What kind of water are peas soaked in? How to quickly cook peas: useful tips

Many housewives are interested in the question of how to cook peas and at the same time avoid disappointment in the form of uncooked peas in porridge or soup.

A few tricks when cooking will allow you to easily master this simple process; the taste value and beneficial qualities of the cereal will be fully revealed if certain subtleties of preparation are observed.

Peas have a number of beneficial properties that help speed up metabolism and have a positive effect on vital processes in the body:

legumes contain a large amount of protein, which contains a complex of essential amino acids necessary for the normal functioning of the body;
high nutritional value and the presence of a large number of microelements;
magnesium promotes the absorption of calcium in the body;
when fresh, it is effective for diseases of the stomach and genitourinary system;
if there is a deficiency of B vitamins, take it raw in combination with starch;
the combination of antioxidants allows you to stabilize oxidation processes and prevent the development of various diseases;
pea dishes do not contain fatty acids and help prevent the functioning of the cardiovascular system;
preventing the development of diabetes;
maximum protein content with essential amino acids;
pea flour is used in the preparation of baked goods, pies and a variety of confectionery products;
contains a sufficient amount of iron and goes well with meat and fish as a side dish.

How to soak peas

The main step in preparing peas for cooking is soaking. Its duration is about 6 hours. It is important to maintain a low temperature in the room where the cereal will be located.

Before soaking, you must first rinse and clean the product from unnecessary impurities. For the procedure, use only cold water, since the peas will not swell in hot water.

During soaking, you can change the water several times to make the cereal swell faster.

The duration of cooking depends on the freshness of the product; old peas take longer to boil. It affects the speed of cooking and humidity, so when purchasing a product, pay attention to the information on the packaging.

Adding soda speeds up the swelling process, but this destroys vitamins - this nuance should be taken into account when preparing.

How many minutes should you cook

Cooking time depends on the type, ripeness and shape of the peas.

soft peas can be cooked directly in meat broth without pre-soaking. The product boiled in water should be of young varieties, green pods should be used;
It is best to cook split peas after soaking, so that the cereal cooks faster. When choosing a product, it is important to pay attention to the content of flour impurities; its presence indicates a long shelf life;
fresh peas are very easy to cook, as they are young and soft; just put them in boiling water and cook for 20–30 minutes;
soaked peas need to be cooked for about 40–50 minutes. At the same time, during the cooking time, there is no need to add additional ingredients to the dish, as they may interfere with the cooking of the product;
The pods are boiled whole, since the peel contains a large number of useful substances. The technology for preparing the dish is based on preliminary soaking of the pods and further cooking in boiling water with the addition of salt for 10–15 minutes until the product is soft;
dry peas can be cooked without pre-soaking, but the cooking time can increase to 5–7 hours. To obtain a rich soup or porridge, you should first soak the cereal in cold water, preferably overnight. If all conditions are met, such a product will boil in 1–1.5 hours.

How to cook peas correctly

In order to properly prepare a pea dish, you need to take into account the peculiarities of cooking depending on its type and proportions.

After soaking, the cereal is thoroughly washed and filled with cold water in a ratio of 1:3. Cooking time is 40–90 minutes depending on the shape of the peas. When water boils, a lot of foam is formed - this is coagulated protein, it can be removed.

Peas without soaking.

This method is the fastest to obtain boiled soup or porridge. Sort and rinse the peas and cover with cold water. After boiling, drain the water, add cold water again, repeat again and then cook the product until tender.

Peas with other products.

Legumes go well with vegetables such as onions and carrots, so when preparing a dish these components will not interfere with each other, but it is still better to add them after the peas have boiled! The taste and richness of legumes is better felt when combined with smoked meat products.

Important! To quickly boil the peas when preparing a dish, you need to add salt at the very end, as it promotes hardening!

Quick cooking

The quick cooking process is possible if you follow some simple tricks before preparing the dish:

Pre-soak overnight. During this period of time, the beans swell and cook better;
during boiling, only add hot water;
adding a small amount of sunflower oil or fat to a dish helps to cook the product quickly;
use soda as desired, as it helps the peas cook quickly, but destroys the beneficial substances.

The use of household technologies when cooking peas

Peas can also be cooked using home appliances; cooking in a slow cooker or pressure cooker will not take much time and effort, and the result can please both you and your family.

