13 of Andrew Zimmern’s best cooking tips

Sometimes good cooking is all about using the right tools, and when it comes to making chili paste, Andrew Zimmern recommends reaching for the mortar and pestle. According to the chef, modern appliances are expensive and not entirely worth the price. In an interview with Today, Zimmern expressed his “old-school” feel when it came to keeping up with the latest kitchen gadgets. In fact, he believes that “99% is a waste of money”.

In Zimmern’s view, one of the biggest problems with modern kitchen appliances is that they can interfere with the flavor of your ingredients. Apparently, food processors can add unwanted heat to your recipe, giving you less control over how your creation turns out. However, an old fashioned mortar and pestle will not have the same effect. “No heat means the food won’t change its texture or flavour, so you can combine small amounts of things that would otherwise get lost in a machine of any kind,” the chef told Today.

For this reason, Zimmern says he makes chili paste with a mortar and pestle. Interestingly, this strategy will result in pastes that are much hotter than those made by modern tools. As explained by Otao Kitchen, food processors chop ingredients while a mortar and pestle purees them. This crushing motion will release more oils from the chilies and, in turn, a spicier, stronger flavour.