Cooking involves a variety of methods and techniques that come together to make delicious foods. While some are very simple, others require a more technical touch. In this article you will find some simple and fast tips to generally improve your cooking, no matter what you current skill level.
If you are making cookies, and it requires the butter and sugar to be creamed together, the butter should be softened, not melted. If it is melted, pop the bowl into the freezer for a few minutes to harden it a bit, or refrigerate the dough after mixing the ingredients. Colder cookie dough will stop your cookies from widening too much.
If you are cooking for an important guest, resist the urge to experiment with a new recipe. This will allow you to impress your boss or significant other. Stick to dishes that you are confident you can make well, and your meal will be a success.
When not in use, put your spices in an area that receives the lowest amount of light and heat. If they are stored in an area that they are exposed to light, heat and humidity, their shelf life is shortened. When spices are stored in an adequately dark and cool area, they tend to retain their taste and shelf life for greater periods of time. Make sure that your spices are fresh to add taste and flavor to any meal.
You should consider drying your tomatoes on your own. Prepare by cutting ripe tomatoes into half-inch-thick slices or slicing Roma tomatoes in half down their long axis. You should place them on cooling rack, and salt them lightly with the cut side up. The next step is to put the rack on an old cookie sheet and then place in an oven set at 190 degrees for at least 10 hours. They can then be stored in plastic freezer bags in your freezer. Another option is to store dried tomatoes in a jar that contains fresh, flavorful herbs and olive oil. Place this in the refrigerator and be sure to use it within 2 weeks.
You can learn to cook in brine. Soak your turkey, goose, duck or chicken in a brine solution for one hour before you put the poultry in the oven to achieve a more moist, flavorful bird.
The night before you cook, try to prepare as much as possible. This is the best way for you to prevent any accidents or waste in the kitchen. Oil should not sit in a pan for too long, or it could cause a fire. Having everything ready to go will help you to be able to monitor what is going on in the kitchen, and not create a hazardous area.
Make an impression with your next sandwich by taking your time and spreading your condiments evenly over the entire surface of the bread. Everyone has made a quick sandwich where they just plopped the mayo or mustard in the middle of the bread. If you cover the bread, each bite of the sandwich will have a delicious flavor.
When you are purchasing ingredients to make something read your labels. A lot of items you purchase at the grocery store will have a laundry list of unwanted substances in there. You must make sure that your ingredients are not high in either sodium or sugar because these may cause health problems if consumed in large amounts.
Thousands of great dishes have been destroyed as a result of a chef over-complicating the cooking method or the combination of ingredients. Stick with simple recipes and you can have a delicious and healthy meal. If you follow the ideas here, you will have a greater understanding of not only cooking, but baking and serving in general.