Are you in love with many different kinds of foods? Do you have a giant appetite for sweets? Have you ever tried making ethnic food yourself? Have you ever wished you could cook exotic dishes? You no longer have to wonder. You can cook these meals yourself. Keep these tips in mind and in no time you will be making delicious meals.
Store any spices you might use in a dark, cool place to help maintain their flavor and freshness. Storing spices and herbs in cabinets above the stove or in other warmer locations will result in a loss of flavor and a loss of money.
When you season a piece of meat, try it out before you start to cook it all. Many foods, like hamburgers, meatloaf and meatballs take careful seasoning to taste great. You should not cook the dish entirely after seasoning it. Instead, make a little piece into a patty and cook it first. If that piece turns out well, you can continue with the rest. If not, you can make adjustments to the spices.
Pungent foods such as garlic, onions, and fish can leave an offensive odor on your hands. You can effectively remove this scent by rubbing your hands on a stainless steel object before you wash them. It does not matter if you use a spoon, a side of your stainless-steel sink, or a “soap bar” made of stainless-steel; rubbing your hand on it neutralizes the undesirable smell and freshens your hands.
If your meals include fresh herbs like dill or parsley, clump them together and use kitchen shears to cut them. This practice does not get herbs wet like chopping would, and makes them generally fluffier and lighter.
Leave your meal to sit for a short while before serving. A lot of people do not wait long enough before serving food. You may be tempted to serve people as soon as the meal comes out of the oven. But many foods need to “rest” for a few minutes before being served in order to taste their best. It’s also important that the food simply cools down and rests for awhile for flavor’s sake. Give it a few minutes, and it should be ready to go.
When cut and exposured to the air, many fruits will turn brown. Apples, bananas, pears and avocados are good examples of fruits that brown after being cut. Using lemon mixed with salt water is the common way to stop this, but pineapple juice does a better job overall. Do not soak the fruit completely.
If you are going to cook dried beans, wait until your beans are soft before adding any garlic or salt. When you add salt or garlic too soon, it can stop the beans from growing softer during the cooking process. This is especially true if the beans have been sitting in your cupboard or store shelves for a while. So instead, allow the beans to cook partially before you add the seasonings. Then you will get the desired texture.
Buy fish and meat on the bone. Put the bones, cooked or raw, in heavy duty ziploc bags and store them in the freezer until you are ready to use.
By doing this, you can have fresh fruit all year! Since many fruits are not in season during certain parts of the year, doing this will allow you to enjoy them anytime.
If you apply the tips you have just read, you will be able to cook much better meals. It always pays off to try new things in the kitchen. You might even discover a new personal favorite dish or recipe along the way! With this advice and a new found sense of curiosity, unleash the inner chef and get into the kitchen.