When it comes to cooking, there’s always more to learn. Most people don’t naturally know how to cook. However, everyone is definitely capable of learning how to cook. Bear in mind, that in order to become a great cook there are things that you need to know. This article is filled with useful tips that will point you down the right path.
An excellent suggestion is to purchase solid cutting utensils for use in your kitchen. Sharp knives are less time consuming, easier, and safer to use. Dull, hard-to-control knives cause far more cuts and accidents than well-sharpened ones do.
You can add flavor to bland food by replacing some or all of the water content with chicken, beef or vegetable stock. If you don’t have stock on hand, go ahead and use the water, but add a bouillon cube or two. You’ll still get the amount of water necessary in the recipe, but it will introduce another interesting taste into the mix.
Use a baking potato with thick skin to get a good, firm shell when making potato skins or twice baked potatoes. Red potatoes contain skins that are too thin to hold very much filling.
If you are cooking for an important guest, don’t use that as an opportunity to try out a new recipe. Whether it is a love interest, boss or new in-laws, you want to impress them with your cooking. You can impress them with a simple delicious meal cooked to perfection.
Are you planning to use freshly picked basil in a recipe? Gather a small bunch of freshly cut basil and place it in a glass. Add some water to cover the stems. When you do this, it easy to store and stays fresh for several weeks. Refresh the water quite often, and you will notice that the basil starts to grow roots. While the basil is alive and thriving, make sure you trim the leaves in order to progress the growth of the plant. You will have plenty of fresh basil on hand.
Use cooking oil when you are measuring out things that are sticky. Before you measure the ingredient, lightly coat your spoon with cooking oil that has flavor. The substance you are measuring will easily slide right off the spoon and prevent waste and make cleaning up easier. This method works well for peanut butter as well as honey.
You want to make certain you have the prep work done ahead of time. Try to have the prep work completed before cooking; this is important. When you need to create a meal within a certain amount of time it can be stressful. Preparing some of the ingredients ahead of time can reduce the amount of stress you feel when it is time to prepare the meal.
Keep your herbs and spices in a cool, dark place where they will stay fresh. Keeping herbs and spices in cabinets above the stove or other warm locations will cause them to lose their flavor.
Prepare some of your food the night before to save time and headaches. Try chopping all your onions and veggies, making up a sauce or putting the meat in a marinade before going to bed at night. When the time comes for you to put together the meal, it will be less stressful.
You can develop your cooking skills and become an effective cook very quickly, even if you do not have an innate talent for the work. It’s not as hard as you think. By using the tips that you read in this article, you will soon be on your way to being a whiz in the kitchen!