For many people, cooking serves many purposes. It allows people to test their creativity by constructing new culinary masterpieces, improve their skills as they become better chefs, or simply to eat their favorite dish. Whatever the reason is for you cooking, the tips found in the following article will help you with cooking.
(1) When cooking any recipe, use the best ingredients that you can afford. Splurge a little on imported cheeses or better quality meats when you can, so that you can experience a restaurant, quality-tasting meal at home. To enhance the experience even further, try to creatively plate up the meal with a little thought, for something different every now and then.
(2) As you cook your meal during the course of the night, make sure that you taste it at several different points. This will allow you to pinpoint exactly when it is done, so that you do not run the risk of overcooking it. Tasting your food is important to achieve the quality you desire.
(3) Have you been making the same berry shortcake for a while? Make the flavor pop with the following tip. Mix your berries with a pinch of salt, a little fresh mint and a small spoon of lime juice. Your guests will never guess how you enhanced the flavor of the old family recipe.
(4) When you are cooking a dish that requires it to be sauteed, add oil around the edges of the pan rather than directly on the food. This gives the oil a chance to heat up before it reaches the cooking food that is in the center of the pan. Hot oil will give you improved results and makes your dish taste better.
(5) If you are following a recipe take extra caution to make sure that you don’t skip a step, or that you are reading the measurements correctly. Especially in baking, a small mistake can completely ruin a dish. To avoid this just check the recipe a couple of times before adding in the ingredient to the mixture.
(6) Be careful with frozen spinach. After thawing, squeeze the water out before cooking or the extra water will come out during cooking possibly destroying your recipe. You can squeeze it by hand or use any other suitable device to do it. Lay the spinach on paper towel to drain the excessive moisture.
(7) Don’t Be a Slave to Recipes. Use a good, basic recipe that you like as a starting point, but don’t consider
it written in stone. Don’t assume that the cookbook is infallible. Even if it is, each kitchen is different,
ingredients vary, and so on. As you cook, continually taste.
(8) Tips on Marinating:
• Place the marinade in a plastic bag with the meat and make sure the meat is totally covered by the marinade.
• Adding spices and herbs heightens the marinade flavor.
• Marinating times vary according to the food’s texture. A tougher cut may require marinating for several days.
• Always cover and refrigerate marinated foods. Before cooking, remove as much of the marinade as possible and pat the meat dry, so that it does not burn when cooked.
• If marinating fish, leave in the marinade for one hour maximum. If left longer, the vinegar will start to “cook” the fish
Great cooks aren’t born, they’re made! Learning about effective cooking tips and techniques can be invaluable, whether you’re newly starting or have been cooking for years, plus you can save a good deal of frustration in the kitchen. So put on your chef’s hat, get your heating pads ready and go create a meal worthy of…you!