Top Cooking Tips For Healthy, Delicious Meals

By Ustim Rehsif


A simple few secrets could make you a much better cook. This article will teach you the techniques involved in cooking. These tips can help you find out what steps you should take.

You should let your meal rest for a little bit. Lots of people don't take advantage of this important step for food. Many are tempted to quickly serve food hot off the grill or stovetop. If you do this, you will really be missing out. You always want the meal to sit or rest for a short time.

Do all your cooking prep work well ahead of time. This will aid in avoiding cooking disasters that can arise from being unprepared, including flare-ups from overheated oil or choosing the wrong temperatures for your needs.

If you are preparing a recipe that calls for milk or water, try substituting with an alternate liquid to add new flavor to your meals. You could use chicken broth or juice, instead of water. Sour cream, buttermilk and yogurt make good milk substitutes. Try making your recipes stand out and more nutritious by interchanging your liquids.

Being highly organized is necessary when you are preparing several dishes at the same time. If not, you are sure to burn or overcook something. An organized cooking station is a productive cooking station. Being disorganized means having difficulty finding things and quite possibly ruining an entire dish, wasting valuable time and money!

Buy good-quality knives and other cutting tools for your kitchen. Sharp knives are less time consuming, easier, and safer to use. Dull knives cause more cuts and accidents than sharp ones.

Fix the crust of the pie. The dough of your pie crust can start to crack if you work it too hard. If this happens, sprinkle some cold water on the cracks, rub the dough gently with your finger. If cracks appear in the top portion of the crust you can brush it with some milk and then sprinkle a little sugar over the cracks. The crust will then have a wonderful glaze that will keep the cracks hidden after it's done baking.

See to it that your herbs are stored in a dry, cool and dark area. Spices rapidly lose their flavor and aroma if they are kept in areas that are bright, humid, or warm. Such close proximity to these three factors will cause your spices to lose their flavors.

Meat should always be thinly sliced and cut on the bias if you are adding it to a stir-fry. This may take some patience and it can be a bit time-consuming. Remove the meat before it is frozen, but still firm, and slice it at 45 degrees against the grain.

To use all of your leftover vegetables before you go out shopping, try putting them in a wok with some fried rice. Day old rice works best, but fresh will be fine too if you reduce the water a bit to make it drier. Fry all the veggies and meat with some oil, and then add in the rice, followed by seasoning with garlic, ginger, soy sauce and additional spices.

If you have turkey for a meal, whether it's on a holiday or another occasion, make sure you keep the leftovers. Instead, cut them into smaller pieces, and put in some airtight containers that will go in the freezer. Doing this will keep the turkey fresh for several weeks, and it can be made into a sandwich or a salad whenever you want.

When you plan on using wooden skewers for cooking, soak them in water for 30 minutes prior to cooking. Being soaked in the water prevents them from getting burned when exposed to the cooking heat. You can keep food on the skewer when you use two parallel skewers instead of one.

You don't have to be scared of cooking; you just need to learn the techniques that will give you some confidence. When you make the decision to cook your own food, you are able to save money, eat healthier, and have a good time doing it! Internalize this article's handy advice and put it to work in the grocery store, the kitchen, and, eventually, on your plate. Home cooking is great and you will enjoy it.




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