Once you know what you are doing, cooking is a lot of fun. This article may help you be a more confident and skilled cook. Once you have these skills, have fun!
A cool and dark location is best for storing spices and herbs. Moisture, light and heat can affect the flavor of your spices. As a general rule, keep your ground spices no more than one year. Spices in their whole forms have longer useful lifespans, lasting up to five years. If they are stored properly, they will stay fresh longer.
You must prep well if you want to cook a large, festive meal. Gather all of your ingredients well in advance. Along with the ingredients, you need to make sure you have the correct utensils for cooking the next day. If you have everything ready, you won’t be as worried about preparing the meal, and it’s more likely to turn out well.
If you are making stir-fry meals, you should slice the meat as thin as possible and cut it on the bias. There’s a trick to this, and it can take a little time. When the meat feels firm, pull it from the freezer and cut across the grain at a 45 degree angle.
It’s very important to have good, sharp knives for cooking. Blunted knives do not cut things well, and they can also pose a safety hazard. You can cut yourself because you are forcing the knife through the food, use a sharp knife.
These spices are able to be used on many things in the kitchen, not just meats. For example, sprinkle it over roasted nuts or seeds, or use a dash when cooking eggs for breakfast. Everyone will beg you to let them in on the secret ingredient.
If you make sauce, freeze it into ice cubs to use later on. This will make reheating the sauce easy, as you can pull out as many cubes that you need for the next meal. The sauce is still good after it is frozen.
Do you have a difficult time deciding how long you should grill your meat? Make sure you use quality meat thermometers to ascertain the internal temperature. Put the grill lid on to reduce cooking time for cuts that are more than an inch and a half thick.
If you are preparing a recipe that calls for milk or water, try substituting with an alternate liquid to add new flavor to your meals. You could use chicken broth or juice, instead of water. Buttermilk, yogurt and sour cream can be great substitutes for milk. Using different liquids can add nutritional value, while at the same time punching up bland, old recipes.
As previously revealed, your cooking skills can be easily learned and improved. All that is needed is a little bit of time and desire for learning. When you use the tips provided in the article, you will get a little knowledge and you will learn the way around the kitchen a little easier. Think of cooking as an enjoyable hobby, instead of necessary chore.