In a slow cooker

rinse, pour into the device, adding the required amount of water;
You can add salt regardless of the cooking time;
select the cooking mode - “porridge” or “stew”;
add additional ingredients according to the recipe;
end of cooking time.

In a pressure cooker

pre-rinse and clean;
lay the peas and fill them with water;
select the “soup” or “bean” mode;
At the end of the program, check for readiness and, if necessary, increase the cooking time.

When cooking in a saucepan

rinse and remove unnecessary impurities;
pre-soak for 8 hours;
rinse before cooking;
pour the peas into a saucepan and add cold water at the rate of 1:3 if it’s soup, and 1:2 if you’re cooking porridge;
cook for 1–2 hours;
remove foam periodically;
You can add salt and butter if necessary.

Cooking other types of peas

Other types of peas also have their own cooking characteristics. A variety of chickpeas, peas of Turkish origin, is widely used in oriental cuisine and is prepared using special technology.

The peculiarity of cooking chickpeas is that the product does not require long soaking and after 4 hours of exposure it is ready for cooking. To check the softness of the peas, just bite them lightly.

The cooking procedure consists of the following steps:

rinse the grains;
to fill with water;
boil;
during boiling, you need to remove the resulting foam, and then cover with a lid;
cook over low heat for 40 minutes;
salt is added only after the peas are boiled.

Important! To completely cook the chickpeas, you can change the water several times during cooking. At the same time, its temperature should not be higher than 15 degrees, although some experts advise on the contrary, adding only boiling water.

The process of preparing green peas has a unique technology. Here it is important to properly cook the green bean peel and not lose the nutrients:

pre-soak the pods in water for 2–4 hours;
Boil water separately, add salt;
cook the peas in boiling water in small portions;
cooking time 5-10 minutes;

Pea porridge recipe

To prepare porridge you need the following ingredients:

dry peas - 250 g;
salt - 0.5 tsp;
butter - 20 g.

The process of cooking porridge is based on several stages:

pre-soaking 10–12 hours;
rinsing and placing in a thick pan;
direct cooking until the water has completely evaporated and the peas are softened;
adding salt and oil.

When prepared correctly, the porridge is very filling and at the same time low in calories.

How to properly prepare a side dish

As a side dish, you can cook peas in combination with bacon. The dish has excellent taste and quickly saturates the body. Required ingredients:

peas - 500 g;
onions - 2 pieces;
bacon - 200 g;
herbs and salt to taste;
vegetable oil for frying.

Preparation takes place in stages:

washing and cleaning from impurities;
soaking overnight;
transfer the soaked peas to a saucepan with a thick bottom, add water, bring to a boil;
During the boiling process, you can add water;
chop bacon and onion separately;
fry onions and bacon in a frying pan;
mix the peas with the roast, sprinkle with herbs.

Making puree

Puree is an ideal option for baby food, since the dish does not cause difficulties in consuming at a young age. Required ingredients for preparation:

split peas - 300 g;
salt - 5 g;
vegetable oil - 50 g.

The cooking process consists of the following stages:

rinse and fill with water, leave overnight;
rinse the swollen peas, add water, put on fire;
bring to a boil, reduce heat;
When boiling, foam forms in the pan, which must be constantly removed;
total cooking time 1-2 hours;
during the cooking process, you can add water to the pan as needed;
Remove the cooked dish from the heat and cool slightly;
add salt, vegetable oil and beat the puree;
Serve the finished dish warm.

Making soup

Watch the video on how to make delicious soup

It is important to consider some nuances before cooking the product:

if the peas are not boiled and the water boils away, you need to add the required amount of boiling water, since the peas are already being processed and cool water can interfere with the boiling process;
the degree of cooking of legumes also depends on the correct choice of product. When purchasing legumes, you should pay attention to the appearance of the product. The grains should be whole, bright orange in color;
It is better to choose a pan with a thick bottom, as in this case you can avoid the food from burning. When using ordinary utensils, you need to constantly stir the product;
The cooking process is best carried out over low heat, as high temperature leads to hardening of the peas;
The cooking time depends on the shape of the bean. It is preferable to use the chopped version, as it boils down the fastest;
You can use a blender or masher to make puree.

Boiling peas is a simple and complex process at the same time, however, with experience comes skill and small culinary secrets accumulate.

