Maybe you have tried cooking before with the result of burnt, unrecognizable food or maybe, you simply don’t have the patience to wait on a slow cooker to cook your meals. Do not give up on cooking! Below are some tips to help you make a variety delicious meals to share with family and friends!
The most difficult and time consuming thing about cooking is doing all of the prep work. You can buy pre-prepped vegetables or prep your ingredients the day before to cut down on the time you are in the kitchen. This is very helpful if you need to get dinner out in a hurry.
When you have a really important occasion where you are going to be cooking for someone that you love or your boss, try to stick to a food that you know will turn out good. This is not the time to be trying new things as you want to be certain it comes out right.
Garlic is one of the more pungent odors that you will ever experience, and you will want to have tricks to get rid of it as soon as possible. Here is a suggestion, after you cook something with garlic, rub your hands on the base of your stainless steel sink for a minute to eliminate the pungent odor off of your skin.
If you are always in the kitchen cooking, invest in a knife sharpener. This will ensure that your utensils are sharp at all times, which will give you the ability to maximize the quality of your cuts. Keeping your utensils up to par is very important when cooking in the kitchen.
After you have cooked mashed potatoes, make sure that you return them to the hot pan so that they can steam for the next ten minutes. This will allow for the potatoes to dry out so that you can get a rich texture when you are applying your milk and butter.
Having trouble with your meats sticking to your pan or grill? This is an easy thing to fix. Just spray your pan or grill with a spray oil before you begin to cook. This will put a coating on the surface of the pan or grill, and will keep your meats from sticking to a dry surface.
Even the humble sandwich can benefit from a little cooking expertise. Mayonnaise, mustard and other condiments should be spread evenly from edge to edge of sandwich bread. This improves consistency and ensures that every bite of the sandwich gets the benefit of the condiments. Even spreading produces superior sandwich results every time.
Here is a cooking tip that will make your life easier on nights and weekends. When cooking, save any sauces leftover from cooking by pouring them into ice cube trays. When you need to use the sauce cubes, simply pop them out of the tray and reheat them in a sauce pan for a quick sauce without all of the cook time.
If you are going on a picnic, put lettuce and other vegetables in separate containers from condiments. Condiments are not to make sandwiches soggy, so by separating them, you are ensuring your sandwich will taste fresh. Also, do not place any food items next to drinks inside of the basket.
When you are using herbs and spices make sure that you store them correctly to keep the, fresh. Since humidity is a spice’s worst enemy, make sure to keep them in air-tight containers. Also, keep them in a dark place, as light can also negatively affect the taste of your spices.
Keep a food thermometer around. It is always best to stick your meat when cooking when you are not sure if it is done for food safety. Poultry should be cooked to 165 degrees F, Ground Beef, Fish, and Shellfish to 158 F, and Pork to 150.
Use olive oil on your hands when working with dough. Some people think that coating your hands in flour is the best method, but in actuality, the flour will quickly transfer to the dough and you will lose all of the benefits. Using olive oil instead will prevent the dough from sticking to your hands for longer periods of time.
Cook up the whole bag of potatoes at once! Slice them in half and put them in the freezer! Whether you boil or bake them, you’ll always be ready to thaw out potatoes to use for a hastily put together potato bar dinner, to use as ingredients for potato salad or any other dishes that use cooked potatoes.
Freeze some ice tea and other cold drinks up in ice cube trays. You can use the frozen drink cubes as ice on those particularly hot days. That way, your drink won’t be diluted by the quickly melting ice cubes. It makes for a nice change, not having to run back and forth to the refrigerator, just to top off your drink glass.
Pomegranates are a superfood, but they can be super un-fun to peel. To make it easier, put the pomegranate portions into a bowl of water and gently separate the juicy seeds. The white pith will float to the top and the seeds will sink to the bottom. Collect the floating pith, discard it, and strain the water to be left with a bowlful of delicious seeds!
Whether you’re trying to make fancy dishes for the holidays or quick, economic meals for you and your family, the tips above will help you brush up on your cooking skills so you can make delicious meals! There are millions of recipes from every culture for you to try, so start cooking today!
