Cooking is a type of skill that you can always improve. Even someone who has a lot of experience in the kitchen can learn some new tricks to make cooking more enjoyable. Novice cooks especially need tips to help develop their blossoming cooking skills. This article is full of tips you will find helpful in getting you started as a cook.
Store herbs and spices in an area that is cool and dark. Elements such as light and heat can cause your herbs to lose flavor quickly, resulting in less taste being added to your favorite dishes. Herbs and spices that are ground usually remain flavorful for a year. Spices that are not ground can keep their flavors for 3 to 5 years. When stored properly, spice stay fresh for longer periods of time.
A great tip for using cooking oil is to ensure you pour it onto the sides of the pan, rather than directly in the pan’s center, so that it will be sufficiently heated upon reaching the food. The flavor will be greatly enhanced when it has completed cooking.
However, there is a way that your efforts can be saved and the sauce still used. Start with about two tablespoons and add more until your sauce is at the desired consistency. Slowly add this mixture to your simmering sauce to thicken it up. Add the mixture slowly and keep stirring to make sure it does not thicken too much.
Mashed Potatoes
You can reduce the fat and calorie content of regular mashed potatoes by substituting part of the potatoes with mashed cauliflower. This won’t affect the taste but it adds a handful of nutrition. Cauliflower blends perfectly with your potatoes without changing the taste of your mashed potatoes. Cauliflower mashes into the same texture and color as potatoes, so no one will notice, and you you will get the benefits.
Fresh ingredients are better than frozen or dried, regardless of what you cook. Use fresh ingredients as much as you can, because they add better flavor to your dish and tend to be a lot cheaper.
Once in awhile, burgers stick to the cooking surface making it nearly impossible to get them off in one piece. Before you put the burgers on the surface of the grill, you should brush it with some oil.
If you are looking for ways to include more protein to your daily diet, look no further than beans and tofu. You can buy these in almost any grocery store. Tofu can be seasoned and pan-fried, and then served in lieu of a meat dish. Beans can be used in vegetarian chili, added to baked goods, or just boiled with herbs and vegetables.
Even seasoned cooks are always trying to learn new tricks and techniques that will make their job simpler and more fun. People who are just learning how to cook need to learn as much as possible. Try out some of these tips to see how much more enjoyable and accomplished your cooking becomes.