Peas are a very healthy dietary product, rich in vitamins, minerals and having only 55 kilocalories per 100 grams. In the summer, everyone actively eats fresh peas, and at other times this vegetable is added to soups, side dishes and salads. However, in order for the heat-treated product not to lose its excellent taste, it is necessary to include a procedure such as soaking in the cooking process.

Purpose of the procedure

Before cooking, peas are always washed several times in clean water - this removes starch, dust and dirt. Before this, you need to sort it out, eliminating spoiled and rotten peas. However, the need to soak hard peas is still questionable. Some chefs believe that this step is necessary, others believe that it is a waste of time.

Pros include things like reducing cooking time and preventing bloating. It is still better to soak whole peas, because such a product, regardless of the manufacturer and the condition of the fruit, cooks for more than two hours, and its pre-treatment will shorten this period. As for split peas, they cook for three quarters of an hour, which is not an overly long period of time, so you can do without soaking.

The main purpose of soaking is to control the cooking time of the peas. If you immediately add it to the soup, then other vegetables may overcook and become soft, and the peas will never reach readiness. And vice versa - the meat may not reach the desired consistency and remain tough, and the peas will already become porridge.

Processing time

Soaking whole peas is carried out for five to eight hours. There is no single rule regulating the time of soaking: at night, after breakfast or at lunch. It all depends on when the finished dish is needed. Split peas, that is, divided into halves, can be soaked for no more than an hour. Depending on the condition of the grains, this time can be a third of an hour.

The fact is that small particles absorb liquid faster, which means they become suitable for further cooking, for example, soup. Using split peas greatly simplifies the entire cooking process.

By the way, if the dish is prepared for cooking in a pressure cooker, then this step can be skipped altogether.

Basic Rules

Soaking peas in cold water can be done easily and simply - the grains are laid out in a bowl, filled with liquid and left in this position for the required time. The bowl can be placed in the refrigerator, only in the warmest part of it. It is important to mention that the amount of water should exceed the amount of peas by two or even three times, and the water must be at a low temperature, no higher than fifteen degrees, otherwise the peas will sour.

You can determine readiness for further heat treatment by the state of the grains: if their size has doubled, then you can start cooking.

Before this, after draining the water, it would be a good idea to rinse the product several more times in clean water. For example, under a tap with running water until the liquid is no longer cloudy.

Split peas intended for soup can avoid soaking altogether - hot water will do double duty. Usually the fruit halves are washed, placed in a pan and brought to a boil. Along with the peas, you can immediately add potatoes, and then other vegetables. After about half an hour, a maximum of forty minutes spent on low heat, the dish will be ready to serve.

It is important to consider that while soaking the peas you cannot move them in any way - everything should be completely at rest. Excessive movements and stirring will only lead to the appearance of foam or souring.

If whole peas need to be cooked quickly, and there is no time for soaking them, then you can carry out the following procedure.
First, the peas are thoroughly washed and filled with cold water. The saucepan is placed on the stove and brought to a boil. After this, the liquid is drained, changed to cold and brought to a boil again. Then the procedure is repeated one more time. In addition, if the peas were not prepared in time, then it would be correct to pour boiling water over them and leave them in this state for a couple of hours. After this, the cooking time can be limited to half an hour. Another interesting way to process peas is with soda.
This substance will significantly reduce the time required for peas to change their consistency. The procedure looks like this: a glass of washed peas is filled with four glasses of hot water, after which a teaspoon of baking soda is added to the solution. Processing time ranges from thirty minutes to one and a half hours. Then you can start cooking the grains. A couple of teaspoons of sugar gives the same effect as baking soda.

In addition, both substances prevent further occurrence of flatulence in people consuming the dish. It should be added that the exact amount of soda is calculated as follows: 100 grams of peas and one and a half liters of water require two level teaspoons of soda. At the end of the procedure, be sure to rinse the product to get rid of any remaining soda. Ideally, each individual ball is washed under running liquid. Despite the existing advantages, it is still worth considering that soda will destroy vitamin B1 contained in peas, so its use is not always justified. It is very important to observe the correct duration of the procedure.
If you keep the peas in water, they will sour and begin to create foam. In addition, an unpleasant odor will appear. As a result, the finished dish will not meet the requirements. There is also good advice: in the case when the soaking time is more than sixty minutes, the water needs to be changed every hour. And, of course, it cannot be used for the soup itself - the used liquid is drained and replaced with a new one. Based on the above, we can conclude that It's best not to soak peas all night or all day
– it can sit out, turn sour, and then during cooking, on the contrary, refuse to boil. In the second case, the peas will be hard and not completely swollen. As a result, a dish that should contain peas will be spoiled.
If peas are used to make porridge, then crushed grains do not need to be soaked at all. In this case, they will cook for fifty minutes. If the peas did sit in water beforehand, cooking will take no more than half an hour. Pre-treatment of whole peas can take up to five hours.

