The "simply the Bech or will it simply Roux-in your meal" line was, I think, the best one you guys have done to date. It was sooo spot on lol. Kudos to whomever came up with that line.
Yeah, I don’t get the point of it in a video like this that doesn’t have any tension, it would maybe work in a battle or a pass it on, but I’m something like this it feels like a corporate-directed thing. Love the guys, but I’m with you there
I work for one of the UK's biggest commercial food suppliers and you would be surprised at the number of restaurants, not just schools and cafes, who buy our own brand premade sauces such as Bechamel, as well as soup mix powders to use as the base of their soups, gravy granules, prewashed or preprepared potatoes and veg too. We also sell a huge range of part or fully prepared meat and fish which they also buy a lot of. Personally, I use Smash to help thicken slow cooked stews and casseroles as slow cooking doesn't reduce down as much as hob cooking and use a spoonful of gravy granules to help thicken and flavour bolognaise.
Honestly I'm not too surprised...After watching shows like Kitchen Nightmares and personally working in restaurants for a while (thankfully most of the restaurants I've worked at were genuinely great experiences and served real food)...SO many restaurants pretend to be serving "fresh" and "homemade" dishes and foods, even though basically everything is either frozen or pre-packaged and all they just got to do is heat it up. The crazy thing is, that a ton of not only get away with it but are actually super popular and successful. Don't get me wrong, though. I'm not saying just because it's frozen prepackaged food is all bad or horrible, as some it is genuinely good and of decent quality, and it definitely has a purpose. More as a support and quick fix, like mentioned in the video, but not something to completely rely on or base the entire restaurant/menu on. What I personally can't stand is when restaurants try and hide it, and/or just straight-out lie to customers about it when asked, and even worse charge WAY too much for it by trying to pass it off as something it isn't.
As a prep cook in a busy American restaurant, my boss would lose their mind if we couldnt save time with these cheats in our soups and sauces. But thanks to Sorted I knew how to make a roux when our delivery didnt come in.
You wouldn't be found dead using any of these products in the kitchens I worked at. About the only 'cheats' we used were premade icecream and pasta. Even then we made the filling and assembled ravioli in house. We also got sides of fish (boned) rather than whole. Edit: Also got par baked bread.
Some of the premade stuff is fine for most restaurants if used correctly, ie. mixed in to make a product, not used on its own. Pre-prepared veg is just simply to save costs on labour, most meat these days is also prepared in advance to suit a kitchens needs, it can be cheaper to buy pre-portioned steaks than to buy a whole joint without even counting the labour, butchers can use the trim for other products and therefor sell the portioned steaks at a more reasonable price. The first steps in cutting costs is usually outsourcing as much as possible. Sometimes with the food safety laws that come around, you almost have to purchase certain products instead of making fresh. In Australia, in order to make mayonnaise you have to use pasteurised eggs, a lot of places don't have the tech to pasteurise their own eggs so they might buy in pasteurised eggs in bulk (frozen) or buy a convenience product mayonnaise (e.g. hellmans). It doesn't taste anywhere near as good as fresh, but there little to no alternatives.
Another great video! One thing - the very beginning bit uses a washed out filter, which makes me think I'm watching a flashback to a previous video, not what is going to happen in the current video.
As a lifetime aficionado of Birds Custard Powder, I feel compelled to point out that you can make a looser custard by adding more water until you reach personal taste 🙂
@@lucashenderson5844 he's in some of the other videos. I can't remember which, but if you ever go on a sorted food spree (I usually tend to every 2 days when there's nothing else on) You'll see him.
@@KimAndrewsbykimbo "Smash" means "to procreate with". "Smash or pass" is usually used with a list of pictures of characters, or people, or such. The one that became a massive meme is a video of Markiplier doing "smash or pass" with pokemon, with no context for why he was making the video or anything.
In the US, I’ve heard a lot of chefs use stock concentrates which come as a paste in a jar (the brand heard most often is Better than Bouillon). I personally use it as a normal because it takes up less space than cans or cartons of stock. And I actually use it for way more than just making stock. I add it into all kinds of sauces as a flavor booster and put it in cooking liquid for rice and grains. My favorite is their roasted veggie flavor but they have all kinds of flavors including chicken, beef, ham, roasted garlic, and even vegan “not chicken” and “not beef” versions.
I use ham bullion concentrate in a big pot of beans, starting from dry, and can serve a tasty supper with rich smoky meat flavor for 25 cents per person. Real handy when an unexpected bill comes up and the month ends a bit short.
I love this, and feel like one point the boys missed in their processed conversation is some of these hacks might mean someone has the time/energy/effort to cook the rest of the meal from scratch, rather than getting a takeout or a frozen dinner. Is it as good for you as 100% organic, from scratch etc? Probably not, but they were all actually pretty clean and make it easier to cook at home :)
More of this please! I'm disabled and have to ration my energy (I prefer spell slots to spoon theory for this personally. 'I'm low on spell slots' vs 'I've just had a long rest'...) Any hacks like this are great because it means I can cook myself good nutritious food in less time with great results. Thanks!
I do like this format, more please. Also, something I'd love to see is allergy safe or dietary restriction alternatives for classic things like bechamel, for instance. There are a lot of recipes and dishes that require certain classic things like bechamel, but if you have someone who is gluten-free in your family, you can't make things like bechamel or anything that requires a roux. Please make an episode of great tasting alternatives that actually pass muster for classic recipe components that would otherwise be restricted to people with allergies. Please and thank you.
Gluten free flours work just fine in roux Need to play with the ratios until you find what works for your flour, but it pretty much works as advertised
Xanthan gum works fine for demiglace, or perhaps gravy. You have to be very careful with the ratio though, since it uses a lot less. Things like potato or corn starch are fine too, to thicken certain sauces.
I really enjoy when you put the boys together and give them whiteboards as opposed to splitting them up. I feel like it leads to more interesting conversation.
I like having little hacks/shortcuts/secrets there for those times your bacon needs saving. I look on it like I do doing a portion of my weekly shop in the village shop. It's more expensive than a supermarket, but if you don't keep it going then it wont be there when you need it in an emergency. Same with some of the less healthy or less savoury/ethical hacks. If making something late on a Sunday evening & you've either run out of/or its gone bad, knowing what else to use & having options is good. Especially handy when cooking miles from civilisation.
This is a wonderful way to showcase how not only to make things on a budget or quickly but in my case, can accommodate some food allergies as well. We use dehydrated potato flakes when we make our meat loaf, or meatballs in my house since my partner is gluten intolerant. And it gives it a roasty flavor that you can't always get from breadcrumbs!
@@bcaye very true. We have tried that though and it has a different texture that we don't enjoy as much. Even after blitzing it in a food processor. But it definitely is another great GF option!
MORE OF THIS FORMAT PLEASE! But, more specifically, how to dispel the biases...misconceptions...upturned nose...I had the word and lost it. Basically, I would like to see more episodes on the long-lasting shelf-stable foods, such as dried beans, dehydrated substitutes, canned/tinned goods and so on. How to used them, how to stretch them out, maybe how not to overcook dried beans like I often do... Also, can you do a taste test episode or two along the lines of "Pick the Premium", but as "Pick the Store Brand Version From the Big Name Brand"? A lot, and I mean, A LOT of tinned goods made by [place any big company name here] are sold as the cheaper store brands. I just read that Del Monte, the tinned fruit company, does pretty much all of North America's and Europe's store brand label tinned fruit. Asda, Iceland, Tesco in the UK, Walmart, Safeway/Sobey's, Save-On-Foods, maybe even for the Loblaw's PC and No Name brands in Canada. Shopping psychology is interesting, as in how we've been programmed since the creation of supermarkets to "only buy big name brands, because you can TRUST THEM, everything else is inferior"; this causes us to spend wads of cash on a product when the exact same thing is on the shelf with a store brand name for less than half the price. Just a thought!
