Everyone knows that humans need food to survive. But, there is much more to eating than surviving. It is better to cook something great than to eat something wonderful. Here are some tips that will kick your cooking skills up a notch.
Never throw away turkey leftovers. Instead, cut them up and put them in an airtight package and place it in your freezer. The turkey will stay fresh for quite a few weeks if you follow these tips. It is a great way to ensure you can have sandwiches for weeks to come.
There is not just one kind of potato, and each kind works best in different recipes. Waxy potatoes are great for boiling and potato salads while other potatoes are better for making french fries, baked potatoes and mashed potatoes. When making those types of foods, you should use a fluffy potato, such as a Russet.
You can make a simple dish much better with seasonings and herbs. Dried herbs can work beautifully in complex dishes. For a simpler dish, fresh herbs are more efficient because their flavor is much stronger. To ensure you have fresh herbs for cooking, you should have an herb garden.
You can dry out your own tomatoes. Start by cutting full-sized tomatoes into 1/2″ slices or by halving Roma tomatoes. Place them cut-side up on a rack that you use for cooling, and add a little salt. Heat your oven to 190 degrees and place the tomatoes inside for as long as ten hours. You can store your dried tomatoes in a plastic bag in the freezer. Dried tomatoes can be placed into a jar that is filled with fresh herbs and olive oil. Kept in the refrigerator, these tomatoes will keep for a couple of weeks.
There are few things more frustrating in grilling than going to flip a burger and finding that it has stuck to the grill. To prevent this in the future, brush a bit of vegetable oil onto the grates before adding the food.
Many vegetables and herbs have a smell that has a tendency to remain on cutting boards, despite how many times you wash them. Use permanent ink to mark one end of the cutting board to identify which is which.
Use air tight containers to store baking mixes, flour and sugar. Keeping your ingredients in airtight containers will stop them from spoiling or being infected with bugs. These are carried in many stores and make a wise investment.
When fresh fruits, including avocados, bananas, pears, peaches, and apples, are sliced and therefore exposed to air, they have a higher chance of turning brown. While saltwater and lemon are both effective preservatives, pineapple juice is the best way to preserve your fruit without affecting its flavor. As a rapid dip will suffice, you don’t need to immerse the fruit.
If dishes have oil in them, reheat them by baking them to avoid greasiness; don’t microwave them. Microwaving can cause oil to splatter. As the oil heats, it moves away from the rest of the ingredients in the dish, resulting in a mess. Conversely, baking cooks the food slowly, which allows it to retain all its juices and flavor.
Will you be making a meal using fresh basil? Fill an empty glass with fresh basil. Fill the glass with water till the stems are covered. Keep it on your counter and it will stay fresh for weeks. Change the water every few days to keep it fresh, and you might even see your basil leaves sprouting some roots. Also trim the basil every now and then to facilitate growth. Enjoy fresh basil on a regular basis.
Learning how to cook, as well as having fun cooking, can be as wonderful as eating. The advice in this article will enable you to start building a skill set for cooking that you will continue to build on for years to come. You will drastically improve your cooking skills, and everyone is going to want to try your recipes.