Mario Batali's 12 Greatest Tips For the Home Cook

POPSUGAR Photography | Anna Monette Roberts
POPSUGAR Photography | Anna Monette Roberts

There's no denying that Mario Batali is an exceptionally talented chef; we've rounded up his greatest tips for the home cook. From essential seasonings to garments (ahem, orange Crocs), read up on what Mario thinks you should know.

Season With Lots of Salt and Oil
Getty | George Rose

Season With Lots of Salt and Oil

Season with salt and oil, liberally. The chef is all about throwing in an "aggressive pinch of salt" and splashing a heavy pour of oil onto everything.

Buy the Best Salt and Olive Oil
Thinkstock | Duncan Smith

Buy the Best Salt and Olive Oil

For essential ingredients, Mario recommends buying the best, "when you put salt and olive oil in everything, shouldn't you take the time to find the best salt and olive oil? It will affect the way your food tastes."

Must-Have Kitchen Tools
Getty | Jeff R. Bottari

Must-Have Kitchen Tools

Mario says he can't live without these tools: a set of nesting mixing bowls for the perfect mise en place, a pasta roller attachment for his KitchenAid stand mixer, and a Microplane.

Adjust Recipes as Necessary
FilmMagic | Raymond Hall

Adjust Recipes as Necessary

"Recipes are a road map, not a set document," says Batali. Therefore, he encourages cooks to salt, season, and adjust recipes until the dish tastes right.

Table vs. Cooking Wine
POPSUGAR Photography | Susannah Chen

Table vs. Cooking Wine

Cook with the same wine you sip on, says Batali. Rather than open a separate bottle of wine for cooking, add a splash of whatever wine you're planning to drink at dinner instead.

The Perfect Food-to-Wine Ratio

As you stock your fridge, what's the proper food-to-wine ratio? Batali says, "The refrigerator should have a proper balance of wine and food . . . that is about 50/50."

Seasonality Reigns
Pure Michigan

Seasonality Reigns

According to Batali, seasonality is important, because "As a chef who has access to raspberries 365 days a year, you can be pretty sure that I only eat raspberries when they're local and in season. When you eat a raspberry or whatever it is, wherever you happen to be, something that's local and is grown right there tastes 10 times better when you get it right when it's perfect."

Let Pans Sizzle
WireImage | JB Lacroix

Let Pans Sizzle

Batali thinks the most frustrating cooking mistake that home cooks commit is "constant stirring. Let the pan do the work! Listen to it sizzle, and taste as you go."

Processed Foods OK?
Shutterstock

Processed Foods OK?

Eat mostly fresh. Batali says, "the only two processed items I support are canned beans and frozen peas."

Get to Know Your Local Purveyors
Getty | Amanda Edwards

Get to Know Your Local Purveyors

Italians celebrate regional food, and so should you! If the city you live in is famous for a specific cheese, meat, fruit, or vegetable, cook with it. In addition, "Become friends with your fishmonger, and the next time he gets a beautiful fillet of fresh fish in, he'll call you up and let you know it's arrived."

Use Fresh Food
POPSUGAR Photography | Anna Monette Roberts

Use Fresh Food

Use ingredients up quickly or toss them out to make room for fresh ingredients. Batali explains, "Spend more time in the grocery store and less time in the kitchen. Clean out your kitchen and get rid of those old spices that you once used to make chicken tikka masala. Make room for fresh clean food."

Orange Crocs
Getty | Amanda Edwards

Orange Crocs

When it comes to proper cooking footwear, we can't help but love Mario's iconic Crocs. He reminisces, "Orange became the national family Batali color . . . My wife bought me orange Crocs when I opened my very first restaurant, though they weren't Crocs at that time, they were called Calzuro. . . . When Crocs came out, it became obvious that they had built them for me and I've stuck with them."