Yes,there is a huge business making supermarket products more appealing to the customer. Next time you shop,look at which shelf you normally pick the can or whatever you usually buy. It's probably the middle,around eye height,and incidentaly the item with the (usual) higher profit margin. - Never mind the colour and lighting,regular movement of standard items to encourage you see fresh items etc....Multi billion pound industry !
I can report that you can make TikTok pasta - that of the roasted cherry tomatoes and feta cheese - quite happily with tinned tomatoes. I decided to give it a go once in the depths of winter and now I only make it with tinned tomatoes. I don't scrimp on the feta though - it works best with the creaminess of sheep's feta but that part's easy at my place, with my partner being Bulgarian there's usually have a choice of sheep, cow, goat, or buffalo feta in 900gm blocks in our fridge on any given day. 🤣🤣🤣
I've used the Bisto hack on numerous occasions and I have never had the confidence (or time) to make proper custard. I always scratch make my Béchamel, I didn't even know that pre made was available, good to know and worth looking out for on my next shop. Thanks guys.
There are lots of these types of 'food hacks' available that the general public hasn't seen or heard of, but they've eaten it on a regular basis. They come from a food supplier and not available to the public. For example, 1kg frozen soup cubes. Why? So it doesnt have a tinny taste, I guess. It was the exact same brand and flavour found in cans, but it took longer to heat up...
Literally none of the products featured have any harmful ingredients. Most procesed food doesn't have any harmful ingredients in fact. Its just not good to eat obly certain types of ultra processed food because they lack nutrition
@@DimT670 and it can be argued that some "processed" foods like frozen or canned vegetables can actually retain more of their nutrients. E.g. frozen vegetables are usually frozen within hours after harvesting (sometimes the process even starts right at the field), so in many cases it's actually _fresher_ than buying vegetables that have been sitting on the shelf for a couple of days.
It actually is just Bechamel. And the UHT preservation comes almost automatically since you have to cook it over100°C during preparation anyways. Just package and seal it while it's still hot - et voilà: shelf stable, natural Bechamel.
I had no idea you made custard with anything other than Birds Custard powder until I was in my twenties. I still only use the powder, love the taste, and am now in my seventies.
Profesional chef here. Have never seen Smash used, as most places I've worked have leftover mash potato from kid's meals or functions. Bechamel I have seen used for breakfast teams in big hotels where they have to serve 500, and they need bechamel in serious bulk. Never found a pastry chef that'll admit using custard powder, but I would not be surprised to see it in there, and/or used as a thickener. Have seen A LOT of chefs use gravy granules, as well as powdered mustard. I have used it from time to time to finish a jus or gravy, mostly to thicken and season. I am also very pleased I guessed all the cheats 😄
i had no idea premade bechemel was a thing!! honestly as someone with chronic pain (the last time i stood long enough to make a sauce from scratch i nearly threw up from the pain) that's a gd gift
As a person with a disability I always enjoy how you acknowledge accessibility in your videos. I can't make béchamel sauce by myself or a custard. I really enjoy your gadget videos and have created a shopping list of things I want or need.
This was great and I'd watch more of them. The breakdown of the effort and tools/dishes created was fun and I'd love to see all the ingredients talked through as well. The conversation at the end about processed food makes this all the more relevant.
Playing find the cheat(er) seems like something my siblings and I would do when playing board games. At least one of them is completely cheating their way through the game at any time. 😂
I'm just glad I caught this video because I didn't know you could buy carton béchamel, custard powder, nor did I know gravy granules existed. So my take away from this is I'm doing way too much in the kitchen, and I could keep shelf stable shortcuts around that would be plenty good with the things I make! Please, more of these! I love this type of stuff!
My husband's family has a holiday tradition of using up extra turkey by combining it with a béchamel sauce and putting it in little puff pastry cups and baking. They're really lovely, but the year I realized I could just grab a small bottle of white lasagna sauce instead was a game changer.
@@DownSpriggLane Well, they call them turkey patties, I think. Or maybe pasties? Basically, all you do is chop up some left over turkey into fairly small bits. Mix that and some small dice onion into a béchamel and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Prepare a small tartlet pan (the one with the twelve holes) with some melted butter and use a...probably two-two and a half inch cookie cutter to cut rounds of puff pastry to go in the bottom. Add in some of the turkey mixture, then put another circle of puff pastry on top. Brush with milk and...I want to say put into a 180 C oven for 7-8 minutes? Or until the puff pastry is golden brown. I have made these with just cranberry sauce in them as well. Or a bit of cranberry sauce on top of the turkey mixture.
More of this please. It is an amazing idea. And quite educational for home cooks around the world. I use both bullion powder and stock to make my stews, since it intensifies flavors. Lots of restaurants use these hacks and people eat the food made with hacks happily with no problem. Most people only care if it tastes good. Only a few conscious people and more prideful chefs care about making a lot of thing from scratch. But as we can see from these videos, there is nothing wrong with hacks in the kitchen, especially with high quality products.
I'd also argue that these instant powders reduce waste in some cases since people are less likely to throw out leftover cream, milk, potato skins, stock, etc. And as far as "processed" foods, technically all the examples used here are "processed" whether premade or fresh - the only difference one is processed at a factory and one is processed at home.
Bird was a chemist whose wife was allergic to eggs. He formulated his custard powder so she could still enjoy custard desserts. It is in most Canadian pantries because it is key to Nanaimo bars’ middle layer.
Used every single one in kitchen work (in a pub in the UK). Also Paxo (sage and onion stuffing) can be used in other patty type things. They're just so normal to me and I forget they're *unusual* till my partner points it out. Then he learns. Mum always used Birds for her Christmas trifle and its how I like it. She also used an Oxo beef cube in bolognese to boost the "meatiness"
i use Bisto original as an add in to thicken up and add a bit more flavour to vegetarian stews. And shelf stable cream is brilliant, i now have a few boxes in the cupboard for whenever its needed and i don't have to worry about them going off before i've used them up! great tips guys!
Me too. There's a recipe in the Quorn cook book that really lends itself to a bit of Bisto as a thickener. I've been using that book for at least 10 years as the basis for a lot of my cooking... and it was free!
Many years ago I was one of those people that are very purist about food "no instant food, no ultra-processed food, made from scratch, etc." but gradually I realized that it is fine to use those kind of food depending on the application and propose. Science is a powerful tool and using it correctly can be very beneficial.
I feel like Mike’s takeaway from the last round matches exactly with Ebber’s takeaway from the round a couple years ago with Barry in that the homemade stuff overpowers compared to the bisto or whatever brand you use.
This has to be one of the best series you guys have done. Actual tips for midweek cooking at home that can make your life easier without skimping on neither taste nor quality (in some of the cases presented here). Keep it up!
