There's a reason that chefs all prepare food in the same way; they save energy and make the most of every second when they can consistently peel and chop an onion in under a minute or julienne a green pepper in two. Other shortcuts include learning to estimate quantities when cooking, preheating appliances and pans, and cleaning as you go.

Prep Once

As you read through the recipe, note ingredients that are used more than once and prepare the entire amount needed at one time. For instance, if salad recipes use 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese in the dressing and 2 tablespoons sprinkled on top of the completed salad, grate ¼ cup of cheese while preparing ingredients.

For easiest cleanup, store ingredients used more than once on waxed paper or parchment paper rather than in little dishes or plates. A very large cutting board can also be very efficient for storing ingredients before you are ready to use them.

Since these ingredients will be used so quickly, there's no need to cover them or return them to the fridge or freezer while they are waiting to be used. If there is a delay of more than an hour in your cooking schedule, cover and chill all prepared foods to keep them at the peak of freshness and wholesomeness.

Chop Like a Pro

Use a well-sharpened, balanced chef's knife. Hold the knife in your dominant hand and keep the tip of the knife on the work surface or cutting board. Move the handle up and down to slice through the food. Hold the food, with the flat- or cut-side down, in your non-dominant hand, and curl your fingers under to protect them as the knife blade cuts next to the knuckle. Start slow; as you gain experience, you'll be able to chop and slice faster.

When mincing foods like herbs and garlic, rock the knife back and forth on the food, using your dominant hand to hold the handle and the other on top of the knife to guide the blade. Occasionally, stop and scrape the material together into a small pile, then continue mincing.

You can use a scissors for many of the ingredients that need to be trimmed, sliced, or chopped: top and tail green beans; mince herbs; and chop tomatoes, pears, and peaches still in the can. Be sure to label the scissors (or hide them) so they're only used on food.

Instinctive Measuring

Cooking recipes (soups, salads, most meats) do not require the precise measurements that baking recipes do. So take a few minutes and train your eye to recognize common measurements. Measure out 1 teaspoon, 1 tablespoon, ¼ cup, ⅓ cup, ½ cup, and 1 cup of flour or cornstarch and line them up on a piece of waxed paper. Scoop them into your hand, one at a time, and notice how high the flour is piled up and how it looks on your palm. Now practice pouring out the different amounts onto your hand and measure your guesses. If you go through this two or three times, you'll be able to cut minutes off your cooking time and still measure accurately.

For liquid ingredients, generally one “turn” around a bowl or pot will measure 2 to 3 tablespoons of that liquid, whether it's oil or buttermilk. Meat stocks and broths are usually 1¾ cups per can or 4 cups per shelf-stable box.

Baking recipes require that you always measure ingredients because they are precise chemical formulas developed for narrowly defined results. If you add more flour than the recipe calls for, your baked product will be heavy and dry. If you add too much liquid, a cake or bread will fall. So take the time when baking to measure precisely. Using mixes is a great baking shortcut, because mixes are just a mixture of the pre-measured dry ingredients.

Clean as You Work

Keep a dishpan or one sink full of hot, soapy water. As you work, drop utensils, bowls, pots, and pans into the water to soak. Cleaning as you go is more efficient than trying to tackle a big mess at the end. Have a bag or bowl on hand to hold vegetable trimmings if you have a compost pile. Prepare ingredients near the sink so it's easy to rinse vegetables and fruits before chopping or slicing them. And keep a garbage bag nearby so you can quickly discard packages and wrappings.

Wipe up spills on cooking surfaces as soon as the appliance cools down. This will save many minutes of scrubbing and is easier on you and the appliance. And wipe spills from your counters and floors when they occur. Keep a damp sponge or kitchen towel on hand in a designated place so it is readily available to clean and mop.

If you have a dishwasher, rinse and load dishes as you work. This is far easier to do as you go along, rather than waiting and facing a big job when you're done cooking. Read your dishwasher manual and follow instructions about prerinsing dishes and how to stack dishes for maximum efficiency.

Timing and Cooking

Remember this term: mise en place. This French phrase means that before you start cooking, you have all of the ingredients and equipment you will need on hand so you don't have to stop in the middle of the process and search for something. Before you begin, get all of your ingredients out of the fridge, freezer, pantry, and garden. It may help to remove the lids of the ingredients, then as you add them to the pot or bowl, put the lid or cover back on the bottle or can.

Timing is critical when cooking foods quickly. You must usually do two tasks at once (the word meanwhile in recipes is a clue to multitasking). This isn't difficult; you can chop vegetables while pasta cooks, stir together a sauce while meatballs cook in the microwave oven, or prepare greens for a salad while the chicken cooks on the grill.

Organize a plan, either on paper or in your mind, for every recipe you make. Note the tasks that will take the longest, and start them first. For instance, in a baking recipe, the oven must be preheated; this can take from 5 to 10 minutes, so the first thing you'll do is turn on the oven. When cooking pasta, a large pot of water has to come to a rolling boil; put this on the stove first, and cover the pot so the water boils faster. Preheat heavy-duty pans so they are waiting for you. A hot pan will cook foods better, searing the outside immediately and developing great flavors.

Once your pots and oven are preheating, start prepping the ingredients. Begin with the foods that take longest to cook. For instance, most sauces start by sautéing onions or garlic in olive oil. Prepare those ingredients and get them cooking while you prep other foods.

Don't forget to watch the foods that are cooking while you're prepping others. Every 2 to 3 minutes, you should stir sautéing vegetables, check on foods that are thawing or cooking in the microwave oven, stir pasta boiling in the pot, and check on anything under the broiler or on the grill.

Keep distractions to a minimum. Pets and kids underfoot in the kitchen will not only slow you down, they can present a safety hazard. If someone is helping you, have them work on tasks that are out of the main work triangle so you aren't tripping over each other as the meal progresses.

When baking, think about measuring out all of your ingredients, in order, on a large sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper. And when the batter or dough is complete, read over the recipe again to make sure that you have added all of the ingredients. For instance, it's very easy to omit the baking powder or soda from a cake recipe; then you'll have a flop on your hands.

When you start cooking, keep the overall plan of recipe preparation in mind. Pay careful attention to each step and follow the schedule you created carefully. And enjoy watching the recipe come together in the alchemy of cooking and baking.