You can never know enough about cooking. Some people who enjoy cooking love to share what they know, while others want what they know to be a well guarded secret. Learning from others, however, can make some of the best teachers! This article will share some helpful tips from those with experience.
(1) You can remove the garlic odor from your hands by rubbing them for thirty seconds on your stainless steel stove before washing them. Garlic adds a delightful flavor to many recipes, but the unmistakable odor can linger on your hands. Using this tip, you can enjoy your dinner without your hands smelling strongly of garlic.
(2) It is extremely embarrassing to have lumps in your gravy. It happens to everybody from the beginner cook to the master chef. There is a simple trick you can use to eliminate them. Drain the gravy through a fine strainer and discard the lumps. This technique can be used for other sauces or soups too.
(3) Saute tired salad greens. If your salad greens have seen better days, don’t discard them – saute them! Salad greens such as radicchio, arugula and endive make a tasty side dish when sauteed. Cook them quickly in olive oil, chopped garlic and sea salt. Sprinkle with a little bacon and goat cheese, and you will be happy that you didn’t throw away those unused salad greens!
(4) Throw out nothing (unless, of course, it’s spoiled). Nearly every morsel of food is usable for soups, stocks, salads, and so on. You can sometimes make great meals from leftovers (flip to Chapter 19 to see what we mean).
Learn about different cuts of meat and how to cook them so that you don’t have to rely on more expensive cuts. Hone your knife skills so that you can save money by purchasing whole chickens, meats on the bone, fish, and so
on and then cutting them up yourself — a huge discount.
(5) If a stew or a braised dish is too thin, you can always blend 1 tablespoon flour with 1 tablespoon water. Combine this mixture with 1 cup stew liquid and return to the pot with the rest of the stew. Stir well. Heat slowly until thickened.
(6) If you like baking, please understand your cake can be ruined if the baking powder is too old. In most cases, you don’t remember when you bought the box you have just found in the cupboard. Don’t gamble with it, test it. Put one tablespoon of baking powder in one third cup of water. If it fizzes, it’s good to use. If not, throw it away and buy a new box because what you have is too old.
(7) Take the guesswork out of reducing liquids. When a recipe calls for you to cook until the liquid is reduced by a certain amount, dip the handle of a wooden spoon into the liquid to mark the depth. This will leave a line on the wooden spoon. Later, you can dip the spoon again to see how much the liquid has actually reduced.
Hopefully, the information provided has given you some tips that you find helpful while in the kitchen.
Happy Cooking!