I feel like I’m in the kitchen all. the. time. Between cleaning, cooking and then cleaning some more, maintaining the kitchen is a never ending battle!
Can you relate?
Well, we might as well make the process as easy as possible and what better way to do that than learn from some professionals…TV Professionals that is!
Cooking show chefs prep all the food at one time.
Ok. I know what your thinking.
Those cooks don’t prep their food! They have people who do that for them. And their people divide up all the ingredients and put in little bowls so it looks easy.
Well, your right! But we can still learn something from them.
All ingredients used in a cooking segment are ready to go when it’s time to prepare the meal. When the chef starts caramelizing onion in the pan, they don’t accidentally let it burn because they’re still chopping peppers. They actually pay attention to the onions so they can start sautéing the peppers at the perfect time.
Their prep work pays off!
Cooking show chefs prep food in one location.
Every once in a while, you’ll see the host of a cooking show actually chop up the ingredients they need for the meal. They may have spices and other seasonings in those little bowls, but the main ingredients they chop during the show.
What’s interesting is that they chop/dice/cut all the ingredients in one spot on the counter. The cutting board is right beside the meat, veggies, and fruit so they can just grab the ingredient needed, fly though the chopping process, and start cooking.
Cooking show chefs use the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Chefs on cooking shows rarely pull out a food processor. (To be fair, I rarely pull one out either…probably because it’s in the very back of the pantry!) They don’t use a space saving chopper bought from an infomercial. (Probably because the cup is so small it can barely chop an entire baby carrot!). They use a knife.
You can save valuable time by just using a good knife. Now, I don’t mean that old, dull steak knife that’s been hanging out in the knife block for 5 years. I mean a GOOD professional knife. One that can cut though raw chicken with a simple swipe. One that can be used to dice an entire onion in ten seconds. One that you don’t have to saw back and forth a hundred times just to chop an apple.
The space in your kitchen will seem to triple if you use a knife as your main chopping tool. Once you find out that your knife can replace those ten appliances sitting on the counter, you just may want to ditch the extra appliances and use that space to work!
Cleaning a knife is simple. You can easily transition from veggies to raw meat to fruit just by rinsing the knife under water and wiping it with a dishrag soaked in a water/bleach mixture.
A GOOD professional knife will kick the pants off of a chopper!
Cooking show chefs utilize a scrap bowl.
I realize cooking show hosts need to use a scrap bowl because it conceals the messiness on camera. Plus it would be kind of strange for them to be walking back and forth to the trash can.
But the scrap bowl is actually very useful in real life. It contains the mess in your kitchen. It keeps your counters from getting dirty. It can even make the prep work go faster since everything is within arms reach.
Cooking show chefs put dirty dishes in the sink.
When the host is finished with a bowl, it doesn’t stay on the counter. It goes in the sink. When they’re done with a spoon, it goes in the sink. Granted the sink is usually hidden from camera view. But isn’t that kind of the point. The dirty dishes aren’t cluttering up the counters. Instead they are hidden in the sink.
I’m notorious for putting dirty dishes on the counter instead of in the sink or dishwasher but I’ve been trying to put this into practice. As soon as I’m finished with a bowl, I put it in the sink and fill it up with soapy water. Then all subsequent dirty measuring cups, utensils, etc. go in the bowl. It makes for easy cleanup and even hand washing the dishes is a breeze!
So there you have it! Cooking shows teach us to use a good knife to chop, dice, and cut all ingredients for a meal at the same time and in the same spot on the counter. As we’re chopping, put all the scraps into one bowl. Then, as you cook, mix, or bake, put all the dirty dishes directly into the sink or dishwasher.
Seems simple enough…what do you think?
Several of my favorite home-related bloggers and I are writing monthly series on cleaning, de-cluttering and taking care of your home. For other ideas related to the kitchen, stop by these other Room by Room bloggers!
- Jami from An Oregon Cottage is re-vamping and beautifying her “pitifully small” spice cabinet.
- Nony from A Slob Comes Clean is talking about how she keeps her food storage containers from causing an avalanche every time she opens the cabinet door.
- Taylor from Stain Removal 101 is sharing tips, tricks, and how-tos of cleaning the fridge.
- Lauren from Mama’s Laundry Talk is sharing the do’s and don’ts for your dishcloths.
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iDreamOfClean
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Love these ideas! Everytime I create a scrap bowl my kitchen stays cleaner. I must remember to do it more often
LOVE this!! I have switched to a knife for chopping and it does save, time and mess!
I also use the soappy bowl in the sink to drop in dirty dshes as I go. Makes clean up a snap!
I used to use a scrap bowl and stopped. thanks for the reminder! I am going to start using one again today!
:)
Lisa
I, too, used to use a “garbage bowl” after a Rachael Ray-watching craze of many years ago. Not sure when I fell out of the habit, but it would be a good one to pick back up!
Good reminders and good motivation!
I use two ice-cream containers for the scraps from my kitchen. They both have lids so I don’t need to empty them immediately, I simply made room in a cupboard under the sink for them to sit in. The larger one goes out to the compost bin and the other one goes down to the chooks each afternoon. Even when my daughters finish their fruit, etc and they may have peel or an apple core they never put them in the rubbish bin but straight into the recycling or chook container.
I will implement the garbage bowl tonight!!
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