Samin Nosrat's Best Tips For Beginner Cooks - Exclusive
Whether you have been cooking at home for years and hope to level up your culinary skills or you're just getting started, taking on new challenges in the home kitchen can be intimidating at any stage. Sometimes new cooks make mistakes, like avoiding sharp knives or waiting to salt until the last step of cooking (via Real Simple). However, the biggest tip for doing well in the kitchen might all be in your head.
According to Samin Nosrat, chef and author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, you just need to relax and enjoy the process. During an exclusive interview with Mashed, Nosrat explained, "Be kind to yourself, be patient, you're going to mess up, like we all mess up. I still make a lot of really bad stuff, it happens all the time. It's part of the process." Though some mistakes are more public than others, there's always a welcome solution, according to Nosrat. "Sometimes you will have to eat it and serve it, and other times you don't. It's not that big of a deal, you can just order a pizza," she said.
She also thinks it's important to keep a realistic view of yourself as you learn. The chef and author said, "I think there's a tendency to be swept up in what you see on the internet or on social media and you think that it's all perfect all the time out there, or we have this idea that a meal should look a certain way or be something, and truly, that's not true. It's just not." So, don't sweat it.
You can keep it simple, according to Samin Nosrat
As you progress, one way to build your confidence in the kitchen is to keep things simple. You don't need to jump right into making a 15-course tasting menu for your friends when they come over to be considered a great home cook. As Samin Nosrat told Mashed, "a meal can be eggs on toast, a meal can be a pile of brazed greens on a bowl of rice. A meal does not have to be three sides and a perfectly cooked meat. It does not have to [...] have condiments and sauces that you prepared to order." You can explore making simple or well-known dishes really well so they are incredibly delicious. Something that's familiar is a great way to start building and advancing your skills.
Apart from not being afraid to try new things and being patient with yourself, Nosrat has one more great tip for new home cooks. She said, "Take it easy on yourself and just keep practicing, because that's the only way people get better at anything." So get in the kitchen and start cooking without being too hard on yourself. That's the only way you'll become as good as you want to be.
You can see chef and author Samin Nosrat, along with other notable chefs and celebrities, on this season of Waffles + Mochi, streaming now on Netflix.