Cooking is necessary, but it doesn’t have to be a chore, even if you are not a whiz in the kitchen. Anyone can improve their cooking skills with the right help and persistent practice. Read the advice in this article and try some of the tips. You will improve your cooking skills and start to enjoy it more.
Pasta is one of the best things that you can cook during the course of the day for the nutrients and carbs that it brings and its pleasant aroma. Make sure that your water is boiling for at least two minutes before you put your pasta into the pot for maximum quality.
A good thing to remember regarding cooking is to store your ingredients and spices in a cool dark place and not on top of your stove. This is because humidity and light tend to cause spices and herbs lose their flavor. This is one of the things new cooks tend to forget.
Make sure that if you are planning a party with friends and family, to have each course planned out in advance. You should have an appetizer course, salad course, main dish and dessert. Breaking your meal into courses will give people a chance to digest and appreciate what you have cooked for them.
Try putting some cauliflower in with your mashed potatoes to cut some calories and fat. Cauliflower has a kind of bland taste that mixes well with potatoes and the other ingredients in them. Cauliflower has the same texture and color as mashed potatoes, so the dish will be transformed into one that has more vegetables and fewer calories.
An easy way to experiment with combining savory flavors in the kitchen and not spend a lot of money in food waste, is to turn your ideas into an omelet. Eggs, especially egg whites, are fairly flavor-free and provide a great “canvas” on which to “paint” the ingredients you want and then combining into a dish. Small batches of scrambled eggs that you can fold your ingredients into, will also give a neutral background for your flavor taste tests.
Always choose to cook with a wine that you would drink yourself. If you don’t even like the taste of the wine that you are cooking with, chances are that you will end up disliking whatever it is that you are making! So pick out a good wine that you know you love, and you will like your dish even more.
When shaving vegetables for dishes such as a vinaigrette or a salad, use a coarse microplane, also known as a grater or zester, to grate them into smaller pieces. The flavors of the vegetables are truly unlocked when grated with the microplane.
When you want to make a soup using stock, follow this tip. Be sure to make a large amount of stock, pour it in a plastic bag, and place it in the freezer. This will allow you to quickly make soup whenever you want to by simply thawing out the already made stock.
You should use applesauce when baking if you want to cut back on the amount of calories the baked good contains. The applesauce will not change the texture or flavor of the baked good. It will cut back on the number of calories that are in the baked good. It will also add fiber to the food.
In recipes that call for milk or water, try substituting more flavorful liquids. For instance, you can use broth, stock, juice or a bit of wine to replace the water in a recipe. Substitute sour cream, buttermilk or even yogurt in place of regular milk. Try making your recipes stand out and more nutritious by interchanging your liquids.
Before frying raw potatoes, let them sit in cold water for at least a half an hour. By doing this, the fries will be more crispy. Also, letting them sit in cold water will cut down on the time it takes for them to cook thoroughly.
When cooking with raw meat or eggs, it is very important that you keep your hands and cooking station very sanitary. This is because the raw form of these materials can spread illnesses, such as salmonella, to you. If you do contract an illness, you will be very sick and won’t be cooking for a while!
For an easy meal to put together, save the sauces from other meals you had earlier in the week. Put them in an ice cube tray. You can reheat the cubes in a sauté pan for a quick sauce. Add some veggies and you will have a yummy meal.
Cooking is a chore for a lot of people, but it doesn’t have to be. If you need help in the kitchen then use the tips you’ve just read to improve your skills and make cooking more enjoyable. Anyone can do it with the right advice and a lot of practice.
