hah was making bacon... I had made things from scratch before, but never any charcuterie. I searched and searched for your own Charcuterie book, finally finding it at Powell's Technical (rather than the main store, where it was supposedly in stock, but not where it was supposed to be). 7 days later, I had the best bacon I had ever tasted. I sliced small slivers of it and ate it cold, relishing in the nuanced flavors I had hand-picked. I've never gone back.
Jaime
Two and a half years ago, I couldn't cook anything more complicated than peanut butter and jelly. Ambitious cooking for me was chicken parmesan, i.e. chicken breasts coated in Progresso seasoned bread crumbs and Kraft parmesan cheese atop a bed of boxed pasta smothered in Prego. I would actually serve this to guests. I recycled the same seven recipes each week, sometimes varying the day on which they were consumed, you know, for variety. I wouldn't eat this, and I certainly wasn't going to eat that. God forbid a person even try to put a vegetable in the near vicinity of my plate. Tears. Fisticuffs. I was an abyssmal dinner date and an even worse houseguest.
Then, I finally decided there had to be more things that I would eat. So I looked up a recipe on a website, gauging its relative inoffensiveness by the ingredient list. It did, however, contain *gasp* vegetables. It was delicious. Turns out I wasn't that picky, I had just been eating bad food. Aha! I fell so in love with food and cooking, I chucked my cushy overpaid job, went to culinary school, and now work at a recreational cooking school encouraging other people to embrace their passions for food.
Diane Sigman
I was twenty-six years old and had just moved in with my very skinny (ninety pound) boyfriend. I'd been told his emaciation was due to a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy. I began cooking him simple meals, all I knew how to prepare at the time. Well, the boy was starving, and ate heartily. I was stunned to realize that I was a good cook, but even better, had an eager, appreciative audience. Sixty much-needed pounds and eighteen years later, we are still together. My aha moment: realizing cooking is an act of love with endless benefits.
Matty D
Actually, my "aha" moment just happened. It was when I realized that Ruhlman is way more crafty as a book salesman than I gave him credit for previously. I mean, giving away a book (the fifth signed copy) via a contest that requires you to buy the book first? Brilliant!!!
Liz H.
Mine came young, I was lucky to have a mother who cooked a variety of dishes to give us a worldly eating education without leaving Northern California. Watching the effect a few strands of saffron have to the color a paella. It remained by birthday request for years.
Robert D
Is the 21st technique... FINESSE?
Roya
Salt, and using it to enhance the flavor of food. My mother always under seasoned her food, and we would have to add salt to make it taste like anything at all. Once I realized that I could and should season my food so that it needs no additional seasoning at the table did things REALLY start "cooking" in my house!
Wilma de Soto
Dipping my first crispy pork Vietnamese Spring roll in fish sauce (nuuc cham dipping sauce.) Life was never the same after that.
g_nine
my aha moment was the first time i tried to cook for like my grandma. i was amazed at the sheer amount of time she spent in the kitchen and the dedication it takes to make everything from scratch. she used to make chicken paprikash and the only part i liked was the dumplings. she would use 12-13 eggs making dumplings just to ensure i had enough plain noodles to have left overs.
John K.
Making my first batch of turkey stock, in my oven, after reading your post on that technique. I'd never made stock before. It was good, so pure, and oh so easy. I never looked back. Now I have turkey, beef, chicken stock canned in my pantry. And chicken carcasses occupy my freezer. I realized how something so simple could be so good, and also so rewarding. It launched me into making many more homemade foods....and basically eliminating all processed foods from our home.
Grace N.
I'm an American who just spent almost 8 years living in China and enjoying the amazing food. While there, I went from being someone who did not tolerate eating any spicy food to someone whose favorite Chinese food is the Sichuan variety (amazingly flavorful and hot). I moved back to get married this year and thought I'd kissed those flavors goodbye until I came across an authentic Sichuan cookbook in English here and had the chutzpah to try making certain recipes again and again and again until I got them right. My a-ha moment was discovering that I could transport myself literally to another place (a special place) with a lot of care and practice. Since then, all of my cooking has been different, infused with a sense of adventure and confidence, with less fear of failure.
Aaron
My Ah ha moment came while reading ratio when I realized how easy bread is.
