Cooking is so easy, a caveman could do it. You can shop for ingredients, and follow a recipe’s instructions, right? Do you have a stove, a pan, and some utensils? If you said yes to the two previous questions, than you are well on your way to learning how to cook! If you’d like to expand your skills in the kitchen, read the helpful tips below that will show you how you can make easy, delicious dishes for your loved ones.
Easy measuring cup clean up. Many baking recipes call for sticky ingredients such as butter, honey, syrup or peanut butter. Instead of having to wash out a gooey mess every time you need to reuse the measuring cup, spray the inside of the cup with non-stick cooking spray. The ingredients will slide right out and you can reuse the measuring cup right away!
If you are baking, one thing that you can do is to leave your eggs and butter at room temperature overnight. This will prepare them to be used as ingredients when you bake the next day. Understanding the temperature to store certain ingredients will help to maximize the ease of creating your meal.
Put salt on your cutting board. It can be difficult to cut herbs on your cutting board. They tend to go all over the place. To keep this from happening, just sprinkle a little salt on your cutting board before you begin. This will work to keep them from slipping around.
Damp paper towel and a plastic bag can extend the life of your greens. If you wrap your fresh herbs or 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.
A lot of people usually use apples for cooking things in the winter and fall months, yet a lot of people store them incorrectly and they spoil quickly. Storing apples in warm, dry air will cause them to rot. Instead, store your apples in a cool place. However, if even one apple becomes rotten, it will quickly spoil all apples in the same bag.
Make sure you are storing your spices in the right place. Many people store their spices right above their stove or near a light source. To stay fresh, put them in dry and dark spot that is cool. Humidity can also destroy spices so keep those several factors in mind.
To save on fat when cooking, use applesauce instead of butter. A cup of applesauce is equal to a cup of butter. This will reduce fat and calorie contents of your dessert recipe. It will also make your recipe moist and delicious. Most people won’t even be able to tell the difference.
If you are cooking for someone special, do not try a recipe that you have never tried before. Because you are trying to impress this person, you want to make sure you make a satisfying meal. Try something you are very familiar with, and make sure you have all the ingredients you need to make it.
Someone can juice fruits and vegetables if they want to be sneaky when adding nutrients to their children’s foods. The juice can be poured in with other juices or it can be added to soups. Someone could also turn the juice into homemade pop cycles which will be hard for kids to resist.
It is possible to cut back on the amount of calories that are in your favorite dessert by simply using applesauce in the recipe. Many recipes call for unhealthy ingredients that add tons of calories to a desert that really are not needed. Applesauce will add sweetness to the dessert with adding tons of calories.
When you are cooking, it is possible to substitute honey for sugar in several recipes. First, begin by using an amount of honey that is half of the amount of sugar called for in the recipe. If you find that the final product is not sweet enough, you can add more honey the next time around.
Does your family love roasted vegetables? They taste wonderful but can get dried out and too crispy when roasted in the oven or on a grill. A little known secret is that vegetables will roast well in their own juices when placed in a crock pot. Hard root veggies like carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic and more, will roast to perfection when placed in the crockpot for 6-8 hours (depending on quantity) on low heat. You can add a little bit of salt and seasoning and a tablespoon or two of olive oil if you like, but they also roast perfectly well just in their own juices. Your vegetables will turn out delicious and healthy!
Cooking can be an enjoyable hobby, a practical skill or even a profession. With food, the possibilities are limitless. Learn something new by studying the habits and recipes of the people who know cooking best and are willing to share that knowledge. Use these tips and see how successful you can be in the kitchen.
