No matter how good a cook you are, nobody has all the answers. Everyone can use some advice to make improvements from time to time. The tips in this article can help you to step up your game in the kitchen. Take a look and see which ones you can incorporate today.
When you are making stock, make a lot of it. Then save it in a plastic zip bag, date it and freeze it. That way you can pull it when you would like to make a soup. You can use it to boil some veggies in. Having some in the freezer will make preparing healthy meals very much easier.
Understand that the smaller the item, the higher temperature that you are going to need to cook at. This will help to maximize the way that your food tastes during the meal. Cook your smaller foods at very high temperatures and larger foods at lower temperatures for the best results.
One of the things that you should spend a lot of money on, is your kitchen utensils, pots and pans, and other equipment. These are extremely valuable investments as they will serve as the foundation for all of your cooking. You will want to extend the life of these tools as long as possible. Cooking is so much easier if you are using high quality utensils and equipment.
When your pasta is done and you are finished draining, pour some Parmesan cheese on top, which will give your sauce something to latch on to. This will make things much easier for you when you are creating your meal and allow you to layer the levels of your pasta.
Herbs and spices have a powerful impact on the quality of your cooking. To preserve these important, expensive ingredients, keep them in a cool, dark place with minimal humidity. All too often spices are left near ovens and sinks. The heat, light and moisture in such places leach the flavor out of high-quality spices.
You need to store your flour in a waterproof container. If flour gets wet, it becomes a huge mess and cannot be used for cooking. There are some waterproof containers that can be sealed so that there is no way for water to get into it, which can save you a lot of money in the long run.
If you plan to use wooden skewers when cooking, soak them in water for about thirty minutes prior to use. This way, they won’t burn while cooking. Keep food from falling off of your skewers by using two parallel skewers instead of a single one.
Try adding seasoning over the entire cooking process instead of putting on all your seasoning on at the beginning. Add a little spice every few minutes. If you do it in this manner you can flavor your food the best way and use your ingredients in the best way.
One useful tool to use when chopping herbs into smaller sizes is the cutting board. Often while cutting, herbs move around instead of staying in place. To stop this from happening, simply apply a little salt to the cutting board before you begin cutting your herbs. This will keep them in place and make your cooking much easier.
When applying seasoning to meat and fish, always remember to season evenly and thoroughly. Shake or grind the shaker as if the seasoning is snow falling from the sky. Doing so will allow the meat to be evenly coated with spices and seasoning and prevent clumps or over seasoning.
It is important to test the heat of oil before using it to pan fry your food. Pouring the oil into the pan and then sprinkling it with water should give you a series of cracks or sparkles. If it does not, then the pan isn’t currently up to frying or heating capacity and dumping the food in it will act closer to an oil sponge than a frying pan.
If you make your own salad dressing, consider using yogurt as a substitute to half the mayo. By doing this, you drastically cut the fat and calories in the dressing. When you use Greek-style yogurt, you ensure your homemade dressing is just as delicious and creamy – just not as bad for you!
Cook perfect rice every time. When cooking plain white rice, follow these simple steps. Put 1 cup of long-grain rice into a heavy-based saucepan, with a pinch of salt and 2 cups of water. Put a lid on the saucepan, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a low simmer. Cook for 12 minutes. Check the rice at this point: there should be no water left, and small steam holes should have appeared in the rice. Replace the lid, and let the rice sit for 2 minutes. Enjoy!
There is always something more we can learn about food and cooking. The pointers shared in this article will no doubt prove useful to you as you continue to improve your cooking skills. Start trying some of these tips today, and enjoy the fruits of your labors in the kitchen.