You really should have a 2nd channel for the food team when they prep the food. Id love to see how they make all the different stuff the guys try. Release it like a week after the main channel. It'd also be good to see the faces of the team, we only hear about them. Sorted Tech /Asst /Prep or something like that.
I actually used instant mash to thicken my steak pie filling this morning. I use it all the time. I have also added custard powder to shortbread cookies and they turn out lovely. I also use it in my icing for tweed squares if I can't use egg yolk due to someone's dietary restrictions.
Seeing these little tricks and hacks that make preparing dinner easier without compromising on quality is a great insight. Having the assurance from a chef providing these tricks lets me imagine where I might be able to utilise these tricks to make meal preparation easier which is always something the majority of us normal home cooks desire and is a leading factor as to why so many people eat large amounts of processed foods rather than preparing fresh nutritious ingredients
Like I’d never have thought of using ingredients like smash or gravy granules as thickening agents outside of their primary purpose. Learning that the potato starch they’re comprised of gives them the ability to thicken other things rather than just making instant mash or gravy
i really don't need a trailer for the video i've already clicked on. i liked how you guys opened before with someone explaining the concept of the video
As someone who worked in a large hotel I can assure you that the kitchen used bought in lasagne, curries, pre-prepped veg, all of the deserts, gravy granules, powdered demi glace, pre-made custard, pre-made bechemel, frozen chips, pre-cooked rice etc etc. Basically, any that took time to make was bought in.
Due to allergies, 2 are out of the running for me, but I DO keep instant mashed potatoes on hand. I use them for breading, thickeners (one of those allergy/food issues is I have celiac so being able to thicken something without flour is a massive win), to add to baked goods (see celiac again) and even when making things like potato cakes and gnocchi. If I have made fresh mashed potatoes, obviously, I'll use them up. But for a one off meal such as a quick batch of boxty, filling for vareniki/perogies or quick gnochi - instant all the way. They are 99% dehydrated potatoes so I've got no issue about it being ultra processed (I am in the process of buying a freeze dryer myself so if I'm cool with doing that, no different here) and the number of ways they can be spiffed up means, thus far, no one has ever asked if what I've made is from instant. I have even, when the actual fresh mashed potatoes hit the floor (thank you pets getting in the way) one thanksgiving, subbed out a batch of instant doctored up with garlic, cream cheese and loads of pepper and no one knew. Instant potatoes all the way. Also.... last 3 years in the part of the States that I live in, you have, at best, a 50/50 shot of getting good potatoes fresh, many are just spoiled inside or the textures are off. No worries with the instant.
Try powdered arrowroot or xanthum gum (powdered mold that grows on broccoli) as a thickener. Corn starch slurry as well but I'm sure you've heard of that :)
These blokes have encapsulated a RUclips cooking show that feels somehow quintessentially like British TV. Other RUclips cooking shows have a different new-age feel, but Sorted Food feels like classic British TV in its soul.
I'm glad you commented on the Ultra Processed Foods aspect because it is something I'm actively trying to decrease in my cooking, and ready-prepared products are usually not too 'clean'. But it's all about finding a healthy balance, ultimately.
You need to be more educated, then. "Ultra processed" is not a thing. Processing doesn't do anything bad to food. Cooking food is processing. Chopping food is processing. There is no definite meaning to processed. It just makes you a patsy for the wellness and health food industry taking advantage of people who blindly follow terms like "processed", "all-natural", and "clean".
@@itsgonnabeanaurfromme I don't follow anything blindly. I'm vegetarian, trying to be vegan, and it has made me very aware of how much of what I eat is ultra processed. I'd bet decent money I'm more educated than you. But that's really not the point.
I think this is how a lot of home cooks, cook. Use fresh ingredients where it counts, whatever the star of the dish is, and time saving (and effort saving) ingredients for supporting elements.
I changed my mind about powdered chicken stock when I started watching more international food videos. A pinch of that stuff seems to be the "secret ingredient" in almost every restaurant regardless of cuisine or location.
I knew of instant potato powder, custard powder (and custard cartons), and gravy granules/instant gravy, so the real game-changer here for me is the fact that there's such thing as a shelf-stable carton of bechamel. They're not hard to make, but when I'm doing 5 other things in the kitchen, I don't want to have to baby a rue and mix it with milk. Even if things are more relaxed and I'm taking my time, with the price of eggs and dairy these days, a quick, cheap, and easy bechamel with no risk of getting a lumpy sauce or scalding the milk is so easily worth it to me as a home cook.
My head chef once saw me using uht bechamel sauce and he fired me on the spot. Five years later I saw the same restaurant I used to work at on Gordan Ramsey's kitchen nightmares and Gordon himself told him to use uht bechamel to save time and send the food quicker. He refused and three weeks later he had to close the restaurant due to slow service then he lost his leg in a shark attack.
@@MercenaryPen Oh, my taste buds would beg to differ. I always do "Bolinho de Bacalhau" from scratch, and mashing potatoes is virtually effortless. And to get a better result, well, it's freaking salted Cod, that shit ain't cheap for us to throw in potato powder. Ordinary fish cakes I'd totally use it, you gotta treat it with respect.
@@lewismaddock1654 It depends on where you are from, salted cod is cheap as F where I am from. It is the cheapest fish on the market. I think even McDonald's uses it in their fish sandwiches.
@@whiteowl4097 Are you sure it's actual real Cod? Or is it just other fish that they salt and pass it off as Cod? Usually they do that to different types of catfish.
It’s interesting seeing how certain ingredients can be used with chef approval to make midweek meal preparation a quicker and easier task! I understand that professional kitchens wouldn’t be using gravy granules to cheat their cooking but knowing that they can be used as alternatives to simplify cooking outside of being gravy is insightful and provides endless opportunity for experimentation and testing for average home cooks
This was great the noticable additions of the cooking footage was masterful. That is what has been missing. You gents have come with a more complete and brilliant video format this week. Hurrah!!!
Well I appreciate the video but in my country, where there’s a lot of cod fish cakes (we were colonized by the Portuguese), there’s no instant potato powder lol so it’s really do the best with what you have hahaha On the other hand, in places where potatoes are hard to find, this is a great way to go around it, that’s why the format is so CLEVER!! Please keep it up!
I love this! I do agree though that the preview of the episode should be taken out. I love to watch these in real time and experience it as it plays out.
You should do a video where the only ingredients you can get are from a typical UK corner shop. Not including the large large stores who have like express or local versions.
I picked up the instant potato hack years ago, and it's absolutely one of my go-tos on a lazy night. I don't keep shelf stable bechamel on hand, but since I don't drink much milk, I DO keep shelf stable cartons of milk around. And since I know how much is in there, it's easy to make just the right amount of roux for it.
Mr Bird invented that recipe because his wife was allergic to eggs, so I've been told. So it's better than the made from scratch if you can't ear eggs!
Dehydrated potato has been used by chefs since it was created decades ago and is a kitchen staple . Birds custard powder is the perfect base for other sweet sauces like chocolate for instance by adding a quality cocao powder . Gravy granules perfect for adding flavour and thickening sauces like Bolognese etc . As for sauces like Bechamel , there are loads of great sauces in a tetra or foil pack to use in a more complex dish , you just have track them down .
Instant potatoes are good for all sorts of things. You can use it to thicken soups and sauces. I’ve used it instead of bread crumbs. You can use to add another serving to mashed potatoes or if you put a little too much milk. While I much prefer to cook from scratch, I keep quite a few ‘shelf stable’ items in my kitchen.
