You need to get educated if you want to become a five-star cook. This article is full of helpful advice for all kinds of cooks. Take the tips you learn and start eating better immediately.
Experiment with spices, especially saffron. Saffron is in a class of its own, with the ability to make dishes bright and flavorful. It is an herb that has been around for centuries, and still continues to be highly desired. It is highly sought after, and therefore the most expensive spice in the world due to its uniquely wonderful flavor.
Regardless of the recipe, you can always bet that a fresh ingredient is better than its dried or frozen counterpart. Fresh ingredients are often inexpensive, and can help bring a lot of flavor out of your dish.
Beans and tofu contain a lot of proteins. Both of these protein-rich foods are available at most grocery stores. For a meat alternative, try pan frying seasoned tofu. The beans can be boiled with some herbs for a flavorful protein source.
Potatoes should be mixed with hot milk (not boiling) when they are ready for mashing. Bypass the cold milk if you want mashed potatoes to be fluffy with a light texture. No one wants to eat mashed potatoes that are lumpy and bland.
Make sure that you maintain your wooden cutting board. To keep your wooden cutting board in top shape, avoid exposing it to excess moisture. Don’t immerse it in water. Instead, quickly wash it with soapy warm water. You should apply oil to a board that is damaged, or to an undamaged board which you want to keep in pristine condition. Let the board dry thoroughly before you use it.
Learn to use color in your cooking. Eating meals that have multiple colors is very healthy for you, and it looks more appetizing as well. Add some bright ingredients like cherry tomatoes or baby carrots if your meal looks dull. Be creative with color, and people will eat the food in no time.
An excellent cooking method is brine. Soak chicken, turkey and game poultry in salt water for an hour to create a more flavorful dish.
It is absolutely essential that you have sharp knives whenever you cook. Dull knives make it harder to cut and are more dangerous to use. When trying to forcefully use a dull knife to cut a vegetable it becomes a lot easier for you to cut yourself than when you use a sharp knife.
If you will be juicing citrus fruits, get them extra juicy by putting them in the microwave oven first. Heat lemons, oranges or other citrus fruits for just ten seconds. Once you remove them from the microwave, roll them on the counter prior to cutting and starting the juicing process.
When you are cooking pasta, use a fair amount of salt in the water. This helps to add flavor to the pasta while it is boiling. Adding salt after the pasta is cooked will cause the flavor to not be absorbed as well.
When cooking with fruits and vegetables that you have never used before, gather as much knowledge about them beforehand as you can. You may be pleasantly surprised about the versatility of new food once you do a bit of research on it. Giving yourself more knowledge prior to cooking anything will go a long way towards improving the overall experience.
As said preciously, there are some easy tricks you can learn to cook well. Some of the tips that were found in this article can even help well-established cooks become better. Whichever camp you fall into, this article has hopefully nudged you a little closer to being a real cooking wizard.