Lei
I bake whole wheat sourdough bread every week and have done for years. I used to pay a hefty amount for artisan bread at a local bakery until they changed their recipe, making the texture more like every other commercial bread out there. (They have since gone out of business.) That's when I started experimenting and baking bread regularly for myself and loved ones. Early in our friendship, I occasionally gave loaves to the man whom I eventually married. He later told me, "Touching the bread is like touching you in a way." Sharing the food we make is communion like no other.
Jessica
My aha moment was when I ate a chocolate dessert with coffee in it. I never realized how much coffee (which I didn't drink back then) could enhance the flavor of chocolate. Now, I add brewed coffee or espresso powder to most chocolate desserts.
Rishi
Is the 21st technique the use of spice - chillies in particular? That's so basic to such a variety of cuisines.
Lisa
I'm a novice baker, and I'd always had poor luck with yeast doughs: they never rose properly, even when I waited 2x-3x as long as the recipe told me to. My aha moment came this summer, when despite the heat, I decided to make homemade pizza. My poorly climate-controlled apartment was about 82 degrees, and the dough rose beautifully, right on schedule! It never occurred to me that the reason my doughs weren't rising in December was that room temp was 55 degrees! I've been baking up a storm ever since!
Chef John
My 'aha' moment was the first time I made Clam Chowder at my first job. I spent twenty minutes trying to convince a waitress who hated clams to try it, and then spent the rest of the night trying to get her to stop eating all of it. Really opened my eyes to how preconceived notions of taste can be changed if you take a chance at something new. That and the joy of cooking for other people, which has gotten me to the point where I'm now in the pre-planning stages of opening my own place so I can do it on a full-time basis.
Andy
Well, I think our boy Adam may have it as the 21st technique being Taste, Taste, Taste; it's my first call as well.
Yet, since this is already on the table, I'll hazard another guess.
I'll propose "Combine" as the 21st technique. Many recipes and ingredients require combination of sorts; kneading, emulsifying, sifting, blending, folding, all requiring special attention to come together.
Let's face it, knowing how to combine your ingredients is an indispensable technique.
Dawn
I recently learned how to properly fine chop an onion and OMG how my recipes have improved now that I actually include this key ingredient!
Maurita
My Aha moment? The taste of a REAL chicken, raised in 'old fashioned' methods: room to roam, access to fresh air and daylight, no crowding, fed with locally raised grains. Good ingredients produce great results.
John Pula
Asian Food! I grew up eating poorly seasoned meat-and-potatoes or hot-dishes in Northern Minnesota. After college I got interested in food, and started reading your blog. One day, you posted a recipe from Robert Danhi's Southeast Asian Flavors. I didn't make that particular recipe, but I checked out his website, curious about a guy that successfully self-published a cookbook.
On his website, I found a recipe for a curry. On a lark, I gave it a shot, even making my own curry paste (I never half-ass things). It was awesome. I immediately bought the book, and now make curries and spring rolls regularly, and pad thai probably every other week. I also discovered the local asian market, which is phenomenal in every aspect.
I've broadened my horizons, and now try making any dish that intrigues me, regardless of origin or ingredients.
John C.
My aha was realizing that frugal IS gourmet. My mother grew up poor in the former Yugoslavia, and her cooking always reflected their need to use everything to feed the family. My sister and I always made fun of some of her leftover dishes given they were definitely non-American (a gelled soup of pigs knuckles and meat called Sulze (sp?) was her favorite, but not mine!).
Fast forward to adulthood, and as I started really getting into cooking a number of years ago, I one day realized the elegance of being able to use the entire animal...nothing to waste. Now my wife and i can't have a roast chicken without also making a quart or two of stock and having some meat for tacos (I even pull the meat off the neck (if there is one), which my Mom used to do, which I thought was crazy!). Late season vegetables from the garden are invariably dried (hot chills!) or made into a sauce of some kind (last year's mole was incredible). Scraps of vegetables are frozen to add to stocks or soups. Each of these is not only economical, but delicious!
megan
Growing up, we always had a large spice cabinet..full of powdered this, powdered that, generic "seasoned salt" "italian seasoning"...and they were all ANCIENT! Who knew that spices go dull within a year? We never had fresh herbs, and what on earth were you supposed to do with cumin seed?? My a ha! moment was when I started using fresh herbs and whole spices- the flavors are so much more pronounced- the oregano tastes like oregano! The cumin tastes like cumin! The schnozberries taste like schnozberries!
