Are you amazed by the meals your family and friends create? This article will help you become a better cook.
Pie crusts and tart crusts should be cook a bit past the point that you think they should be cooked. Go past the usual pale tan color and take them to a caramel gold. This color means that the sugar has caramelized within the pie crust and will have a crunchy and sweet flavor.
Before eating there is cooking, and before cooking there is preparation. This is a vital step to master if you want to produce impressive meals. Always have all ingredients before starting to cook. The day before your meal, get your kitchen into cooking mode and hunt down your favorite utensils, pots and pans. This can help relax everything so that you can make something great.
There’s an easy way to save thin sauces. In a small bowl, combine two tablespoons of water and 3 teaspoons of corn starch. Stir it into your sauce as it simmers and it will get thicker. Make sure you combine them gradually and consistently so as to prevent the sauce from thickening too much.
Boiling and other long preparation methods tend to eliminate key nutrients in vegetables. To keep the nutrients in tact, consider steaming or sauteing your food, or even serving them raw.
If you boil your vegetables or cook them for too long, they will lose a lot of nutrients. For the most nutritious vegetables, employ fast cooking methods or, better yet, consume raw veggies.
Leave raw potatoes in cold water for at least 30 minutes before frying them to make crispier French fries. Allowing the sliced potatoes to soak up more cold fluids helps to reinforce the fibers that are in the vegetable, that way when they are deep fried, they are better able to stand up to the heat and won’t completely break down.
You have probably felt guilty for pitching moldy fruits before. Have you ever thought to just remove the moldy section by cutting it out? There is, unfortunately, no good way to save fruit that is half-rotten. You need to throw them away, as mold tends to grow deeper than the eye can see, and eating moldy foods can make someone quite ill.
Complete as much of the preparatory work as possible for your meals ahead of time to speed up the process of cooking. Look at your recipe and decide which steps you can do in advance without worry of food spoilage. Much of the preparations can be finished one day prior to cooking. This is a great time saver, and can make that complex recipe into something that is quick and fun.
Store your apples correctly so you can use them to cook during the winter months. Store apples in a plastic bag in a cool, dry location to keep them fresher longer. Make sure to keep an eye out for rotting apples, because if you have one rotten apple, it will turn all the other apples rotten in no time.
Garlic is delicious; however the pungent aroma will get stuck on your hands. An easy way to prevent such scents from adhering to your skin is to rub exposed areas on the stainless steel of your sink. Hands will then be clean, and odors will not be transferred on.
Crispier fries come from potatoes that have been left to soak in ice cold water for about 30 minutes. Soaking potatoes accomplishes two important things for your French fries; it takes out sugar and starch during the soaking process.
Keep flour, sugar and other items for baking in tins with seals that keep the air out. These sorts of containers will help keep all of your foods fresh and safe from bugs. Thankfully, you can grab some affordable, quality airtight containers practically anywhere.
Are you a fan of using fresh basil? Put a bunch of fresh basil in a glass. Fill the container with enough water to cover the stems. Just put it out in an open space to maintain its freshness. If you change the water occasionally, the basil will even grow roots in the water. You can cut the basil every once in a while in order to spur further growth, thereby making basil available for even longer.
Take the time to investigate the ingredients for your recipes. Lots of the time, cooking supplies have hidden ingredients that may be bad for your health. You want to make sure that the product is not too high in sugars or in sodium as both can cause extreme health problems if over consumed.
Burgers cooked on the grill are delicious; however, many times they stick to your grill. To prevent this, brush the grill with a bit of vegetable oil to keep your foods from sticking.
This will allow your fruits to stay fresh and delicious for long periods of time. This also gives you access to seasonal fruits that might otherwise not be available at the time you want them.
Always use an airtight container to store baking ingredients such as sugar or flour in the kitchen. By storing foods in airtight containers, you can ensure its freshness and prevent any contamination. You can get them at a number of places and are well worth the small amount of money.
If your recipe calls for a liquid, try using something other than water or milk. This will add a spark to that tired old dish. You could use chicken broth or juice, instead of water. Some great replacements for milk are sour cream, yogurt and buttermilk. Mixing up the base of your sauces and soups is a great way to liven up old recipes.
When you make chicken stock make as much as you can. Plan on preparing a large pot of stock in order to freeze it for storing. Excellent chicken stock that is homemade is a great base for use in stews, soups, casseroles, and more. To store your homemade stock, let it cool, pour it into a freezer bag, and stick it in the freezer.
