Cooking can be a great way to spend time, especially if you enjoy it. By all means, tuck these tips away for when you need them the most. Getting a sense of fulfilment from the act of cooking is something that only some people truly know. If you’re one of them, you’re lucky indeed.
There is no one in the world who is incapable of learning how to cook. Some people just need a little more practice than others. Lots of people make the mistake of giving up learning to cook after failing to get a recipe right the first time but cooking requires knowledge to really succeed. Here are some tips to help you on the right track.
When it comes to cooking, be sure that you know the allergy concerns of all of those who will be eating your meal. This is extremely important because the effects of food allergy can range anywhere from mild discomfort to death – both of which you want to avoid at all costs.
When planning a dinner party, prep the food the day before. By preparing it the day or night before, you will relieve yourself of a huge amount of stress, and you’ll have more time for the little details on the day of the party. Your guests will think that you’re just like one of TV’s top chefs!
In order to save time when you are cooking, you can create beforehand your own blend of spices for different dishes. There are different spice combos for Asian, Italian, Mexican, or Indian cuisines. An easy “American” blend would be combining cinnamon and sugar for a quick cinnamon toast as a nice morning or evening treat.
Meat
Many people cook, but they don’t know what it is like to get pleasure from the act of cooking. Some others cherish every moment in the kitchen from the first cup of milk in a recipe until the last bite of cake. If you’ve been secretly relishing the experience of making meals, here are a few tips for you to enhance your cooking skills.
Make perfect meat and fish by applying the seasoning evenly. Especially with salt and pepper, think of the seasonings as the snow that is falling delicately onto the meat and fish. As a result, you won’t have too much seasoning on one section and not enough or none on other sections. It also prevents the seasonings from clumping.
Marinate all of your meat. One of the most overlooked ways to improve your cooking is to let your meat rest in the marinade before you cook. This will help the meat retain moisture, and will impart it with richer flavours. You can also marinate your veggies with the meat to create even deeper flavours.
When making large quantities of bacon, lay the bacon on a foil-wrapped baking sheet, and cook it in the oven (according to package directions) instead of on the oven top. The bacon will not only remain flat during cooking, but you will not have to cook batch after batch to reach the quantity you need.
No one can really say that they enjoy a dry hamburger. Instead of serving dry tasteless burgers at your next barbeque add some cold water to your beef before you grill. Try about 1/2 cup per 1 pound of meat. You will leave your guests amazed with your burgers every time.
Vegetables
To reduce the odour that smashing garlic can cause to your knife and your cutting board, use a disposable plastic bag, and smash the cloves while they are inside of it with the back of a knife. This will also prevent your hands and fingers from absorbing much of the garlic odour.
After cooking with a large amount of garlic, rub both hands on your stainless steel sink before washing them. Use a vigorous scrubbing action. This will help to get rid of that lingering garlic scent on your skin. It will not leave a scent on your stainless steel sink.
If you can’t purchase fresh legumes, commonly called beans, your options are dried or canned servings. However, canned beans will contain extra salt and are never desirable. To reduce the salt in canned legumes, just rinse with cold water to wash away preservatives and salt. Be sure to read the instructions on the dried legumes so that they will reconstitute back to their original plumpness.
To remove the hardcore from a head of iceberg lettuce, whack the bottom of the lettuce head on the counter to loosen the core from the rest of the leaves. You should be able to pull it out easily, leaving you with lettuce that’s ready for sandwiches, shredding, or chopping.
Oil added to a pan while sauteing needs to be fully heated before it is absorbed by your ingredients. Slowly pouring the oil along the edge just inside the pan will ensure it is the correct temperature by the time it reaches your ingredients.
Sweets & Mixing It Up
If you want to keep your biscuits fresh in the biscuit jar, a good way to do so is to crinkle up some tissue paper at the bottom of the jar. The paper will absorb all of the moisture instead of your cookies, keeping them fresh and ready to eat.
Make red beans, sausage and rice the easy way. Brown your sausage in a skillet. Add a can of red beans, liquid included, and then add enough instant rice to soak up the juices. Once the sausage is fully cooked turn off the heat and allow the mixture to simmer. It is a filling, low-cost meal that you can prepare in minutes.
Without an education in cooking and an understanding of techniques and ingredients, cooking will be difficult. Cooking is both an art and a science and there must be a foundation for both, in order to succeed. Take these tips and get yourself into the kitchen and start getting those pots ready to boil!
