Cooking is an important skill that you should take the time to learn, whether you are single or have a large, hungry family. By knowing and understanding how to cook you are provided with tons of benefits, from social to nutritional to financial. The information provided in this article will vastly broaden your cooking knowledge.
Here is a handy trick you can use to save your sauce. Start with 1 tablespoon and add more cornstarch until you reach the desired consistency. In order to create a thicker sauce, add the mixture to the sauce, while it is cooking on low heat. Make sure you add starch slowly and are constantly stirring the sauce so it doesn’t get too thick.
If you want to cook a pumpkin, cut it vertically in half. Place them on individual baking sheets, cut side down. Add a few tablespoons of water to the pan and roast the pumpkin for one hour in a 350 degree oven.
Try adding cauliflower to your mashed potatoes to lower the fat content. Cauliflower’s bland taste makes it easier for it to blend with the potatoes, so that you can’t taste it, and it picks up other ingredients. Cauliflower is also the same texture and color of potatoes when mashed so it’s a great way to add more veggies, while lowering calories from classic mashed potatoes.
The act of tying a turkey with a string is called trussing. It helps to keep the legs and wings of the turkey close so that the bird cooks more evenly. The wings and tips of the bird would burn before the body of the bird was cooked if not trussed.
Try to fix up your pie crust! Sometimes when you’re rolling out pie dough it will end up with places that are showing cracks. If you notice any cracks, sprinkle them with cold water, and gently rub them out with your finger. If cracks appear in the top portion of the crust you can brush it with some milk and then sprinkle a little sugar over the cracks. When your pie is done baking, the top crust will have an appetizing golden glaze that will conceal any minor imperfections.
You should save some water from the pan in which you cooked the pasta so that you can add it to the pasta sauce later. You will need to save roughly one quarter cup of water. Then, mix a little of this water in with your pasta sauce. The starch from the pasta water will add body and a “creaminess” to your sauce through amalgamation.
Let raw potatoes soak in some cold water for a half hour prior to frying them to increase the crispiness of French fries. When potatoes are allowed to absorb cold water, the texture is able to withstand the extreme heat of cooking without breaking down and becoming mushy.
The odors of many spices and vegetables will stay on your cutting board and will be impervious to soap. Make a small mark with a marker on one side of your board to remind you which side is for sweet items and which is for sour.
If you want to have flavorful dishes, try to create your own stock. Make a large amount and store it in the freezer. By freezing stock, you ensure that you have tasty homemade stock ready to add to any dish. By making and having your own stock on hand, you will know it doesn’t contain preservatives.
It’s a huge asset to be able to prepare meals for you or for others. No matter your taste bud’s preferences, learning to cook can enrich your life. You can learn to make healthy meals faster than it would take you to drive to a fast food restaurant.