When you want to learn to cook, you have to find a starting point. Not all of us have the natural capability to cook. However, everybody can learn how to cook. You do, however, need to understand some basic concepts to cook well. Here are some great tips to get you started with cooking.
A stir-fry is a great way to cook up bits and pieces of leftover vegetables and meat. You can use pre-cooked rice that is completely cooled and has been in the fridge for a day or so. If you don’t have any, be sure to use a little less water to make fresh rice for stir frying. Toss the vegetables and meat into a pan with a little oil. Add your rice, and season with some soy sauce and your favorite spices.
You should save some water from the pan in which you cooked the pasta so that you can add it to the pasta sauce later. Save around 1/4 cup of water and put it aside. When you mix your pasta and sauce, also add the water you reserved. The starch from the pasta water will add body and a “creaminess” to your sauce through amalgamation.
To get better results when juicing a citrus fruit, stick it in the microwave first. A quick ten seconds in the microwave is all that is needed for your lemons, oranges and other fruits. Roll the fruit across the counter until it cools off before juicing it.
Brightening your cooking with color is always a lot of fun. Using a rainbow of colored ingredients in your recipes will make the food as healthy for you as it is great to look at. Use colorful garnishes like parsley, carrot curls, or raw cherry tomatoes. Be creative with color, and people will eat the food in no time.
Play it safe by setting a watch timer, as well as the over timer. Then you will know when the time is up even if you are not in the kitchen.
In the interests of eating sensibly and losing weight, it is essential to use less oil when cooking. Most fats are brought into a diet through oil and butter. Break out the nonstick cooking spray to give your food the boost in taste that cooking oil and butter give.
You can throw fruits on the grill, and make them delicious. Put sliced nectarines, melon, and peaches on a skewer and grill them. Place them on a grill that has been cleaned until you see grill marks. Top some delicious ice cream with your grilled fruit, or try them on a slice of pound cake, which can also be lightly grilled.
Get more flavor from the milk you mash your potatoes with by heating it first. Your mashed potatoes should come out fluffy and light. This technique also minimizes lumps. They’ll be so much better than lumpy, heavy mashed potatoes.
Store spices and herbs in cool and dark areas so their freshness and flavors are preserved. Storing spices in warm locations, such as above the stove, can cause the spices to lose their flavor and you to lose your money.
Replace the standby liquids of milk and water in recipes to mix things up. When you cook vegetables you can use chicken broth or add beef instead of water. To replace milk, yogurt, sour cream and buttermilk can make good substitutes. Using a variety of liquids can add a bit of zest to a favorite recipe and even make it more nutritious.
Cooking doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but with the correct directions you will improve your culinary skills in no time. Cooking is not as difficult as you may think it is. If you apply the tips you have learned here, you’ll be unstoppable.