When you are seasoning food, a good rule to follow is to add the seasoning a little at a time rather than adding it all at once in the beginning of the cooking process. When you use this method, you will be more in control of the flavor and can limit over using your ingredients.
If you are looking for ways to include more protein to your daily diet, look no further than beans and tofu. They can be bought at pretty much any grocery store. Frying the tofu in a low-sodium soy sauce is a tasty alternative to eating meat for dinner! You can boil the beans with a bit of herbs to give the protein more flavor.
Try drying your own tomatoes. You can use Roma tomatoes cut lengthwise, or ripe tomatoes sliced about a half inch thick. Place the resulting tomato pieces on a rack, then salt their exposed flesh lightly. Next, position a full rack on a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 190 degrees. Dry for approximately 10 hours. Place them in the freezer in plastic bags. You can also pack dried tomatoes in a jar with some fresh herbs and olive oil. Refrigerate and use within 2 weeks.
When you will be cooking a pumpkin, stand it up and then slice it down the middle. Take both halves with the cut sides down and place on different baking sheets to bake. Place a tiny bit of water on each sheet, then bake the pumpkin for about an hour at 350 degrees.
Spices should be stored in a cool, dark area so that they stay as fresh as they can for as long as possible. You should never store herbs and spices above a stove or in any other warm location because that will cause them to lose their flavor, and of course you will be out the money.
This allows the fruits to stay fresh throughout the year. This process also gives you easy access to seasonal fruits at times when they would not normally be available.
If you want your dishes to be more flavorful, try preparing your own stock. Making it in huge quantities can allow you to store the leftover in some resealable bags in the freezer. You should always have access to stock when you are cooking other dishes. Making the stock yourself will allow you to know that you are using a stock that is not loaded with preservatives.
Any food that needs seasoning should have the seasoning added while the food is being cooked. This results in a better blending of the flavors of the ingredients.
It is important to have great cutting utensils at your disposal in your kitchen. Sharp knives will save you time, and are actually safer to use than dull ones. More injuries, cuts and serious accidents happen as a result of blunt utensils than freshly sharpened ones.
If you want to cook a roast, yet you don’t have much time, don’t take out the bone. You will see that the meat will cook in a shorter amount of time because the bone will help carry the heat directly inside of the roaster. When your cooking time is up, you can easily make your cuts, while avoiding the bone, and serve as normal.
To cook your meats to the proper temperature, make sure you are using a meat thermometer. Meats have a specific internal temperature schedule that determines they are cooked and safe for human consumption. Bacteria flourish on the meats, so you need to make sure the meet is cooked properly and thoroughly so the bacteria don’t stay on the meat and cause sickness if you were to consume the meat.
Your cutting board retains the odors of certain herbs and vegetables despite repeated scrubbings. Put a waterproof mark on the end of the cutting board so you’ll know which side to use.
Prepare Oysters
Replace and refresh your spices twice a year. When spices are stored for too long, their flavor degrades, resulting in a less potent spice. If you purchase spices that you know are not used often in your home, give some to a family member or friend.
Give new ways to prepare oysters a shot. You can prepare oysters in other ways rather than raw on the half shell with lemon juice. Place the opened oysters into their shells onto a broiler pan, cover the oysters with a little amount of cream. Add some cheese and pepper on top, and cook until you see the liquid churning. Furthermore, you can saute oysters. After covering them in seasoned flour, you can fry them up in butter until they come out golden and crispy. Oysters can be baked while still in their shells. Put them in a baking dish, add fresh breadcrumbs and a small dab of butter on each oyster, then bake four or five minutes at 425 degrees. As soon as the juices and butter start to bubble, they are ready to be served with a simple toasted baguette.
It is best to try a recipe at least once before preparing it for an important occasion. New or complex recipes will increase your stress level, and you can’t be sure how they may turn out. Cook a dish you are familiar with in order to really give them your best.
Look for different opportunities to use these tips. Before long people will ask you what your secret to creating such fabulous dishes is!
Being responsible for a meal that will feed a large number of guests can be extremely stressful. Give yourself a head start by doing as much as possible beforehand. This way you won’t be overwhelmed and flustered by all you have to do on the big day. This can include measuring out ingredients, preparing marinades, and chopping vegetables.
Leave a Reply