Food is an important element, especially for a family. It can be even more fun when the person making the food is good at cooking meals. The advice in the following article should help everyone, from beginners to even the most experienced of cooks, learn something new to improve the quality of the meals they prepare.
Are you using fresh basil to cook with? Get a sprout of fresh basil and place it in a glass. Add water until the stems are covered. Leave it on your counter and it will stay fresh for a very long time! If the water is changed periodically, the basil may even sprout roots. Trim your basil plants once in awhile to promote more growth, and enjoy your fresh basil for quite a long time.
You need to properly care for a wooden cutting board. A cutting board made from wood can crack and warp if it is exposed to excessive moisture, heat and dryness. If you have to clean your cutting board, use a sponge rather than immersing it in soapy water. You can find oil designed for cutting boards to maintain yours. Store in a cool dry place until the product has completely dried.
Most of the time, people apply too much salt in their recipes before even tasting them. If this happens to you, do not worry! Chop and peel some raw potatoes and then allow them to simmer in that sauce for around 15 minutes. Excess salt will get absorbed by the chunks of potato. If you are cooking a tomato dish, adding more tomatoes can help soak up some of the salt.
Doing all of the things you need to in order to prepare a meal is a vital part of the cooking process. Make sure you have all the ingredients ready. Check the day before you start to cook to make sure that you have everything that you need to cook the dish you have planned. This will aid you in keeping calm and doing your best.
It’s vital that you ensure that the utensils you cook with are clean prior to cooking. If your utensils still have food in them, it can ruin what you are trying to cook. This could allow bacteria to easily spread.
Take excess fat off of stews and soups. If your soup has a lot of fat, try cooling it and letting the fat rise up. If you place an ice cube onto your spoon you can skim it over the surface. The fat will stick to the ice on the spoon. Another option is to absorb the fat off the surface of the soup with a paper towel.
Spices should be stored in a cool and dark place. If they are stored in an area that they are exposed to light, heat and humidity, their shelf life is shortened. If you store your spices in dark place with relatively low temperatures like a pantry, the spices will retain their taste and take longer to spoil. Better tasting meals are the result of the ingredients you use, including the freshest spices possible.
Hold off on using too many spices until your meal is served. Spices like pepper, salt, cayenne, and garlic powder are all great seasonings. Spice is a matter of individual taste, so what works for one person may not work for another. Instead of adding spices and herbs to each dish during preparation, allow your fellow diners to customize their food with a variety of seasonings. This allows each person to make their meal their way.
Helping yourself to a savory meal comes with a sense of satisfaction that you cannot find elsewhere. It does not take years and years of hard training to be a good cook, despite popular belief. With the right advice and motivation, anyone can learn how to cook. Now that you have picked up a few new ideas, you should be very excited for your next opportunity to show off your skills.