Humans need to eat food in order to survive. However, survival without the enjoyment of life would be rather dull. More enjoyable than enjoying a good meal is preparing one! Following these tips will improve your cooking skills.
To make juicing citrus fruits more productive, look no further than your microwave oven. Heat lemons, oranges or other citrus fruits for just ten seconds. Remove the fruit from the microwave and roll it on a hard surface with your palm before cutting it for juicing.
Create flavored butter to add complexity and pizazz to breads, dinner rolls and corn. First, bring some butter to room temperature, or soften it using a microwave. Then, for an added kick to the flavor, put in some spices, herbs or sauces. Give barbecue sauce a try, or mix in peppers, honey or lemon juice.
In order to eliminate some strong odors caused by items such as garlic or other pungent foods, just use stainless steel on your hands for a few seconds prior to washing them. Any stainless steel surface will absorb the nasty odor, and your hands will smell fresh and clean!
You need good cutting utensils for your kitchen. You can save time not having to sharpen or deal with dull knives and sharper knives are safer to use. You are taking the risk of getting frustrated and hurting yourself with old and dull utensils.
Make sure you are using the right type of potato for your dish. Potatoes can be waxy, mealy or all-purpose. Potatoes designated “mealy” are dry and crumble easily. This type of potato is what you need if you plan to make mashed potatoes. Russet potatoes are a familiar mealy potato. Yukon gold potatoes are “all-purpose”, which means they are suitable for most dishes. Those with a seemingly waxy outer coat stand up better if you plan to boil or steam your potatoes. Good waxy potatoes include the regular white potato and the red potato.
Use cooking oil to measure sticky foods easily. Apply a light coating of canola or other oil with little flavor, to your measuring spoon or cup. The ingredient you are measuring will slide out easily, which will prevent messy clean-ups and waste. This works well for peanut butter and honey, as well as other sticky foods.
When purchasing your ingredients for preparing a recipe, you should read all of the labels. A lot of items you purchase at the grocery store will have a laundry list of unwanted substances in there. Make sure the food does not have a lot of salt or sugar, these can both be harmful to your health.
Preparation is key when cooking for family or friends. Always have all ingredients before starting to cook. Prepare everything you need for cooking ahead of time; don’t forget the utensils! This will limit the amount of stress you experience when cooking the meal and help to ensure that you are able to cook the masterpiece you want.
When a recipe calls for the creaming of butter and sugar, soften the butter but do not melt it. If the butter has melted, you should allow it to briefly harden in the freezer. An alternative is to mix the butter with the other ingredients, then allow the dough or batter to sit in the refrigerator. Dough that’s cool prevents your cookies from over-spreading.
Cooking tasty food is often just as enjoyable as eating it. Absorb the tips below, and then add twists to make them your own. By doing this, not a day will go by where your culinary skills are not asked for or asked about.