For many people, the act of cooking is nothing more than another chore. But for many, cooking is an enjoyable hobby, something to look forward to. It offers an excellent opportunity to follow a healthier lifestyle. Good cooks never stop learning, so below you’ll find some incredible ideas to boost your knowledge and make cooking even more enjoyable!
To maintain the freshness and flavor of herbs and spices store in a cool dry place away from direct light. When you store your herbs out on the kitchen counter, they will lose their flavor quickly and become stale.
When you are seasoning meats, try cooking a small piece first and testing it out, before making all of it. Many meaty foods require careful seasoning. Refrain from seasoning the whole portion before cooking. The more you cook, the better you will get at using the right amount of spices and seasonings. After that, you may choose to cook everything or adjust your seasoning accordingly.
Excess Fat
Take excess fat off of stews and soups. If there is a lot of fat in your soups or stews, cool it off and let the fat rise to the top. Place an ice cube in a spoon and slowly skim the spoon across the surface of the soup or stew. The excess fat will affix itself to the ice. Take a paper towel and blot away the fat that collects.
To improve the flavor of your dishes, mix your own broth and other stock. Make a large amount and store it in the freezer. When you do this, you will have delicious, healthy stock ready-to-use whenever you make soups and stews. If you prepare your own, homemade stock, you will be cutting out all of the preservatives of canned versions.
When preparing your ingredient list for meals, take care to look at the nutritional content in labels. A lot of cooking supplies contain ingredients that could be unhealthy. You want to ensure that anything you buy is not high in sugar or salt because both can cause major health problems if eaten too much.
To get better results when juicing a citrus fruit, stick it in the microwave first. Microwave any medium sized citrus fruits for about ten seconds. After the fruit is done microwaving, roll it on the counter before you cut it.
Oil should be added to the side of the pan. When it reaches the food, it will already be heated up. This will help your food be more flavorful.
Try to play with a variety of spices and sauces to help you come up with new and interesting flavors for your food. When you do this, you are sure to find that each variation can result in dramatic changes to the taste, and remember, variety is the spice of life! Have a look inside some of the ethnic food stores locally, you’ll be surprised at the range of sauces and spices that they have available.
Fresh Basil
if fresh basil what you’re cooking with? Place some basil in a clean glass. Cover its stems with water. Keep it on your counter and it will stay fresh for weeks. In fact, if you periodically freshen the water, the herb may even sprout roots. Trim or cut the basil from time to time for additional growth. Now you can enjoy your fresh basil anytime!
Make all necessary preparations for whatever you are planning on cooking before you start cooking. This will prevent you from wasting resources or overcooking your food, as well as prevent other dangerous situations resulting from distractions.
To give your pasta some added zip, save the water you use to boil the pasta. Use about a fourth of a cup for this tip. When you combine the sauce and the pasta, add this little amount of water to the mix. The addition of the starchy water will bulk up your sauce and make it creamier.
Make it a habit to cook with fresh seasonings and herbs whenever possible. Dried herbs, such as oregano and basil, are suitable for complex dishes with a lot of flavors. Though when possible, it is always better to use fresh herbs as they provide your dish with better flavor. Consider growing your own herb garden. You can grow many herbs in a small space and have them on hand constantly.
Mashed Potatoes
When it’s time to mash the potatoes for that good ole home-cooked taste, try using hot milk. The end result is lighter, fluffier mashed potatoes. Why would you want lumpy and dull mashed potatoes?
If you want to lose weight or adopt a healthier diet, use less oil when cooking. Butter and oils are often unnecessary fats. A great alternative to oils is a nonstick cooking spray. Not only does it provide the same results as cooking with oils, it also contains less unhealthy ingredients.
An efficient stackable cooling rack can be a real asset in the kitchen. If you are baking big batches of cookies, bars or other goodies, they can take up a large amount of space while they cool. Stackable racks help make the most of your cooking area. Using vertical spaces lets cookies cool down while still giving you other space to use for other activities.
If your meal has oil in it, make sure to reheat it by using the oven, not the microwave. A microwave oven causes intense heat which can cause the oil in foods, which heats first, to separate. Conversely, baking cooks the food slowly, which allows it to retain all its juices and flavor.
Use a potato with thick skin to obtain a suitable shell for dishes such as twice baked potatoes. Red potatoes have thin skins and cannot support a dense filling.
As was stated at the beginning of the article, good cooks never stop learning. The beauty of cooking is that it is not just about the physical act, but also about different types of food and cooking methods. It’s also about sharing what you know with others. Cooking is not just a task to be mastered, but a gift that was meant to be shared with others.