To become a good cook, you must learn several things. The article which follows contains secrets, tips and techniques which will help you to go from a basic chef to a master cook. Follow these tips so you can learn exactly what steps you need to take.
Keep all spices stored out of the sunlight. When they are stored in the sun, they lose shelf life because of exposure. Spices stored in a cool, dark location will taste better and last longer. Using fresher spices can make tastier meals.
Before frying raw potatoes, allow them to soak for half an hour in a bowl of cold water; this will result in crispier fries. Soaking potatoes accomplishes two important things for your French fries; it takes out sugar and starch during the soaking process.
Complete many steps when cooking something ahead of time. You can read the recipe to find out what you can do in advance. There is a lot of preparation that you can take care of a day in advance. This can make even the most difficult recipes fun and easy.
If you are going to cook a pumpkin, get it into an upright position and then split in half straight down the center. Put each half on a baking sheet, with the cut side facing downward. Put a little water on the sheet and then bake the pumpkin halves for about an hour at 350 degrees.
Fresh Garlic
Get the most from garlic by buying only the freshest bulbs you can find. Usually, fresh garlic has a sweeter taste. Fresh garlic is firm and lacks bruises.
If you are serving a salad with a meal where you have guests, do not pour the salad dressing on the salad, keep it on the side. Some people enjoy lots of dressing when eating salads so it is important that each person add their own dressing. Offer many different types of salad dressing as well.
Save the delicious taste of summer by drying tomatoes yourself. Slice a large, ripened tomato in half-inch-thick slices. If you are using Roma tomatoes, slice them lengthwise into two pieces. Next, lightly salt the open sides and place them salt-side up on a wire cooling rack. Set the rack on a cookie sheet in an oven at 190 degrees for a 10 hours. After the tomatoes have cooled, place them in plastic bags, and store them in the freezer. You can also pack dried tomatoes in a jar with fresh herbs and olive oil. Refrigerate and use within 2 weeks.
Spices don’t last forever; replace them every 6 months. When spices sit around for too long, they tend to lose flavor. When you know you’re not going to be using a spice for a long time, give it away to someone in your family or to a friend before it loses its flavor.
Ethylene Gas
If you buy unripened fruits, keep them in a plastic bag fitted with holes. Some fruits, like apples, produce ethylene gas as they ripen. A paper bag allows air to circulate, yet also keeps in enough ethylene gas to help the fruits ripen and enhance the flavor.
When chopping fresh herbs, you should shake some salt on a cutting board. The salt will give the herbs more flavor and prevent them from sliding of the board as you cut. Then monitor the amount of salt that you add to the food as it is cooking. The salt that you sprinkle on the board sticks to the herbs and gives them just the right amount of flavor.
To become a great cook there are several secrets and tricks that you must learn. Sometimes it comes natural, but sometimes people must be guided. Whichever camp you fall into, this article has hopefully nudged you a little closer to being a real cooking wizard.