5 Cooking Hacks by Nik Sharma | The Flavor Equation

Author of The Flavor Equation, Nik Sharma dives deep into the most basic of our pantry items – salts, oils, sugars, vinegars, citrus, peppers, and so on – and other approachable spices and herbs, and demonstrates how to convert them into tasty, simple dishes. Get expert cooking tips from the man behind the award-winning blog A Brown Table.

Hi Folks,

My name is Nik and I write a multi-award-winning blog called A Brown Table. I’ve written and photographed two cookbooks; the James Beard nominated Season and most recently, The Flavor Equation. I started out as a molecular biologist and eventually switched careers to become a cook and later on a recipe developer and photographer. I currently write recipes and about food science for Serious Eats, Food52, The Guardian (Feast), and the New York Times. Prior to this I was the featured food columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle.

The Flavor Equation is a science-based cookbook that explores our relationship with flavor through the different elements of emotions, sights, sounds, textures, aromas, and tastes. With more than 100 recipes and easy hacks, this book promises to make a more knowledgeable and creative cook out of you.

 

Hack 1: How to bump up the umami taste in your cooking: Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes or add them directly to your stocks or soups. Discard the dried mushrooms after use.

Hack 2: To reduce or mask the bitter taste in some foods: Use salt or acids to mask the bitter taste. Serving some bitter foods at warmer temperatures suppresses their bitter tastes. 

Hack 3: How to make soft, creamy beans when cooking dishes like dal makhani: Boil the beans with a baking soda and salt in water.

Hack 4: To build a more earthy sweet taste in desserts, use unrefined sugars like jaggery when cooking. Jaggery is great in upside-down cakes, cookies, and even over grilled fruit.

Hack 5: To avoid the red color of beets from staining your hands or your work surface like your cutting board lightly brush a little neutral tasting oil before cutting the beets. The red pigment in beets, betalain is soluble in water and not in fats. The red color will easily glide off your cutting board.

 

To get access to more hacks and over 100 essential recipes, pre-order your copy of The Flavor Equation today!

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