Five things you should always do even if a recipe doesn’t say to

Reading a recipe carefully — and, preferably, multiple times — is one of the best things you can do to set yourself up for success in the kitchen. But sometimes what a recipe doesn’t say is just as important as what it does.

Whether through an assumption of common knowledge or author neglect, not everything you need to know is explicitly written out in every recipe. Here are some of the most important things to always do when it comes time to cook.

1. Wash your hands

I once had a reader ask me why we didn’t start every one of our recipes with this basic but essential step. And even though I’m generally of the opinion that it’s better to spell something out than not, this was a bridge too far for me.

However, consider this my reminder to you: every cooking session should begin and end with washing your hands. (Need a refresher? Health Direct recommends wetting your hands with preferably warm water, lathering up and scrubbing with soap for 20 seconds, rinsing under running water, and drying.) This not only prevents the spread of illness, but also is key to reducing the risk of cross-contamination, which is why you should immediately wash your hands after touching raw meat or eggs.

2. Preheat your pan or oven

Setting aside the linguistic debate about whether turning on the oven or stove top before you’re ready to cook should even be called “preheating” or just “heating”, making sure your equipment is hot before you put your food in is crucial.

Ovens often take longer to get up to temp than people realise, and if you wait long enough to let that happen, you’ll get tall cakes, cookies that rise rather than spread and crisp roasted vegetables. For many recipes, preheating your skillet can help prevent sticking and encourage browning.

3. Pat meat dry before cooking

If you’ve ever wondered why your meat never browns well when seared or found yourself battling epic splatters, there’s a good chance you’re dealing with excessive moisture. If there’s water on the outside of your meat, the heat of the pan will first go towards burning it off before it goes to browning the meat and can even cause the meat to steam rather than darken. And when that extra moisture meets the hot fat, it will spit and fly out of the skillet. Before placing the meat in the (sufficiently preheated) pan, pat it dry with clean towels. (Then, of course, wash your hands.)

4. Check the internal temperature of meat

The most certain way to determine whether meat has reached a safe internal temperature is to check it with a thermometer. It takes the guesswork out, meaning you don’t need to rely on less reliable cues such as the colour of the meat or the juices that may run out of it.

In my experience, many recipes will say to remove the meat from the heat once “cooked through” and may not even specify an internal temperature. So do yourself a favour by buying an instant-read thermometer and bookmarking a reliable source of internal temperatures because they can vary by type of meat or cut.

5. Scrape down the mixing bowl

Whether you’re mixing by hand or using a hand or stand mixer in a baking recipe, it’s always a good idea to scrape down the bowl (and attachments) often. Ingredients such as butter or flour can accumulate on the sides or bottom of the bowl and stay there, leading to doughs or batters that aren’t uniform or properly incorporated. That can result in dry pockets of flour in the finished baked good and, in the case of creaming butter and sugar, flat or greasy cakes or cookies.

A flexible spatula is the best tool for the job. Another bonus: if you do one last scrape of the bowl at the end of putting together a cake batter or cookie dough, just before the ingredients are fully incorporated, you’ll reduce the odds of overmixing and ending up with something tough.

Washington Post