Quality food is to come in many different forms. Take this advice to become a better cook.
Protect your spice and herb collection by storing your jars at room temperature in a dark place. They will not taste as fresh if they are exposed to light or warmth. Ground herbs and spices will retain their flavor for about a year. Spices that are not ground can keep their flavors for 3 to 5 years. They can remain fresh longer if stored properly.
Replace the standby liquids of milk and water in recipes to mix things up. You could use chicken broth or juice, instead of water. Sour cream, buttermilk and yogurt make good milk substitutes. Changing up the liquids in your recipes can add nutrition, while livening up a standby dish.
Use nylon, rubber or silicone utensils if you have nonstick cookware. If you use a harder surface, such as wood or metal, it can scar up the nonstick coating, which means that you could end up with nonstick surface in your dinner. The coating could then flake off into your food and this is dangerous.
Make slicing meat into strips easier by partially freezing it. This is especially helpful if you are preparing an Oriental dish. When you freeze meat, it makes the slicing much cleaner because it prevents the meat from being as flexible. Though before cooking the meat strips, make sure you let them thaw completely. This allows for even cooking.
Use this simple trick to easily cut perfect cinnamon rolls. Once the cinnamon roll is prepared, you need to slice it before popping it into the oven. However, this can sometimes be a challenge. To make it easier for you to slice the dough, under the roll place a piece of strong thread where you would like to cut it. Bring up the thread around the sides. At the top, cross the thread, and then quickly pull these ends in the other direction. This will help you get the perfect slices for your cinnamon rolls.
Be sure to refresh your spices every few months. The flavor of spices diminishes if they sit around for too long. If you purchase a specific spice, knowing that you probably won’t use it all, split it with someone.
If you don’t plan to eat your salsa within half an hour, and onions are on your ingredient list, run cold water over the onions and then use a paper towel to blot the water off. The sulfurous gas in onions makes the food nasty. Your salsa can be ruined by this gas. Rinsing and drying the onions gets rid of the gas.
Follow this tip for keeping large batches of pancakes or waffles warm until serving time. Warm the oven so that it reaches 300 degrees. As you make your batches of pancakes, put the finished ones in the oven so that they stay warm.
Do not overcook or undercook your cake. Many factors can affect the cooking times for cakes. There are guidelines that come on many cake mixes that can be helpful but do not take into account the things that could impact the cooking time. A tried and true method is to insert a toothpick in the center of the cake. The cake is ready if the toothpick comes out clean; if not, let the cake bake some more.
You need to learn how you can add some color when cooking meals. Colorful foods appeal to your eyes and tend to be very healthy. Use colorful garnishes like parsley, carrot curls, or raw cherry tomatoes. Let the inner artist show itself onto the dinner plates, and you’ll have the family lined up begging for more.
Food sustains us physically, but it also has an important social role. Take advantage of what you just read to impress the people who are important to you.