Walt
My "aha" moment came the first time I tasted soup made with homemade stock. (thanks Michael!) I haven't purchased stock since.
Chris Herrmann
My 'ah-ha' moment was when I realized how easy it is to make your own mustard. Dijon and darker mustards in my opinion are THE condiment and when I saw how much money you can save by making it yourself (I already had a jar of neglected mustard seeds in my spice rack) it was a win win.
matt c
Probably the biggest a-ha moment for me was years ago when I used to throw Thanksgiving parties for large groups of people at my house. I was in my 20's, lived with a bunch of guys and we saw it as a way to celebrate the holiday with our friends.
The first year it was a small gathering of maybe 15 people, but by the 4th year, we had over 125 people crammed into our house. Every year, my cooking responsibilities got larger. 4 turkeys roasted, deep fried or smoked. Gallons of gravy. Dozens of loaves of bread. Countless boxes of butter melted and transformed.
However, every year it actually got easier to do and looking back, I had a subtle ah-ha moment that I really didn't realize until now:
I allowed myself the time to cook. I was patient and didn't rush things.
I prioritized my cooking. It wasn't an ordeal to make crust for ten pies, because I did it on Thursday. Froze them, and they were ready on Sunday to bake. I spent all evening Friday making my brines while chopping yams and ripping loaves of bread. I wasn't in a hurry, I wasn't stressed. I was spending time doing what would become a great meal.
Since then, I have become a much better cook. I attribute that to the priority and time I give to cooking, which has been especially important now that I have a family, career and am also in charge of all the cooking and shopping. On a Sunday, I set aside time to go to the Farmer's market and grocery store with my daughter. Plan meals. Make baby food for the week and prepare a roast or soup while my daughter naps.
However, I have to make time for this. When people ask me how I have time to cook so much, can my own pickles and preserves and spend so much time in the garden, I always answer "I don't watch TV. This is how I spend my time."
We all have time to cook. Everyone just has to find it and hold on to it.
Coby smith
My ah ha moment with the first time I made a perfect chicken stock.
bets
My A-Ha moment cumin and paprika. When I got spices my cooking improved.
Rebecca
Tarragon in tuna fish and on sauteed Brussels sprouts, makes a subtle but tasty difference.
Rafal
My moment was definitely making a soup that had very little browning going on. Since then I make sure to brown as much as I possibly can to create rich and deep flavors.
Joey T
As an amateur cook and baker, I think that one Ah Ha technique that I found makes a huge difference is the creaming method. Many, including a previous version of my own ignorant self, simply dump all of the baking ingredients into a bowl, mix and hope for the best. Incorporating the fat and sugar together prior to mixing the remaining ingredients aerates the butter and helps with lift when the mixture is heated. It pretty much embodies the phrase “Light and Fluffy”.
J.
My Ah-Ha, use the best ingredients possible. Freshly picked vegetables, meats, and especially fish. If you have ever eaten a Wellfleet oyster pulled from the water you would not dare add cocktail or Tabasco sauce. Fresh and clean like the ocean. Oh, the missing technique must be curing,.....right?
'Sri' Anne Shelton crute
My ah-ha moment not only taught me to make everything taste way better, but to boost the nutrition in my family's meals: really great bone broth. I'm not talking about the thin stuff that you make by just passively boiling bones, nor the crap labeled as stock or broth in the grocery store. I mean the stuff that jiggles like jello when it has been in the fridge, carefully made just at or below a bare simmer, with the right acid to get the collagen and minerals out of the bones. Then, using that to make not just soup, but rice, as the liquid for every little steam-stir fry, every everything! Wine to deglaze then bone broth to add saucy liquidity to the dish. Yum.
Annie
My Ah-Ha moment was a pinch of salt in anything sweet would enhance the flavor to another level, rounding out the flavor of the dish.
DJ
My favorite Ah-Ha moments are when I'm at a restaurant eating or drinking something truly amazing, and I realize that I can duplicate it at home. I whip up the recipe in my head as I'm indulging and then I often master it on the first try.