We have powdered bechamel at my work, just add hot water (I add some veg stock for extra flavour), easy to make different quantities and consistencies. Also the custard powder, easy to flavour and different consistencies for various puddings. I work in a small care home, cheats save time and quite often money. Gravy granules too, good base and thickener for sauces, even stews and pie fillings.
I've tried making tasty Stock/Soups from Scratch so often by now and failed equal amounts. It's a surprisingly steep learning curve to get something out of it that actually tastes of anything but hot water. So i get going for Granules. I didn't because i wanted to learn and experience the Process, not because i was expecting to make a better Product. One of the First Times i was somewhat successful though was with Ben's Ramen from the Ramen Battle with him vs. James
i like the idea of a cheat or a hack that gets the same results, especially shelf stable ones, then at least you can then keep it on the shelf there for if you ever needed it
I actually use instant mash as a thickener a lot. It's easy, quick, and doesn't change much of the flavor unless you add in a lot. Everyone talks about how processed foods are bad, but the shelf-stable béchamel isn't really more processed than one you make at home, it's just that less of the process is at home. What's far more an issue with processed food is the fats and sugars they put in things to keep and maintain flavors that you lose from time and preservation
I've used bouillon cubes and, more recently, vegetarian herbal stock cubes for all kinds of flavoring, from boiling elbow macaroni in it to crumbling it into sauces instead of salt to season to taste - with experience I've learned to part a cube to pretty much fit any amount of salt I want to add. Benefits of being really, really poor for extended periods in my life, you learn to make do... But some of these hacks are certainly going to come into my repertoire for the future.
Great video. Learned quite a bit too. Particularly interesting is the shelf stability and food waste. These hacks are great if you are cooking for quite a few people or a large family, but once "opened", I would be concerned how long the product maintains its taste and texture. Keep making more of these please!
Sortedfood is an excellent example of what I've always said. You get men together of any education, financial status or social standing and they all instantly turn 12 yrs old!! 😄
I weirdly completely understood the preference of the thicker custard in the trifle. When the custard in a trifle or other assorted-stuff dessert is thicker the spoonfuls of food hold together better and are easier to eat. Plus the extra cornstarch probably has a silkier texture when paired with things like whipped cream.
My Italian-American grandmother (who was the first of her siblings to be born in America, not Northern Italy) did not make a bechamel for her lasagna. It is simply layers of lasagna noodles, parmesan cheese, (part-skim) mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, cut up homemade meatballs, and the homemade lasagna gravy (in which the meatballs simmered for 4 hours). It has become my family's traditional Christmas dinner. I make the gravy & meatballs on the 23rd, assembly & cook the lasagna on the 24th, and simply reheat the lasagna on Christmas Day -- YUM!!!
I have gravy granules in a shaker to use instead of a rue. makes any leftover juices (even small amounts) in skillet into a instant gravy that always taste different slightly and yet familiar depending on what you have cooked. Always keep bottle of water nearby in case it thickens to much.
So, I live in Sweden, and I visited my friend in England. I had never heard of Gravy Granules, but when I saw it being used in a stew she was making, I was hooked. Bought 5 packets, 3x beef and 2x Chicken, to bring back home; sadly I am running out. The stuff is so useful
I'd love to see you guys do things with vegan milks and vegan replacements in things comparing them and coming up with interesting recipes - as someone lactose intolerant it's been a really interesting journey learning how to cook with these different ingredients and how to adjust flavours. For example I use marmite in "cheese" sauce to help give that depth
one of my favourite cheats is mixing a little beef and chicken gravy granduals then adding tons of black pepper and cream to make a super quick and really delicious peppercorn sauce!
Have caught significant flak for refusing to use premade ingredients, but am perfectly willing to spend more time. If I don't have sufficient time I will make something else. Most people have room for improvement in multitasking & recipe planning before needing to use hacks. Cheers
I'd love to see a video of the hacks that are used in the Sorted kitchen on a regular basis, as well as a video of the hacks that the guys use at home. More hacks please!!
The "simply the Bech or will it simply Roux-in your meal" line was, I think, the best one you guys have done to date. It was sooo spot on lol. Kudos to whomever came up with that line.
I think it'd be "Roux-in" but yes, that was a well-crafted line.
personally i would have gone with "Or will you Roux the day you tried it?" ^^
Love everything you guys put out but not a big fan of the “preview” at the beginning of the videos. Keep up the great work guys!
same i just always skip that bit
Fridge cam was better
Yeah, I don’t get the point of it in a video like this that doesn’t have any tension, it would maybe work in a battle or a pass it on, but I’m something like this it feels like a corporate-directed thing. Love the guys, but I’m with you there
@@TerraHv1 Butt first
Yes, I'm not a fan either.
I work for one of the UK's biggest commercial food suppliers and you would be surprised at the number of restaurants, not just schools and cafes, who buy our own brand premade sauces such as Bechamel, as well as soup mix powders to use as the base of their soups, gravy granules, prewashed or preprepared potatoes and veg too. We also sell a huge range of part or fully prepared meat and fish which they also buy a lot of.
Personally, I use Smash to help thicken slow cooked stews and casseroles as slow cooking doesn't reduce down as much as hob cooking and use a spoonful of gravy granules to help thicken and flavour bolognaise.
That's super interesting, thank you for sharing :)
Honestly I'm not too surprised...After watching shows like Kitchen Nightmares and personally working in restaurants for a while (thankfully most of the restaurants I've worked at were genuinely great experiences and served real food)...SO many restaurants pretend to be serving "fresh" and "homemade" dishes and foods, even though basically everything is either frozen or pre-packaged and all they just got to do is heat it up. The crazy thing is, that a ton of not only get away with it but are actually super popular and successful.
Don't get me wrong, though. I'm not saying just because it's frozen prepackaged food is all bad or horrible, as some it is genuinely good and of decent quality, and it definitely has a purpose. More as a support and quick fix, like mentioned in the video, but not something to completely rely on or base the entire restaurant/menu on.
What I personally can't stand is when restaurants try and hide it, and/or just straight-out lie to customers about it when asked, and even worse charge WAY too much for it by trying to pass it off as something it isn't.
As a prep cook in a busy American restaurant, my boss would lose their mind if we couldnt save time with these cheats in our soups and sauces. But thanks to Sorted I knew how to make a roux when our delivery didnt come in.
You wouldn't be found dead using any of these products in the kitchens I worked at. About the only 'cheats' we used were premade icecream and pasta. Even then we made the filling and assembled ravioli in house.
We also got sides of fish (boned) rather than whole.
Edit: Also got par baked bread.
Some of the premade stuff is fine for most restaurants if used correctly, ie. mixed in to make a product, not used on its own.
Pre-prepared veg is just simply to save costs on labour, most meat these days is also prepared in advance to suit a kitchens needs, it can be cheaper to buy pre-portioned steaks than to buy a whole joint without even counting the labour, butchers can use the trim for other products and therefor sell the portioned steaks at a more reasonable price. The first steps in cutting costs is usually outsourcing as much as possible.
