# Cooking. I admit it, I use \ **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072 "2010-09-08T17:12:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/61 "2010-09-09T12:42:02Z")
Is it cheating to put sugar in the water to boil corn on the cob? That’s just how I was taught to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/62 "2010-09-09T13:38:01Z")
> [@Jet\_Jaguar](#): > > Another one, I’ll buy plain spaghetti sauce in a jar and add my own stuff to it. Again, I’ve made sauce from scratch before, but 90% of the time I just don’t want to be bothered. I’ve done this so long, it didn’t even register in my mind as a shortcut. I use the ready-made pie crust too. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/63 "2010-09-09T13:47:29Z")
> [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > Anchovy paste. > > The perfect condiment for sautéed vegetables and into soups and sauces. I never tell people I’m using it until they beg me for what the secret ingredient is in my vegetables. In lieu of salt, it is the perfect flavor component with a pat of butter and a small handful of pinenuts for pan-sautéed veggies! Not really seeing the shortcut here. Anchovy paste is what most cooks would call an ingredient. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/64 "2010-09-09T14:09:05Z")
I had a recipe from Mr. Food at one time for an awesome deep dish pizza baked in a cast iron frying pan in the oven. Using a cheap-o frozen cheese pizza as a crust and just layering on. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/65 "2010-09-09T14:12:53Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Not really seeing the shortcut here. Anchovy paste is what most cooks would call an ingredient. I agree. I’m not sure parboiling meat before grilling is an embarassing short-cut either, just a technique (since a professional chef I know suggested it once, I’m not putting it in the ‘embarrassing for food snobs’ category). What kind of frozen pie crust is as good as homemade? Never comes close in my experience (though we’ve got pretty high standards for pie crust chez Quercus) My secret shame is using lemon juice from a big bottle that’s sitting in the fridge forever. Please don’t tell Bourdain. And canned (or aseptic-packaged) chicken stock is shameful? Put me on the list for that as well then. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/66 "2010-09-09T14:14:18Z")
I add a can of chili con carne to homemade chili so I don’t have to cook any meat. I am unrepentant! ---
**Author:** ![Stormcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@Stormcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stormcrow)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/67 "2010-09-09T14:36:05Z")
I’m going to have to go looking for Thai currie pastes now that so many people have said they work well. I’ve never managed to get a decent curry done at home. Any brand recommendations? I use spaghetti sauce, I do the cardboard boxes of stock (I get the good ones - they typically have less sodium and no MSG), and I have one of those jars of garlic in my fridge right now… Its been mentioned upthread, but folks do know the trick to peeling garlic, right? Just smash the clove once (not to the point of pulverizing) to loosen the skin so it’ll come right off. It does make it very quick to use when you do need to use the real thing. Another trick in regards to stock - some butcher shops sell stock, which is much better than even the best supermarket stuff. A good option when it really matters. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/68 "2010-09-09T14:52:17Z")
Here’s one I just started doing. I cook some Chinese food, and you usually mix up two small bowls for the sauce: one with the tasty ingredients, and one with stock and corn starch as a thickener. I just mix all those together in one bowl and dump then in at the same time. One less bowl to clean, and one less step in the cooking process. But you want to mix the stock and starch first, and stir it up. It tends to clump with the more oily stuff you add to make the sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/69 "2010-09-09T14:53:49Z")
> [@chela](#): > > My shortcut is to nuke or parboil meats before they go on the grill, who wants to babysit ribs or thick bone in hunks of bird on the barbie for hours, adding charcoal lumps, basting, turning, timing, adding lumps, basting, turning timing. Grillin is fast food over high heat, flash sizzle cover, turn once or twice bada bing it’s done. I don’t think I know anyone who _doesn’t_ do this, unless they’re smoking. Something that I discovered recently is tomato paste in a tube. Why have I missed seeing this? I couldn’t estimate the amount of leftover tomato paste from a can that I’ve ended up throwing away. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/70 "2010-09-09T14:59:35Z")
**Stormcrow** , I like the Mae Ploy thai curry pastes. They’re nice and spicy. I don’t do the jarred garlic, I think it tastes a bit off and by the time I go get it from the fridge, get a spoon to remove some, and put it back, I could have peeled and chopped a couple of cloves of garlic, which are always on the counter in front of the cutting board. But I like the “chopping stuff” part of cooking. I do use the “better than bouillon” stock goop in a jar. I don’t have the freezer room to store a bunch of homemade stock, and can’t really be bothered, anyway. Re: pizza dough. The [no-knead bread dough recipe,](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html) which takes about 30 seconds to throw together, makes awesome pizza dough. I try to always keep a batch in the fridge (lasts 2 weeks) so I can grab a hunk for impromptu pizzas. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/71 "2010-09-09T14:59:45Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Is it cheating to put sugar in the water to boil corn on the cob? That’s just how I was taught to do it. You’re just cheating yourself if you boil corn. Here’s a clean secret, when cooking corn (without sucking the flavor out in a pot of boiling water), add corn oil. The cheapest, smelliest brand you can find. