Wednesday, October 24, 2012

The Best Cooking Guide For All Ages

The Best Cooking Guide For All Ages

To many people, cooking a meal is just another thing on their to-do list. However, cooking can be rewarding and enjoyable. It offers an excellent opportunity to follow a healthier lifestyle. Good cooks always attempt to find out as much as they can about their hobby or profession. The ideas presented in this article can help you to learn more about cooking.

Dark leafy greens can be considered a pain to prepare, but they are very healthy. Taking out the stems can be tiresome and time-consuming. A simple way around it is to lengthwise fold the green in half and try to break the stem at the middle. A knife can also come in handy to remove stems from leaves that are folded. Once your unfold each leaf, you have perfectly stem-free greens.

Soy products and beans are a wonderful place to get protein if you need to add some to your diet. Most grocery stores stock these items. Tofu is great meat alternative when baked, broiled, or pan-fried with seasonings. Beans can be used in ve getarian chili, added to baked goods, or just boiled with herbs and vegetables.

In many cases, you can mistakenly put too much salt into your recipe before you taste it, but this is not a lost cause. Cut a peeled potato into a few large chunks, and allow them to simmer in the over-salted sauce or soup for 15 minutes or so. The sliced potatoes will absorb any extra salt. When cooking tomato-based dishes, simply add a few more tomatoes to the pot to dilute it down a bit.

When cutting herbs, sprinkle a little salt onto your chopping board first. This keeps your herbs on the cutting board and can add a bit of flavor, as well. Don't over-salt; save the extra salt for the dish itself. The salt sprinkled on the board adheres to the herbs, which takes the flavor up to 11.

In this manner, you will be able to preserve the freshness of the fruit throughout the year. Additionally, you'll have fruits available to you that aren't for sale in the markets when they're not in season.

Use the potatoes as stated in the recipe as not all potatoes are created equal. Types of potatoes include waxy, mealy and all-purpose. The dry, crumbly texture of mealy potatoes makes them perfect for mashed potatoes. Russet potatoes are popular mealy potatoes. Yukon-gold are all-purpose potatoes that can work with any dish. Waxy potatoes are good for steaming or boiling because their shape is maintained. Red and white potatoes are just a few examples of waxy potatoes.

When preparing a salad for an outing, make sure it's layered in a smart way. Those with the highest water content should be at the bottom while the top should have those inclined to wilting, such as lettuce or other leafy greens.

After eating turkey, such as for Thanksgiving, never throw away leftovers. Instead, get some airtight containers, cut up the leftovers and freeze them. Cooked turkey that has been frozen can be enjoyed for weeks by defrosting and using for soups, salads and sandwiches.

When coo king with fresh herbs like parsley or dill, bunch them together and cut them with a pair of scissors. Chopping herbs often makes herbs wet and wilted. Using scissors gives your herbs a light, fluffy appearance.

Your spices should be stored in any area that is dark and cool. The shelf life of spices is greatly reduced if they are exposed to heat, humidity, or light. Always keep your spices in a dark and cool location to extend their longevity. Keeping your spices fresh can improve the taste of every recipe you prepare.

Impress your loved ones with even simple recipes, like sandwiches by spreading condiments out evenly over the bread. Too many sandwich artists hurriedly put a glob of mayonnaise in the center of their bread. However, if the mayonnaise is evenly spread across the bread, every bite of the sandwich will be flavorful and delicious.

Always drain and blot your ground meat after cooking to remove excess fat. It is always wise to blot any moisture that is present on ground meat. If you just let the moisture sit, it will affect how the meat cooks. This moisture will just sizzle off. This will cause the ground beef to steam, instead of searing.

A lot of people usually use apples for cooking things in the winter and fall months, yet a lot of people store them incorrectly and they spoil quickly. Apples are extremely perishable. In a warm, dry environment, they will quickly go bad. Store your apples in an airtight container in a cool, preferably humid place. One rotten apple will spoil the whole bunch, so check each one occasionally to see if you should throw any away.

When you are making mashed potatoes for your dinner and are getting ready to mash them, use hot milk, not boiling, to mix into the potatoes. This creates fluffier and lighter potatoes, than if you used cold milk. This will turn your mashed potatoes from dull to delightful with virtually no effort.

In summary, a top-notch cook is always adding to their knowledge. Lear ning about different cooking methods and types of foods is half the fun of cooking. In addition, it provides you with the pleasure of teaching others the wonderful things you have learned. Cooking is a skill that is helpful to show others.

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