It is worth noting that salting peas during this procedure is not recommended– this spice is added at the end of cooking. More precisely, salt is added when less than sixty seconds remain until the end of cooking. If you break this rule, the dish may take on a mushy form.
The room in which the saucepan with peas will be placed also has certain requirements. It should not be cold and should be constantly ventilated. If the room temperature is below average, then the soaking time will need to be extended by a couple of hours. If the room is too hot, then the time, on the contrary, is reduced by the same two hours.
It's worth mentioning that the next logical step after soaking is boiling. It is carried out in clean water, over very low heat. The lid is not recommended. Any scale that appears should be removed and water added, because it will boil away all the time. Typically, new fluid is added at intervals of every thirty minutes. You can check the correctness of cooking by watching the peas being cooked: ideally, they slowly sink to the bottom and then slowly rise up.

Old legumes, that is, those that are more than eight months old, will require longer soaking time. than those that were recently collected or those that were stored for a short amount of time. In addition, wet grains will swell faster and cook faster than dry ones.
There are two types of peas that do not require such processing: white and split split peas. To prevent flatulence, you can carry out a different procedure instead of soaking: rinse the dry peas and pour in cool liquid, then bring everything to a boil, drain the used water and pour in the finished broth, which is in the process of boiling, or regular boiling water. Peas should not remain without boiling water for even a minute. Cooking then continues in the traditional way.

You will learn more about how to properly soak peas in the following video.

In the store you buy hard packaged peas, which can be either whole or halved. This determines how long it takes to soak.

Whole peas are filled with cold water in a ratio of 1:2. That is, if you have one glass of peas, then there should be twice as much water. The process will take at least five hours. When the beans swell and increase in size, they can be used for further cooking, which will take about 90 minutes.

Split peas are considered a more popular ingredient due to the fact that they do not require lengthy preparation. It is enough to leave it in cold water for only 30-60 minutes, and then lower it into cold water and bring it to readiness for 50 minutes over low heat.

Quick cooking option without soaking

If you don’t have time to wait until the peas become softer, then You can use quick recipes that do not require soaking.

Cooking process:

We wash the legumes well and fill them with cold water so that it covers them by about two centimeters. Bring to a boil, immediately drain the water, rinse and do this again.
In total, you will need to repeat these steps three times, and before finishing cooking, add a little salt so that the peas do not fall apart at all.

Another way to cook peas without soaking is to add baking soda. You need to bring it to a boil and put half a teaspoon of soda in two liters of water. Then in about five minutes you will get a soft product.

How to quickly cook pea puree?

Pea dishes are always repelled by the long preparation process, but there is a way to quickly cook pea puree.

Required Products:

two glasses of peas;
a quarter of a small spoon of soda;
seasonings to your taste.

Cooking process:

We wash the peas thoroughly until the water becomes almost clear.
Place it in a saucepan, preferably with a thick bottom, and fill it with cold water so that it covers the contents by about 2 centimeters, add baking soda.
Bring to readiness within 60 minutes of starting to boil. If the peas suddenly start to burn, add more water if necessary. Before removing from heat, add spices to taste and grind in a blender or masher.

With water added while boiling

Despite the simplicity of this method, it really works and allows you to bring the peas to full readiness in a minimum amount of time without the need to use anything special.

Required Products:

two glasses of peas;
the right amount of water;
salt to taste;
half a glass of cold water.

Cooking process:

We wash the peas, put them in a saucepan and fill them with water. It should be twice as much as the product.
Add salt and spices as desired.
We wait until the contents come to a boil and after 10 minutes pour in the specified amount of cold water. After this, the mass will become soft within five minutes.

With butter

This cooking option also does not take much time, eliminates soaking, and thanks to the butter, the peas are soft, tasty and rich.

