How many times have you dreaded going into the kitchen to make breakfast, lunch, or dinner? You might need a new perspective. Cooking can be enjoyable and relaxing if you try to see it in another way. Here are a few cooking tips that are sure to get your taste buds tingling and entice your inner chef to come out.
If you are planning to cook dried beans, wait until they have softened before you add garlic or salt. The softening process can be hindered, particularly if the beans have been dried for a long period of time. Save the seasonings until the beans have cooked at least part of the way to get the texture that you want.
Be careful to neither over-bake nor under-bake your cake! Though recommended cooking times are a great guideline for novice cake bakers, they can be misleading, because factors such as elevation can impact the actual cook time of the cake. To determine if your cake is done, use a toothpick or clean knife blade to find out. Poke it gently into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done; if batter comes out with it, the cake needs to be baked longer.
A super healthy, and tasty, veggie dish is simply sauteed veggies in some chicken broth. Doing so will add a great deal of flavor to your vegetables, and help them maintain their nutritional content. This is an easy, delicious way to prepare veggies for you meal.
You can make a lot of preparations when you are cooking to make it easy and fast. Look at your recipe and decide which steps you can do in advance without worry of food spoilage. You can simplify the cooking process by doing your prep work well in advance. Prepping before you cook can make even advanced recipes fun and accessible.
Don’t throw out those small bits of vegetables and meat that collect in the refrigerator; use them to create a fried rice masterpiece in your wok. Day-old rice is prime for making fried rice, but if you have none lying around, try this tip. You can reduce the water to make a slightly drier rice. Try cooking the veggies and meat in some oil, the add your rice and put some soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and spices in.
Cook your veggies in chicken broth! Chicken broth is a great way to add flavor to your vegetables while keeping them from sticking to your pan. Chicken broth can be bought at almost any grocery store, and is so inexpensive.
Make sure that prior to cooking, your utensils are sparkling clean. Any residual food matter missed during washing can spoil the dish you intend to cook. This can also spread harmful bacteria.
If you purchase unripened fruits, place them in a perforated plastic bag. Fruit produces ethylene gas as it ripens. 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.
Remove the excess moisture of ground meats by blotting them before you cook. Blotting the moisture away will help the meat cook better. If you leave the moisture in the meat, it will then release when it is cooked. The moisture will cook away. Instead of being properly seared, the meat will get steamed, altering its taste and texture.
Use this advice to improve every meal. Once you eat some of your meals, you will know you did the right thing. You could actually come to love cooking and the world of interesting dishes that it opens to you. Don’t be afraid to try your hand at cooking.