Michael Kolodziej
I was always disappointed when deep-fried stuff like dumplings or tempura etc. would come out soggy and full of oil rather than crisp. I once tried a recipe in a cookbook for bulghur dumplings and wanted to get them done quickly as guests already arrived. One of the guest was rather impatient and came into the kitchen nagging me for food, looking through cupboards and fridge for a quick snack before I served the three-course meal (cheeky!). I was distracted and soon the bulghur dumplings disintegrated. I gently moved my guest into the living room requesting her to have just a little bit of patience. After a trip to the pantry to get more oil and discarding the rather unsightly bulghur and oil broth, I started fresh. The rest came out fine, but I wondered what has gone wrong. After some searching on the internet I found out that it has to be done in small batches. Since the temperature of the food that is going to be fried is considerably lower, it will bring down the temperature of the oil. The dumplings needed the intense heat of around 350 degrees Fahrenheit to crispen up on the outside and keep everything together. If it is done in large batches, the heat of the oil will obviously drop and it is not hot enough to create a crisp outside. Rather disappointing that the importance of keeping the right temperature and ensuring this by frying smaller batches was not mentioned in the cook book. I am rather impatient with most things, but this incident has taught me that letting things take their time certainly pays off.
Mage Bailey
Julia Child in the '60's. Her beef burgundy woke my taste buds to a new level. Who could have imagined this after Germanic mutton and heavy dinners. Then breads. I never knew what yeast breads could really taste and smell like. Now in my seventies and rereading your first two volumes, I'm led to try cooking again. Nothing successful yet, but my kitchen sparkles when I am done.
Victoria
This will make me really sound like a plebe, but I had been cooking for a LONG time when I realized that in order to keep meat from sticking to a pan (I don't use non-stick pans), the pan has to be hot before the meat is added. Duh.
Victoria
My ah ha moment was when after cooking for a LONG time, I finally figured out that the pan has to hot when meat is put in to sear.
Garth
Salt. That was something of a bad word growing up and as I learned to cook. It is hard to remember THE moment but learning to use salt is the single most important skill a cook can have.
My favorite moment was at culinary school making some archaic reduced vinegar sauce. I tasted it with the chef and I recoiled a bit and said, "well, it doesn't need salt." I reluctantly added the handful of salt and re-tasted...I don't need to describe the difference but that was the moment I realized I had to pay more attention to the signals my mouth was sending.
OK, another one--a salt tasting in bake shop and understanding how bitter and metallic iodized table salt is. Why don't more at-home cooks understand that?
Roy Jensen
My "ah ha" moment..fresh quality herbs and spices.. toss out the 3 year old quart tin of dried oregano and get some fresh high quality stuff.
JD
The first time I tasted Roquefort cheese. The possibilities of food have never been the same for me since. I disappeared completely and only the cheese remained.
The missing technique? Imagine. It is the hardest one by far.
Bruce Bennett
My A HA moment with tomatoes that I grew up hating my entire life was when I tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper and thyme and oregano and slowly roasted the sh*t out of them for like 2+ hours to concentrate their flavors. I found I could make sauces with this or just eat them like candy. So useful in so many ways.
BrianShaw
My ah ha moment was when I realized that there is nothing unsanitary about tasting food as it cooks, and tasting EVERYTHING at every satage of cooking leads to better food.
Abbe
I'm having trouble thinking of one universal ah ha moment, so here's one that came from Charcuterie - I could never get a sausage to cook the way I wanted it to in a frying pan because it was too hot, too fast, overcooking on the outside, etc, until duh, you pointed out what works.
Gwen
Always, always, always use a hot pan to ensure a crisp texture when cooking meat. Works on chicken, steaks, and eggplant parmesan.
Tom
A double ah-ha; both earl May,1971 in Paris during our honeymoon. The first, lingering over a meal; I don't think I've had fast-food since. The second was in Montmarte in a restaurant's gravel courtyard. We were alone having had a nice lunch lunch. Unasked the proprietor brought us a bowl of beautiful fat strawberries and a good wedge of Roquefort. I think I thought, strange. But, when I tasted it was extraordinary. I was impressed with the possibilities of combing different tastes.
