Cooking is one of those skills that can always be improved upon. Even someone who has a lot of experience in the kitchen can learn some new tricks to make cooking more enjoyable. New cooks also need to learn the little tips that make cooking easier. Here, we will give you some great advice to make your cooking adventures more satisfying.
Wait a few minutes before you serve a meal to allow the food to sit for a bit. A lot of people don’t understand the importance of letting a meal sit for a while. If you are hungry or in a hurry, you will be tempted to eat the very moment your meal is ready. However, you are missing out if you do so. Let your food, particularly meat dishes, rest for a few minutes prior to serving.
When you are cooking for an occasion where you want to impress someone, it is best not to try out a new recipe. Regardless of who it is, you can’t impress them if your meal ends up tasting bad. Cooking them one of your specialties is a safe bet.
Garlic is a delicious ingredient that has a place in many recipes, but it has no place on your hands. Try rubbing your hands against stainless steel to get the odor of garlic and other foods off your hands. This will clean your hands, while preventing any odors from being transferred to the next food item you touch.
Make tastier mashed potatoes for dinner by using hot, but not boiling, milk when mashing them. Using hot, rather than cold, milk results in more fluffed-up and lighter mashed potatoes. Nobody really wants lumps in their mashed potatoes!
Use salt liberally in the water used to cook pasta. This helps to add flavor to the pasta while it is boiling. Pasta that is salted after it is cooked does not absorb the salt as readily.
Be sure to refresh your spices every few months. A lot of people keep spices too long, which makes them not taste very good. If you purchase a specific spice, knowing that you probably won’t use it all, split it with someone.
Make sure you are using the right type of potato for your dish. There are three basic categories of cooking potatoes: all-purpose, mealy and waxy. The crumbly, dry texture of mealy potatoes make them perfect for mashing. Russet potatoes are a familiar mealy potato. For a general use potato, you can’t do better than the Yukon gold variety. Waxy potatoes can maintain their shape extremely well. Because of this fact, they are excellent for steaming or boiling. Waxy varieties include white and red potatoes.
There are a wide variety of potatoes, and they are not always adequate substitutes for each other when cooking. For example, there are waxy potatoes that are ideal for making potato salad and boiled potatoes but are a poor choice for french fries, baked potatoes, or mashed potatoes. When cooking those foods, try using fluffier potatoes, including Russets.
The prep work is a very important part of assembling a home-cooked meal for family or friends. Gather all the ingredients beforehand. Get everything set to cook the next day. Determine if you have you got the right utensils, etc. With a good plan and everything in place, you will feel far less anxious.
Even veteran cooks should always be willing to learn new cooking techniques that will make their experience in the kitchen simpler and more enjoyable. Many new cooks need as much help as they can get as they attempt to master their culinary skills. Try out the tips you’ve just read and see if you can’t make your kitchen endeavors a little more enjoyable and a little more rewarding.