After you have learned what to do, cooking can be a very fun experience. By following some of this article’s tips, you will have a new-found confidence in your cooking acumen and improve as a cook. Once you have enough practice behind you, you will be able to prepare anything.
It’s important to keep breakfast foods like waffles and pancakes heated until you are ready to serve them. You can do this by heating your oven up to 300 degrees. As you are cooking the pancakes and waffles, place the goods on a plate and put them in the oven to keep them warm.
Take out the extra fat from your soup of stew. If soup or stew has an excess of fat, allow the dish to cool, letting the fat collect on the surface. Put an ice cube on a spoon and skim it across the surface. The fat should stick to the ice cube. You can also blot the fat with a paper towel, if you prefer.
Use cooking oil to measure sticky foods easily. Just coat your measuring spoon with an oil that has a very mild flavor (Canola is a good option). When you use that spoon to pick up the sticky substance, it will slip off the spoon, and into your mixing bowl, with ease. Peanut butter and honey can also be easily measured out using this method.
Take care of wooden cutting boards properly. Heat, moisture and other elements can cause warping and splitting of the wood. The board has to be washed, but just lightly go over it with soapy water. Don’t submerge the board in the dishpan. You can find oil designed for cutting boards to maintain yours. Allow your board to dry completely between uses.
You should let your cooking wait until all the necessary preparations are complete. This will aid in avoiding cooking disasters that can arise from being unprepared, including flare-ups from overheated oil or choosing the wrong temperatures for your needs.
Try baking dishes that are oily, versus microwaving them when they need reheated to avoid greasy messes. Because the oil heats the fastest out of the ingredients, the heat that comes out of the microwave can make it separate from the rest of the meal. Baking slowly reheats the entire dish, which keeps ingredients from separating.
If you cooked with a sauce, save the leftover sauce in an ice cube tray that you can freeze. When you’d like to make a quick and easy meal later on, you just have to pop out a few cubes of sauce and reheat them in a pan. The sauce is still good after it is frozen.
Try adding cauliflower to your mashed potatoes to lower the fat content. Cauliflower blends perfectly with your potatoes without changing the taste of your mashed potatoes. Cauliflower mixes easily with potatoes and will become hard to notice while reducing your intake of carbs.
If you need to slice meat into thin strips, then partially freeze it beforehand. This is ideal for Asian meals like Chinese or Thai dishes. 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. Just remember, though, to let the stripped meat completely thaw out before you start cooking. This keeps the meat from cooking unevenly.
As has previously been mentioned, even the most basic of skills can be enhanced and improved. With a little time and drive, you could learn these skills. Applying the tips you’ve read here will help you to become a more proficient cook, thereby feeling more at ease in your kitchen. Cooking can be an enjoyable experience, so long as you have a good attitude about it.