Required Products:

two small spoons of oil;
a glass of peas;
amount of water needed;
seasonings to your liking.

Cooking process:

We wash the indicated amount of peas so that the water is no longer cloudy, fill it with cold liquid, it should be twice as much, and put the pan on the stove, turning on a low heat level.
We wait for the contents to boil, add oil, seasonings to taste and bring to full readiness.

How to quickly prepare pea soup without soaking?

Making pea soup without soaking is not at all difficult if you follow the instructions. The result is a tasty and rich dish.

Required Products:

bulb;
two potatoes;
a glass of peas;
half a spoon of soda;
seasonings and herbs to your taste.

Cooking process:

Place the indicated amount of peas in a bowl and start rinsing them, do this several times until the water becomes almost clear.
Pour boiling water over the washed peas, let it stand for 15 minutes, then drain, add hot water again so that it covers the contents, add soda. Cook for about 30 minutes over low heat, covered, until all the liquid has evaporated.
At this time, cut the potatoes into cubes, pour another two liters of boiling water over the peas and add the potatoes.
Chop the onion and carrots, lightly fry and add to the pan with the soup. At this stage you can add your chosen seasonings. Keep on the stove for about five minutes, then turn off and let sit for 10 minutes.

Necessary products for cooking:

two glasses of peas;
20 grams of butter;
half a teaspoon of soda;
seasonings to your taste;
the right amount of water.

Cooking process:

As always, we start by preparing the peas; they must be washed so that the water is no longer cloudy and free of impurities.
After that, place it in the multicooker bowl and pour in cold water. It should be approximately twice as much as the product itself.
Set the oven to the “Quenching” mode and set the time for at least two hours.
All you have to do is wait until the specified time has passed, season the peas with the selected spices to your taste, and add oil to it.

Ready-boiled peas can be combined with various foods, such as fried vegetables, mushrooms or meat, chicken, ham. It can be crushed and served as a puree or used for soup. It will be a very nutritious and healthy lunch.

As a rule, all cookbooks indicate that before cooking any pea dish, it must be pre-soaked. This is done for the purpose of its subsequent rapid preparation. The procedure for soaking peas itself is not very complicated, but still it has its own nuances that should be taken into account.

How to soak peas for soup and porridge correctly? And is it necessary to soak peas at all? Perhaps it's better not to do this? These questions remain relevant for housewives. Therefore, more about them.

What is the technique for soaking peas?

You can, as a rule, cook an appetizing pea soup without first soaking the grain. But then cooking it will take you a lot of time. Soaking will not only reduce the cooking time, but will also improve the taste of the cereal itself, since water washes away excess starch from it.

To properly soak peas, you must adhere to the following sequence:

Peas need to be sorted out to remove excess debris and dirt. Next, pour it into a colander and rinse under running water. If you don’t have a colander at hand, then pour the cereal into the pan and repeat the washing procedure. Only then will it be necessary to do this, as a rule, several times, changing the water
When you see that the peas have become clean, fill them with cold water in a ratio of water to grains of 2:1. Please note that the water should not be higher than 15ºС. If you do not adhere to this rule, the peas will simply turn sour. As a result, when cooking (until it becomes soft), you also cannot add other acidic foods to it.
If you are soaking peas overnight, place them in the refrigerator.
The legumes should be in the water until you see that the grains have swollen and become 2 times larger than they were. On average, depending on the type and variety of peas, this can take from 5 to 8 hours. If the grains have been stored at home for more than 8 months, then they require more soaking time, but if the grains were raw, then soaking them will take less hours
The water in which the grains were soaked should be drained. Pour the cereal into a saucepan, add water or broth (note, there is no need to salt the liquid) and put on the stove to cook. The mixture can only be diluted with boiled hot water, and salt can be added only at the end of cooking.
It is not recommended to soak split peas and white peas

Peas are prohibited for consumption by young children and some sick people. But a healthy person can easily use peas in their food. But most people still try to avoid using this cereal. The reason for this is the content of protease inhibitors in the cereal. They lead to poor protein digestion, which results in the formation of excess gases. To avoid this problem, it is recommended to soak peas in this way:

You need to add baking soda to the water in which the peas will be soaked. The following proportions should be adhered to: 2 tsp. soda per 100 gr. legumes and 1.5 liters of cold water
After 8 hours the water must be drained
Next, rinse the peas under running water to remove any remaining soda and cook

No matter how simple it may seem, you should know that although soda speeds up the process of cooking peas, it affects its taste. It also completely destroys the group of B vitamins contained in cereals.

