Podcast #812: Chef-Vetted Answers to Your Cooking FAQs

In your quest to become a better home chef, you probably find yourself wondering things like: What potato should I use in this recipe? How much salt should I put in this dish? Am I even making spaghetti right? But then you forget to Google the answer to your question, or if you do, you feel overwhelmed by the number of opinions out there.

Well, my guest will cut through that noise and answer some of your cooking FAQs once and for all. His name is Daniel Holzman and he’s a chef and the co-author, along with Matt Rodbard, of Food IQ: 100 Questions, Answers, and Recipes to Raise Your Cooking Smarts. Today on the show, Daniel will offer his advice on whether the kind of onion and potato you use in a recipe matters, and whether it’s okay to use frozen vegetables. He explains why you should be less worried about getting foodborne illnesses from meat, and the type of food that’s more likely to make you sick. Daniel offers the lowdown on salt, including how to figure out exactly how much you need in a dish; when to use the convection bake function on your oven; his recommendations for the best frying pan and chef’s knife; the secrets to making perfect spaghetti, scrambled eggs, and steak; and plenty of other tips as well.