While some people know about these little tricks， the majority do not. These are small tips to help you improve the foods we commonly eat—most are recommended by top chef.

以下所要介紹的這些烹飪技巧，絕大多數(shù)人都是不知道的。這些小貼士可以讓一些我們熟悉的食材變得更美味——大部分都來(lái)源于頂級(jí)廚師的推薦。

1. Apples and Vanilla

蘋(píng)果和香草

Apples are very acidic and normally require some sugar in their cooking. Most people add nutmeg or cinnamon to their apple dishes， but vanilla extract adds a deep layer of flavor that most people won’t recognize but will certainly appreciate.

蘋(píng)果很酸，所以烹飪時(shí)通常會(huì)加入一些糖。很多人在烹調(diào)含蘋(píng)果的菜肴時(shí)會(huì)加入肉豆蔻或者肉桂，而其實(shí)加些香草精能夠增加菜肴的層次感。人們不會(huì)意識(shí)到加入了香草，但絕對(duì)會(huì)感到好吃。

2. Potatoes and Nutmeg

土豆和肉豆蔻

Add nutmeg—just a little—it adds a depth to the potatoes that people won’t recognize， but will definitely like. This is true of

va76d1adc776037389a32067de8694919irtually every potato dish.

在土豆中加入一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)肉豆蔻來(lái)增加風(fēng)味。人們不會(huì)意識(shí)到加入了肉豆蔻，但一定會(huì)喜歡這種味道的。這個(gè)技巧幾乎對(duì)所有土豆菜肴都適用。

3. Chili and Chocolate

辣椒和巧克力

Add chocolate to chili. It deepens the meaty flavor of the chili while giving a strong base note to the peppers. This is a trick well known in the South of Us where Chili bake-offs are common.

在辣椒醬里加入一些巧克力。這不僅能增加辣椒粉的基調(diào)，還能加深辣椒醬的肉味。這是美國(guó)南方出了名的技巧，那里經(jīng)常舉辦辣椒醬烹飪大賽。

4. Coffee and Salt

咖啡和鹽

Add a touch of salt to coffee to heighten the flavor—this is a very common use of salt as it is used in virtually all dishes （including sweet dishes served for pudding）. Just a pinch is enough to make a brilliant espresso.

在咖啡中加入一丁點(diǎn)鹽能變得更好喝——這是一種普遍做法，幾乎對(duì)所有菜肴都適用（像布丁這樣的甜點(diǎn)也不例外）。少量的鹽就可以變出一杯完美的意式濃咖啡。

5. Chocolate and Coffee

巧克力和咖啡

When baking with chocolate， add a little coffee—it strengthens the chocolate flavor without adding a strong coffee flavor.

當(dāng)你烘焙巧克力時(shí)，試著加一些咖啡吧——這會(huì)增加巧克力的風(fēng)味而不必?fù)?dān)心會(huì)有濃烈的咖啡味。

6. Cooking Tomatoes and Foliage

番茄和它的葉子

Throw in a tomato branch—the branch contains all of the flavors that we love in tomatoes—pick a leaf and smell it and you will see what I mean. Simply throw in a small stick of the tomato plant and it will give your cooked tomatoes a much stronger tomato flavor.

扔一段番茄的枝丫——枝丫含有我們所喜愛(ài)的番茄的所有味道——摘片番茄葉子聞聞看吧，你會(huì)懂得我所說(shuō)的。烹飪番茄時(shí)扔一段番茄的枝丫進(jìn)去吧，這會(huì)讓你烹飪的番茄大大增加番茄味。

7. Meat and Aniseed

肉類和茴香

When stewing meat， throw in a star aniseed—you can’t taste the aniseed but the flavor adds a deep richness to the meat. This is a trick used in all meat dishes by Heston Blumenthal， the owner of the Fat Duck （3 Michelin stars）.

燉肉時(shí)放一個(gè)茴香進(jìn)去吧——你幾乎嘗不出茴香的味道，但卻能大大地增加肉的口感。這是Heston Blumenthal烹飪所有肉類時(shí)的小絕招，他可是米其林三星餐廳Fat Duck的主人！

8. Strawberries and Pepper

草莓和胡椒粉

Strawberries （fresh） are usually served with a sprinkling of confectioners sugar， but the addition of very finely ground pepper heightens the flavor.

人們通常會(huì)在新鮮草莓上撒一層糖霜，不過(guò)再加上一層研磨得非常細(xì)的胡椒粉會(huì)更美味。

9. Tomatoes and Sugar

番茄和糖

Use sugar， not salt. Tomatoes are already acidic and the addition of salt just increases that acidic flavor. Sugar sweetens and increases the tomato flavor. Tomatoes are fruits after all.

烹飪番茄的時(shí)候不要加鹽，而是加糖。番茄本身就有酸酸的味道，加入鹽只會(huì)增加它的酸味。糖可以讓番茄變甜變好吃。番茄畢竟也是一種水果。

10. Carrots and Sugar

胡蘿卜和糖

While it may seem strange to add sugar to vegetables， it is a very common method of preparing carrots in France. The technical term for this dish is Vichy Carrots， in which you combine carrots， salt， pepper， sugar， and Vichy water （a sparkling water from the Vichy region） and cook them down until the carrots are glazed. The sugar heightens the flavor of the carrots and the final result is a stunning dish of brilliantly orange vegetables.

雖然把糖加到蔬菜里顯得很奇怪，但在烹飪胡蘿卜時(shí)加入糖卻是法國(guó)人的習(xí)慣做法。這道菜的學(xué)名叫維希胡蘿卜，烹飪這道菜時(shí)，法國(guó)人會(huì)把胡蘿卜、鹽、胡椒粉、糖和維希水（法國(guó)維希鎮(zhèn)出產(chǎn)的蘇打水）一起燉煮，直到胡蘿卜完全入味。糖的加入襯托出了胡蘿卜的美味，而結(jié)果是令這道橙黃的蔬菜變得絕妙無(wú)比。