/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>12911337
Some good advice about shopping in here, so here are a few cheap cooking tricks I always use:

* Caramelize onions. Dice a few onions, oil a pan and put them on low heat with the lid on. Stir every 10-15 minutes. They take 1-2 hours to caramelize, you should see them turning a translucent soft instead of crisping when you fry them. These things are a magic ingredient, you can put them in soups, sauces, casseroles, anything. Mom liked to put them in cheesy potatoes and gravy, Dad liked to use them in a cheater's Chicken Fricassee, I like to put them in soups.

* Get some indian spices. Not sure where you are, but odds are good there's an Indian market near you. Don't buy them at a mainstream supermarket, always overpriced. You can buy them cheap from an Indian market and make a lot of things with them. Especially if you're eating a lot of beans and rice, it's a good way to add variety. You'd probably be fine with coriander, turmeric, paprika, and a little cardamom. Don't overdo it if you really can't, but if you look around you can find spices for cheap.

* Get some vegetables frozen. In my experience spinach and peas are just as good frozen and are usually cheaper. Peas I flash-boil for a minute and douse in cold water, then finish with a little butter/pepper/salt and some sauteed onions. Spinach I melt with a little cream and then bake in the oven with some cheese.

* Watch some French cooking videos, a lot of French cooking is based on cheap peasant food if you avoid the high brow stuff. Mirepoix (onions, celery, carrots) is the basis of a lot of gravies and sauces.

* Get good at baking. Few things are cheaper than modern carbs, homemade bread is delicious, crust turns into delicious pies, cornbread is delicious, cakes are delicious.

* Buy some bulk meats. Not sure where you are but meats are generally cheaper in bulk. Don't go for the chicken breasts, get the whole chicken, don't get ground beef, get a roast.

>>10615505
You're getting the wrong kind of paprika m8.

Most paprika really doesn't live up to the name, this is one of those products where hipster brands aren't just a meme. Name brand paprika like yours tastes like pepper sawdust to me.

Not saying you'll like it any better but try something like pic related which I use all the time. Really very different, much stronger flavor. I can get more from a teaspoon of this than a tablespoon of name brand.

MOTHERFUCKING SMOKED PAPRIKA

Smoked paprika is my favourite. Second must be basil when it comes to seasoning.

Ingredient wise, the tomato. So versatile, I love it.