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/72 "2010-09-09T15:02:06Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Something that I discovered recently is tomato paste in a tube. Why have I missed seeing this? I couldn’t estimate the amount of leftover tomato paste from a can that I’ve ended up throwing away. You can also buy the cans of tomato paste and spoon out the unused portion into tablespoon-ish lumps on some press and seal, then freeze them. It’s considerably cheaper than the tubed version, if it matters. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/73 "2010-09-09T15:10:20Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Is it cheating to put sugar in the water to boil corn on the cob? That’s just how I was taught to do it. If the corn is fresh, sugar is unnecessary, but I agree with **Tripolar** about boiling corn. I used to do it, but there are better methods such as grilling. If you’re in a hurry, the best method is to wrap the shucked ears in plastic wrap and nuke them for as long as it takes to get them hot. A couple of minutes per ear is plenty, and they come out much tastier than with boiling. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/74 "2010-09-09T15:12:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I don’t think I know anyone who _doesn’t_ do this, unless they’re smoking. I don’t know anybody who parboils chicken before grilling it, and I’ve never heard of microwaving something before putting it on the grill. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/75 "2010-09-09T15:30:18Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Something that I discovered recently is tomato paste in a tube. Why have I missed seeing this? I couldn’t estimate the amount of leftover tomato paste from a can that I’ve ended up throwing away. Stay away from the “Sun-dried” variety, though. Tastes like ass. ---
**Author:** ![TheFifthYear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@TheFifthYear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFifthYear)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/76 "2010-09-09T15:37:38Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > > [@Chefguy](#): > > > > Something that I discovered recently is tomato paste in a tube. Why have I missed seeing this? I couldn’t estimate the amount of leftover tomato paste from a can that I’ve ended up throwing away. > > Stay away from the “Sun-dried” variety, though. Tastes like ass. Not at all. There are only two shortcuts that have been posted that get a :dubious: from me. First is parboiling chicken before grilling it. Really? It doesn’t take that long. Have a couple beers while it cooks. Second is using jarred tomato sauce and then doctoring it. I can understand if you just want something quick and easy straight out of the jar (sort of an alternative to take out on the nights you don’t want to cook), but if you’re going to doctor it anyway, it’s just as easy to make your own sauce. If you keep canned tomatoes around, you can put together a sauce in the time it takes to get the pasta water boiling. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/77 "2010-09-09T15:56:21Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > > [@Chefguy](#): > > > > I don’t think I know anyone who _doesn’t_ do this, unless they’re smoking. > > I don’t know anybody who parboils chicken before grilling it, and I’ve never heard of microwaving something before putting it on the grill. I never, ever parboil anything before putting it on a grill. Why in holy blazes would I want to do that? You see that liquid left over after parboiling? Well, you’ve now got a light stock on your hands–you’ve effectively leeched out a good bit of your meat flavor. Never. Ever. And I guess I should add, I also used premade broths or stocks all the time. I also make my own, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with the lower sodium varieties when you’re using it as a quick base for another soup. Swanson’s Chicken Cooking Stock (not their broth) or their low-sodium chicken broth (Natural Goodness, I think) are fine. I wouldn’t use these if I’m trying to reduce down to a demiglace or something like that, but for general use they are fine. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/78 "2010-09-09T16:08:15Z")
Wondering if by “parboil” the meat before grilling, the poster upthread really meant to say “parcook”, like in an oven for a little bit. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/79 "2010-09-09T16:09:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > > [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > > > I don’t know anybody who parboils chicken before grilling it, and I’ve never heard of microwaving something before putting it on the grill. > > I never, ever parboil anything before putting it on a grill. Why in holy blazes would I want to do that? You see that liquid left over after parboiling? Well, you’ve now got a light stock on your hands–you’ve effectively leeched out a good bit of your meat flavor. Never. Ever. The best way to introduce some wet heat to a meat before grilling is to just braise it in the oven. You don’t lose the flavor, and it cooks more gently than if you were boiling it for a while. Still, I’d never do that with chicken. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072/80 "2010-09-09T16:15:59Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > The best way to introduce some wet heat to a meat before grilling is to just braise it in the oven. You don’t lose the flavor, and it cooks more gently than if you were boiling it for a while. Still, I’d never do that with chicken. Braises are fine (although I don’t do that for the grill. If I want that texture, just foil the thing with a little liquid, same difference. But if I’m grilling, I don’t really want the braised texture.) But no parboiling for me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-i-admit-it-i-use-this-short-cut/553072.md?page=5)