Cooking is a very useful thing to learn that will serve you well in life. Almost everyone has at least one thing they love to eat, especially dishes that you or another family member have prepared with love. Learning to cook starts with a good recipe and the ability to follow instructions. If you would like to be a better cook, try some of the useful tips below.
Make repairs to your pie crust. If you overworked the pie dough, that could cause it to get cracks. Wet clean fingers with cold water and gently rub over the cracks until they fill in or meld together. Ripping or tearing of the top crust can be more difficult to repair, but can be easy to hide by covering the crust in little brushed-on milk or beaten egg white, and then lightly coating with sugar before placing the pie in the oven. The sugar will form a gorgeous glaze, and cracks will remain hidden.
When you cook dry beans, avoid adding garlic or salt until they’ve softened. Some ingredients can prevent beans from cooking properly and flavors cannot be absorbed until the beans are soft. To achieve the texture you seek, make sure to save these ingredients, and add them once the beans have softened.
Use some of your spices after you cook. Some great seasonings to use are pepper, garlic powder, cayenne, and salt. People have varying preferences in regards to food spices. Provide spices and seasonings at the table when the dish is done, rather than adding them while you cook. This way people can choose what they would like to put into their food.
If you are serving a salad with a meal where you have guests, do not pour the salad dressing on the salad, keep it on the side. Some people prefer more dressing than others; let guests pour their own dressing. Your guests will also enjoy having a variety of dressings from which to choose.
The use of brine is an effective cooking technique. Soaking turkey, chicken, duck or goose in a brine for an hour prior to prep can help accentuate its flavors.
Always bake your crusts a little longer than is absolutely necessary. Pastry crust should be baked to a golden caramel color rather than a pale blond shade. The caramelizing of the sugar in pie crust gives it crispness and extra sweetness.
When cooking, be creative. You don’t always have to follow the recipe word for word. Experimenting fearlessly with cooking, adding a new ingredient, cutting one out, and changing amounts is how great new recipes are born. That is a sign of a true cook!
You can use it on a variety of foods, not just meat. Put in on pumpkin seeds or in scrambled eggs to add a new flavor. Simply sprinkling on these kinds of seasonings can turn your dish into an instant hit.
After purchasing unripened fruits, you should put them into a plastic bag with perforations. As some fruits become more ripe, they can produce ethylene gas. When you keep these fruits in aerated bags, the gas that might normally build up and be trapped is released and allows the fruit to maintain freshness longer.
If your burgers tend to stick to your grill, it might be hard to cook them while preserving their shape. To prevent this, brush the grill with a bit of vegetable oil to keep your foods from sticking.
As you can see, cooking can be easy. With the right techniques, creating delicious dishes for family and friends can suddenly become a breeze! Now that you have been introduced to these great tips and tricks, you just need to make the time to go and give them a try!