Since we’re all so busy these days, it’s easy to forget those traditional cooking methods that could add so much to meals and make cooking a lot easier. Thankfully, these skills are as practical as they are enjoyable—they’ll also make your everyday dishes more interesting. Let’s look at eleven traditional cooking skills that could improve modern life. It’s time to see just how much we can learn from the past.
Featured Image Credit: EdZbarzhyvetsky/Depositphotos.com.
Stone Boiling
Stone boiling is an ancient method where you put heated stones in a container of water to cook food, which allows for gentle cooking without direct flame. Doing so keeps the food’s natural flavors & nutrients—it’s a simple method used for making soups, stews, or even brewing tea. Yes, it’s a rather unique way of cooking but it’s almost guaranteed to give you a different culinary experience.
Clay Pot Cooking
Cooking with unglazed clay pots is a tradition that goes back centuries and it works because clay is porous, so it allows moisture to circulate & cook food evenly. This method of cooking also keeps the food tender and improves the taste of dishes without the use of extra fats or oils. It doesn’t matter whether you’re preparing a stew or baking bread because clay pot cooking will add a little richness to every meal.
Nixtamalization
As part of the nixtamalization process, you soak & cook corn in an alkaline solution, typically lime water, which increases the nutritional content of the corn. This improves its flavor and aroma—no wonder it’s such a useful method for making authentic tortillas and tamales. Any food you make through nixtamalization will have a much better taste compared to store-bought versions, while also potentially being more nutritious.
Cooking with a Tagine
You’ve probably heard of a tagine but how often have you used one? It’s a clay cooking dish with a conical lid, traditionally used in North African cuisine, and cooking with a tagine allows steam to circulate. As such, your food stays moist & flavorful, meaning that it’s the perfect tool to use for slow-cooked dishes like stews and braised meats. You’ll be able to include some new textures and tastes in each meal but with relatively minimal effort.
Cooking Up Homemade Bone Broth
Making bone broth at home is easier than you might think since all you have to do is toss some animal bones into a pot with water & vegetables, then let it simmer for hours. It’s a kind of slow cooking that pulls out the minerals and collagen to give you a rich, nourishing broth. You could sip it as-is or use it as a base for soups and sauce—when you make it yourself, you also get to control the flavors.
Trying Out Ash Baking
Ash baking is another age-old method that involves cooking food directly in hot ashes—you simply bury root vegetables or flatbreads in the embers. They’ll later come out with a subtle smoky flavor & great texture that’s crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. This cooking method is a lot easier than it sounds and is almost guaranteed to make your cooking a little more unique.
Using the Kamado
A kamado is a traditional Japanese stove made of clay or metal and using it makes cooking even more of a hands-on experience. It uses charcoal for steady, long-lasting heat, which allows you to control the temperature precisely—it’s perfect for simmering soups or grilling skewers. Using a kamado will enhance the flavors in your dishes and allow you to bring some Japanese tradition into your kitchen to create something new.
Making Your Own Garum
Garum is an ancient Roman fish sauce made by fermenting fish scraps with salt over several months, which later develops into a strong, savory flavor that’s full of umami. You could try making some garum at home to add some depth to your sauces and marinades. While it’s not for everyone, there’s no denying that adding some garum to your modern meals does make them special.
Saving Energy with Haybox Cooking
Haybox cooking is quite a clever cooking technique since it helps you save energy—after bringing your food to a boil, place the pot into an insulated box filled with hay or blankets. The box will retain the heat and continue to cook your meal slowly without any additional energy. As such, it’s a great method for making soups & stews, helping you save fuel while avoiding overcooking.
Smoking Food the Chorkor Way
The chorkor oven from Ghana is an interesting way to smoke foods that uses stacked trays over a heat source, which allows you to smoke large amounts of fish, meat, or vegetables evenly. You don’t need to use a lot of fuel to do so and learning this cooking skill will help you to preserve food & infuse it with fantastic smoky flavors. It’s one method of cooking that’s as resourceful as it is delicious.
Getting Hands-On with Poi Making
Poi is a traditional Polynesian staple that you create by pounding cooked taro roots into a smooth paste on a wooden board & pestle. It may be quite a physical process but it’s also quite rewarding, since making poi connects you with your food and gives you a nutritious side dish. Best of all, poi is gluten-free and rich in vitamins, making for a unique way to add some variety to your meals.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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