Is cooking
a scary frontier for you? Are you nervous about entering your kitchen,
remembering a previous disaster? If this is you, never fear! Plenty of people
have trouble with cooking, and all it takes is a little practice and proper
education to cook like a pro! Read on to find out how.
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In order to
save time when you are cooking, you can create beforehand your own blend of
spices for different dishes. There are different spice combos for Asian,
Italian, Mexican, or Indian cuisines. An easy "American" blend would
be combining cinnamon and sugar for a quick cinnamon toast as a nice morning or
evening treat.
A great cooking tip is to consider staying away from store
bought seasonings. This is especially important because not only can they be
extremely expensive but they might also contain large amounts of sodium which
is never good for your health. Consider making your own spices or adding
different foods to give your food a great taste.
When you are seasoning meat and fish, make sure you season
it evenly. You should always sprinkle the herbs and spices. This will ensure
that they do not clump in one area. You want your meat and fish to taste the
very same from the first to last bite.
Soup is for all seasons! When we usually think of soup, we
think of a hot bowl of chicken noodle when we are sick or a piping hot bowl of
chili on a cold winter night. But don't forget about soup in the summer, too.
There are a lot of easy recipes for refreshing cold soups like gazpacho and fruit
soups to enjoy during warm months.
When you are planning to cook a big meal try prepping all of
your foods the day before. This will help you save time and it will also be
less mess to clean up after the big dinner. Chop all vegetables and cut up all
your meat and store appropriately.
To minimize freezer burn when freezing foods, place them in
a zip-top freezer bag and close it most of the way, and then insert a drinking
straw through the small opening. Squeeze out as much air as possible, and suck
the rest out through the straw, pinching the bag the rest of the way closed
when the air is gone. Less air exposure in the bag means fresher,
freezer-burn-free foods when you are ready to defrost them.
Learn to make a good roux for top-notch cream sauces, gravies,
soups and more. Begin by melting a few tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, and
add just enough flour to soak up all of the melted butter. For recipes that
call for a blonde roux, add liquid just after the butter is absorbed by the
flour. For a darker roux, which imparts deeper flavor, allow the flour and
butter mixture to cook a bit longer, stirring constantly.
To lighten up recipes that call for sour cream or
mayonnaise, substitute plain Greek yogurt for half of the creamy ingredient.
This thick, rich version of yogurt is full of protein and is often non-fat, so
you can skimp on calories without altering the rich texture of your salad
dressing or other recipe.
When you are going to be cooking a steak and you want to use
the broiler in the over make sure you heat it up for at least 20 minutes. This
will ensure that it is as hot it gets. It sears the outside of the steaks so
that it will seal in the juices.
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| Image via Wikipedia |
As was said
in the beginning of this article, cooking is all about education and practice.
This article has given you the building blocks to become a better cook, now all
you have to do is practice, practice, practice! Soon you'll be making great
food that you'll love to eat!
