Monday, October 8, 2012

Enjoy Cooking More: Try These Great Ideas!

Enjoy Cooking More: Try These Great Ideas!

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Unfortunately, becoming a great cook takes time, practice and dedication. Regardless of the reasons you would like to start cooking, it's always beneficial to figure out the basic steps to get started. Keep reading for a handful of insightful and interesting cooking tips.

Before you begin to cook, you must make sure that your kitchen utensils are clean. If food is left behind on the utensils after washing, this may spoil what you are planning to cook. Failure to clean utensils properly could also spread food borne illness.

You can make a nice wok full of stir fried rice and bits and pieces of veggies and whatnot from your fridge. Cold, day-old rice works great, but if you desire to use fresh rice be sure to use less water to make the rice drier. Chop your meat and a variety of vegetables and saute in a small amount of oil to warm them through. Toss in the rice and add some soy sauce, ginger and garlic.

When you are making butter and sugar into a cream for cookies, softe n the butter, but don't melt it. If you do melt the butter on accident, stick it in the freezer for several minutes, or put the dough in the refrigerator after you have mixed all the ingredients. If the dough is cooler, your cookies will not spread as much during baking.

Be sure to read labels when purchasing ingredients for recipes. A lot of ingredients that are common to cook with have hidden, unhealthy ingredients. By reading the labels, you can check to see if the product contains sugars or sodium in high amounts. Sugars and sodium can be detrimental to your health if over consumed.

Spices don't last forever; replace them every 6 months. Quite often, spices pass their sell-by-date before you use them up, losing their flavor. If you purchase a specific spice, knowing that you probably won't use it all, split it with someone.

Garlic is a great ingredient but it can leave a strong smell on your hands and utensils. After cooking with garlic, rub your hands across a sta inless steel table or sink to rid them of the smell. Not only does this clean your hands, but it also stops the unwanted smells from getting into other foods you are about to handle.

Whenever you season your food, try seasoning it slowly rather than all at once. This will allow your food to really take on the flavor of the seasonings and make the food as flavorful as it can be.

To get some extra bang from your pasta sauce, reserve some of the water you cooked the pasta in. Measure out one-fourth of a cup and place it to the side. When you mix the pasta with this sauce, add the water as well. Amalgamation will help the starch in the pasta to add a creamy quality, and extra body to your sauce.

Try to prepare your ingredients before you cook to ensure that your cooking environment is a stress free area. It will speed up preparation time, and you will avoid discovering you are short an ingredient halfway through. It takes no more time to do it upfront and it can save you l ots of time.

Always measure the amount of cooking oil you use. This will help you lower the fat content when you cook as opposed to just pouring directly into the pan without measuring. You'll be able to carefully account for all of the oil that you use.

Spices and herbs should be stored in a dark and cool area. They will not taste as fresh if they are exposed to light or warmth. Ground herbs and spices retain their flavor for 12 months under normal circumstances. Spices that are whole will retain flavor longer, closer to 3-5 years. If you keep these properly stored, they can sometimes stay fresh for an even longer period of time.

If you have a recipe that requires water or milk, you can change out the liquids to create a whole new flavor. If the recipe has called for water, you could easily use chicken broth, beef broth, or juice when suitable. You can try out buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream instead of milk. Adding different and interesting liquids to a recipe can he lp the dish become more interesting and nutritious.

Get the specific sort of potatoes your recipe calls for. These vegetables are defined in three ways, either mealy, waxy or all-purpose, so choose accordingly. The mealy variety is best for mashed potatoes because of its dryer texture. Russet potatoes are popular mealy potatoes. A good all-purpose potato that can be used for many different potato dishes is the Yukon Gold. Waxy potatoes are good for steaming or boiling because their shape is maintained. Good waxy potatoes include the regular white potato and the red potato.

Pie crusts and tart crusts should be cook a bit past the point that you think they should be cooked. They should not be a pale blond color, they need to be golden brown. The deep caramel color demonstrates that the sugar has melded with the other ingredients, giving you an optimal flavor.

Are you eager to start applying the tips you just learned in the article? Use this advice to assist you in making scrumptious meals! Regardless of your motives for cooking, you and your family will enjoy a meal created by you. The truth is, you will need a certain amount of skill to become a good cook. But, the taste of any home-cooked dish definitely makes it worth all the effort.

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