One of the hardest things you can learn is cooking. You will get plenty of tips and tricks to cook some great recipes.
Keep your herbs in a place that is both dark and cool. Humidity, light and heat can cause your spices and herbs to lose their flavor. Generally, ground herbs and spices stay fresh for around a year, after that they begin to lose their flavor. Whole spices are hardier, and will retain their robust flavoring for several years. Proper storage will enhance the flavoring for a longer time.
Overdo it a little when you bake a pie crust. They should be golden caramel in color instead of pale blonde. The golden color is a sign that the sugars in the crust have finally caramelized.
There is a great trick to thicken up your sauce so it isn’t wasted. Put a small amount of corn starch in a bowl and mix thoroughly with two tablespoons of water to add to your sauce. Add this mix to the sauce little by little until it becomes thicker. Add the mixture slowly and keep stirring to make sure it does not thicken too much.
Partially freeze meat to make slicing into thin strips easier. This is ideal for Asian meals like Chinese or Thai dishes. When you slightly freeze the meat, the fibers don’t extend as easily, and therefore slicing is much cleaner. To ensure that the meat cooks properly, be sure it is completely thawed before cooking.
Invest in a knife sharpener to make cutting any ingredient simple. Dull knives make cutting difficult, but in addition, they are dangerous. It is more likely that you will cut yourself while trying to get a dull knife to cut something than when you use a well-sharpened knife.
Prolonged boiling of vegetables destroys many of the nutrients contained within them. Vegetables are healthiest when eaten raw, and by steaming and sauteing them, less nutrients are removed.
Preparing healthy vegetables can be easy if you choose to saute them in chicken broth. Not only will the flavor be enhanced, but they will be lower in fat without the need for oils and butter. This method produces healthy and tasty vegetables.
When preparing a dish that calls for garlic, purchase garlic that is as fresh as possible. When garlic is fresher, it will not taste as bitter. Fresh garlic should feel firm, the cloves full, and the bulb should not be bruised or have any discoloration.
Keep the dressing for a salad off to the side when you’re having guests over for a meal. Some people like more dressing on their salad than others do, so it is better to let them add the dressing themselves. Offer many different types of salad dressing as well.
As this article went over, you will be able to do better at cooking by using the tips you were presented with. Now you just need to go put on your apron and start cooking! You now have the opportunity to cook much better meals that everybody will enjoy.