There are many people who view cooking as a chore, rather than a fun and exciting experience. However, cooking can be an enjoyable activity. Learning to cook at home more can also lead to increased health. Good cooks never stop learning, so below you’ll find some incredible ideas to boost your knowledge and make cooking even more enjoyable!
If you are preparing a recipe that calls for milk or water, try substituting with an alternate liquid to add new flavor to your meals. As a substitute for water, try broth. Juice can work as well. Some people use the water left over from boiling vegetables. If a recipe calls for milk, try using buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream. Using different liquids is an easy way to make an old dish more interesting and more nutritious.
Be sure to read nutrition labels when purchasing ingredients. Cooking staples can be full of not-so-nice things that can spoil your health. Select ingredients that have little salt or sugar in order to make the healthiest meals possible.
When you are planning to prepare a salad for guests, leave the dressing on the side. People vary in the amount of dressing they like on their salad, so it is helpful to let them do this on their own. Offer many different types of salad dressing as well.
When approaching a basic dish, incorporate lots of fresh herbs and spices. If the recipe is complicated and combines many different flavors, dried herbs are acceptable. Fresh herbs have a stronger flavor and can improve the taste of any dish. Grow an indoor or outdoor herb garden to always have access to fresh herbs.
If your time is short when making a roast, speed up the process by leaving in the bone while cooking. The idea is that the bone will help carry heat to the center of the roast, thus cooking it faster. As soon as your roast has finished, simply slice around the bone before you serve.
If you know that your home made salsa will not be used right away, take the time to rinse and dry the chopped onions before adding them to the salsa. Chopping raw onions releases sulfurous gases. The gas they release can ruin the salsa. Rinsing and drying the raw onions gets rid of the sulfurous gas.
You need to follow instructions exactly when making macaroni and cheese. The mac and cheese never fails to turn out wonderfully when you do it right. Then the smooth cheese sauce melts evenly over the noodles. Use a solid face spoon when you serve to make sure you get plenty of cheese scooped up with the macaroni. Spice it up with some type of pepper!
When simmering or boiling vegetables, try adding chicken broth. Using chicken broth will prevent the vegetables from sticking in the pan as well as add some tasty flavor at the same time. Chicken broth is economical and widely available.
If you have time when you are reheating food, use an oven rather than a microwave to avoid dry food and puddles of extremely hot liquid. Due to the way a microwave works to cook food it heats the oil first, which separates it from the rest of the food and causes it to splatter. Baking, however, gently and evenly warms up the entire dish, keeping the ingredients together.
As was stated earlier, part of being a good cook means constantly learning new things. Cooking in enjoyable because you will be able to learn about new and fun foods, as well as great methods for preparing them. Sharing your cooking skills with others is also part of being a good cook. Cooking is a community gift; share it with loved ones.