Thursday, July 19, 2012

Be A Better Chef With These Simple Cooking Tips

By Roxane J. Talisen


It can become extremely boring to prepare the same meals every single day. It's time for you to learn more about cooking to spice up your life! After all, cooking not only creates a nourishing meal, but it can be a pleasurable activity with something new to uncover at every turn. The cooking advice in this article will help you start cooking.

Tying a turkey with a string is called trussing the turkey. Trussing will cook your bird more evenly when you tie the legs and wings to the bird closely. If the legs and wings aren't tied together, the tips could burn, cooking much more quickly than the main part of the turkey.

Include a variety of colors when you cook. Eating meals that have multiple colors is very healthy for you, and it looks more appetizing as well. Pick nice looking garnishes as well; try tomatoes, cilantro, carrots, or parsley. Put your creativity and imagination to work when choosing colorful foods for your meals, and watch how quickly those meals disappear.

Fix your cracked pie crust! You might have cracks in your crust because you've overworked the dough. Simple sprinkle a little cold water on the cracks and rub and press the dough using your fingertip. Cracks on the top crust can be masked by brushing the crust with milk and sprinkling it with sugar. Baking will cause the sugar to form a beautiful glaze over the top of the pie and make any crust issues disappear.

If you are going to use oil, make sure you add it at the edge of the pan so it can warm up before getting to the food. This helps to enhance and maximize the taste of your cooking.

Your spices and herbs should always be stored in a cool and dark place. If they are exposed to light, heat or humidity, they will lose much of their flavor. Another little known fact is that ground spices tend to lose their flavor quicker than whole spices. Whole spices are hardier, and will retain their robust flavoring for several years. Spices that are stored correctly remain fresher for longer.

Replace the standby liquids of milk and water in recipes to mix things up. For instance, you can use broth, stock, juice or a bit of wine to replace the water in a recipe. Some great replacements for milk are sour cream, yogurt and buttermilk. A good method for increasing your nutritional intake is by increasing the amount of liquids you drink throughout the day.

Cooking vegetables for a long time robs them of the critical nutrients that make them a healthy choice. To keep them nutritious, try quickly cooking them, like sauteing or steaming. You can also enjoy them raw.

You should save some water from the pan in which you cooked the pasta so that you can add it to the pasta sauce later. Remove approximately a quarter of a cup and set it aside. When you are going to mix your pasta and sauce together, add some of the saved water. The combination of water and the starch from the pasta will give your sauce body and creaminess.

Always drain excess fat off soups and stews before eating. If your soup has too much fat cool it down and the fat will rise to the top. Balance an ice cube in a teaspoon and slowly skim it over the surface. The ice in the spoon will collect the excess fat. Take a paper towel and blot away the fat that collects.

Apply the tips from this article and put together great meals. Use your creativity to try out new and unique spices and flavors. You may even discover a new food that will become your favorite. Find the chef within you by following these tips, as well as your taste buds, as you cook in the kitchen.




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