Cooking is a skill that every person should learn, and it doesn’t matter if you are cooking for one or cooking for many. There are nutritional, economical, and even social benefits to having a reliable set of culinary skills. If you want to learn everything you need to know to get started as a cook, read the rest of this article.
It can be very useful to think large when making your favorite chicken stock. If you prepare a large pot of stock, it can be frozen and stored for future use. Stock is perfect for many dishes like stew, soup, and even casseroles. To store your homemade stock, let it cool, pour it into a freezer bag, and stick it in the freezer.
Even though leafy greens are healthy, they are hard to cook. Removing stems is laborious and time consuming. Make it easier by folding the leaf and breaking the stem. For particularly tough stems, use a knife and cut the stems out while the leaf is folded. When you unfold the leaf it will be a de-stemmed green, which was done perfectly.
Apples are a mainstay of fall and winter cooking, but they will spoil quickly if not stored properly. Apples will be ruined if they are stored in a warm place, make sure you store them in the fridge or in a cool place. Make sure you watch them, though, because if even one is rotting, it can cause the whole lot to spoil.
Make sure you follow directions to the letter whenever you make macaroni and cheese. When following the directions, your macaroni and cheese will turn out perfectly, and you will love the great, cheesy flavor. Use a non-slotted spoon to serve macaroni and cheese. If you want to add a little flavor to your macaroni and cheese, feel free to spice it up with some pepper.
If you need to slice meat into thin strips, then partially freeze it beforehand. This works well when cooking many oriental meals. The knife can cut the partly frozen meat with less damage than if it were thawed. This is because the partially frozen meat fibers are not as easily stretched or torn. After slicing the meat, allow it to completely thaw to ensure that it cooks evenly.
Hot milk can transform your mashed potato recipe. Simply add this hot milk to your potatoes prior to mashing. Using hot milk instead of cold milk will make your potatoes mash up light, fluffy and smooth. This will turn your mashed potatoes from dull to delightful with virtually no effort.
Spices and herbs need to be stored somewhere that is dark, cool and dry. Exposing them to humidity, light or warm environments will dry them out more and dissipate the flavors and aromas. Such close proximity to these three factors will cause your spices to lose their flavors.
Many strongly-scented vegetables and herbs will leave an odor on your cutting board, even if you clean it. Make a mark with permanent ink on the end of the cutting board, so you always know which side to use for the item that you’re cutting.
Cooking with skewers can provide very beneficial if you use them properly. To get a better hold on the food, use a square or twisted type metal skewer.
It’s a huge asset to be able to prepare meals for you or for others. The insights here will aid your cooking skills regardless of what kind of meals you prefer. Everyone likes to go out once in a while, but for the most part, you’ll love eating more when you cook your favorite foods yourself.