Is cooking for the family every night getting old? Do not let your lack of cooking skills get you down. In this guide, you will find a set of good strategies that will help you remove the stress in cooking meals. Once you follow the tips from this article, you will look back and laugh at how stressed out cooking used to make you feel.
Be sure to keep your spices in an area that is cool and dark. When exposed to light and heat, spices will lose their sharpness and flavor. When stored correctly, your spices can stay spicy for up to a year. If kept whole, spices can keep their flavor for up to five years. If you keep them correctly, they will last a lot longer.
If you can, do all the preparing of the meal’s ingredients in advance. Having your preparation done ahead of time is very important. However, when you are ready to start cooking and have a deadline for when your meal needs to be finished, it can be a bit stressful. Prepare early to avoid later stress.
Being organized is a key step when planning to prepare a meal for family or friends. Make sure you have everything you need to make your food. Set all of the non-perishable ingredients and utensils out the day ahead. Doing so allows you to focus on the cooking itself.
Anytime you use meat for a stir-fry, make sure to slice the meat as thinly as you can and make your cut on the bias. It takes a little practice and time to get it right. When you remove the meat from the freezer, it should be firm, not frozen. Slice across the meat’s grain while holding the knife at a 45-degree angle.
Frozen Meat
To make slicing meat into thin strips a little easier, partially freeze it. This method is great for oriental meals that require small strips. The knife can cut the partly frozen meat with less damage than if it were thawed. This is because the partially frozen meat fibers are not as easily stretched or torn. To keep your meat cooking evenly, make sure you let the slices thaw completely before you cook them.
Use sharp knives to prepare your favorite meals. Dull knives don’t get the job done, but in addition, are actually dangerous. You are more likely to cut yourself by using a dull knife, as opposed to when cutting using a sharp knife.
Preparing family meals can seem like an agonizing task. Luckily many ways exist that assist you in meal preparation. You should be relaxed when you are walking into your kitchen.