Sometimes with the food safety laws that come around, you almost have to purchase certain products instead of making fresh. In Australia, in order to make mayonnaise you have to use pasteurised eggs, a lot of places don't have the tech to pasteurise their own eggs so they might buy in pasteurised eggs in bulk (frozen) or buy a convenience product mayonnaise (e.g. hellmans). It doesn't taste anywhere near as good as fresh, but there little to no alternatives.
I am loving this idea that Mike apparently subconsciously feels the need to ask Ebber's permission and approval before trying new culinary things 😂😂😂
He knows who's boss. ;)
@@SortedFood So... what's Ebbers doing that's so scarring? Inquiring minds want to know
Another great video! One thing - the very beginning bit uses a washed out filter, which makes me think I'm watching a flashback to a previous video, not what is going to happen in the current video.
As a lifetime aficionado of Birds Custard Powder, I feel compelled to point out that you can make a looser custard by adding more water until you reach personal taste 🙂
Can you add eggs to it to make it closer to homemade custard?
@@TerraHv1 Well, yeah... But then you're not adding eggs, you're subbing the cornflower from homemade custard for custard powder.
@@MagnitudeUK Oh, ok. Just wondering cause I've never made custard, powdered or otherwise. Thanks for the answer.
@@TerraHv1 you can also add man juice to make it thicker
My mum used to add quite a lot of golden syrup to it, which made it a) delicious and b) turn into jelly when it went cold 😂
I think that the main take away from this episode is that everything is good with a hack, but Kush's food is better when made from scratch.
When do we get to meet Kush?
@@lucashenderson5844 he's in some of the other videos. I can't remember which, but if you ever go on a sorted food spree (I usually tend to every 2 days when there's nothing else on) You'll see him.
He makes appearances on their Instagram too!!
@@lucashenderson5844 you can see him in some old shows of raymond blanc when he used to work there iirc
@@lucashenderson5844 he also appears on their TikTok quite a lot ☺️☺️
Well!! We now need a “smash or pass” with Ebbers 👀🤣 lol
definitely smash
@@rickykirk1 I'm with Ebbers on this - I have no idea what it means. Of course, I'm old so I've got an excuse!
And it's a video on making different kinds of smash or mash veg.
@@KimAndrewsbykimbo "Smash" means "to procreate with". "Smash or pass" is usually used with a list of pictures of characters, or people, or such. The one that became a massive meme is a video of Markiplier doing "smash or pass" with pokemon, with no context for why he was making the video or anything.
@@HappleProductions thank you, that explains a lot. Everything except who Markplier is in fact. I'll Google that bit ;)
In the US, I’ve heard a lot of chefs use stock concentrates which come as a paste in a jar (the brand heard most often is Better than Bouillon). I personally use it as a normal because it takes up less space than cans or cartons of stock. And I actually use it for way more than just making stock. I add it into all kinds of sauces as a flavor booster and put it in cooking liquid for rice and grains. My favorite is their roasted veggie flavor but they have all kinds of flavors including chicken, beef, ham, roasted garlic, and even vegan “not chicken” and “not beef” versions.
Me too
The roasted garlic Better Than Bouillon is out of this world!
Better than bouillon and bulk unflavoured gelatin is a recipe for success.
I use ham bullion concentrate in a big pot of beans, starting from dry, and can serve a tasty supper with rich smoky meat flavor for 25 cents per person. Real handy when an unexpected bill comes up and the month ends a bit short.
I love this, and feel like one point the boys missed in their processed conversation is some of these hacks might mean someone has the time/energy/effort to cook the rest of the meal from scratch, rather than getting a takeout or a frozen dinner. Is it as good for you as 100% organic, from scratch etc? Probably not, but they were all actually pretty clean and make it easier to cook at home :)
More of this please! I'm disabled and have to ration my energy (I prefer spell slots to spoon theory for this personally. 'I'm low on spell slots' vs 'I've just had a long rest'...) Any hacks like this are great because it means I can cook myself good nutritious food in less time with great results. Thanks!
spell slots is a great analogy, I love that! not to mention some spells take a whole lot of mp
I do like this format, more please.
Also, something I'd love to see is allergy safe or dietary restriction alternatives for classic things like bechamel, for instance.
There are a lot of recipes and dishes that require certain classic things like bechamel, but if you have someone who is gluten-free in your family, you can't make things like bechamel or anything that requires a roux. Please make an episode of great tasting alternatives that actually pass muster for classic recipe components that would otherwise be restricted to people with allergies.
Please and thank you.
Gluten free flours work just fine in roux
Need to play with the ratios until you find what works for your flour, but it pretty much works as advertised
Agreed. I have an allergy and 7 intolerances, and am married to a fussy eater, cooking is a nightmare sometimes.
Boiled oat milk gives a very bechamel-like texture.
Good idea. But allergy to what? No such thing as "allergy safe" in general.
Xanthan gum works fine for demiglace, or perhaps gravy. You have to be very careful with the ratio though, since it uses a lot less. Things like potato or corn starch are fine too, to thicken certain sauces.
I really enjoy when you put the boys together and give them whiteboards as opposed to splitting them up. I feel like it leads to more interesting conversation.
I like having little hacks/shortcuts/secrets there for those times your bacon needs saving. I look on it like I do doing a portion of my weekly shop in the village shop. It's more expensive than a supermarket, but if you don't keep it going then it wont be there when you need it in an emergency. Same with some of the less healthy or less savoury/ethical hacks. If making something late on a Sunday evening & you've either run out of/or its gone bad, knowing what else to use & having options is good.
Especially handy when cooking miles from civilisation.
This is a wonderful way to showcase how not only to make things on a budget or quickly but in my case, can accommodate some food allergies as well.
We use dehydrated potato flakes when we make our meat loaf, or meatballs in my house since my partner is gluten intolerant. And it gives it a roasty flavor that you can't always get from breadcrumbs!
this is brilliant!!
Oatmeal also works.
@@bcaye very true. We have tried that though and it has a different texture that we don't enjoy as much. Even after blitzing it in a food processor. But it definitely is another great GF option!
@@TheJvLexicon, I love the extra texture but I may try your previous way. You never know!
@@bcaye it will be a different experience. I have found with the potato flakes you get a crustier sear on the meatloaf/meatballs
MORE OF THIS FORMAT PLEASE! But, more specifically, how to dispel the biases...misconceptions...upturned nose...I had the word and lost it. Basically, I would like to see more episodes on the long-lasting shelf-stable foods, such as dried beans, dehydrated substitutes, canned/tinned goods and so on. How to used them, how to stretch them out, maybe how not to overcook dried beans like I often do...
Also, can you do a taste test episode or two along the lines of "Pick the Premium", but as "Pick the Store Brand Version From the Big Name Brand"? A lot, and I mean, A LOT of tinned goods made by [place any big company name here] are sold as the cheaper store brands. I just read that Del Monte, the tinned fruit company, does pretty much all of North America's and Europe's store brand label tinned fruit. Asda, Iceland, Tesco in the UK, Walmart, Safeway/Sobey's, Save-On-Foods, maybe even for the Loblaw's PC and No Name brands in Canada.
Shopping psychology is interesting, as in how we've been programmed since the creation of supermarkets to "only buy big name brands, because you can TRUST THEM, everything else is inferior"; this causes us to spend wads of cash on a product when the exact same thing is on the shelf with a store brand name for less than half the price.
Just a thought!
snobbery as the word?
@@Thatsthebadger that works well! I honestly had the word, and lost it twice! Prejudice may have been it.
