Are you a kitchen guru? Maybe you are just a kitchen veteran? Or like many others, you may be a novice. Whatever the case may be, helpful cooking advice can add some fresh ideas to your cooking. Take some time and learn a few things that can splash some new fun into your kitchen routine.
If you plan to let your chicken sit in the oven for a while after it is baked, then subtract a few minutes from its baking time. Since chicken continues to bake even after it is taken away from a heat source, it can dry out quickly in an oven that is still hot.
When heating oil on the stove top to use for frying, use a low setting and slowly turn the burner up to reach the desired temperature. Most foods do not require much more than 350 degrees, for the oil to fry it to a nice golden brown and not end up burnt to a crisp on the outside, while raw on the inside. If you crank the temperature setting knob to its highest point, you not only run the risk of spattering and burning yourself, as well as the food you are trying to fry, but you are also wasting time while you wait for the oil to cool down enough to use. Oil heats up quickly, but it is very slow to cool down, once it has gotten too hot.
Sometimes it can seem like a good idea to pile on all of your ingredients into the pan to save you time from having to cook them all separately. However, this can only prolong the cooking process since most foods need room to breathe in the pan to cook properly while soaking up the spices. Take the extra bit of time to cook them spaced out properly in the pan and you’ll have a better tasting dish.
To get professional-looking results when dipping candy in melted chocolate, use a toothpick to dip the soft candy. Push the toothpick into the candy piece about halfway, ensuring not to go all the way through the candy. Dip the candy, drop it on waxed paper to cool, and quickly drop a tiny bit of the melted chocolate over the hole created by the toothpick. The toothpick hole is now cleverly filled with chocolate.
You need to store your flour in a waterproof container. If flour gets wet, it becomes a huge mess and cannot be used for cooking. There are some waterproof containers that can be sealed so that there is no way for water to get into it, which can save you a lot of money in the long run.
When you are cooking pumpkin seeds, first, cover the raw seeds in melted butter, olive or vegetable oil. Then spread them out evenly across a cookie sheet and sprinkle them with your favorite seasonings. Bake the seeds at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about forty-five minutes or until golden brown.
Keep dental floss handy in the kitchen to cut or slice soft foods or ingredients. Unflavored dental floss works better than a knife when it comes to cutting soft cheeses, cake, pie or other soft foods or ingredients. Just unwind a length long enough to allow you to stretch it across the item to be cut and apply even, downward pressure for clean, neat cuts.
If you are making mashed potatoes, return them to the pot after you have drained them cover the pot tightly and then let it steam for about 5 minutes. By doing this, the potatoes are able to dry out, which will make them mash into the perfect texture. It will also soak up butter and and cream easier.
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.
When cooking with a sauté pan, turn the handle of it in the opposite direction of you. Keeping the handle facing you increases the chance of bumping into and spilling your food. This is also a safety concern because you can burn yourself if the pan tips or falls over.
If you plan on making an elaborate meal for dinner, prepare a few elements of the dish that can be refrigerated or left out the night before you want to cook. This eliminates stress and frenzy in the kitchen so you can focus on giving your family a meal worthy of the finest five-star restaurants.
When you are making Easter eggs it is a pain when the eggs crack because coloring leaks onto the actual egg. To prevent this you can add some vinegar to the boiling water. This helps to seal the egg inside the shell and keep it all in one piece.
How to ‘un-seize’ melted chocolate. If the chocolate you are melting suddenly gets lumpy or grainy, this means it has ‘seized’, and it will ruin a recipe. Remove the pan and add 1/2 to 1 tsp of shortening or cooking oil (not butter or margarine). Stir until the mixture becomes smooth again. To prevent seizing, make sure the pan is completely dry before trying to melt chocolate.
Pesto cooking tip! When you are using pesto sauce, make sure you never heat it up! If you want to have it in a pasta or soup dish, it is best if you cook the food first – then add the uncooked pesto. This is important because cooking pesto will make the basil have a bitter taste.
Advice is great when you can be hands on with it. Cooking can be lots of fun and with the advice you have read in this article, you will see that you can enjoy your time even more. Take these ideas and use them and maybe even experiment while you are at it. The kitchen is a great place to try new things with the right help.
