Handy Tips For Great Cooking At any time!

Everyone wants to be a great cook, but just the thought of cooking evokes fear in many would-bechefs. Whether you want to whip up quick meals for the family, fill the perfect picnic basket or throwan elegant dinner party, you are sure to learn things here that will increase your culinary skills.

When seasoning your food, remember that it is much easier to add more seasoning if needed, butyou cannot take it away if you add too much. That is why it's important to go light when seasoningwith herbs and spices. You want to compliment the flavors of the food and not overpower them.

To keep your cakes from falling flat, mixdense batters by hand with a woodenspoon. Electric mixers beat too much airinto the batter, causing the cakes to fallwhen they are baked. Meanwhile, by usinga wooden spoon to gently mix thick batterslike carrot cake you protect theconsistency of the batter from absorbingtoo much air.

When deep frying foods, hold the foodhttp://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/course/appetizers/puff-pastry-appetizers below the oil with the tongs for a few seconds. Holding the foodunder the oil for around five seconds will create a useful seal around the food. This seal will work toprevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Damp paper towel and a plastic bag can extend the life of your greens. If you wrap your fresh herbsor fresh greens with a damp paper towel and then place them in a plastic bag, they will last longer.They will normally stay fresh three to four days longer if you do.

If you have a family, you will want to implement a process for cleaning up after you cook your meal.This is very important as you will want to conserve the excess food that you do not eat for futureservings. Post meal cleanup is just as important as pre-meal preparation.

When you are cooking for your family, try not to stick to one style. If you cook the same meal overand over, it can get boring and your family will become jaded with the dishes that you make. Changethings up every night so that you can introduce new meals and cuisines to your family.

It is possible to cook healthy without abandoning all of the rich, creamy dressings that cancontribute so much flavor. One method is to use Greek-style yogurt as a replacement formayonnaise. Half of the mayonnaise called for in the recipe should be replaced with the yogurt. Thiswill give the same great taste while cutting down on the unhealthy effects of the mayo.

When cooking, make sure that you never put anything metal in the microwave, as it will causesparks given the electromagnetic energy. Always make sure that the items you are microwaving aresafe to pastry tool kit put in there. This will help to increase your level of safety when you are in thekitchen.

If you've made sauce, you should place any that is leftover in an ice tray and freeze it. You will thenhave it readily available for when you need to make a quick and easy meal. All that needs to be doneis to warm it up in a pan. And don't worry, your sauce will still taste great even after freezing.

If you are trying to lose weight or lower your cholesterol, try to decrease the amount of fat in yourdiet. Lots of unnecessary, and unhealthy, fats sneak into meals made with oils and butter. A greatalternative to oils is a nonstick cooking spray. Not only does it provide the same results as cookingwith oils, it also contains less unhealthy ingredients.

Here is a great cooking tip to use when you are handling smelly garlic. After handling garlic, simplyrub your hands with a piece of stainless steel for 30 seconds. This could be your sink or a doorknob.After doing this, wash your hands with soap as your normally would. The stainless steel helps toremove the odor from your hands.

If you are preparing salsa that won't be eaten right away, make sure you use raw onions that arerinsed with cold water. A sulferous gas is contained in fresh onions. Your fresh salsa will be ruinedby this gas. When the raw onions are rinsed and dried, the gas is removed.

Stock up on ingredients at your local farmers' market. This fresh, healthy food pretty much preparesitself. The flavors of natural foods dress up the taste of any dish. Avoid over preparing these foods topreserve the natural flavor, and follow your instinct when it says to leave an ingredient out.Sometimes, the most simple dishes are the best.

Keep a food thermometer around. It is always best to stick your meat when cooking when you arenot sure if it is done for food safety. Poultry should be cooked to 165 degrees F, Ground Beef, Fish,and Shellfish to 158 F, and Pork to 150.

Replace and refresh your spices twice a year. When spices sit around for too long, they tend to loseflavor. If you purchase a specific spice, knowing that you probably won't use it all, split it withsomeone.

If you love to cook but have minimal space for a library of cookbooks in your kitchen, considerpurchasing a small laptop or netbook exclusively for kitchen use. You can keep your own recipes andnotes on the computer, pull up thousands of recipes online, and listen to your favorite radio stationsor TV shows as you cook.

You can prepare minced garlic ahead of time to be ready to use. Simply mince the garlic as normaland spread in a small pan. Freeze this pan until the garlic begins to become solid, at which point youtake it out, and slice it into cubes. Place these cubes in a plastic bag and store in the freezer. Whenyou are sauteing vegetables or preparing food later, you can use a cube or two of this preparedminced garlic. The heat from the frying pan will melt the garlic, and the result is quick and easygarlic with a fresh flavor.

As was stated above, everyone cooks for different reasons. However, no matter what reason you mayhave, it is crucial that you know everything there is to know about cooking. Use this information toimprove your cooking skills. Who knows, maybe you will even want to become a chef with thisinformation.