Authored by-Hendricks Lundgreen
Cooking is one the great joys of some people's days. For others, it's a nightmare. Want to join the first group? Read on to find out some tips to make cooking easier and more enjoyable for you. You may just find that cooking isn't nearly as bad as you thought.
Garlic is one of the more pungent odors that you will ever experience, and you will want to have tricks to get rid of it as soon as possible. Here is a suggestion, after you cook something with garlic, rub your hands on the base of your stainless steel sink for a minute to eliminate the pungent odor off of your skin.
The most difficult and time consuming thing about cooking is doing all of the prep work. You can buy pre-prepped vegetables or prep your ingredients the day before to cut down on the time you are in the kitchen. This is very helpful if you need to get dinner out in a hurry.
Bake pie and tart crusts for a longer time than you think is really necessary. Wait until the crust turns golden rather than pale blond. This golden color means that the sugar used in the crust has caramelized, giving the crust a crisp and sweet flavor.
Leftover vegetable pieces shouldn't go to waste. Broccoli tops, carrot pieces and onion peelings can be added to your vegetable, beef or chicken stock, to fill it with extra flavor. Don't forget to add the stock to your favorite meals to enhance their flavor and appear as a great cook in front of your friends and family.
Layered bar cookies, fudge and chewy brownies often fall apart or get torn up from trying to evenly cut them into squares. A good rotary pizza cutter can be used to accomplish this task without worrying about a sharp knife slipping and causing an injury. Make some light guidelines in your food with the tip of a knife first and follow up with the pizza cutter for perfectly cut bars, brownies and fudge every time.
When shaving vegetables for dishes such as a vinaigrette or a salad, use a coarse microplane, also known as a grater or zester, to grate them into smaller pieces. The flavors of the vegetables are truly unlocked when grated with the microplane.
To reduce the fat and calories in a recipe that calls for a lot of mayonnaise, simply replace half the mayonnaise with sour cream. Since mayonnaise serves primarily a textural purpose in many of these recipes, replacing it with similarly textured sour cream gives you the same texture with a lighter, healthier taste.
This keeps fruits fresh for months. In addition it will give you access to fruits that aren't always in season.
You can avoid sticky rice by removing the starch. To do just that wash the rice several times until the water coming from the rice is crystal clear. Remove all the water, and let the rice sit for 20 minutes. Adding a few drops of lemon to the water before cooking also helps to separate the grains.
If you want to spice up your meal, add peppers.
https://www.examiner.net/news/20191118/independence-thai-spice-worker-upset-with-cousins-work-habits-fatally-shot-her will not only give the meal that you are making flavor, but will increase the spice intensity to appeal to your taste buds. Try different types and variations of peppers so that you can hone in on the peppers that you prefer.
If you plan on making an elaborate meal for dinner, prepare a few elements of the dish that can be refrigerated or left out the night before you want to cook. This eliminates stress and frenzy in the kitchen so you can focus on giving your family a meal worthy of the finest five-star restaurants.
You should try and dry your tomatoes on your own. Slice tomatoes 1/2" thick to dry. Romas should be cut in two lengthwise. Put the tomatoes, cut-side up, onto a cooling rack and give them a light salting. Place the rack on top of a cookie sheet, and bake the tomatoes in an oven set at 190 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 10 hours. Put the bags of tomatoes in your freezer. Another way to preserve your dried tomatoes is in olive oil, with herbs for added flavor, in a glass jar. Refrigerate and use within 2 weeks.
You can make a quick and inexpensive meal out of some leftovers by adding pasta and rice to vegetables, meat or salad fixings. They cook quickly and are cheap, so use them to stretch the contents of your refrigerator. Toss in a few sauteed peppers or onions to make an even, fuller meal.
Cook small quantities of food at higher temperatures for a lesser amount of time. Bite-size cookies only need a few minutes in the oven if you put it a higher temperature because there is only a small surface area to cover and it will not take long to cook. This way you will be able to enjoy your meal in minutes.
When you are making pasta you need to be sure to add a liberal amount of salt to the water. Adding salt at this stage will ensure that the pasta absorbs it completely. Salting after boiling your pasta will not give the same effect of absorption.
When you want to chop herbs, sprinkle some salt on your cutting board. This should add flavor to the herb as well as keep them in place. Don't put too much salt on the board, though. Don't add salt later, either, as there should be enough absorbed when you are chopping.
https://local.google.com/place?id=13144102094007854031&use=posts&lpsid=8826658642608999292 put on the board will stick to the herbs and add a bit of flavor.
Keep butter or oil used to a minimum when sauteing. You may end up steaming your meal because of the water content of your vegetables. Remember, sauteing is always done at low temperatures.
It has already been said that you don't have to be born with the gift of cooking. It is something that you can educate yourself about and learn to enjoy as you go along. Hopefully this article has added to your knowledge and has enhanced your ultimate enjoyment of cooking.