Cooking is a skill that can always get better. Even professionals learn new cooking techniques that enhance the quality of their food. The quick tips and tricks that make cooking less of a hassle are even more important to cooks who are just starting out. You will make mistakes and that’s the best way to learn.
In recipes that call for milk or water, try substituting more flavorful liquids. For example, you might try chicken broth or beef broth instead of water in a meat dish. You might even try fruit juice when cooking certain veggies. If a recipe calls for milk, try using buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream. Adding different and interesting liquids to a recipe can help the dish become more interesting and nutritious.
Stay healthy by making sure your utensils do not have leftover scraps or any sort of dirt before you use them. If old, leftover food is stuck on your cooking utensils, it could ruin the meal you are making. This can allow harmful bacteria to spread.
After you make sauce, pour the leftovers into ice cube trays and place them in the freezer. When you’d like to make a quick and easy meal later on, you just have to pop out a few cubes of sauce and reheat them in a pan. And don’t worry, your sauce will still taste great even after freezing.
Do you know grilling times for meats? It is always wise to utilize a good meat thermometer (a digital one is best to give you an exact reading) to ensure that the inner portions are cooked correctly. For a steak, or any other meat, that is more than one and a half inches thick, you can speed up the cooking time by covering it with the grill lid.
Cook by soaking your poultry in brine. Soak your meat from turkey, a goose or a duck in this brine solution for an hour before you cook to make poultry taste better.
Buy fish and meat on the bone. Place bones in a large, heavy-duty freezer bag and place the bag inside the freezer so that it is ready when you need it.
When you need to measure foods that are sticky, use a bit of cooking oil. Coat the surface of the spoon or cup with oil and it will come off of your spoon or from the inside of your cup easier. You will not waste as much food. This works great for foods such as peanut butter and margarine.
You should bake crusts for a longer period of time than you think. The color should be a darker caramel instead of the pale blond so many people do. The golden color is a sign that the sugars in the crust have finally caramelized.
To add some interest to an ear of corn or a dinner roll, make a flavored butter. Allow your butter to become soft by sitting at room temperature or placing in the microwave for a couple seconds. Next, mix in spices, sauces or herbs to create a burst of new flavors. For example, you might use chipotle peppers, citrus juices or even honey.
Anytime you are cooking a dish that calls for substantial seasoning, try to add spices gradually throughout the process rather than all at once at the very start. You can be sure that you are not cooking away the extra flavoring, but instead are making the desired impact that you want your spices to have.
Even people who have enjoyed cooking for years still have things to learn in the kitchen. Inexperienced cooks should be open to anything and everything that can help them create masterful dinners and desserts. Try these tips to see how much they help you with your cooking. You will enjoy being in the kitchen much more.