Cooking is viewed by many as too time-consuming and bothersome to deal with. You can make cooking more interesting and even fun if you acquire more skills and become able to cook anything you want: start by reading this article.
The smaller the item you are cooking, the higher the baking temperature should be. Baking something delicious does not have to involve leaving food in the oven for hours. If you are baking something small, set the oven temperature higher. Just make sure you leave it in the oven for less time.
Substitute Greek yogurt for mayonnaise in creamy salad dressings. If you are on a diet or just trying to eat healthy, you can still make creamy salad dressings with healthy ingredients. Just substitute the mayonnaise in them with a low-fat Greek-style yogurt. This will make the dressing much healthier.
Cheese is one of the best things that you can add to pastas and different types of meats. If you are making pasta, do not forget to buy grated cheese and put it on the table for people to add to their dish. This will improve the quality and texture of the meal.
One of the things that you can do if you are cooking cauliflower is to add milk, which will help to brighten your vegetable. This will add to the aesthetic appeal of your food and will also maintain the freshness until you decide to serve it to your friends or family.
Fresh herbs can add a great deal to most recipes. Herbs can be tricky to handle, though, because they need to be chopped so finely. Sprinkling salt over the cutting board before chopping herbs can cut down on mess. The salt encourages herbs to stick to the board instead of flying off.
When you are cooking with cheese, be sure to bring the cheese to room temperature before you melt it. Also, always melt cheese using a very low level of heat. This will prevent the cheese from getting tough or separating into oil and liquid. Overheating cheese will denature its proteins.
Write out a list for all of the ingredients that you will need for a recipe before you go to the grocery store. This way, you will not forget anything. Many people forget one or two important ingredients for the recipe, which causes them to not be able to make the meal.
When you are going to crush garlic for a dish, put it in a resealable plastic bag. Then, smash it up with the end of a knife. By doing this, you will prevent your knife, cutting board and hands from smelling of garlic, which is a smell that is hard to get rid of.
When cooking a whole pumpkin, place the pumpkin upright first, then cut directly down its middle to create two halves. On different baking sheets, place a half face down on each one. Sprinkle some water on the sheets and bake the pumpkin for about an hour at 350 degrees.
Make sure eggs are still fresh before using them. Eggs that are no longer good can cause salmonella poisoning among other deadly diseases. You can test an egg’s freshness by lowering it into a bowl of water. If it settles horizontally, it is still good. If it rises to the top, it is bad.
Start your sear in a cold pan when searing duck breasts. Duck can turn very dry very quickly if not properly cooked. Using the cold pan technique for searing allows the fat to render slowly which will keep your duck moist and juicy. It will also give you more time to develop flavors and take care of some side dishes.
Use your hands to cook the perfect steak. Pressing the fleshy pad at the base of the thumb, when your hand is making an OK sign, will give the same resistance as steak will during cooking. Start with the index finger OK sign and the thumb base will resist at “rare” temperature. Moving towards the pinky you will register medium-rare with middle, medium with the ring finger and well-done with the pinky. Look for the resistance in your steak to match the resistance when pressing your hand.
Store herbs and spices in your cabinet or pantry if they offer a cool, dry area. Many people keep their spice rack out near the stove or on the wall over the stove. These locations offer too much light, humidity, and heat, which can deplete the flavor of the seasonings. Avoid these exposed areas, and look for an optimal location out of sight.
To sear a rib-eye, T-bone, strip or other steak to perfection even when you can’t fire up the outdoor grill, flip a cast-iron skillet over and broil the steak in your oven. Heat the skillet in a hot oven prior to placing the steak on its surface, and cook to your preferred level of doneness.
Check your meatloaf or meatballs by test cooking a small piece. You want your meat to taste perfect, so when you make a mini hamburger patty, and fry it up to taste it, you can decide if the seasoning is just right or if you need to add more flavor. Doing this ensures your meatloaves and meatballs are perfect when you pop them out of the oven.
As you can see from this article, cooking can be fun and interesting. By taking heed from this advice, your inner chef will be awakened, and your enthusiasm for whipping up a storm in the kitchen will return once more.