Yes,there is a huge business making supermarket products more appealing to the customer. Next time you shop,look at which shelf you normally pick the can or whatever you usually buy. It's probably the middle,around eye height,and incidentaly the item with the (usual) higher profit margin. - Never mind the colour and lighting,regular movement of standard items to encourage you see fresh items etc....Multi billion pound industry !
@@neilthehermit4655 Exactly, and the cheaper stuff is nearer to the floor. Not good for my knees some days, but our bank account is healthier for it.
I can report that you can make TikTok pasta - that of the roasted cherry tomatoes and feta cheese - quite happily with tinned tomatoes. I decided to give it a go once in the depths of winter and now I only make it with tinned tomatoes. I don't scrimp on the feta though - it works best with the creaminess of sheep's feta but that part's easy at my place, with my partner being Bulgarian there's usually have a choice of sheep, cow, goat, or buffalo feta in 900gm blocks in our fridge on any given day. 🤣🤣🤣
Love this idea, this should totally become a series
I've used the Bisto hack on numerous occasions and I have never had the confidence (or time) to make proper custard. I always scratch make my Béchamel, I didn't even know that pre made was available, good to know and worth looking out for on my next shop. Thanks guys.
There are lots of these types of 'food hacks' available that the general public hasn't seen or heard of, but they've eaten it on a regular basis. They come from a food supplier and not available to the public.
For example, 1kg frozen soup cubes. Why? So it doesnt have a tinny taste, I guess. It was the exact same brand and flavour found in cans, but it took longer to heat up...
Pre-made foods are generally underrated. Do more with this. More food-hacks!
I love when they show and test hacks that we might see later in Meal Packs !!
The Beschamel in the carton surprised me with only 5 ingredients that are really not harmful. That is fantastic!
Literally none of the products featured have any harmful ingredients. Most procesed food doesn't have any harmful ingredients in fact. Its just not good to eat obly certain types of ultra processed food because they lack nutrition
@@DimT670 and it can be argued that some "processed" foods like frozen or canned vegetables can actually retain more of their nutrients. E.g. frozen vegetables are usually frozen within hours after harvesting (sometimes the process even starts right at the field), so in many cases it's actually _fresher_ than buying vegetables that have been sitting on the shelf for a couple of days.
It actually is just Bechamel. And the UHT preservation comes almost automatically since you have to cook it over100°C during preparation anyways. Just package and seal it while it's still hot - et voilà: shelf stable, natural Bechamel.
Jamie looked absolutely stunned at the gravy granules sauce reveal. Like he was actually trying to figure out how meat could let him down like that.
I had no idea you made custard with anything other than Birds Custard powder until I was in my twenties. I still only use the powder, love the taste, and am now in my seventies.
Profesional chef here. Have never seen Smash used, as most places I've worked have leftover mash potato from kid's meals or functions. Bechamel I have seen used for breakfast teams in big hotels where they have to serve 500, and they need bechamel in serious bulk. Never found a pastry chef that'll admit using custard powder, but I would not be surprised to see it in there, and/or used as a thickener. Have seen A LOT of chefs use gravy granules, as well as powdered mustard. I have used it from time to time to finish a jus or gravy, mostly to thicken and season. I am also very pleased I guessed all the cheats 😄
i had no idea premade bechemel was a thing!! honestly as someone with chronic pain (the last time i stood long enough to make a sauce from scratch i nearly threw up from the pain) that's a gd gift
As a person with a disability I always enjoy how you acknowledge accessibility in your videos. I can't make béchamel sauce by myself or a custard. I really enjoy your gadget videos and have created a shopping list of things I want or need.
We need a video on pro chef utensils. I want to know how to use a spatulator.
This was great and I'd watch more of them. The breakdown of the effort and tools/dishes created was fun and I'd love to see all the ingredients talked through as well. The conversation at the end about processed food makes this all the more relevant.
Playing find the cheat(er) seems like something my siblings and I would do when playing board games.
At least one of them is completely cheating their way through the game at any time. 😂
Good practice for this format then 😂
@@SortedFood definitely! Although the not being able to taste the dishes part, makes it slightly more difficult. 😜
I'm just glad I caught this video because I didn't know you could buy carton béchamel, custard powder, nor did I know gravy granules existed. So my take away from this is I'm doing way too much in the kitchen, and I could keep shelf stable shortcuts around that would be plenty good with the things I make! Please, more of these! I love this type of stuff!
These things are very necessary for people who don't have the extra income and time to make everything at home.
My husband's family has a holiday tradition of using up extra turkey by combining it with a béchamel sauce and putting it in little puff pastry cups and baking. They're really lovely, but the year I realized I could just grab a small bottle of white lasagna sauce instead was a game changer.
Never heard of such a thing but sounds delicious! Do you have a recipe you could share or a name? Thanks.
@@DownSpriggLane Well, they call them turkey patties, I think. Or maybe pasties? Basically, all you do is chop up some left over turkey into fairly small bits. Mix that and some small dice onion into a béchamel and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Prepare a small tartlet pan (the one with the twelve holes) with some melted butter and use a...probably two-two and a half inch cookie cutter to cut rounds of puff pastry to go in the bottom. Add in some of the turkey mixture, then put another circle of puff pastry on top. Brush with milk and...I want to say put into a 180 C oven for 7-8 minutes? Or until the puff pastry is golden brown. I have made these with just cranberry sauce in them as well. Or a bit of cranberry sauce on top of the turkey mixture.
More of this please. It is an amazing idea. And quite educational for home cooks around the world. I use both bullion powder and stock to make my stews, since it intensifies flavors. Lots of restaurants use these hacks and people eat the food made with hacks happily with no problem. Most people only care if it tastes good. Only a few conscious people and more prideful chefs care about making a lot of thing from scratch. But as we can see from these videos, there is nothing wrong with hacks in the kitchen, especially with high quality products.
I'd also argue that these instant powders reduce waste in some cases since people are less likely to throw out leftover cream, milk, potato skins, stock, etc.
And as far as "processed" foods, technically all the examples used here are "processed" whether premade or fresh - the only difference one is processed at a factory and one is processed at home.
lol
Bird was a chemist whose wife was allergic to eggs. He formulated his custard powder so she could still enjoy custard desserts. It is in most Canadian pantries because it is key to Nanaimo bars’ middle layer.
The dehydrated potato mash we have in Australia is called 'Deb' and I often use it as a thickener and in patties
Used every single one in kitchen work (in a pub in the UK). Also Paxo (sage and onion stuffing) can be used in other patty type things.
They're just so normal to me and I forget they're *unusual* till my partner points it out. Then he learns.
Mum always used Birds for her Christmas trifle and its how I like it. She also used an Oxo beef cube in bolognese to boost the "meatiness"
i use Bisto original as an add in to thicken up and add a bit more flavour to vegetarian stews. And shelf stable cream is brilliant, i now have a few boxes in the cupboard for whenever its needed and i don't have to worry about them going off before i've used them up! great tips guys!
Me too. There's a recipe in the Quorn cook book that really lends itself to a bit of Bisto as a thickener. I've been using that book for at least 10 years as the basis for a lot of my cooking... and it was free!
Many years ago I was one of those people that are very purist about food "no instant food, no ultra-processed food, made from scratch, etc." but gradually I realized that it is fine to use those kind of food depending on the application and propose. Science is a powerful tool and using it correctly can be very beneficial.
