Cooking is a life skill that is useful in a variety of ways. One thing that can be guaranteed is that everybody enjoys eating, and knowing it was home-cooked makes the meal that much better. If you have not fully embraced the art of cooking, your skills may not be as developed as you wish. This article discusses many helpful cooking tips to help you take your cooking to the next level.
Give pie and tart crust a little longer baking time than you normally would for the best results. It will help if you achieve a darker, more delicious golden caramel color, rather than stopping when the crust is still pale. This golden color means that the sugar used in the crust has caramelized, giving the crust a crisp and sweet flavor.
Try adding oil to foods from the sides of a pot or pan in able to jump-start the heating process. This will help to maximize the flavor of your food when you are done.
Mashed Potatoes
To reduce fat and calories in mashed potatoes without sacrificing texture or taste, replace some of your potatoes with an equal amount of cauliflower. Cauliflower blends perfectly with your potatoes without changing the taste of your mashed potatoes. 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.
Cook your vegetables in chicken broth. Chicken broth is great for preventing sticking of vegetables and incorporating some great flavor with them. Chicken broth is easily purchased at almost every supermarket, and is quite inexpensive.
Tofu and beans can serve as great sources of protein that can be easily added to any diet. Both are readily available in grocery stores. Tofu can be pan-fried with some seasonings, and makes a tasty meat alternative. Beans boiled with herbs is a flavorful source of protein.
Substitute water for other more flavorful liquids, in order to spice up your meals. If the recipe has called for water, you could easily use chicken broth, beef broth, or juice when suitable. Other dairy products such as buttermilk or sour cream can be used in place of milk. Using different liquids can add nutritional content to certain dishes and improve their flavor.
Dried Tomatoes
Make your own sun-dried tomatoes. Slice tomatoes 1/2″ thick to dry. Romas should be cut in two lengthwise. Using a cooling rack, lay the sliced tomatoes with the side that is cut facing upward, and then sprinkle them lightly with salt. Next, position a full rack on a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 190 degrees. Dry for approximately 10 hours. Put the tomatoes in plastic bags, and store them in the freezer. Dried tomatoes can be placed into a jar that is filled with fresh herbs and olive oil. Put this jar in the fridge and use it up in two weeks time.
Don’t throw away turkey leftovers, at Thanksgiving or any other time. Instead, slice up the remaining meat, put it in a plastic freezer bag or airtight container, and store it in your freezer. Frozen, leftover turkey will keep for a few months, allowing you to pull out a container for sandwiches or salads at any time.
It is important for every cook to have their cooking supplies organized. If you do not organize them, you will be scrambling around to find where you put everything. Consider storing similar things together. For instance, place parsley and basil in one cabinet, since both are spices.
If you are cooking, it’s a good idea to wash each dish after using it. Make it easy on yourself by filling your sink with water, while reserving a separate section for rinsing. Your pots and pans will be easier to clean right after use, and they will also be available for use again right away.
Explore creativity when you cook. It is not always about following a recipe letter for letter. A recipe can be greatly improved upon if you add a little of this, or take away a little of that. That’s the true indication of a skilled chef!
Sulfurous Gas
Run cold water over the onions after you cut them, if you plan to make salsa and keep it more than half an hour. Then use a towel to get the water off the onions. Fresh onions have a sulfurous gas in them. Sulfurous gas can detract from fresh salsa and ruin the flavor. When the raw onions are rinsed and dried, the gas is removed.
Prepare everything you need to cook your food in advance. This can help you avoid too much heat or gas when you cook, and can also make it safer to cook with a hot pan, oil, or other dangers that could harm you if you’re distracted.
When cooking different types of meat, always check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. Different types of meat have a certain internal temperature that is considered safe to eat. Bacteria can easily survive in meat, so unless it is thoroughly cooked, this bacteria can stay in the meat and make you ill.
As you can see, cooking can be easy. With the right techniques, creating delicious dishes for family and friends can suddenly become a breeze! Now that you have been introduced to these great tips and tricks, you just need to make the time to go and give them a try!