To become a good cook, you must learn several things. You can check out this article for cooking advice that will be useful to you no matter what your current cooking skill level is. Follow the tips in this article and you will learn to reach your cooking goals.
When you are making a salad to serve at a potluck dinner, layer it to retain maximum freshness. If you don’t want to send up with a wilted and soggy mess, put juicy ingredients in the bowl first, and then layer upwards to produce like lettuce on the top.
If your recipe calls for slicing meat very thin, you can do this most easily by partly freezing the meat first. For Asian meals, such as Thai and Chinese dishes, this technique creates strips that are particularly ideal. When you slightly freeze the meat, the fibers don’t extend as easily, and therefore slicing is much cleaner. After slicing the meat, allow it to completely thaw to ensure that it cooks evenly.
If you are cooking a meal for some important occasion, stick with a tried and true recipe. Never prepare an unfamiliar recipe or try to use a different ingredient than you are used to. That way, cooking will cause a great deal less stress.
For a homemade soup that is very low in fat, use fat-free stock or broth as your base. By using lean meat and plenty of vegetables, you will add very little fat to the soup. When the soup is ready to eat, place the soup in the refrigerator and let it chill. This will cause the fat to congeal and rise to the top. Simply discard the hardened fat and the soup is done. This can save you about 100 calories per teaspoon that is removed.
Always have your spices stored in a dark and cool place. Storing spices in lighted areas or warm areas can reduce their length of freshness. Your spices will have a longer shelf life and retain their good taste if stored in a dark, cool spot. Using fresh spices will make your food taste better.
Discover the benefits of utilizing a variety of colors when you are cooking. Colorful foods appeal to your eyes and tend to be very healthy. Some colorful garnishes you can add to your meals include cherry tomatoes, cilantro, parsley and carrot curls. The more beautiful the plate, the faster the food will disappear.
Make sure you are using the right type of potato for your dish. Mealy, all-purpose or waxy are how potatoes are classified. The type of spuds that make for ideal mashed potatoes are the mealy varieties. Russet potatoes are a familiar mealy potato. Yukon gold potatoes are all-purpose potatoes excellent for any dish. Potatoes that are waxy hold their shape nicely, and are good for boiling and steaming. The common white and red potatoes are examples of a waxy potato.
Although garlic is a great flavor booster that compliments a wide variety of foods, it can unfortunately stick to your hands. To avoid the lingering, strong odor from working with odoriferous cooking ingredients, thoroughly rub you hands on the stainless steel surface of your kitchen sink. It both cleans your hands and helps to avoid transfer the odor to other foods.
We will often make a mistake of using too much salt without taking a bite of your food, but it is not too late! Try peeling and chopping some potatoes and put them in your sauce for around 15 minutes. The potatoes actually can soak up the extra salt like a sponge. When cooking tomato-based dishes, simply add a few more tomatoes to the pot to dilute it down a bit.
As we have shown, there are many tricks and secrets that will help you hone your cooking skills. Some people naturally have it, and others just need a little help and information. After you read this article, you can be on your path to cooking great meals!