Nourish · kitchen help
The things recipes assume you know.
What each heat looks like, what to use when you're out of something, and how to save a dish that's gone sideways.
On a gas stove
Medium-high
Flames touch the bottom of the pan but don't lick up the sides.
Oil shimmers, and a drop of water skitters and vanishes in a second or two.
The heat guide
How hot is medium-high?
On a gas stove, watch the flame, not the knob. On an electric or induction hob, use the numbers on a dial of 1 to 10. The test at the bottom of each card works on any stove.
Low
2–3 on an electric dial
A small blue flame that barely reaches the pan.
Test: Butter melts without sizzling.
Medium-low
3–4 on an electric dial
Flames about a third of the way up.
Test: A gentle bubble at the edges; onions soften without browning.
Medium
5–6 on an electric dial
Flames halfway to the pan, steady and blue.
Test: Oil ripples, and a drop of water sizzles.
Medium-high
7–8 on an electric dial
Flames touch the bottom of the pan but don't lick up the sides.
Test: Oil shimmers, and a drop of water skitters and vanishes in a second or two.
High
9–10 on an electric dial
Flames spread across the whole base of the pan.
Test: Oil smokes lightly within a minute. Use it for searing, then turn it down.
Swaps
Missing something?
Every recipe has a Swap button next to ingredients like these. Here they all are, for the fridge door.
31 swaps, and counting.
Type an ingredient and the swap shows up.
- buttermilk
- 1 cup milk plus 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar. Let it sit 5 minutes.
- greek yogurt
- Skyr, or cottage cheese blended smooth. Same protein.
- kefir
- Plain yogurt thinned with a splash of milk.
- sour cream
- Plain Greek yogurt.
- heavy cream
- Whole milk with a tablespoon of butter, or blended cashews for dairy-free.
- egg
- In baking: 1 tbsp ground flax plus 3 tbsp water per egg, rested 5 minutes.
- chia seeds
- Ground flaxseed, same amount.
- ground flaxseed
- Chia seeds, same amount.
- walnuts
- Pecans, almonds, or pumpkin seeds if nuts are out.
- honey
- Maple syrup, same amount.
A full house
Cooking for a crowd
Family in town, or bringing a dish to someone else's table? Most recipes scale, but a few things don't simply double.
- 1
Doubling a recipe? Double the food, but only add about one and a half times the oil and salt. Taste, then add.
- 2
Frying in batches: change the oil after two or three batches, or wipe the pan out, so the last batch doesn't taste burnt.
- 3
A bigger pot takes longer to boil and to simmer. Give soups an extra 10 to 15 minutes.
- 4
Crowding the pan steams food instead of browning it. Use two trays, or cook in rounds.
Rescues
When it goes sideways
It happens to everyone. Most dishes can be saved, and the ones that can't teach you something for next time.
The first time won't be perfect, and it doesn't need to be. Every cook you admire burned the garlic once. It's about learning, not getting it right.
- Too salty
- Add more of everything else, or a squeeze of lemon and a spoon of yogurt. A raw potato doesn't really work.
- Bland
- Salt first, then acid (lemon or vinegar). It's almost always one of those two.
- Burned on the bottom
- Don't stir. Pour the top into a clean pot and leave the scorched layer behind.
- Too thick
- Loosen with warm stock or water, a splash at a time.
- Too thin
- Simmer with the lid off, or blend a ladleful and stir it back in.
- Too spicy
- Yogurt, a little honey, or more of the base (beans, rice, stock).
Your first class is free
Kitchen sorted. Now, you.
Try a 22-minute Pilates class on the house. No card, no password.
ThenLiked the class? It's the first workout of four weeks, three a week.
See Core Years Foundations