How many times have you dreaded going into the kitchen to make breakfast, lunch, or dinner? You might need a new perspective. Cooking can be enjoyable and relaxing if you try to see it in another way. Here are a few cooking tips that are sure to get your taste buds tingling and entice your inner chef to come out.
Hot milk can transform your mashed potato recipe. Simply add this hot milk to your potatoes prior to mashing. This will also make your potatoes lighter and more manageable when you prepare them for your family. Why would you want lumpy and dull mashed potatoes?
For more flavorful soups, mashed potatoes, and other dishes, replace the water in the recipe with stock–chicken, veggie, or beef. Alternately, you can use bouillon in the water called for in the recipe. In this way, you can be sure your food has enough moisture and extra flavor!
You should always use nylon, silicone or rubber cooking utensils when using nonstick cookware. Utensils that are harder, such as ones made of wooden or metal, can gouge or scratch the nonstick coating, which decreases the pan’s effectiveness and possibly lets the coating flake into the food. Do not used coated cookware that has been damaged because ingesting it could be dangerous.
Burger patties often stick to the frying pan or grill during cooking and fall apart when you try to flip them. Before you put the burgers on the surface of the grill, you should brush it with some oil.
Prepare some ingredients of a recipe the night before you plan to make it if you know that you will be busy the next day. You will be less stressed out when making dinner if you have done your prep work the day before.
Cooking vegetables quickly improves their overall quality. If you slow cook your vegetables, they will lose their nutritional value. These cooking techniques make the vegetables more healthy overall. Discovering how to quickly cook veggies in a safe manner is an important step in preparing more nutritious vegetables.
Prepare everything you need before starting to cook. You’ll never find yourself in the midst of a recipe and have to stop to get something you don’t have. While not saving any real time by pulling out the ingredients early, you’ll definitely save yourself some aggravation along the way with this preplanning.
Always begin your cooking with utensils that are spotlessly clean. Any food particles left on a utensil could get into the food your are cooking, ruining the taste. Failure to clean utensils properly could also spread food borne illness.
Mushrooms will absorb the water like a sponge. Wipe off each mushroom with a clean wet cloth to prepare them for cooking.
Keep your spices and herbs stored in a dark, dry, and cool area. Exposure to humidity, heat and light can cause your spices to lose their flavor fast. This will keep them exposed to heat and other unfavorable conditions that zap all of their flavor.
It is important to cook your meat properly, so always have a meat thermometer on hand. There is a recommended minimum temperature for every type of meat; this ensures that meat is cooked well enough to be safe to eat. All types of bacteria live on meat. Therefore, if the bacteria is not properly cooked, it can stay on the meat, and cause you to get sick.
Stay Warm
When making waffles and pancakes in batches for breakfast, you will want them to stay warm until it’s time to eat. Warm the oven so that it reaches 300 degrees. Place the waffles or the pancakes inside the oven so that they will stay warm until you have made enough.
If you have various leftovers in your fridge, make some fried rice and add small pieces of vegetables and meat to it. The best type of rice is one day old, but when using fresh, decrease the water slightly. Fry your meats and vegetables in some oil. Then add rice and season it.
Cooking Station
To avoid burning your food, stay organized. An organized cooking station is a productive cooking station. If you are unorganized, it is easy to lose track of things and waste your money and delicious food that you could have been eating!
When trying to eat a healthier diet or lose weight, you should decrease the portion of oils used in cooking meals. Substances such as oil and butter contain unnecessary fat. Break out the nonstick cooking spray to give your food the boost in taste that cooking oil and butter give.
Stainless Steel
Rub your hands on stainless steel before washing them, if they have a strong smell. You can use any stainless steel item: spoon, sink, or specially made “soap bar.” Rubbing them on stainless steel will remove the odor and keep your hands smelling fresh.
Use a flavored butter to make your corn and dinner rolls more interesting. Let your butter come to room temperature, or soften it in the microwave. Next, blend your butter with garlic, fresh herbs or sauces. Try BBQ, chipotles, lemon juice or honey.
A new and challenging recipe won’t make a good impression if you haven’t mastered it. It is wiser to stick with the tried and true. It may be a boss, new in-laws, or a new love interest that you want to astonish with your cooking. Instead, try a recipe that you have prepared before and can cook really well.
Lengthy cooking processes such as boiling remove many of the important nutrients found in vegetables. Keep them healthy by choosing fast methods of cooking such as steaming or sauteing, or better yet, learn to love them raw.
Stay Fresh
Herbs and spices should be stored in an area of your kitchen that is cool and dark. Moisture, light and heat can affect the flavor of your spices. Usually herbs and ground spices tend to stay fresh for about a year. If spices are kept whole, they could stay fresh for up to five years. If stored the right way, they keep fresh for a lot longer.
Use these tips for preparing your meals. Once you eat your first delicious homemade meal, you will understand why learning how to cook is important. You might look forward to cooking after you start out and try brand new recipes. Go ahead, and begin your cooking journey today!