7 Surprising Cooking Tips from Culinary School

A friend of mine attended culinary school for years to learn how to slice, fry, season and much, much more. Now he's sharing his best cooking tips that you can use in your own kitchen today.

1. Use a damp towel to keep a cutting board in place.

It can be very annoying to cut on a cutting board that's constantly sliding around on your countertop. Place a damp paper towel or dish towel under the board to hold it in place

2. Use a bench scraper to remove ingredients from a cutting board.

This is better than dragging a sharp knife across the cutting board, which will dull the knife over time. Also, the bench scraper is large enough to pick up (or push) a large amount of food at once.

3. Add baking soda to tomato sauce.

If you don't want to add sugar to a pot of marinara sauce, but the tomatoes are a little sour, you can add a little baking soda. Just stir 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon into the pot and let the sauce simmer for a few minutes to take the bite out of it. You can then add the sauce to one of these delicious Italian pasta dishes.

4. Add sour cream to make the scrambled eggs extra smooth.

Sour cream will keep the eggs soft and creamy for a long time while you keep them warm for a great brunch. Add about 1/4 cup per dozen eggs as soon as you take them off the heat.

5. Give in and get a really good knife set.

Knives are probably the most useful utensil in your kitchen, so it's important to have a good quality set that will last for years. And whatever you do, don't put them in the dishwasher!

6. Keep your knives sharp.

It really makes cutting and chopping much easier. Plus, you're less likely to cut yourself with a sharp knife than a dull one that can easily slip on the surface of your food and - ahem -end up somewhere else.

7. Dry all meats thoroughly before cooking.

This way it'll brown quickly, and in the case of poultry, the skin will be crispy.