Define This: Mise En Place!
Photo courtesy of Abbey Scalia
Happy Monday!
RWOP Cooking School got saucy last week when we explored some of our favorite Essential Sauces, but this week we’re all about fresh ingredients! Do you know the best ways to pick, store and cook fresh produce?
We’re covering that and more over the next few days! Let’s start with keeping that yummy fresh produce in order, shall we?
Keeping your kitchen in order for meal time seems simple enough, but it’s definitely easier said than done! Keep these tips in mind to keep your kitchen in shape:
Photos courtesy of Les Petites Gourmettes, Best of Eco Friendly Homes, Organizing Homelife
- Lay all out of the ingredients before you begin cooking your dish. This will save you time, and you will quickly notice if something is missing.
- Get clear plastic or glass storage containers for fresh, frozen and dry ingredients.
- Label all of your perishables, and make the expiration dates visible.
When it comes to making a fresh recipe like MARY BURKE’S FETTUCCINE PHILADELPHIA, having everything in place will make whipping up the delicious dish a breeze!
Everything has a place in the kitchen, right? Well, we want to know how YOU keep organized! Tell us your number one secret you learned from a friend, family member, book, etc. for keeping organized in the kitchen in the Comments below!
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RWoP
38 comments
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email for Kraft complaints at heaadquarters is centervu@kraftfoods.com. If you call 847-646-2000 and be really nice, the guy may transfer you to consumer complaints and you can at least leave a message. -
Everything has its place. Even when we moved I set up the kitchen almost exzactly the same as the old house. And I can't stand it when things are put away in the wrong spot (sorry hunny!); it just completely throws me off. I also shop by what I will make for a week. I produce a list and label my recipes M-F so that I am completely prepared for each meal to be made smoothly and effortlessly! -
my kitchen is very small so sometimes I have to look for things because we really don't have enough room to be completely organized but we are mostly organized and I know just about where everything is most of the time -
I have those OXO clear containers and they're awesome! They stack so well, and it's so easy to see what you need. I cut the section of the nutritional information from the package and put it on the container.
The containers are a little pricey, but they work really, really well. -
Does semi-organized count? The best tips I've been given are to get out everything you need before you start preparing the dish/meal, and wash up and put away as much as you can as you go.
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I do have a very organized kitchen. The pantry, freezer, and refrigerator are organized in food groups with all of the same items together. In the freezer all of the poultry is together, the red meat together, vegetables etc. The same with the pantry (also alphabetized herbs and spices) and refrigerator It makes it easy to know when I'm running low on any item. We also keep a list of the meals we have frozen so we know what's available for a quick meal and how long it has been there. We use Rubbermaid drawer organizers to keep like items together. They work very well as they come in different sizes and lock together. Once this has been done it is very easy to cook, saves time, and you'll wonder why you didn't do it before.
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I just know where everything is. I don't have a big kitchen and I don't have a lot of cabinet space. I wish I could have an organized kitchen. Everything just gets put wherever it fits.
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I keep my herbs & spices alphabetized. I can find what I need so much faster. Then when setting up all my ingredients I include the Garbage bowl!
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If I am going to make a dish or bake, I get out all of my ingrediants first to make sure I have everything, then put it back after I have used it. But normally my kitchen is a do it yourself so it gets messy at times.
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All the sealed dry ingredients - rice, pastas, and the like - are stored in one kitchen cabinet along with microwave-safe cooking dishes. Next there are cooking closets for canned fruits and vegetables. Then shelves for the sauce ingredients and seasonings. My little ol' school house holds some sealed tea bags. I also keep open bags and boxes of flour, cereals, etc in the fridge.
Lastly, I have a question which I really cannot answer. My refrigerator labels its fresh vegetable and fruit storage drawers as 'low humidity storage' and 'high humidity storage'. Which fruits and vegetables go into which? No one has ever told me and I just do not know. Thanks for any advice! -
When I'm in the kitchen baking....everything is right at my fingertips. When its time to get down and dirty and get my cooking on...I don't wanna be running all around the kitchen looking for stuff! -
ha! there's absolutely no book for my kitchen. I have 3 under counter cabinets, 3 drawers with bottoms falling out and 1 overhead cabinet that is 1800's and only 5" depth with all but 2 shelves in my reach. My MO is opening the door, hope I'm needing what falls out then shove the rest back in and slam the door ! lol ... it works. -
I KEEP MY KITCHEN IN ORDER BY NOT LETTING OTHER PEOPLE IN, THEY SEEM TO NEVER PUT THINGS BACK THE WAY I HAD THEM. IT IS LIKE THEIR AGENDA FOLLOWS THEIR HOME KITCHEN.
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Inventory List right next to the Grocery List and Meal Planner
bring groceries home/check inventory list/label before putting away...to me this is the one thing that really keeps me organized -
I do like to have all my ingredients out before I start preparing, and since I do not have a dishwasher, I like to clean up as soon as I'm finished with one thing before I go onto the next, which
makes it much easier and neater, than leaving it to the end! I also like to keep large baskets in my cabinet grouping different items together, such as pastas, rice etc. in one, cereals, crackers, health bars in another, baking ingredients in another, which makes your cabinet neat, organized and easy to find what is needed! -
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You always prep all your ingredients and have them ready to go!! It makes everything faster and more efficient. Also, then you know if you've left out an ingredient!! I remember one time my daughter had to make some Sally Lund bread for a school project.. she didn't get all her ingred tog.. and ended up making it 3 times because she forgot something each time!! -
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