Top 5 culinary secrets that make restaurant food taste better than home cooking

You've probably noticed that food in restaurants tastes much better than what you cooked at home. This may make you feel like you're just a worse cook than the chef. But this is not the case.

The fact is that the main principles of any restaurant's kitchen are speed and quality. That is why so-called cheat codes have been developed that can improve both the structure and taste of a dish. These are kind of culinary secrets created by professionals with many years of experience, while ordinary cooks may not even know about them. Chef Joshua Weissman shared the top 5 cheat codes on his YouTube channel.

Salt and time

Salt makes pork or chicken meat extra juicy. If you salt these foods just before cooking, the salt will only remain on the outside. But if you do it in advance, the product will have time to be completely salted. Some moisture will be extracted from the fibers and proteins will be broken down. This process will make the meat not only juicier but also more tender. You can get a similar effect by salting vegetables in advance.

Salt and acid

According to the chef, a restaurant that serves unsalted food cannot be considered worthy of attention. But there is one prerequisite for using salt. Immediately after you have salted the dish, you should add a little acid. It can be vinegar or lemon or lime juice. This technique will further reveal the taste of the dish and make its structure more delicate.

Weight

How do chefs in restaurants manage to make the same dish every day without it tasting different? This effect is achieved not only by following the recipe, but also by keeping clear proportions. In this way, the recipe is standardized, and even if it is passed from chef to chef, the dish will remain consistently high quality and tasty.

Pre-frying in deep fat

Why is it that deep-fried food is served in restaurants in minutes, while it takes quite a bit of time to prepare it at home? In fact, most dishes are prepared in advance. To do this, the oil is heated to 140-160 degrees, which is much less than what is needed for quick cooking. The dish is dipped into the oil and the batter is allowed to "set" and the main product to cook inside. Then the dish is removed from the fryer and frozen. In this form, it can be stored for 4 days. When it's time to serve your customers, all you have to do is put the frozen dish into the deep fryer, preheated to 190 degrees, and wait until the batter is the color you want. It usually takes 1-3 minutes.

Confit

This word is of French origin and means "preserved". When using this method, the product is not exposed to high temperatures and is cooked for a long time. Then all the flavors are concentrated inside the dish and the product becomes rich and juicy.