Cooking can either be simply a means of feeding yourself or it can be a fantastic and fun creative process that will provide you with fabulous meals! Read on to discover some great ideas on how to make cooking an easier and more pleasurable experience for you before your next meal!
While most seasonings are added at some point during the cooking process, there are certain spices that are considered good after cooking options. These spices are garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper and salt. Set these on the table, and let your guests decide on their personal preference to add a little kick to their plate.
Know the gender of your eggplant! There are both male and female eggplants, and it pays to know the difference. The seeds of an eggplant can be very bitter. A female eggplant's seeds have a tendency to be more bitter than those of a male eggplant. You can identify a male eggplant by its base - it will be smooth and round, whereas the female base is more oval in shape and deeply indented.
Every good cook recognizes the importance of keeping a well stocked pantry. You should have quantities of flour, salt, oil, sugar, and spices on hand at all times. Good cooking depends on it. There is nothing more frustrating than to get down to that final step and find you are missing a necessary spice.
To keep your cakes from falling flat, mix dense batters by hand with a wooden spoon. Electric mixers beat too much air into the batter, causing the cakes to fall when they are baked. Meanwhile, by using a wooden spoon to gently mix thick batters like carrot cake you protect the consistency of the batter from absorbing too much air.
Avoid the temptation to press your hamburger patties too tightly when shaping. Though you may feel that this will help them to hold their shapes better, in reality, this just provides denser, dryer hamburgers once cooked. Also, don't press the patties down with a spatula when cooking, as this simply drains the juices.
Avoid lumpy gravy! Don't make the mistake of getting ready to serve the gravy, only to discover it's full of lumps. Simply pour the gravy through a fine strainer and reheat if necessary. To avoid lumps in the first place, slow down the cooking process - you are probably adding the liquid too quickly and the heat may be too high. Always remember to whisk the gravy constantly while it is cooking.
If you are one of those people that does not eat a lot of vegetables so the fresh veggies you buy go bad very fast you should buy frozen vegetables. Frozen vegetables are flash frozen so they are the same as eating fresh veggies and you only have to take as much as you need from the package and return the rest to the freezer.
Even the humble sandwich can benefit from a little cooking expertise. Mayonnaise, mustard and other condiments should be spread evenly from edge to edge of sandwich bread. This improves consistency and ensures that every bite of the sandwich gets the benefit of the condiments. Even spreading produces superior sandwich results every time.
When you are making homemade soups that contain meat, they tend to have a lot of fat that needs to be skimmed from the top. One quick solution to that problem is dropping in a couple of ice cubes. As the ice melts, the fat will stiffen around it and you will be able to remove it with ease.
This article has some great tips for anyone who wants to be a better cook. Be sure that you begin testing recipes and start experimenting with different foods, because you can only improve with hands-on experience. This article can reveal some great little tricks when it comes to cooking, but you will only get better at cooking when you start practicing all these great tips.