Have you ever sat down at the dinner table and faced a panoply of beautiful, tasty dishes all made by someone else? Do you wonder how they managed to put together such a scrumptious meal? The following article can make anyone a better cook.
Find a dark, cool area in which to store herbs and spices. Humidity, heat and light can all cause flavors to weaken thus making your foods not able to obtain their potential. You can plan on ground herbs and spices retaining their potency for a year. Spices in their whole form can be stored for between 3 to 5 years. When stored properly, they will stay fresher longer.
Prep work can be done way ahead of time. Do not start cooking until the prep work is done. When you’re ready to begin cooking and have set your deadline to finish, you can get really stressed. Prep work helps take the stress out of meal planning and preparing.
If you boil your vegetables or cook them for too long, they will lose a lot of nutrients. To maintain their healthy reputation, prepare them quicker by steaming or sauteing, and you could always enjoy them naturally in their raw state.
When making food for someone whom you want to impress, stick to a familiar dish that you are confident preparing. Never prepare an unfamiliar recipe or try to use a different ingredient than you are used to. Cooking will be less stressful this way.
Did you ever feel bad for throwing old, moldy fruit away? Ever thought if you could just pick out the mold and salvage the fruit? Trying to salvage fruit when half of it is bad may save money, but it is not worth the health risks. Any rotten or moldy fruits should be discarded immediately, even if it just looks like surface mold. Mold can actually be deeper in the fruit, even if you can’t see it. When you consume it, it can cause a number of illnesses.
Is fresh basil something you cook with often? Gather a bunch and put it into a glass. Fill with water to cover the stems. It will remain fresh for a good amount of time just sitting on the kitchen counter! Switching out the water from time to time will cause the basil to grow, as well. You should also cut the basil so that it keeps growing.
When you use fresh ingredients, your cooking will be considerably better than if you used canned, dried or frozen ingredients. You will save plenty of money by buying fresh vegetables and other ingredients, and your food will also taste more flavorful.
While garlic is a great addition to many dishes, it has the frustrating feature of rubbing off on your hands. By rubbing your hands inside a stainless sink after handling pungent smelling foods. This trick removes the offending scent from your hands, which prevents them from migrating to the foods you touch next.
Make sure that you incorporate the advice in the article closely the next time you cook. Your guests will begin to inquire where you learned your new secrets.