Is cooking for the family every night getting old? The idea of cooking a meal for yourself should not be enough to send you in a tailspin! This article provides many tips that can make meal preparation less stressful. You will be relieved to find some insights here on how to finally be successful in your kitchen.
When you are baking pastry crusts, try increasing the cooking time a bit. Judge their color, not the time in the oven to determine if they are done. They will be golden brown when cooked. That deeper color shows that the sugar has caramelized. This creates a crisp crust, which is also sweeter.
For optimal safety, use only sharp knives when preparing food. Dull knives make it very difficult to cut with and also extremely dangerous to use. With a dull knife it is easy to slip and cut yourself because it is harder to slice the food, but a knife that is sharp makes much smoother cuts.
Cook your vegetables in chicken broth. Add extra flavor to your vegetables and keep them from sticking by using chicken broth instead of water. Chicken broth is easily purchased at almost every supermarket, and is quite inexpensive.
Measure the amount of cooking oil you use! Pouring straight from a bottle does not give you an accurate idea of how much fat you are using, which can result in overindulgence. Measuring your oil instead of estimating allows you to closely approximate the fat content in your dish.
Do not use any kind of wine in your cooking that you haven’t tasted on your own. Using wine that does not appeal to your palate when you are cooking can lead to a meal that lacks the flavor you desire. Try using wines that are sold specifically for cooking.
If you prefer to use spices and herbs, make sure they are stored in a cool, dark place, so their freshness and flavor is preserved. Keeping your spices and herbs stored above your stove or in high cabinets where warm air collects will dry them out and destroy their flavor.
Many vegetables and herbs have a smell that has a tendency to remain on cutting boards, despite how many times you wash them. You can mark your cutting boards with permanent marker to tell which one or which side is for each type of food.
You should be as organized as possible when cooking to avoid burning food and other mistakes, which could be costly. Organizing your kitchen cooking area creates a more productive kitchen. If you are unorganized, it is easy to lose track of things and waste your money and delicious food that you could have been eating!
Bundle your fresh herbs together and cut the appropriate amount off with scissors. This is preferable to chopping the herbs because they will be less moisture laden, making them lighter and fluffier.
Use salt liberally in the water used to cook pasta. This helps to add flavor to the pasta while it is boiling. Salting pasta after cooking will not be as effective in enhancing the flavor.
Cooking for a family can be more than a little overwhelming. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to simplify the cooking process. You should be relaxed when you are walking into your kitchen.