I feel like Mike’s takeaway from the last round matches exactly with Ebber’s takeaway from the round a couple years ago with Barry in that the homemade stuff overpowers compared to the bisto or whatever brand you use.
I use gravy granules/ stock cubes where necessary because they're convenient, less wastage and cuts down on cooking time.
Hearing Ben say 'Smash or pass' is just so cursed. It's like a adult trying to get on with the lingo kids use
This has to be one of the best series you guys have done. Actual tips for midweek cooking at home that can make your life easier without skimping on neither taste nor quality (in some of the cases presented here). Keep it up!
You really should have a 2nd channel for the food team when they prep the food. Id love to see how they make all the different stuff the guys try. Release it like a week after the main channel. It'd also be good to see the faces of the team, we only hear about them.
Sorted Tech /Asst /Prep or something like that.
I actually used instant mash to thicken my steak pie filling this morning. I use it all the time. I have also added custard powder to shortbread cookies and they turn out lovely. I also use it in my icing for tweed squares if I can't use egg yolk due to someone's dietary restrictions.
Seeing these little tricks and hacks that make preparing dinner easier without compromising on quality is a great insight. Having the assurance from a chef providing these tricks lets me imagine where I might be able to utilise these tricks to make meal preparation easier which is always something the majority of us normal home cooks desire and is a leading factor as to why so many people eat large amounts of processed foods rather than preparing fresh nutritious ingredients
Like I’d never have thought of using ingredients like smash or gravy granules as thickening agents outside of their primary purpose. Learning that the potato starch they’re comprised of gives them the ability to thicken other things rather than just making instant mash or gravy
i really don't need a trailer for the video i've already clicked on. i liked how you guys opened before with someone explaining the concept of the video
As someone who worked in a large hotel I can assure you that the kitchen used bought in lasagne, curries, pre-prepped veg, all of the deserts, gravy granules, powdered demi glace, pre-made custard, pre-made bechemel, frozen chips, pre-cooked rice etc etc. Basically, any that took time to make was bought in.
Let's hope your rooms had a higher quality standard than your kitchen.
@@nettack no chance. They had furniture that looked like it was up holstered by a blind bus fitter in the 80s.
Instant potato flakes are soooooo underrated!!!
You are drunk.
@@andycopland3179 lol
Due to allergies, 2 are out of the running for me, but I DO keep instant mashed potatoes on hand. I use them for breading, thickeners (one of those allergy/food issues is I have celiac so being able to thicken something without flour is a massive win), to add to baked goods (see celiac again) and even when making things like potato cakes and gnocchi. If I have made fresh mashed potatoes, obviously, I'll use them up. But for a one off meal such as a quick batch of boxty, filling for vareniki/perogies or quick gnochi - instant all the way. They are 99% dehydrated potatoes so I've got no issue about it being ultra processed (I am in the process of buying a freeze dryer myself so if I'm cool with doing that, no different here) and the number of ways they can be spiffed up means, thus far, no one has ever asked if what I've made is from instant. I have even, when the actual fresh mashed potatoes hit the floor (thank you pets getting in the way) one thanksgiving, subbed out a batch of instant doctored up with garlic, cream cheese and loads of pepper and no one knew. Instant potatoes all the way. Also.... last 3 years in the part of the States that I live in, you have, at best, a 50/50 shot of getting good potatoes fresh, many are just spoiled inside or the textures are off. No worries with the instant.
I’m allergic to yeast… so like you many things are off my list…but yes instant potato is great for lots of things
Try powdered arrowroot or xanthum gum (powdered mold that grows on broccoli) as a thickener. Corn starch slurry as well but I'm sure you've heard of that :)
These blokes have encapsulated a RUclips cooking show that feels somehow quintessentially like British TV. Other RUclips cooking shows have a different new-age feel, but Sorted Food feels like classic British TV in its soul.
I'm glad you commented on the Ultra Processed Foods aspect because it is something I'm actively trying to decrease in my cooking, and ready-prepared products are usually not too 'clean'. But it's all about finding a healthy balance, ultimately.
You need to be more educated, then. "Ultra processed" is not a thing. Processing doesn't do anything bad to food. Cooking food is processing. Chopping food is processing. There is no definite meaning to processed. It just makes you a patsy for the wellness and health food industry taking advantage of people who blindly follow terms like "processed", "all-natural", and "clean".
@@itsgonnabeanaurfromme I don't follow anything blindly. I'm vegetarian, trying to be vegan, and it has made me very aware of how much of what I eat is ultra processed.
I'd bet decent money I'm more educated than you. But that's really not the point.
I think this is how a lot of home cooks, cook. Use fresh ingredients where it counts, whatever the star of the dish is, and time saving (and effort saving) ingredients for supporting elements.
I changed my mind about powdered chicken stock when I started watching more international food videos. A pinch of that stuff seems to be the "secret ingredient" in almost every restaurant regardless of cuisine or location.
"Because it would scar you" SENT me 😂
More hacks please! :) One of your best yet!
Glad you enjoyed it :)
I have been using this Bechamel Sauce since years. It tastes really really good :)
I knew of instant potato powder, custard powder (and custard cartons), and gravy granules/instant gravy, so the real game-changer here for me is the fact that there's such thing as a shelf-stable carton of bechamel. They're not hard to make, but when I'm doing 5 other things in the kitchen, I don't want to have to baby a rue and mix it with milk. Even if things are more relaxed and I'm taking my time, with the price of eggs and dairy these days, a quick, cheap, and easy bechamel with no risk of getting a lumpy sauce or scalding the milk is so easily worth it to me as a home cook.
My head chef once saw me using uht bechamel sauce and he fired me on the spot. Five years later I saw the same restaurant I used to work at on Gordan Ramsey's kitchen nightmares and Gordon himself told him to use uht bechamel to save time and send the food quicker. He refused and three weeks later he had to close the restaurant due to slow service then he lost his leg in a shark attack.
Mike and Jamie:
"B Tastes better"
Ben: "Ok, I'll tell you why you're wrong and why potato powder is better than the actual thing you said you liked."
sometimes tasting better doesn't justify all the extra work- and apparently this was one of those times
@@MercenaryPen Oh, my taste buds would beg to differ. I always do "Bolinho de Bacalhau" from scratch, and mashing potatoes is virtually effortless. And to get a better result, well, it's freaking salted Cod, that shit ain't cheap for us to throw in potato powder. Ordinary fish cakes I'd totally use it, you gotta treat it with respect.
@@lewismaddock1654 fair enough, I was merely commenting on the judgement that Jamie and Mike made on the matter
@@lewismaddock1654 It depends on where you are from, salted cod is cheap as F where I am from. It is the cheapest fish on the market. I think even McDonald's uses it in their fish sandwiches.
@@whiteowl4097 Are you sure it's actual real Cod? Or is it just other fish that they salt and pass it off as Cod? Usually they do that to different types of catfish.
It’s interesting seeing how certain ingredients can be used with chef approval to make midweek meal preparation a quicker and easier task! I understand that professional kitchens wouldn’t be using gravy granules to cheat their cooking but knowing that they can be used as alternatives to simplify cooking outside of being gravy is insightful and provides endless opportunity for experimentation and testing for average home cooks
Instant mashed potatoes are also great as a gluten-free thickener for stews and gravies.
