Basic Cooking Tips To Remember When Preparing Food

By Roxane J. Talisen


If you are just getting started learning how to cook, remember that everyone must start with the basics. Cooking does not come naturally to all people. However, everyone can learn to be a great cook. Learn a few key pointers to become a great cook. There are tips below that can help you start.

Use salt sparingly to avoid developing hypertension. To remove some of the saltiness, peel three potatoes, chop them in large pieces and add them to your simmering sauce for 15 minutes. The sliced potatoes will absorb any extra salt. Dilute over-salted tomato-based foods with additional tomatoes, and simmering them until tender.

If you want to start cooking more, go to the bookstore or library and get a cookbook of simple and basic recipes that appeal to you. Cooking might take a while to master, as it requires perfecting certain techniques.

A good tip when cooking with oil is to put it on the sides of the pan so it's already hot when it slides down into the food. This ensures your food's flavor is maximized when finished.

Using chicken broth is something you can try when you're making vegetables. Not only will chicken broth help to keep vegetables from getting stuck to the pan, but they will add some nice flavors to the dish. Chicken broth is readily available at most grocery stores, and it is very affordably priced.

Follow your recipe in selecting the right type of potato. These vegetables are defined in three ways, either mealy, waxy or all-purpose, so choose accordingly. With their crumbly, dry texture, mealy potatoes are great for mashing. Russet is the most popular mealy potato variety. An all-purpose potato that you can use in almost any dish is the Yukon Gold. If you are looking for potatoes to boil or steam, then you should choose a potato that is considered waxy. Waxy potatoes include regular white or red potatoes.

Garlic aromas can transfer to your hands and be hard to get rid of. Rub your hands on the inside of a sink made of stainless steel after using garlic. Doing this will remove the scent from your hands, and keep it from spreading to the next food you touch.

One very easy way to change up your recipes is to simply switch to new sauces or spices when preparing your favorite dishes. You can really make drastic changes to the taste of your food by just changing up the spices and sauces used for marinating. A great place to find a variety of lesser-known sauces and spices is at an ethnic food store.

Use cooking oil to measure sticky foods easily. Apply a light coating of canola or other oil with little flavor, to your measuring spoon or cup. The ingredient you are measuring will slide out easily, which will prevent messy clean-ups and waste. Peanut butter, honey, and marshmallow are perfect examples of things you can use this tip for.

Is it difficult for you to know how long your meat should stay on the grill? You may want to consider investing in a meat thermometer so that you know when your food is properly cooked. For a steak, or any other meat, that is more than one and a half inches thick, you can speed up the cooking time by covering it with the grill lid.

Utilize these suggestions to build up your skills in the kitchen. Try each of these tips to see if they work for you. Put these ideas into practice and you'll be able to perfect your cooking techniques. If you are committed to learning these tips, you can quickly become a much better cook.




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