TheKitchn.com

Do you wish you had more money to splurge on luxurious ingredients such as really high-end olive oil and aged cheese? (Personally, I wish I had a white truffle perched on my windowsill all the time.) Or do you wish you could go to culinary school and learn the fine arts of French cooking?

So much of cooking well seems to involve money, doesn't it? Buy this perfect piece of cookware; make sure you have three kinds of salt in your cupboard; stock cherry vinegar as well as balsamic, red wine and rice. Shop at the farmers market; is that tomato the best it can be? And what about that seafood? Wild salmon only, please.

While spending money wisely and well on tools and food is important -- and good food should command priority -- savvy thrift is at the root of many of the world's great dishes, such as bread panade, pasta e fagioli and any number of other rustic classics.

There is much you can do to improve your cooking right now, without spending a dime. Here are 13 absolutely free ways to take your cooking up to the next level.

1. Read the recipe all the way through before beginning.

This is a common admonishment, and for good reason! How many times have you got halfway through a recipe and then discovered you forgot an ingredient, or added something all at once when it should have been divided? Reading a recipe all the way through and taking time to put it in your own words in your head will help you cook a little better, and it will teach the underlying mechanics of what is happening.

2. Start cooking with a clean work space, even if it means putting dinner on the table a little late.

This is a point I need to remind myself of all the time. I will fly through a work day and then toss myself into the kitchen, shoving yesterday's cereal bowl and pasta pan out of the way. It would be better to take a deep breath, clear up and, yes, have dinner ready a little later, but enjoy the process of making it in a more cleared-up space.

3. Set a daily time to clear out the fridge.

One of the greatest inhibitors to cooking happily and well, for me, is feeling like my fridge has suddenly gotten out of hand. What's in the back of the crisper? Are those leftovers still good? It's not good to feel scared of your refrigerator. Take it in hand often, looking for things that need to be used up or eaten. After dinner, as you're putting away leftovers, is a good time to take stock and see if there's something that should be prioritized in tomorrow's meal.

4. Use your hands.

Your hands are your first and best kitchen tool. I use my fingers to mix and knead dough, to prod a piece of meat to check for doneness, and to rub out lumps in sauces before cooking. Your hands are the best tool for mixing a salad.

5. Cut everything the same size.

Knife skills are a big thing that people want to learn, but while the focus can be on fancy cuts or speed, the real mark of good knife skills is being able to reliably cut everything to the same size. Making a chicken stew? Cut the chicken breast into precisely sized pieces so they cook at the same rate. Same goes for roasted vegetables. Practicing precision and evenness in your knife skills will get you farther than being able to dice an onion in 30 seconds.

6. Brown boldly!

When browning meat or vegetables, really let them brown. Don't push the meat around the pan incessantly. Let it sit and sear, and maybe even char a tiny bit. That's the flavor right there. When in doubt, brown a little more. You'll taste it.

7. Don't leave the flavor in the pan.

When you sear meat, cook a pan of chicken in the oven or roast vegetables in a sheet pan, they leave a bit of themselves behind. Don't let that go to waste; add a splash of water, broth, or wine to the pan and scrape it up.

8. Build taste over time.

When you're working with simple ingredients, adding time to the process can elevate the result in a way that more expensive additions never could. For instance, slow cooking an inexpensive cut of pork, or letting a soup simmer in the oven all Saturday. French onion soup is one of the best examples, in fact, of a radically simple and inexpensive dish that is turned into pure luxury with the addition of time. Sauces are another place this happens; slowly reducing a chicken or vegetable stock concentrates the flavor.

9. Smoke is magical.

Any hint of smokiness in a dish will elevate it. You can add smokiness in so many ways: your grill (I like to grill meat instead of browning it, before braising or slow cooking), smoked salt, even roasting peppers over your stove burners.

10. Pay attention to how things smell.

I think that we all are pretty well acquainted with the smell of scorched cookies. But beyond that, really invest in your sense of smell as you cook. It's not just about smelling burnt things; if you pay attention you can tell by smell when a stock is rich enough, or when the potatoes have browned enough in the oven.

11. Season early, and then add more as needed.

In most dishes, it's best to season early so the salt, spices or herbs can cook with the beans, meat or vegetables. Season your chicken with a quick brine; sprinkle the Brussels sprouts with salt before they crisp up in the oven. Then taste and add more before serving as needed.

12. Take full responsibility for how your food tastes.

A recipe is only a guide, especially when it comes to savory dishes like pasta, soup and salad. Taste as you go and adjust with more salt, pepper and other seasonings as you go to suit your taste.

13. After salt, add acid.

If you taste a soup or any other dish and think, Hmmm, this is a bit bland, it's time for a splash of acid. Squeeze in lemon or a dash of plain white vinegar. It's amazing how this can brighten and sharpen all the other flavors.

(Faith Durand is executive editor of TheKitchn.com, a nationally known blog for people who love food and home cooking. Submit any comments or questions to kitchn@apartmenttherapy.com.)