Dustin
My ah-ha moment was finally learning how to make a great French omelet. It's all about the right heat and the right pan.
John
Is #21 Weight or Ratio?
YS
Brining poultry or pork adds a ton of moisture and flavor, ensuring greater success during high stress holidays and entertaining.
Paule-Marie
Mine was when I gave up iodized salt and started using kosher salt. My food tasted better and didn't taste salt, just more flavorful. Along with that goes unsalted butter when I bake. Ever so much better.
Carolyn Z
Earlier this year, we discovered how delicious a chicken could be roasted in a clay pot. It's so easy. Soak the clay pot, put in veggies, and a salted and peppered bird with fresh herbs. It's kind of old-fashioned I guess, but I sometimes want maximum results with minimum effort. That's the most recent ah-ha. Before that is no-knead bread with fast-acting yeast.
Enjoy experimenting and that will encourage your intuition. To me that is number 21!
AC
I had never really cooked anything but eggs and instant ramen until the age of 23, when I got a girlfriend whose only food-making habit seemed to be preparing lunch sandwiches. I suddenly grew tired of eating that, eating out and buying pre-made microwavable food. One randomly motivated day, I went to a bookstore, picked a cookbook with pictures of food I wanted to eat, and immediately went to the market to get ingredients. I followed a simple recipe that began with sauteing onions, and that was it. From that moment, I've gradually learned how to cook all kinds of dishes that both my girlfriend and I love, many of which begin with heating up some onions.
Kevin McD
Started working at German beer hall about a year ago. When I started I was put on spatzle duty because no one else wanted to take on the job. The chef showed me the tecnigue once and sent me sailing, hovering over the boiling water for 40 minutes every other day sliding the spatzle press back and forth to make the batter fall through those little holes I constantly refilling the little 10oz. cup that held the batter. After weeks of sweaty messy spatzle making I knew there had to be a better way to make large quantities of this stuff. I went searching and came across an old school pot strainer with the same size holes. My kitchen buddies tried talking me out of using the tool, including chef, but I went for it anyway. Ah-ha. This old strainer fit right on the rim of the water pot, held 5 quarts of my batter, brought the batter closer to the water which created a longer spatzle noddle(good thing) and I was done in five minutes. The pot not only worked amazingly but I put out a better product. Cant beat that. I moved up in the kitchen since then but still continue to cook spatzle in my vintage pot strainer today.
Josh Kantor
My Ah-ha moment came when I realized that food unites people. I was studying abroad in Rome and ate at as many local joints as possible. There was this incredible food store called Volpetti which sold the best products found in Italy. I went in almost everyday to try something new, be it a special pecorino aged in a cave, or prosciutto from a different region. The owner, Emilio took a liking to me and we started a routine - try a few products, eat a couple suppli and then give him carte blanche to create a panino for me. We became so connected through these interactions that he offered to take me to his hometown of Norcia to see the curing process of their famed prosciutto. It's still the fondest memory of my time there and we exchange emails often.
Is technique 21: Curing/Preserving?
John Pula
Raw. The missing technique is when to leave things raw, and how to serve things raw (from salads, to tartare).
Nancy Mulvany
My latest ah-ha moment resulted from a mistake. I had a bowl of warm rice, onions, and a few shrimp. I added a splash of fish sauce and soy sauce. I reached for the bottle of my home-made hot sauce intending to add a few drops. Instead, I grabbed a bottle of the same size, Fee Brothers' Orange Bitters. As I added a few drops, I realized immediately what I had done. Oh well. I mixed the rice dish and tasted it. The Orange Bitters added a simple, but distinct flavor. I liked it! Since then I have been experimenting with the bitters. Orange bitters (in moderation) and shrimp is quite nice.
Liz Gutman
SALT! When I realized the importance of salt in everything - especially in pastry - I couldn't believe it. The difference between something that's not seasoned, and something that's seasoned perfectly, never ceases to amaze me.
John Lazzara
My most recent Ah-Ha moment was the realization that understanding technique reduces waste. I can’t begin to calculate how much food I threw out over the years because I didn’t have all the pieces I needed to fit into a familiar recipe puzzle. I find that I view our pantry and fridge more like a restauranteur these days, constantly planning and strategizing to make sure that nothing goes to waste.