Great shout!
This was great the noticable additions of the cooking footage was masterful. That is what has been missing. You gents have come with a more complete and brilliant video format this week. Hurrah!!!
Well I appreciate the video but in my country, where there’s a lot of cod fish cakes (we were colonized by the Portuguese), there’s no instant potato powder lol so it’s really do the best with what you have hahaha
On the other hand, in places where potatoes are hard to find, this is a great way to go around it, that’s why the format is so CLEVER!! Please keep it up!
Another benefit of the custard powder is it’s vegan (if you make it with plant milk)! One we always keep in the cupboard
These are great. I'd love to also see the cost breakdown between the methods.
I love this! I do agree though that the preview of the episode should be taken out. I love to watch these in real time and experience it as it plays out.
You should do a video where the only ingredients you can get are from a typical UK corner shop. Not including the large large stores who have like express or local versions.
Except there are a lot of us watching from across the pond...
Smash potato ontop of a cottage pie is a winner for me everytime, you can make a much dryer mix for maximum browning on those forked tips
These puns are getting more painful with every episode 😂 Love it, keep it up!
I picked up the instant potato hack years ago, and it's absolutely one of my go-tos on a lazy night. I don't keep shelf stable bechamel on hand, but since I don't drink much milk, I DO keep shelf stable cartons of milk around. And since I know how much is in there, it's easy to make just the right amount of roux for it.
Mr Bird invented that recipe because his wife was allergic to eggs, so I've been told. So it's better than the made from scratch if you can't ear eggs!
Definitely.
Dehydrated potato has been used by chefs since it was created decades ago and is a kitchen staple . Birds custard powder is the perfect base for other sweet sauces like chocolate for instance by adding a quality cocao powder . Gravy granules perfect for adding flavour and thickening sauces like Bolognese etc . As for sauces like Bechamel , there are loads of great sauces in a tetra or foil pack to use in a more complex dish , you just have track them down .
Interesting but not quite sure how I feel about this being essentially a commercial for Premier Food Group without clearly identifying that.
just watched a pass it on live compilation and i cant take them seriously right now
😂 sorry to put you through that.
Instant potatoes are good for all sorts of things. You can use it to thicken soups and sauces. I’ve used it instead of bread crumbs. You can use to add another serving to mashed potatoes or if you put a little too much milk.
While I much prefer to cook from scratch, I keep quite a few ‘shelf stable’ items in my kitchen.
Fun fact- birds custard powder is vegan because the inventors wife was allergic to dairy!
That is a fun fact!
We have powdered bechamel at my work, just add hot water (I add some veg stock for extra flavour), easy to make different quantities and consistencies. Also the custard powder, easy to flavour and different consistencies for various puddings. I work in a small care home, cheats save time and quite often money. Gravy granules too, good base and thickener for sauces, even stews and pie fillings.
YOU guys are simply the Beche.
More of these please yes!! And I'll consider things like Gravy Grans for sauces for sure!
Bechamel hack: Mix butter and flour and form a ball. Stick the ball on the whisk and mix it with the slowly warming milk.
‘Béch’/‘Roux’-in were some amazing puns. Also, when it comes to Instant Béchamel, it’s a ‘Roux’-in for a culinary award lol
Jamie: "Is that what you said?"
Ben: "I think so."
😆😆😆
Many in India use vegetable oil as a hack in many dishes instead of ghee, as it is very expensive.
Adding instant mashed to bread dough makes a light, fluffy loaf that stays soft and fresh for days. 😊
I've tried making tasty Stock/Soups from Scratch so often by now and failed equal amounts. It's a surprisingly steep learning curve to get something out of it that actually tastes of anything but hot water. So i get going for Granules. I didn't because i wanted to learn and experience the Process, not because i was expecting to make a better Product.
One of the First Times i was somewhat successful though was with Ben's Ramen from the Ramen Battle with him vs. James
i like the idea of a cheat or a hack that gets the same results, especially shelf stable ones, then at least you can then keep it on the shelf there for if you ever needed it
I actually use instant mash as a thickener a lot. It's easy, quick, and doesn't change much of the flavor unless you add in a lot.
Everyone talks about how processed foods are bad, but the shelf-stable béchamel isn't really more processed than one you make at home, it's just that less of the process is at home. What's far more an issue with processed food is the fats and sugars they put in things to keep and maintain flavors that you lose from time and preservation
I've used bouillon cubes and, more recently, vegetarian herbal stock cubes for all kinds of flavoring, from boiling elbow macaroni in it to crumbling it into sauces instead of salt to season to taste - with experience I've learned to part a cube to pretty much fit any amount of salt I want to add. Benefits of being really, really poor for extended periods in my life, you learn to make do...
But some of these hacks are certainly going to come into my repertoire for the future.
Great video. Learned quite a bit too. Particularly interesting is the shelf stability and food waste. These hacks are great if you are cooking for quite a few people or a large family, but once "opened", I would be concerned how long the product maintains its taste and texture. Keep making more of these please!
Sortedfood is an excellent example of what I've always said. You get men together of any education, financial status or social standing and they all instantly turn 12 yrs old!! 😄
I weirdly completely understood the preference of the thicker custard in the trifle. When the custard in a trifle or other assorted-stuff dessert is thicker the spoonfuls of food hold together better and are easier to eat. Plus the extra cornstarch probably has a silkier texture when paired with things like whipped cream.
Does anyone miss the cracking of the eggs as the intro? 🍳 🍳
My Italian-American grandmother (who was the first of her siblings to be born in America, not Northern Italy) did not make a bechamel for her lasagna. It is simply layers of lasagna noodles, parmesan cheese, (part-skim) mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, cut up homemade meatballs, and the homemade lasagna gravy (in which the meatballs simmered for 4 hours).
It has become my family's traditional Christmas dinner. I make the gravy & meatballs on the 23rd, assembly & cook the lasagna on the 24th, and simply reheat the lasagna on Christmas Day -- YUM!!!
I have gravy granules in a shaker to use instead of a rue. makes any leftover juices (even small amounts) in skillet into a instant gravy that always taste different slightly and yet familiar depending on what you have cooked. Always keep bottle of water nearby in case it thickens to much.
So, I live in Sweden, and I visited my friend in England.
I had never heard of Gravy Granules, but when I saw it being used in a stew she was making, I was hooked. Bought 5 packets, 3x beef and 2x Chicken, to bring back home; sadly I am running out. The stuff is so useful
I'd love to see you guys do things with vegan milks and vegan replacements in things comparing them and coming up with interesting recipes - as someone lactose intolerant it's been a really interesting journey learning how to cook with these different ingredients and how to adjust flavours. For example I use marmite in "cheese" sauce to help give that depth
I rarely re-watch videos, but I loved this one! The pun game was perfect!
one of my favourite cheats is mixing a little beef and chicken gravy granduals then adding tons of black pepper and cream to make a super quick and really delicious peppercorn sauce!
Have caught significant flak for refusing to use premade ingredients, but am perfectly willing to spend more time. If I don't have sufficient time I will make something else. Most people have room for improvement in multitasking & recipe planning before needing to use hacks. Cheers
Custard powder is the only kind of home made custard I ever had a child. I love that stuff!
I'd love to see a video of the hacks that are used in the Sorted kitchen on a regular basis, as well as a video of the hacks that the guys use at home. More hacks please!!