You can become a great cook with less effort than you may think. Cooking is the perfect opportunity to refine skills, experiment with new techniques, and discover what dishes really suit your talents. These tips will help you expand your cooking expertise and allow you to try new things. Take this advice so that you can quickly improve your cooking skills.
If a particular wine’s flavor is unknown to you, then you shouldn’t use it as an ingredient in your food. If you use a wine that you are not familiar with or do not enjoy, you are risking culinary disaster when it comes to the flavor of your food. There are cooking-specific wines available at the supermarket.
Buy your garlic as fresh as possible for any dish that needs the flavorful ingredient. Fresh garlic tastes much sweeter than does garlic that is not fresh. Fresh garlic is firm and lacks bruises.
Like many types of delicious ingredients, there’s a downside to using garlic: its scent can transfer to your hands. After you have finished doing your prep work with the garlic, run your hands along the stainless steel interior of your sink. Not only does this clean your hands, but it also stops the unwanted smells from getting into other foods you are about to handle.
Always make certain to measure any cooking oil you use. If you take the time to measure how much oil you use when cooking, you can better control how much fat is incorporated into your dishes. Use a measuring cup instead of just pouring straight out of the bottle. This should enable you to carefully watch how much oil you are cooking with.
If you are going to use fresh herbs, such as dill or parsley in your meal, put them together to form bunches and use scissors to cut them. When cut in this way, these herbs will have a lighter, fresher appearance.
Please your palate with tasty winter greens. Once the first frost occurs, winter greens like kale, collards and broccoli rabe taste a lot sweeter. Look for those that have a full color and avoid those veggies that are limp or yellow. These greens are dirt magnets, so take care when washing them. Try dunking them first in cold water and then rinsing for a few minutes until the dirt is no longer evident in the flow of water.
Tofu and beans can serve as great sources of protein that can be easily added to any diet. Both can be purchased at just about any grocery store. The tofu can be lightly seasoned and pan fried, which makes for a great alternative to meat. For a tasty bean dish, simply boil them with your favorite herbs.
Know the right care for wood cutting boards. Your wooden cutting board can be damaged by too much moisture or too much heat. The result can be warping or splitting. The board has to be washed, but just lightly go over it with soapy water. Don’t submerge the board in the dishpan. If you have a damaged cutting board, you should purchase an oil product that is designed for cutting board restoration. Be sure to let your cutting board dry completely before you use it again.
If your recipe calls for slicing meat very thin, you can do this most easily by partly freezing the meat first. The thin sliced meat is great in many dishes including many Chinese and Thai meals. It’s easier to slice meat that has been partially frozen because the fibers don’t tear and stretch, so you can make clean cuts. A word of caution, allow meat to completely thaw prior to cooking. This will ensure even cooking of your meat.
Use the tips you just read about to help you improve your cooking skills. Try everything at least once. Because cooking is a lifelong passion, every little bit of new knowledge is useful. By approaching these tips in a serious manner, there is no reason why you cannot become a better chef in only a few days.