To prevent excessive flatulence, you can try to do the following soaking at the beginning:

Rinse dry peas and cover with cold water
Boil this mass
Pour out this water and add new boiling water (this must be done immediately, without leaving the grain without water, so boil the water in advance for this)
Place on the stove and continue cooking as usual

How to cook peas without soaking?

If you are convinced in advance that the cereal is soft enough and does not require soaking, then you can immediately start cooking it. In this case, the question arises: how long to cook peas? Without soaking, the cooking time for soup or porridge with whole peas will be 1.5 hours. If the grains are crushed, then they are boiled in a pan without a lid for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how boiled the grains are needed in the dish.

Cooking time depends on the type and age of the beans. For example, Idaho and Oregon varieties do not require soaking. This is due to the fact that their cooking time usually takes only 30-40 minutes for soup and only 1 hour for pea puree.

Some housewives still remove soaking from the process of preparing pea soup or porridge, emphasizing that it takes the same time and should not be done this way. For such purposes, they recommend simply boiling the cereal for 1 minute on the stove and then allowing it to ripen for some time. And if you like well-cooked peas in a dish, then pass the cooked product through a blender or use a masher.

In the end, whether or not to soak legumes before cooking is up to everyone. The choice is always yours. Bon appetit!

First courses, in particular soups, play an important role in a person’s daily menu. To prepare them, a variety of ingredients are taken, including cereals, some of which can be used immediately, while some require preliminary preparation. It belongs to such cereals peas. Before, How pour into soup, experienced housewives recommend soak the peas. And how to do it Right— the Cheat Sheet will tell you 😉

Is it necessary to soak peas before cooking soup?

Housewives often encounter a problem when preparing dishes from peas: either they don’t want to boil, or they completely unhelpfully soften beyond recognition. It's all about the type of legume. Usually two types of them are eaten: peeling and sugar (brain). If the second one is more often consumed raw, then the first variety is used to make soups and porridges.

In order not to spend a lot of time on a pea dish, you need to let it stand soaked so that it can swell and cook faster. Soak peas before cooking soup not required, but recommended. This will save time spent on cooking it.

How to soak peas correctly

Depending on the type of pea and its “caliber,” whole kernels are left in cold water for a period of 5 to 8 hours. When their size doubles, the peas can be considered ready for further cooking. It is enough to soak split peas for 20 minutes; they swell much faster.

Why do peas sometimes cook poorly? It all depends on its variety and proper preparation before preparing soup or porridge.

Perhaps he was soaked for too short a time. It is also necessary to clarify how long the kernels were stored in order to know how long they need to be prepared. It follows that the longer the peas have been stored, the longer it will take to soak them.

It is also necessary to sort out the kernels, sort out bad peas and various debris, rinse well and pour in enough water so that the peas are completely covered with it.

What water should you soak peas in?

You need to soak the peas correctly. It will not be enough to simply fill them with water; here you need to adhere to some specifics. To prevent the peas from turning sour, they need to be soaked in cold water. Otherwise, the taste of the dish will be spoiled, but this will become clear only after it is fully prepared. Raw spoiled peas will not differ in color and taste from edible ones.

Before cooking the pea kernels, you need to strain the water in which they were soaked, rinse thoroughly and again pour cool water on them at the rate of 1 to 3. Cooking can last from 35 to 90 minutes (everything will depend on the shape of the peas). If you add vegetable oil or fat in a small amount to the pan, the peas will cook much faster.

Soaking in water with soda

1) You need to fill the peas with hot water (for 1 cup of kernels, 4 cups of water).
2) Add baking soda (one teaspoon is enough).
3) It is important not to overcook the pea kernels, and also do not mix them.
4) Soaked peas do not need to be seasoned with salt. And during the cooking process, add salt at the very end.
5) Peas reach half-cookedness in 35-90 minutes, after which they can be added to soup, mashed potatoes or porridge.

At first glance, cooking pea dishes seems like a difficult task. But, while accumulating culinary experience and skills, you need to remember little secrets that will make life much easier and help you prepare your favorite dishes deliciously, simply, and most importantly, quickly.