Kiss The Cook: Best No-Nonsense Cooking Tips
Sometimes, your kitchen may seem uninteresting. A hobby, such as cooking, will completely revolutionize this. By striving to achieve excellence in cooking, the kitchen becomes a place where you enjoy working, and your family enjoys the wonderful food you serve. Here are a few tips to give you a few ideas.
If you are cooking with oil, do not pour it directly into the middle of the pan. Instead, pour it on the side of the pan, so it will heat before it reaches the food. Having the oil at the right temperature when you cook with it will make the flavors pop.
It is not always easy to remember the proper grilling times for all meats. Use a good meat thermometer (a digital one is more accurate) so that you can ensure the inside is cooked correctly. If you’re grilling especially thick slabs of meat – anything thicker than an inch and a half – bring the lid down on your grill to speed up the cooking process.
Sometimes, your burgers can stick onto the grill. This makes removing them extremely difficult or impossible without compromising their shape. Brush the grill with oil so that food does not stick to it. Vegetable oil works great and will not make your grill greasy.
Airtight Containers
Always select airtight containers for sugar, flour and other baking mixes. Keeping food fresh and bug-free is simple with these containers. Airtight containers can be purchased at many retailers.
When you make chicken stock make as much as you can. If you cook a big pot of stock, you can freeze it for later. Good homemade chicken stock is a wonderful base in soups, stews, casseroles and more. Allow your stock to cool, then put portions in heavy-duty Ziploc bags made for freezing.
When serving salad to guests, always offer the dressing on the side rather than pouring it directly on the salad. Let people add what they want to their salad. Also, try and include different types of dressings.
The stress of making dinner can be alleviated by prepping certain ingredients the night before. Before retiring to bed, you can do things like preparing a sauce, chopping up vegetables and onions, or marinating meat. You will be much less stressed and more ready to cook the next day.
Don’t throw away turkey leftovers, at Thanksgiving or any other time. Cut up the meat instead, put it in a container, and freeze it. Frozen turkey will keep for weeks in the freezer and can be unfrozen and used for a variety of dishes.
Cutting Board
Many vegetables and herbs emit aromas that remain in the cutting board, regardless of how many times you clean it. Mark one end, or side, of each cutting board so that you know which is which.
To avoid mistakes like burning your food while you are cooking, it is of the utmost importance to stay organized. Being organized with your cooking station can make it more productive. Being disorganized means having difficulty finding things and quite possibly ruining an entire dish, wasting valuable time and money!
Fresh herbs in a meal are delicious. Bunch them together and then use a pair of scissors to snip them. This makes the herbs fluffier and lighter, and not wet like they would be if they were chopped.
Though a dish such as macaroni and cheese seems simple to prepare, it is important to follow the guidelines on the box or recipe. The macaroni turns out perfect this way and is to die for once the nice velvety cheese is melted over the noodles. Use a solid spoon to serve your macaroni and cheese. Season with pepper to your liking, and you’re ready to go!
Wash your dishes as you use them, when you are cooking. Have your sink full of soapy, hot water one side, and use the other side to rinse. Washing the dishes as you go along will make the final clean up much easier.
Be creative with the ideas you have just read. You should be able to prepare foods that your family and you thoroughly enjoy eating. Taking up cooking is not only good for you but great fun as well. Allow your kitchen to become the warm, fragrant core of your home.