Many people only see cooking as a chore that needs to be done. Something that should be enjoyed is cooking. It can also lead to healthier living. A good chef constantly learns new things; hopefully, this article will deepen your knowledge of cooking and help you to enjoy your time in the kitchen.
Meat can easily be sliced into thin strips if it is partially frozen. This tip is particularly handy for Asian dishes. The meat holds a tighter form when the it is partially frozen making the strips clean cut with out any stretching of the meat. However, always thaw your food before cooking it.
A must when cooking is the availability of sharp knives. Dull knives not only make it difficult to cut foods with, but dull knives are considered dangerous to use also. It’s easier to hurt yourself with a dull knife by forcing it to cut through something than by using a sharp knife to easily slice through it.
Do you find yourself throwing away molded fruits a lot? Have you ever tried to salvage a fruit by slicing away the bad-looking part? Trying to salvage fruit when half of it is bad may save money, but it is not worth the health risks. Mold grows deep into the fruit, and by eating it you will risk illness.
Try putting some cauliflower in with your mashed potatoes to cut some calories and fat. Cauliflower tends to have a bland taste, so this will blend nicely with the potatoes, and will pick up other ingredients, as well. In addition, cauliflowers can blend into the same texture and color as potatoes, which makes cauliflower an excellent method of adding vegetables and decreasing calories from a mashed potato dish.
Quickly cooking vegetables makes them crispier and more nutrient-filled. Using a slow cooking method is sometimes suggested, but the results are less nutritious and don’t taste as good. These methods usually create healthier vegetables. If you learn to cook vegetables for the right amount of time, it will help to keep them tasty and preserve nutrients.
To give your food vitality, prepare meals using fresh ingredients instead of frozen or dried ingredients whenever possible. Use fresh ingredients as much as you can, because they add better flavor to your dish and tend to be a lot cheaper.
If you want the cooking process to be both faster and easier, prepare as much as you can ahead of time. Look at your recipe ahead of time and draft up a list of what you can do to get ready, but don’t risk spoiling any ingredients. A lot of the preliminary work can be done a day before you cook the meal. More complex recipes become quicker and more fun this way.
Cook your veggies in chicken broth! Not only will the chicken broth stop the vegetables from getting stuck to the pan, but it will also make the dish more tasty. There is not a lot of expense when buying chicken broth, and most grocers carry it.
When you plan on using wooden skewers for cooking, soak them in water for 30 minutes prior to cooking. That way, you won’t be able to burn them as easily. You can keep food on the skewer when you use two parallel skewers instead of one.
Always measure the amount of cooking oil you use. To lower the amount of fat in your cooking, be sure to carefully measure the amount of oil that you use when you cook, instead of simply pouring from the bottle into a pan. Doing this lets you be very mindful of just how much oil you are actually using in your cooking.
Never cook with wine you haven’t tried. Using a wine that you are not familiar with in your food can cause you not to like the flavor that’s produced. Cooking wines are available.
It’s vital that you ensure that the utensils you cook with are clean prior to cooking. Any residual food matter missed during washing can spoil the dish you intend to cook. This could cause a lot of very serious problems due to the spread of bacteria.
Use salt liberally in the water used to cook pasta. This process will allow the salt to season your pasta while it cooks. Salting pasta after cooking is often unsuccessful because the pasta will not absorb the salt then, it will only sit on top of the noodles.
For an improvement to your pasta sauce, save some of the water used to cook the pasta. Save about one-fourth of a cup of water after draining the pasta. As you begin to add your sauce to the pasta, slowly mix in the water. The addition of the starchy water will bulk up your sauce and make it creamier.
In conclusion, a great cook is constantly learning. The joy of cooking is not just about cooking, but learning more about different foods and methods of cooking. You also must know how to share your skills with others. Cooking is more than a skill; it is also a gift that needs to be shared.
