Learning to cook is a skill that will prove to be useful to you throughout your life. Cooking is useful, because you need to feed yourself and your family, and it is fun too. Following the tips provided in this article will help you learn more about this useful life skill.
To increase the texture and quality of the pasta that you cook at night, make sure that you finish cooking with the pasta in the pan with sauce. This will help to absorb the sauce so that it blends in properly and tastes great when you sit down to the table and eat.
Save your butter and margarine wrappers to use when baking. The wax paper that butter and margarine is wrapped in just happens to be the perfect size for greasing pans or rubbing onto a potato before popping it in the oven for baking. Save wrappers butter-side to butter-side in a closed storage container, so it stays fresh for your baking needs.
Is fresh basil something you cook with often? Get a sprout of fresh basil and place it in a glass. Make sure the the stems are completely covered with water. Put it on top of your kitchen counter and it will be fresh for weeks! Most often times, basil will actually take root in water. Also trim the basil every now and then to facilitate growth. Enjoy fresh basil on a regular basis.
Basic seasoning of the food you prepare goes a long way in proving your skills in the kitchen. Don’t be afraid to taste your food as you work and adjust seasonings accordingly. Typically, some of the most expensive cuts of meat, as well as many many varieties of seafood, are rather dull without some help. Your guests will appreciate a well-seasoned dish that they don’t need to shake salt on until their arms goes numb or twist the pepper mill over for an hour to make palatable.
If you are looking to reduce the sodium content of the meals you cook, take a careful look at your spice shelf. Many prepared spices are surprisingly high in sodium, whether or not they have a salty taste. And of course, avoid adding regular salt. Look to natural herbs and simpler spices to add flavor without sodium.
When you are chopping onions for a home cooked salsa make sure you rinse them. Rinse your onions immediately after you cut them then blot them dry with a napkin. This will remove the sulfurous gas and will make your salsa taste better. This works well for other recipes too.
When you are cooking a dish that requires it to be sauteed, add oil around the edges of the pan rather than directly on the food. This gives the oil a chance to heat up before it reaches the cooking food that is in the center of the pan. Hot oil will give you improved results and makes your dish taste better.
If you are following a recipe take extra caution to make sure that you don’t skip a step, or that you are reading the measurements correctly. Especially in baking, a small mistake can completely ruin a dish. To avoid this just check the recipe a couple of times before adding in the ingredient to the mixture.
When you feel like your dish is missing something but it isn’t salt, consider something acidic. Lemon, wine, and vinegar can all be great ways to add acid to a recipe. Healthy acidic balances out the flavor of anything sweet. It can also be a wonderful way to add a “salty” flavor if you’re on a low salt diet.
When storing items in your kitchen, you will want to make sure that they are stored in containers that are airtight and closed tightly for two reasons. While most foods will go stale having constant exposure to air, another big fear is that the product will be taken over by bugs.
Preserve the flavor of your herbs and spices by storing them in an area with low light and cool temperatures. If you put them above the oven, or in another warm place, the spices and herbs will not retain their flavor.
Cooks need to keep cooking supplies organized. An unorganized kitchen is an unhappy kitchen. You will have difficulty finding what you want to make your delicious recipes. Save time searching by keeping similar items stored together. For instance, put all your spices together in one cabinet.
If you are going to braise meat, cook it at a low temperature for a long period of time. By doing it this way, the meat will stay tender and it will retain its juiciness, which in turns, leaves the meat tasting good. Cooking it a high temperature can dry the meat out.
If you are unsure of your boiling potatoes are done it would help if you stuck them with a knife. If the potato comes out of the water stuck on the knife then it means that they are not ready yet, but if they slide off easily then they are done.
To remove a batch of fudge from the pan with ease, first line the pan with aluminum foil that you have generously greased using butter, margarine, or a butter-flavored cooking spray. When set, simply lift the block of fudge up and out of the pan using the aluminum foil and you will then be able to peel the foil away from the fudge for cutting without the sticky mess.
Get your children to eat their veggies by including them in unexpected foods. Pumpkin is great in pancakes and muffins, and pureed carrots or butternut squash pair well with tomato-based pasta sauces. Grated zucchini takes on the flavor of nearly anything in which it is used, even chocolate or spice cake.
As you can see, cooking is not as hard as you may have previously thought. By following these tips, you are well on your way to becoming a competent chef. Your family will love the delicious meals you provide them, and you will likely pass these skills along to them too.
