Celebrity chef: Cooking habits that are a 'waste of time'

MasterChef winner Adam Liaw has debunked some of the most common cooking myths. Photo / 123RF

He's the celebrity chef who single-handedly revolutionised the way Aussies eat their snag and bread combo.

And now Adam Liaw has turned his professional eye to some of the more enduring cooking myths – and revealed which you should ditch.

Taking to Twitter, Liaw, the season two winner of MasterChef, told fans they were welcome to disagree with his opinions, but should be warned: "I'm also correct".

Celebrity chef Adam Liaw has turned his professional eye to some of the more enduring cooking myths - and revealed which you should ditch. Photo / File

Here we take a look at some of his best, including not using good wine for cooking, ditching the urge to blanche veggies and why marinades are a waste of time.

1. DON"T USE DRINKING WINE FOR COOKING

The first myth Liaw debunked was that of thinking good wine was a must if a recipe called for it.

"After you've boiled your wine with stock and a couple of kilos of beef and vegetables you'd be hard-pressed to know what wine it was, let alone whether it was 'good'.

He said he practice wasn't only unnecessary but: "You're just wasting good drinking wine."

2. BLANCHING VEGETABLES IS BAD

Conventional cooking wisdom holds that if you want to ensure vegetables stay crisp after boiling, you need to place these in cold water after they're cooked.

Blanching is a waste of time, according to celebrity chef Adam Liaw. Photo / 123RF

But as it turns out doing so just produces "watery" vege.

"If you boil vegetables all the way through and then let them stand they will overcook, so boil them until just BEFORE they're ready and let them finish with residual heat," Liaw said.

3. NON-STICK PANS HAVE LIMITATIONS

Next, Liaw revealed why a non-stick pan shouldn't be your go-to utensil for cooking every type of food.

He said pans which are coated with Teflon are good for cooking eggs, pancakes or other soft foods "and not much else".

Liaw explained the problem with these types of pans was that oil and water can "bead" and the heat can become unevenly distributed – the opposite of what you want when trying to cook.

4. MARINADES ARE A WASTE OF TIME

According to Liaw, marinating food is pointless unless you are marinading meat that is thinly sliced.

Marinades are a waste of time, according to Adam Liaw. Photo / 123RF

He said marinades don't "penetrate into meat" which means the flavoursome ingredients largely end up on the outside.

"[This] both burns them AND stops the outside of the meat cooking properly."

5. THE BIG DEAL ABOUT BRINING

Brining is a way of infusing flavour and moisture into certain foods, particularly lean meats, reported Taste magazine.

Liaw said while brining isn't a waste of time per se, wet brines which have lots of flavours can end up diluting the taste of meat because they add excess water.

He said it can be better to salt (dry brine) meats so they retain moisture during the cooking process.

"The process of [dry] brining meat works because the salt inhibits the contraction of muscle fibres.

"The meat contracts less during cooking, which means less moisture is squeezed out, giving you a juicier, more flavourful result."

6. SALTED BUTTER VS UNSALTED BUTTER IN BAKING

There is nothing more annoying than a baking recipe which calls for unsalted butter. After all who has two types of butter on-hand – ever.

Luckily, Liaw said if you're baking sweets don't give the problem of unsalted butter a second thought.

In fact, he said baking tastes better with salted butter, and the "idea you shouldn't season sweet things with salt is like 30 years out of date."

7. NO, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SALT EGGPLANTS BEFORE COOKING

Eggplants are an easy, versatile vegetable, although somewhat of a pain if you have to salt, then wait, then wash.

But according to Liaw, this practice with eggplant is a fallacy and one that can be ditched forthwith.

"Eggplants haven't been bitter for 50 years,' he said adding: "Go eat some raw eggplant, it tastes like an underripe apple."

As to be expected, fans quietly lost their minds, tweeting back to the celebrity chef they had learned an incredible amount about cooking in a matter of moments.

"Thank you. I've learnt more about cooking in the last few minutes than I had in my lifetime up 'til then."

While another said: " More please, these quick tips are easy to remember and life-changing. Thank you!"

A third said: "As a chef with 20-plus years of experience, I agree wholeheartedly with this."