Cooking in your kitchen at home can seem rather redundant and uninspiring. You can change that by making a hobby out of cooking. Your kitchen then becomes a place you enjoy, and the end product is a wonderful meal that you can share with others. Here’s some advice to give you some ideas.
Store herbs and spices in an area that is cool and dark. Exposure to excessive heat, humidity, or light will affect the flavor of dried seasoning. Ground spices, when stored correctly, can retain flavor for up to a year. Whole spices are hardier, and will retain their robust flavoring for several years. You must store them correctly in order to maintain their freshness.
Longer cooking times and techniques, like boiling, destroys healthful nutrients in veggies. For the most nutritious vegetables, employ fast cooking methods or, better yet, consume raw veggies.
Popular French fried potato recipes suggest soaking the potatoes in water for 30 minutes before cooking them. The fibers of raw cut potatoes that have been soaked in cold water prior to hitting the deep fryer, are stronger and can handle the heat better without breakage.
Replacing some of your mashed potatoes with equal amounts of cauliflower is a healthy alternative, reducing fat and calories. The taste of cauliflower will blend nicely with the potatoes. Your mashed potato dish will also look the same if you add cauliflower, allowing it to retain its color and texture while taking the calories out of your potatoes.
It is possible to do a lot of preparation beforehand in order to speed up the cooking process and make it easier. Check the recipe you’re using to see if some preparation can be done without the partially prepared dish spoiling. You can prepare a lot of food the day prior to actually cooking. Even if you are faced with a challenging recipe, it can make everything go quickly.
The downside of tasty ingredients like garlic and onions is that their flavors and smells transfer to your hands. After touching garlic or another strong-smelling ingredient, stop and rub your hands on your stainless steel faucet. Rubbing your hands on the stainless steel, helps remove the odor from your hands, so that every other food you touch does not smell like garlic also.
When you make chicken stock, a good piece of advice is to make it in a big quantity. Instead of making just what you need, make a huge pot so you have some to freeze and use later. Stock is perfect for many dishes like stew, soup, and even casseroles. To preserve your stock for future use, just simply make sure that it is stored in heavy duty freezer bags and frozen solid. This way the stock should keep for several months or so.
Take the information included in this article, and use it to develop your own ideas. Make great food that you and your family will enjoy like meals that you can relax with and savor. Cooking can be a hobby, beneficial to your diet as well as your life in general. The heart of many a great home is in its kitchen; make yours one of them.