Technique
Practical guides and professional techniques for food preservation, from commercial dehydration to curing, designed for busy restaurant kitchens.
Preservation is more than just a way to stop food going bad; it is a fundamental kitchen discipline that builds depth of flavour and manages prep waste. In a busy service environment, mastering water activity, pH levels, and salt ratios is just as critical as temperature control. Whether you are salt-curing heritage pork or pickling seasonal brassicas, precise execution determines the line between a complex, umami-rich component and a spoiled batch.\n\nThis section gathers practical advice and technical breakdowns for modern back-of-house operations. You will find detailed guides on dry preservation, including our comprehensive guide to food dehydrators, which covers temperature settings and airflow control for drying everything from citrus wheels to beef jerky. We also feature insights from specialists like City Prepping to help you build a reliable, safe preservation setup. Keep your ratios exact, monitor your humidity, and use these resources to extend your larder's shelf life.
9:37A direct guide to preparing homemade deer jerky, comparing a classic savoury cure with a fiery Cajun-style spicy alternative. Learn the key principles of wild game dehydration, meat preparation, and seasoning balance.
23:41A professional guide to tomato selection, understanding botanical versus culinary classifications, choosing specific varieties for distinct menu applications, and when to opt for quality tinned alternatives.
17:15Discover a highly efficient pickled cabbage technique designed for busy kitchens. This versatile base maintains its crunch for months, serving as an instant starter for numerous salad variations on the cold larder section.
14:53Discover how modifying the dry-aging micro-environment with koji, salami mold, Wagyu tallow, and yogurt alters flavour development, moisture retention, and meat texture in this food science experiment.
13:13Disaster preparedness isn't just for survivalists—it is a vital skill for professional kitchen management. Learn how to apply emergency prioritization and stock rotation to keep your kitchen running during unexpected utility and supply chain failures.
21:12Discover how to ferment cucumbers using only their own juices and salt. This minimalist guide explores the mechanics of self-brining to produce clean, concentrated flavours for the modern garde manger.
4:39Discover how Executive Chef Tasos Stefatos refines traditional corned beef into a striking tasting-menu dish at Elements in Santorini.
10:43Learn how to master the classic Spanish technique of mussels escabeche with contributor Jenny Dorsey and Catalonian chef Sergi de Meià.
11:37Discover how to utilise chayote as a brilliant, crisp alternative to Korean radish in this masterclass on cubed kimchi (kkakdugi) by Maangchi.
3:34Learn a scaleable, zero-waste formula for vegan kimchi with The London Chef. This professional guide swaps fish sauce for soy sauce and uses percentage-based ratios to ensure flawless fermentation every time.
25:23Guga Foods takes a journey through culinary history by sampling military rations from the last century, revealing how preservation techniques, lipid oxidation, and packaging materials affect food over decades of storage.
18:44Discover how ancient techniques like ash-ageing, salting, and fat-capping can inspire modern chefs, with technical insights from Guga Foods.
16:25Discover the art of curing salmon with this professional guide to making gravlax, based on Brad Leone's class on osmotic preservation.
12:46Learn the traditional Korean technique of saccharifying rice with malt barley to craft your own rich, artisanal ssal-jocheong (rice syrup) for professional glazing and sweetening.
19:43A professional guide to mastering old-school British quick pickles, focusing on a balanced sweet-and-sharp brine for beetroot and a pre-salting technique for crunchy red cabbage.
16:51Discover how Locavore NXT in Ubud, Bali, is redefining the fine dining landscape. Michelin-starred restaurateur Alexander Varga explores how this progressive restaurant leverages hyper-local sourcing, culinary research, and sustainable practices to eliminate import dependencies and lift Indonesian gastronomy.
10:34Discover how to master Korean mustard green kimchi (gat-kimchi) with Maangchi's streamlined technique. Perfect for chefs seeking to introduce a sharp, peppery ferment to their menus.
5:59Discover how to craft premium, bespoke vanilla extract in-house with this professional guide to spirit-based cold-infusion, perfect for pastry chefs and artisanal gifting.
15:46Can you dry-age pork, poultry, and Wagyu with the same success as standard beef? We dissect Guga Foods' boundary-pushing experiment to explore yield loss, flavour concentration, and the safety limits of alternative dry-ageing.
14:23An editorial analysis of Noma's revolutionary culinary model and operational philosophy as the iconic Copenhagen restaurant prepares to close its doors.
12:53Learn the essential science behind Prague Powder #1 and #2, how to calculate PPM accurately, and how to safely use curing salts in professional charcuterie.
3:16Discover how to transform tough, resinous forest forage into tender, toffee-like delicacies. This guide breaks down the three-Michelin-star technique of candying baby Scotch pine cones, popularized by René Redzepi.
3:07Discover how to transform foraged wild garlic buds into a sophisticated, lactic-acid fermented condiment that lifts professional larders far beyond standard pestos.
3:11Discover how to turn kitchen waste into a premium menu item. This professional overview explores a zero-waste sourdough discard cracker recipe that leverages gluten degradation for ultimate crispness.
19:11Explore the rich Hakka heritage and traditional rice-crafting techniques of Hsinchu, Taiwan, through a professional chef's lens.
12:41Master the fundamental ratios behind kitchen classics like mayonnaise, béchamel, hollandaise, and pickles. Transitioning from rigid recipes to core ratios allows professional chefs to scale production effortlessly, adjust flavours on the fly, and ensure kitchen consistency.
6:27Learn how to safely compress weeks of traditional cold oil infusion into just a few hours using gentle, controlled heat to preserve delicate herbal aromas.
35:35Discover the unmatched discipline, meticulous fish aging techniques, and kitchen philosophy of Chef Takaaki Sugita at Nihonbashi Kakigaracho Sugita, Tokyo's most exclusive sushi destination.
62:12An editorial analysis of JetskiChucK's deep-dive into remote food economics, homestead self-sufficiency, and rare botanical ingredients like Black Diamond apples.
15:32Explore the ultimate guide to food dehydration and freeze-drying equipment. Learn how to select the right system to lift your kitchen's preservation program, from cabinet dehydrators to advanced sublimation units.
Shorts & reels
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For dry-cured sausages like salami, use Prague Powder #2 at a ratio of 2.5g per 1kg of meat (0.25%). Combine this with 25g to 30g of sea salt per kilogram. This ensures safe botulism prevention during long-term air drying. Maintain the curing chamber at 12–15°C and 75% relative humidity.
Slice lemons or limes to 2mm using a mandoline. Dip them in a 10% sugar syrup containing 1% ascorbic acid to prevent oxidation. Dehydrate on trays at 55°C for 12 to 14 hours until completely brittle. Store immediately in airtight containers with silica gel packs to prevent moisture reabsorption.
Use a 2.5% salt ratio based on the total weight of the plums and water. For dry salting, weigh the halved plums and toss with 2.5% fine sea salt before vacuum packing. Ferment at 18–22°C for five to seven days until slightly fizzy and tart, perfect for pairing with roast duck.
Garlic in oil poses a high risk of botulism. To store it safely, acidify the garlic cloves in a 3% citric acid solution for 24 hours before submerging in oil, or keep the non-acidified oil strictly refrigerated below 4°C and discard it within four days. Never leave garlic oil at room temperature.
The baseline ratio for quick-pickling vegetables like red onion or cucumber is 3:2:1. Mix three parts vinegar (such as white wine or cider vinegar), two parts water, and one part sugar by weight. Bring the mixture to a boil with 2% salt and aromatics, then pour hot over the sliced vegetables.
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