Matt W.
My "Ah-Hah!" moment came the first time I put salt on a slice of tomato, and the way it made the flavors explode. My related Ah-hah moment was from trying to put too much salt on my mom's cooking to improve it, and that there's too much of a good thing...
Jessica / Green Skies and Sugar Trips
Arugula and Tomato..... its fucking magical!
Without tomato, the arugula is too nutty for me, but with tomato, it transforms it and changes it and somehow takes away from the nuttiness of it, and brings out more of the pepper.... fucking magic! 🙂
Troy Banks
My ah ha moment was probably finishing dishes with fresh herbs. Having my herb garden in the spring/summer is amazing, and nothing beats finishing off a dish with some fresh herbs. Just the flavor and balance they can give to a dish, amazing.
DairyStateMom
Ah-ha: Kosher salt. I'd been reducing salt in cooking for years. This summer my husband and I ate at Harvest in Madison, WI (YUM!). I ordered the appetizer of heirloom tomatoes, spectacularly colored and even more spectactularly flavored ... because they'd been properly seasoned. I tried it at home on my own tomatoes, and to quote the 14-year-old, "It feels like a whole bunch of flavors having a party in my mouth." Salt is MAGIC for cooking and eating.
Elizabeth Forney
Making a rack of lamb the other night with my boyfriend we paired it with fries and a homemade mayo. We wanted more than just plain mayo and were looking around our spices when I remembered we had lavender. We put that next to the rosemary and just smelling those two next to each other was our aha moment! Lavender rosemary mayo was thus born and it is good!
Melissa D
My a-ha moment was realizing the overwhelming importance of contrasts in food. With my photography background it was always understood that a delicate balance of lights and darks in a composition create so much of what we consider pleasure, visually. As I've learned to be more comfortable in the kitchen recently, it suddenly occurred to me that successful dishes are made most pleasurable through contrasts as well - a pinch of salt in a sweet dish, a light crunch to excite a soft dish, a contrast of color to draw you into a plate. Same techniques, different medium. Still an art form.
Bill Palmer
I combined orange marmalade with barbeque sauce to use for a dip with scallops wrapped w/bacon and,Ah Hah! It was delicious.
Rick Givens
For me, it was roasted pork loin and maple syrup. Fall time and flavours have always been my favourite. One evening last year, while cooking dinner for my family, I realized I was low on ingredients. I never thought before of combining the two, and now I can't imagine not doing it. From there I began using other fall time flavours like pumpkin and cinnamon. What it did was introduce me personally to the concept of sweet and at the same time savoury foods, and I began looking into other ingredients to pair together.
Joe Brown
My moment really was a little introverted. While mixing mortar on the jobsite in downtown Cleveland, I realized that if I made the brick mortar a little more like the "Miracle Bread" no-knead bread dough, it would be easier on the brick masons. Not to mention on my ears and ego.
Julie
My biggest ah-ha moment in cooking had to be when I realized I actually can cook! I was working as a bartender at a restaurant at the time and up until then nothing I made was ever any good. All I had ever made decently was sausage egg and cheese.
I realized part of learning to cook is not starting with the hard stuff (which is all I had ever done), it's putting together easily prepared foods for a great flavor combination. Once you learn the easy stuff, the hard stuff isn't quite so hard. 6 years later, I cook almost every night and I love it! And because of the internet I learned to butcher a duck and render the fat.
Mike Laier
Keeping my knives sharp!
Chris
My ah-ha moment was the time I actually cooked pasta al-dente. I had finally figured out the right amount of tooth the pasta needed before draining and incorporating the sauce. It changes the entire dynamic of the pasta having that extra texture.
Mike Laier
Mise en place
Haverly
A-ha moment - rolling out my pie crust between saran wrap. My dad would have never approved, but it insures my crusts don't stick to the pin or the counter. Bingo!
Justin
My a-ha moment came the first time I pickled something myself (pickled onions). I realized I could create a whole different set of flavors in my kitchen.
Mike
The first time that I had a pear and brie crostini. My mind was totally blown by the fact that you can pair two totally different foods and have this enormous amount of harmony between the two in your mouth. Extremely eye opening and really made me start thinking about the food I eat.
