Cooking can be joyful when you have learned these skills. This article will help you be a better cook, you can also get the confidence you need to get more skills. Once you have enough practice behind you, you will be able to prepare anything.
Keep those turkey leftovers after the big meal. Simply chop and seal in a freezer safe container to store in the freezer. The turkey will remain fresh for several weeks so you can make delicious sandwiches or a turkey salad.
If you have to prepare any dish that involves garlic, get the freshest possible garlic available. When garlic is fresher, it will not taste as bitter. Truly fresh garlic will not be bruised, shriveled or overly soft.
If you want to add flavor to your dishes, use a liquid other than milk or water. When a recipe calls for water, you can try chicken or beef broths. You may even want to try something like juice. If your favorite recipes call for milk, try substituting with buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream. Adding different and interesting liquids to a recipe can help the dish become more interesting and nutritious.
Consider using ketchup to batter ingredients that you are going to fry. Not only is ketchup good for dipping food into after they’re cooked, it’s also good when you dip food into it before putting them in breadcrumbs. By using ketchup as a base for your fried foods you will add another unexpected layer and tang to your food.
To reheat dishes that contain oil without getting a greasy mess, bake them instead of microwaving them. Microwave cooking can separate the fast-heating oil from the rest of the dish. Conversely, baking cooks the food slowly, which allows it to retain all its juices and flavor.
Air tends to turn fresh fruits like avocados, apples and pears brown. Dipping the fruit in a mixture of salt water and lemon will help to stop the fruit from browning. Cut fruits can also be dipped in pineapple juice for a similar effect. You do not need to keep the fruit immersed; a brief dip into the juice should suffice.
For healthier, lower-calorie mashed potatoes, add some cooked cauliflower to your tubers. Because cauliflower has a pretty bland taste, it blends well with the potatoes and enhances the flavors of the other ingredients. Additionally, mashed cauliflower has the same texture and color as mashed potatoes, so no one will know that you’ve boosted the veggie content of the dish while removing calories.
This type of seasoning is commonly used on other foods besides meat. Use it with roasted pumpkin seeds for a wonderful snack, or go ahead and add some to scrambled eggs. People will wonder how you’ve managed to add such amazing flavor to simple dishes.
Double up by setting a watch timer in addition to the oven timer. Using the alarm on your watch will help make sure that you hear it go off, and prevent from overcooking your food.
Keep your spices and herbs in a dry, cool, dark place. Spices quickly lose their flavor when they are exposed to excessive light, humidity, or heat. This just exposes them to the elements and degrades their flavors.
When cooking vegetables, cook them as quickly as possible to keep their nutritional value. Taste and nutritional value suffer when vegetables are slow-cooked. In addition to these beneficial results, the overall effect is also serving vegetables that are healthy and more nutritious. Learning to cook them for the minimum necessary time is the key to better vegetables.
Learning to cook is a fun and easy process. All you need to do is set aside some time and have a passion to learn. Using the advice in this article will have you well on your way to being proficient in the kitchen. Cooking can be fun, if you only have the right attitude.