Is cooking for your family starting to drive you nuts? Do not become frustrated with cooking! In this article, you’ll find a collection of great tips that will help take the stress out of making meals. When you apply these tips, you’ll wish you had known about them sooner.
Keep track of what goes into the ingredients for your recipes. Potentially unhealthy ingredients lurk in typical cooking supplies. You need to know how much sugars and sodium are in the ingredients because they can cause health problems if you consume too much of them.
Let raw potatoes soak in some cold water for a half hour prior to frying them to increase the crispiness of French fries. Soaking the sliced potatoes in cold water strengthens the potato fibers so they will not break down so much when you fry them in the hot oil.
Make sure you use the correct potatoes in your recipes. Potatoes are classified as all-purpose, waxy or mealy. The mealy variety is best for mashed potatoes because of its dryer texture. One popular mealy type is the russet potato. For a popular all-purpose potato, there is Yukon gold. You can boil or steam waxy potatoes because they maintain their shape well. The common white and red potatoes are examples of a waxy potato.
Those of you who enjoy cooking fish should consider trying to catch your own. Fishing is a great way to get fresh and cheap meat. Make sure you clean the fish you caught thoroughly before cooking them.
Frozen corn is a healthy and economical staple food, but serving it too often can inspire family rebellion. Give it a twist to quell mutinous rumblings at the dinner table. You could mix coconut flakes in with the corn for an enjoyable flavor inspired by Thai cooking.
There are many dishes you can make with apples, especially in cold-weather months. But if stored improperly, well, one bad apple does spoil the bushel. Dry warm air will cause them to rot, so make sure they are stored in a loose plastic bag in the fridge or in a cool basement. Check them frequently, since if one apple goes bad, the rest will quickly follow.
When trying out a new marinade or seasoning, test it on a small piece of meat before you cook the entire meal. Many meaty foods require careful seasoning. You should not cook the whole dish after it has been seasoned. The more you cook, the better you will get at using the right amount of spices and seasonings. After that, you may choose to cook everything or adjust your seasoning accordingly.
To make slicing meat into thin strips a little easier, partially freeze it. This works well when cooking many oriental meals. The knife can cut the partly frozen meat with less damage than if it were thawed. This is because the partially frozen meat fibers are not as easily stretched or torn. Though before cooking the meat strips, make sure you let them thaw completely. This allows for even cooking.
Place unripe fruits in a plastic bags you have poked small holes into. When fruits go through the ripening process, they release ethylene gas. If you put them in the bag with holds the air will go through the bag, and the gas will stay in, helping the fruits retain their wonderful taste.
Regular meal preparation can seem like a major chore at times. Fortunately, there are tons of ways to make cooking easier and to make the results of your labors in the kitchen more rewarding. You will be able to relax and take a breather the next time you’re fixing a big meal in the kitchen.