Whether we picked up on how they prepared dinner while we were still at their hips, or we asked for their expertise as adults, our moms and grandmothers can take the credit for some of the most fundamental lessons we learned as home cooks.
Here, our editors and Allrecipes Allstars share their favorite kitchen tips from the women who raised them. While these bits of kitchen wisdom are nothing new (your mom may have planted the same seeds in your head!) they're well worth repeating.
Plan ahead
"Bringing a dish to a potluck is a bit of a rite of passage in the South, and my mom was always quick to tell me (as her mom told her) to never bring a recipe you haven't made before. Of course, I didn't heed this advice and quickly learned the hard way what two generations of Texas women knew from experience. Everyone might not agree with this philosophy, but in my experience giving yourself an opportunity to make the recipe at least once before to 1) see if you like it, and 2) work out any kinks, will save you a lot of stress on the day of." — Melanie Fincher, Staff Writer, SEO
"Have a couple of dishes you excel at so you always have those to fall back on when you have company." — Stacy Rennie, Allrecipes Allstar
"Mom did an excellent job with timing. Everything on the menu was finished right on time. She taught me to plan cooking tasks ahead and to use the cooking time of one dish to prep for another." — Brenda Venable, Allrecipes Allstar
Don't be afraid to fail
"My mother isn't just an incredible cook, she's an experimental one. The most valuable cooking lesson I've learned from her is to try new dishes and ingredients that may sound zany, but often end up being the most delicious. Her fearless approach to cooking inspires me and makes me feel connected to her in my own kitchen." — Rai Mincey, Assistant Editor
Stretch your ingredients
"My mom taught me to stretch ground beef in almost every recipe by adding diced onions and bell peppers during cooking." — Rebekah Hill, Allrecipes Allstar
"She blames it on being a child of the Great Depression, but my grandmother can make any food, recipe, or ingredient goes 10 times further than it ever was intended. For example, where most people would leave behind a few teaspoons in a mayonnaise jar because they don't want the hassle of scraping, she tosses in the ingredients for an egg or tuna salad and uses the jar to stir so she gets every bit of that mayo used up. A few bite of ketchup in the bottle? She adds water, shakes, and pours it into her sloppy joes or spaghetti sauce. She won't let anything go if she can help it." — Kimberly Holland, Senior Editor
Measurements matter
"Throughout the years my mum went from cooking for a family of six to cooking for just two. An important tip I learned was the distinct difference between '1 cup chopped pecans' and '1 cup pecans, chopped' along with the reality that dry and liquid ingredients must be measured differently. I learned this awful mistake by believing 2 ounces cocoa powder was the same as 1/4 cup cocoa. Oh how wrong I was and how awful the chocolate mousse tasted!" — Sarah Stone, Allrecipes Allstar
"While chopping celery, bell pepper, and onion to make gumbo, my mom taught me that cutting vegetables into pieces of roughly the same size will ensure that they cook evenly. Otherwise, the smaller pieces can burn before the larger ones can cook till tender. This still sticks with me." — Mary Claire Lagroue, Assistant Editor
Clean up as you go
"My grandma taught me that a good cook always cleans up the kitchen as they go. I know this sounds pretty simple and maybe too obvious, but I've often been cooking and forgotten to clean up as I go… and then at the end when my kitchen is a total disaster, I always remember how right my grandma was!" — Diana Moutsopoulos, Senior Editor, SEO
"My mom taught me to clean pans and put things away as you prepare food. When you're done, the kitchen doesn't look like a tornado has come through." — Carol Castellucci Miller, Allrecipes Allstar
"My mom ingrained in me the importance of cleaning as you go while you cook so you don't end up with a messy kitchen when you're done!" — Nora Roy, Allrecipes Allstar
Related:
- Our Moms Swear By These Kitchen Things, So We Bought Them, Too
- 13 Old-Fashioned Ingredients That Remind Us of Our Moms and Grandmas
- 19 Retro Recipes So You and Mom Can Cook Up Some Nostalgia