AR
Poached egg on meatballs. No idea savory non breakfast things could taste so much better with runny yolk.
Adam
My Ah-ha was an effort at making asian chicken wings....they came out terribly, like if teriyaki sauce was a meat, it was just pure salt, no balance. It gave my gf and I the knowledge that we wouldn't always succeed perfectly and that the process of becoming a better cook involves failure as much as it involves success.
Ed Andrews
This past weekend I was making lasagna in the style of Emilia-Romagna. Simple, elegant and rich. The bechamel and ragu were done. The only thing left was to make the pasta. The problem was that I was running out of time. I don't like using store bought pasta when I can avoid it, but time was short and guests were arriving sooner than I'd like. I told my wife the dilemma. She said she'd read somewhere that you don't need to boil fresh pasta prior to assembling the lasagna. Really? Yep. Well, AH HA. That will save me just the amount of time I need to make pasta and get dinner on the table just in time for our guests. I'll never forget that one.
Melissa
I've had so many but I guess the one I use over and over is when I made Cooks Illustrated High Heat Roasted Butterflied Turkey - I had never brined before but everything about that recipe was an AH HA moment - the brining, the chilled drying, the butterflying and the high heat. It turned out the most perfect turkey ever so I have used those methods for all sorts of poultry dishes since first using that recipe in 2001 for Thanksgiving. I've adapted the brine for different flavors including my verson of Nashville's famous 'Hot Chicken' which has way more flavor than the traditional hot chicken because of the brine. I never looked forward to the Thanksgiving turkey until then.
Tracy O'Cinneide
My "ah-ha" came to me when I was about 17 when I discovered I didn't have to follow a recipe exactly. I read a recipe and get "other" ideas from it. BTW, butter makes most everything taste better!
Karen
My "ah-ha" moment came when my mother became very ill, I realized that none of her recipes were written down. The Thanksgiving before she passed away, I asked her to talk me through the preparation of the turkey, her delicious beef brisket and how to make ruggalach. She wasn't very good at remembering amounts - her typical responses were "enough" or "until the dough feels right". Today, my ruggalach is in high demand every holiday season - I make around 500 pieces to give out to my friends and family - each piece individually rolled...the way my mother did it.
Tracy O'Cinneide
One of my first "ah-ha" moments came to me when I was about 17 (I guess). I had discovered that I did NOT have to follow a recipe to the exact. I read them and gather my own ideas and techniques to this day. "most everything tastes better with "real" butter"...
Tracy O'Cinneide
Sorry, I thought the first one didn't go through.
James Gass
My aha moment was when I realized that Ruhlman is too cheap to send 4 books to Canada, but he's quite happy to accept reams of free content from his followers.
Andrea
Discovering how much better homemade ice cream tastes and how easy it is to make.
Julie
Tasting Buffalo Mozzarella for the first time was truly an Ah-ha Moment for me. I couldn't understand how something so incredibly wonderful could so quietly exist.
Laurie
My 2 1/2 year old granddaughter is very picky about what she eats. This spring she helped plant our first vegetable garden. My ah-ha moment came when she picked her first tomato and eat the whole thing. She proceeded to pick and eat an onion, green pepper, and green bean, all things that had been yucky before. The ah-ha moment is still continuing. Returned from North Georgia with a bushel of wonderful apples. She has helped me make apple sauce, apple crisp,a great apple bunt cake, and freeze the the rest for later. Her part was of course the most important part, turn the handle on the apple peeler and make sure the apples stayed in the lemon water. When her mommy brought her over yesterday the first thing she wanted to know was, "Grandma are we going to make today."
The best ah-ha yet!
Mike
My ah-ha moment came as a student in a pastry certificate course I was taking - the day we learned the difference between baking powder and baking soda. You'd be surprised at how many recipes use them incorrectly (well, YOU probably wouldn't). I have not looked at a recipe the same way again. I guess the real lesson was that, if you know your ingredients, you can read recipes more critically.
Colin
ah-ha: how sugar turns up the brightness in savory dishes without adding sweetness. I guess McDonalds figured this out decades ago, but for me it took a friend telling me to put just a tad in my tomato sauce and tasting it come alive.