Cooking is a wonderful art to learn. Whether it is purely for nutritional purposes or for the joy of creating a meal from scratch for your family and friends, the relaxation that can be associated with this skill is immense. But if you were never taught the basics of cooking, and finding your way around a kitchen is not your forte, here are a few handy hints you need to know.
Are you looking for an easy way to reduce, that not so pleasant smell in your kitchen, when cooking cabbage. One easy trick will keep your kitchen smelling nice when boiling cabbage. Adding caraway seeds to cabbage will help reduce the smell and adding caraway leaves will give your cabbage a pleasant taste (Wok).
If you have used entirely too much salt in your soup pan, all you have to do is add a raw potato into the mixture. One whole potato should suffice, unless you went way over board, then add two. This will help absorb some of the extra salt in the pan and save your dinner!
When your pasta is done and you are finished draining, pour some Parmesan cheese on top, which will give your sauce something to latch on to. This will make things much easier for you when you are creating your meal and allow you to layer the levels of your pasta.
Don’t get caught out when entertaining. If you are entertaining 8 or more people, aim to serve four different kinds of hors d’oeuvres. Each from one of the following categories: fish or shellfish, meat, vegetables and cheese. Bite-sized pieces are ideal, with the exception of veggies for dipping. When figuring out the amount of hors d’oeuvres, try to offer 6 pieces per person per hour.
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.
Be careful if you are stuffing your turkey. When you place the stuffing in the cavity of your turkey, it should always be loosely packed. This will ensure even cooking. When the turkey is done, insert a thermometer into the body cavity. The stuffing should register 165 degrees at minimum. If the stuffing isn’t properly cooked, remove it from the bird, place in a baking dish, and continue cooking in the oven.
Have you ever had to eat a cauliflower that was more off white then actually white? It can make people turn away from this wonderful vegetable. To keep that white color in your produce, add some milk to the water when cooking. This will not change the taste, just the look.
If you are going to braise meat, cook it at a low temperature for a long period of time. By doing it this way, the meat will stay tender and it will retain its juiciness, which in turns, leaves the meat tasting good. Cooking it a high temperature can dry the meat out.
Never use oil when you are boiling pasta. Try not to let any oil get in the pot when you are boiling water to cook your pasta. The oil will transfer to the pasta. This will leave the noodles slick, which means any sauce you put on them later will not stick.
As stated previously, cooking isn’t all that difficult, especially if you arm yourself with some knowledge. Improving your cooking skills can be very rewarding in numerous ways. Just imagine the compliments you will receive from your friends and family as you serve that new dish you created yourself. By using some of the ideas presented in this article, you’ll be well on your way to becoming the kind of cook you’ve always wanted to be.
Armand Drexler writes cool stuff. Get more of it at sushi