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Kitchen Skills for Cooking at Home

By: Kris Bordessa, National Geographic author Updated: July 7, 2025

If you’re new to cooking in the kitchen, welcome to my new Kitchen Skills series, introducing you to some of the basic techniques you’ll need to make delicious homemade recipes. 

Originally published September 2021; this post has been updated.

table from above, with cutting boards and 5 people's hands chopping veggies.

How to Blanch Almonds
Blanching almonds at home is easy to do! Just a few simple steps and you'll be ready to bake with these delicious nuts.
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blanched almonds in a green bowl with skins alongside.
How to Use a Food Mill
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tree tomato fruit in a food mill
How to Zest Oranges
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citrus zester on a black background with orange and zest
How to Freeze Avocados
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Two avocados hanging from a tree branch
How to Peel Tomatoes
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tomato on a slotted spoon, skin wrinkly and peeling away from the fruit.
Freezing Food in Mason Jars
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frozen food in mason jars
Using an Instant Pot
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instant pot with a measuring cup full of dry rice.
How to Hard Boil Eggs Perfectly
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soft boiled egg on a plate with toast and radish garnish
How to Cut Peaches
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peaches: whole, halved, sliced, cubed
How to Make Pumpkin Puree
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white bowl full of orange pumpkin puree.
How to Easily Peel Peaches
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peaches in the process of being peeled, sitting on a wood cutting board.

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About the author: Kris Bordessa, National Geographic author Kris Bordessa is an award-winning National Geographic author and a certified Master Food Preserver. Read more about Kris and how she got started with this site here. If you want to send Kris a quick message, you can get in touch here.

image of Kris Bordessa

Aloha! I’m Kris Bordessa, author, hobby farmer, gardener, chicken wrangler, and eternal experimenter.

If you’re ready to shake up your pantry routine and shift from boxed to homemade, be sure to check out my latest project, Attainable Sustainable Pantry (National Geographic Books).

cover of Attainable Sustainable Pantry book, featuring numerous pantry items, collage style, on a light green background.

My earlier book, Attainable Sustainable: The Lost Art of Self-Reliant Living (also from National Geographic Books) was awarded the best how-to book of 2020 by the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

cover of attainable sustainable book

Here at Attainable Sustainable, I encourage readers to embrace a more self-reliant lifestyle, one small step at a time.