Not everybody is a great cook and even those who are still have room to grow. Cooking is one of those skills that each one of us is constantly improving over the course of our lives. If you want quick tricks to make cooking a little bit easier or funner, read this article. While it won’t teach you everything, it will provide some knowledge that will help in all aspects of your cooking.
When you are baking pastry crusts, try increasing the cooking time a bit. Go past the usual pale tan color and take them to a caramel gold. When the crust is a golden color then you know the sugar has caramalized and you will have a sweet and crispy result.
Find fresher ways to prepare meals with oysters. Even though oysters are usually eaten raw with drops of lemon juice, they can be made in plenty of other ways. Place oysters that have already been opened in a broiler pan. Cover them with a small amount of cream. Add some cheese and pepper on top, and cook until you see the liquid churning. Another popular method to prepare oysters, is to saute them. Lightly cover with seasoned flour then fry in some hot butter approximately two minutes or until golden. Bake oysters with shells still in tact. Put them in a baking dish, add fresh breadcrumbs and a small dab of butter on each oyster, then bake four or five minutes at 425 degrees. When the butter and juices are bubbling, serve piping hot with a toasted baguette.
By completing some food preparation ahead of time you can simplify your cooking process. Look over your recipe and determine which items can be prepared in advance and not spoil. There are many recipes where you can do the prep work the day before you start cooking. Doing this can transform intricate recipes into simple, quick and enjoyable cooking tasks.
Try to cut down the amount of oil used when cooing if you are trying to lose weight. Adding unnecessary butter, oil and lard can increase your intake of fat. Break out the nonstick cooking spray to give your food the boost in taste that cooking oil and butter give.
If you buy unripened fruits, keep them in a plastic bag fitted with holes. As fruits ripen, ethylene gas is released. When you store the fruit in a perforated bag, the ethylene gas can escape so that the natural decay process slows down. This allows your produce and fruits to stay fresh longer.
Although you are considering something fancy to impress others, stay away from new recipes when cooking for important people. You don’t want to send your extended family, your new date, or everyone in your department at work running and screaming from your bad cooking. Ensure that they enjoy their meal by cooking a dish that you are familiar with.
Before cooking with an unfamiliar fruit or vegetable, read up on what you can do with it. You may find that your research leads to many great new ways to use the food. By taking the time to educate yourself, you will have fun, and also prevent any disasters in the kitchen!
Layer salads so that juicier ingredients are on the bottom and crisp ingredients are on the top. Items like tomatoes, which are juicy, should be on the bottom, while other ingredients that may be more delicate and prone to wilting should go on top.
Learning new cooking skills and techniques is pretty exciting. You can almost get as excited as when you eat! With any luck, the information in this article has inspired you to want to try new things when it comes to the way you cook. Cooking is a lifetime activity, so keep at it.