Anyone can cook if they put their mind to it. Cooking is as simple as purchasing the ingredients you will need, and following a recipe step by step. Can you access basic equipment for cooking? If so, you should have the ability to cook. If you’d like to expand your skills in the kitchen, read the helpful tips below that will show you how you can make easy, delicious dishes for your loved ones.
Measure the amount of cooking oil you use! To cook with less fat, measure specific amounts of oil instead of pouring oil into the pan straight from the bottle. This is the best way to know the amount of oil being added to your food.
Apples are a mainstay of fall and winter cooking, but they will spoil quickly if not stored properly. Warm air is the enemy of apples; store them in a cool area or even the refrigerator. Keep checking on them though, otherwise one rotten apple will spoil the bunch in no time at all.
Play it safe by setting a watch timer, as well as the over timer. That way you won’t be able to go out of range and forget that you have something in the oven.
It’s important to cut down on the amount of oil you use when you’re cooking, if you’re trying to eat in a healthy way and control your weight. Oil or butter add more fat than necessary to your dishes. Consider giving non-stick cooking spray a shot. The end result is virtually the same, but these sprays are often fat-free and have ingredients that are more friendly to your diet.
When you do this, the mushroom will become absorbent and soak up the water. You should wet a cloth and wipe the mushrooms off, rather than soaking them.
If you know that you are going to have a busy day the next day, you may want to prepare some of the ingredients for the dish you will be preparing ahead of time. Chopping and dicing vegetables for a stir-fry or assembling lasagnas or casseroles to store in the fridge can make it easier to place a hot, no-stress meal on your family’s table, even on the busiest days.
To saute vegetables, use chicken broth in place of oil or butter. Broth adds flavor to the vegetables while reducing the quantity of oil necessary for sauteing. This is an easy, delicious way to prepare veggies for you meal.
Get the right kind of potatoes for the recipe you select. Mealy, all-purpose or waxy are how potatoes are classified. Mealy potatoes are the perfect kind for mashing, as they have a texture that is dry and crumbly. A common mealy potato is the russet. For a popular all-purpose potato, there is Yukon gold. Waxy potatoes are great for steaming or boiling because they keep their shape well when heated. Red and white potatoes are just a few examples of waxy potatoes.
A useful tip when making chicken stock is to think big! Make enough so that you can freeze it and use it in your recipes. Homemade chicken stock makes a great base for casseroles, soups, stews, and many other wonderful dishes. Just cool your stock and freeze it in heavyweight Ziploc freezer bags.
Cooking can be an enjoyable hobby, a practical skill or even a profession. The only limit to what you can make is your imagination, but you need to learn some of the principles of good cooking from the masters in order to make your perfect dish a reality. Try these tips out when you cook a meal for your family and watch their faces light up with joy when they realize how great your food tastes.