Everyday Kitchen Secrets from Professional Chefs

You don't have to go to culinary school to learn a few of the kitchen secrets professional chef use everyday. Some generous chefs are willing to share of few tricks of the trade with us commoners. Here are a few professional cooking secrets you can use in your home kitchen.

Secret to Cooking Perfect Snow Peas

The chef's secret to cooking perfect snow peas is to not cook them at all, at least not in the traditional sense of cooking. For crisp, tender, bright green snow peas anytime, use this kitchen secret - Place raw snow peas in a colander in the sink and pour boiling water over them until they turn bright green. Then rinse the peas under cold running water to stop the cooking process. Perfectly cooked snow peas in seconds.

Secret for Perfect Quiche Crust

Home cook often utilize leftover vegetables to make a quiche, and a frozen pie crust makes quick work of creating this heart healthy family dish. Unfortunately the frozen pie crust tends to turn out soggy. Use this professional chef's secret to keep the pie crust crisp and to add flavor. Before filling the pie crust, sprinkle it with three tablespoons of fresh, grated Parmesan cheese and one teaspoon of flour. During the baking process, the cheese will melt and create a barrier between the quiche filling and the crust and the flour absorbs excess moisture.

Choose a Male Eggplant

Chef's like to use a male eggplant in recipes because they have fewer seeds and a milder flavor. But how can a home cook know the difference between a male and female eggplant? Look at the bottom of the eggplant, a deep, dash-shaped indentation indicates it's a female. A shallow, round indentation indicates the eggplant is a male.

Secret to Keeping Fresh Herbs Fresh

When buying or harvesting fresh herbs, use this kitchen secret of the chefs so the fresh herbs will remain fresh for days. Wrap the herbs in a damp paper towel, then place in an open plastic bag and store in the refrigerator. This secret keeps the herbs just moist enough to taste fresh, but not too moist to cause decay.

Secret to a Drip-less Ice Cream Cone

Prevent the drips before the occur with one of the two professional chef's secrets - Dip the bottom tip of the ice cream cone in melted chocolate and allow the chocolate to harden before filling with ice cream. When melted chocolate is not available, place a semi-sweet chocolate baking chip, upside down, in the bottom of the ice cream cone. A peanut butter, white chocolate or other flavored baking chip works well too, plus it will add a surprise flavor to the last bite of the ice cream cone.