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LIFESTYLE COOKING TIP 🍳

Frozen peas protocol

If you have bad memories of your parents sneaking in peas into your mac & cheese, give them another shot.

You probably already know this if you’re a parent, but keeping a bag of frozen peas stocked is an invaluable asset to your weekly menu.

Why?

Peas are one of the easiest ways to add vegetables and a pop of green color to dishes.

• Their size requires no chopping, and they thaw/cook in seconds.

• They have an agreeable, sweet flavor that pairs with most cuisines.

• Relative to other vegetables, peas are fairly high in protein.

Ok, how do I incorporate frozen peas?

When a dish is mostly cooked through (stir fries, pasta, rice, soup), add in a portion of peas. That’s it — they’ll warm through and mix into your finished dish in seconds.

A few notes:

1) You just want to thaw the peas and barely warm them through to retain their green color.

• Avoid adding them in too early. Too much heat will render them dull and mushy.

2) In theory, you can beef up a dish with any frozen vegetable, not just peas, although some require longer cooking time and chopping, so plan accordingly

3) If you’re past the frozen peas stage and want to level up, check out these three additional frozen vegetable protocols.

RECIPE RECCOMENDATIONS🥡

Add frozen peas to these recipes…

Here’s our favorite type of dishes to sneak the green frozen spheres into:

1. Pastas, especially mac & cheese

2. Pasta salads

3. Soups and braises

4. Rice dishes (especially fried rice and mexican rice)

5. Grain bowls

6. Stir-fries

7. Any ground beef dish or filling

Here’s a newly curated collection of dishes that are perfect for this protocol:

FOOD TRENDS 🚀

Deli Containers

Why are deli containers everywhere in restaurants and cooking videos?

Here's why chefs and advanced cooks prefer deli containers over other containers:

1) Efficient Storage: Deli containers are super stackable, and take up way less room in your kitchen than any other storage containers.

2) Double as measuring cups: They come in industry standard sizes: 1 cup, 2 cups (pint), and 4 cups (quart), which is why most restaurants use these to prep and store ingredients — they save a lot of measuring time since the contents can be visually measured and dumped right into a recipe.

3) Can store dry or wet ingredients: Their transparent material is perfect for pantry organization. For wet storage, they are leakproof: use them to shake up a vinaigrette or freeze broth or leftover sauce.

• Tape and labels stick well to these, and won’t peel off as easily as slick glass containers.

And, these are super affordable compared to tupperware sets. You can easily stock up on different sizes and won't sweat it if one breaks.

Make sure to get restaurant-grade ones that are BPA-free and dishwasher-safe. We have a recommended set linked in our shop page here:

READER Q&A 🧠

Do aromatics fade if cooked for too long?

Answer: This is a classic "yes and no" question depending on the situation.

Some delicate aromatics can be added too soon. We tested this in the vanilla, truffle, vodka sauce, expensive olive oil, and steak (basting testing) videos.

• Certain ingredients are highly volatile, meaning their aromas escape into the air with heat and time. It is better to add expensive flavorings raw, at the very end of cooking, to retain their fleeting aromas.

• Cooking them for a prolonged time will make them indistinguishable from cheaper additions, like imitation vanilla, truffle, or cheap EVOO.

In other cases, you don’t have to be as careful.

In a broth or stock, the goal is to "infuse" the water or capture the water-soluble aromatic flavors into the liquid.

• At some point, you’ll extract all the soluble compounds from aromatics, and cooking them down longer won’t do much.

Sauteed aromatics added at the beginning of cooking a dish (say a chili, ragu, or curry), you're also trying to "infuse" the oil in the dish with the fat-soluble aroma compounds, which will then disperse throughout the rest of the recipe.

• Here, you're not as concerned as adding aromatics too early. In fact, adding them later may not yield their maximum aromatics if they miss their chance to be bloomed in oil at the beginning of the process.

Have a culinary question? Reply to send it in for a chance to be featured and get your question answered.

WINNING READER SUBMISSION 🏆

Breakfast sandwich

This week’s dinner winner is Tim M., who made a focaccia sandwich with homemade hummus, soft scrambled eggs, avocado, spinach, fresh mozzarella, balsamic vinegar, and pickled onions.

Reply with your best home-cooked food photos for a chance to win & be featured!

EXTRA HELPINGS 🍽️

A read: Chefs love the new wonder delivery app

In a minute or less: Cantonese black pepper beef

What we’re watching: What it takes to win the world's largest bbq competition

Food science: Balsamic vinegar explained

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