Helpful Hints For Becoming A Great Cook!

There is no end to the ways that cooking skills can be enhanced, developed and perfected. Even themost experienced cook can better their abilities through learning new techniques. A few basic tipscan make cooking much easier, if you are just getting started. This article is packed with tips thatare suitable for all types of foodies.

Try to keep your spices and herbs in a dark, cool area of your kitchen. Moisture, light and heat canaffect the flavor of your spices. Herbs and spices that are ground usually remain flavorful for a year.Whole spices usually keep their flavor for around 3 to 5 years. They'll remain fresh longer if storedproperly.

Are you cooking using fresh basil? Get a sprout of fresh basil and place it in a glass. Cover the stemswith water. Keep it on your counter and it will stay fresh for weeks. The basil will grow roots if youoccasionally change the water. Cut it on occasion and your plant will continue to provide you withfresh basil for a long time to come.

Foreign Country Recipes

Mushrooms soak up water that you don't want to be added to the recipe. You should use a clean, wetcloth and wipe the mushroom off by hand.

After you have prepared some sauce, freeze the leftovers in ice cube trays. This will make reheatingthe sauce easy, as you can pull out as many cubes that you need for the next meal. Nothing to worryabout as the sauce will be fine even after it's been sitting in ice cube trays.

Have you ever had a hard time figuring out the grilling time of your meat? Having a high-qualitymeat thermometer handy, especially a digital one, is a great way to ensure the meat you serve isfully cooked. If you have thick meat, more than a inch and a half, close the grill to make cooking timeshorter.

It can be very useful to think large when making your favorite chicken stock. Instead of making asingle serving, make a whole stock pot and save the leftovers so you can freeze them. Homemadechicken stock adds great flavor to everything from soups to casseroles. Just cool your stock andfreeze it in heavyweight Ziploc freezer bags.

If you choose the wooden versions of cooking skewers, it is a good idea to immerse them in water,and leave them there for about half an hour before using them. This step will stop the skewer fromburning while it is being used. To prevent food from falling from the skewers, use two parallelskewers rather than just one.

By doing this, a year-round supply of fresh fruit can be maintained. As a bonus, you can enjoy fruitsthat aren't available year round.

Many liquids are interchangeable within a recipe; try replacing the water or milk with somethingnew. Substitute plain water with juice, broth, or the water that you cooked your vegetables in.Substitute sour cream, buttermilk or even yogurt in place of regular milk. Changing up the liquids in

your recipes can add nutrition, while livening up a standby dish.

Spices should be replaced every six months. Spices do not last forever. They will eventually losetheir flavor. If you purchase a spice that you don't use very often, give some of it to friends orrelatives.

If you want to serve a complicated meal, eliminate much of the stress by completing some tasks theday before. Make sure you have all the necessary ingredients and chop and measure them inadvance. The next day when you have to cook your meal, all you need to think about is assemblingand cooking the dish.

Add lots of salt to your water for cooking pasta. This allows the salt to be absorbed by the pasta. Saltand seasonings do not necessarily stick very well to cooked pasta, so seasoning it while it boils isyour best bet to enhance the flavor.

Spices and herbs need to be stored somewhere that is dark, cool and dry. Spices will rapidly loseflavor if exposed to heat, light or humidity. Such close proximity to these three factors will causeyour spices to lose their flavors.

Meat Recipes

Try to make sure you cook your cake to the proper temperature and do not over or under cook it.Even though recipes have guidelines for recommended baking times, they can vary due todifferences in ovens or elevation. To determine if your cake is done, use a toothpick or clean knifeblade to find out. Poke it gently into the center of the cake. If your toothpick is wet or sticky, giveyour cake a little longer to cook. If it's clean and dry, your cake is ready to cool and frost.

Potatoes come in many different varieties, and you can't always substitute one for another. There aresome potatoes that are waxy and recommended for making boiled potatoes and potato salad but arenot recommended for mashed potatoes, french fries or baked potatoes. When your potatoes will beused for these purposes, choose a fluffy variety, such as a Russet.

It is best to try a recipe at least once before preparing it for an important occasion. Whether it maybe a boss, new in-laws or a love interest, you want to make a good impression with them by the wayyou cook. Please them by cooking a recipe you are familiar with, and can cook very well.

Use beef or chicken stock in place of water in recipes to make food tastier. As a simpler remedy, youcould just mix bouillon cubes with water and make the recommended water amount. Your food willhave sufficient moisture, but you will also add a layer of complexity to the taste of the dish.

Even cooks with years of experience continue to learn ways to improve their cooking and technique.New cooks have a lot of learning to do, and can benefit from the many tips and pointers available.After you try the tips that have been provided you may find that you truly love cooking and find itvery enjoyable.