Not everyone knows how to cook, but everyone eats! This article can help you to become a great cook. There is no need to feel intimidated by your cooking tools, tricky recipes, or uncommon ingredients. Cooking is a great skill to learn and it could bring you some joy. Use these tips and don’t be scared to experiment in your kitchen every now and then.
Of course getting a meals ready for a vast amount of people can be a bit stressful. Instead of letting your stress turn to panic, try to finish your prep work the evening before. Organize and measure your ingredients, condiments, and seasonings, so you can get started right away when it comes time to cook.
Do you enjoy the flavor of fresh basil? Store basil in a glass jar. Fill with water to cover the stems. Put it on top of your kitchen counter and it will be fresh for weeks! If you keep the water as fresh as you can, roots will start growing. Trim or cut the basil from time to time for additional growth. Now you can enjoy your fresh basil anytime!
When purchasing meats or fish, choose bone-in instead of boneless. Raw or cooked bones can be frozen and stored in durable Ziploc bags.
Apples are very popular in cooking in fall and winter, but the spoilage rate is high if they are not stored correctly. Store them in your fridge or basement, in plastic bags that are loosely tied, as they tend to spoil in dry warm areas. Remember the rule, one bad apple will spoil the bunch.
If you are having people over to your home to eat, and you are including a salad with the meal, allow your guests to put the dressing on themselves. The amount of dressing that people use on their salad will vary, so you should give them the option of adding their own dressing. Make sure you have a wide selection of dressings to choose from as well.
If you plan on using raw onions in your salsa, rinse them with cold water after dicing and then proceed to blot them dry. Onions from the store have gas that smells like sulfur. The gas can sometimes ruin an otherwise great salsa. Rinsing and drying the raw onions gets rid of the sulfurous gas.
When you want to add a bit of protein to your diet, tofu and beans are a great source of it. It is possible to buy both at most supermarkets. Tofu can be fried in a pan with just a few seasonings. It is a tasty and healthy meat alternative. Beans can always be cooked with some spices and herbs for a meal full of flavor and protein.
It is absolutely essential that you have sharp knives whenever you cook. Dull knives are not only difficult to cut things with, but they are also very dangerous to use. You’re less likely to cut yourself chopping up a vegetable with the clean, fast strokes of a sharp knife, than when you are forcing and wiggling a dull knife.
When making a dish that needs to contain garlic, purchase the best and most fresh garlic you can. Fresh garlic is sweeter, while older cloves of garlic are more pungent. To choose the freshest garlic, keep away from any cloves that are bruised, soft or have skins that feel too firm.
The idea of preparing a delicious dish need not be terrifying. Making your own food can save money, improve your health and nutrition, and still be fun. Apply the advice you’ve just learned from the above article to your grocery store trip, kitchen, and then your plate. Home cooking is great and you will enjoy it.