Create Culinary Masterpieces With These Cooking Tips

Cooking is a necessity in life, but it can also be a fun hobby. With proper advice and knowledge, anyone can learn how to cook. This article will provide you with the advice that you need.

Try drying your own fresh tomatoes. You can do this by slicing your tomatoes about a half an inch thick, or Romas in half. You should place them on cooling rack, and salt them lightly with the cut side up. Put the rack on a baking sheet, and slow-bake in an oven that is set to 190 degrees for about 10 hours. Place the tomatoes into a freezer bag, and freeze them for later use. You can put the dried tomatoes with fresh herbs in a jar with olive oil to preserve them. When refrigerated, they will last a minimum of two weeks.

When you decide to cook with skewers there are a few strategies to keep in mind. Try to buy twisted or other shaped skewers when they are metal, the food will stay on.

Your spices should be stored in a cool place that is free of light. Shelf life can be significantly decreased for those spices which have been exposed to too much light, dampness and heat. If you store your spices in dark place with relatively low temperatures like a pantry, the spices will retain their taste and take longer to spoil. Using fresh spices will make your food taste better.

Get the right kind of potatoes for the recipe you select. Potatoes fall into three categories: waxy, mealy and all-purpose. Potatoes designated "mealy" are dry and crumble easily. This type of potato is what you need if you plan to make mashed potatoes. Russet potatoes are popular mealy potatoes. For a general use potato, you can't do better than the Yukon gold variety. Waxy potatoes work best for boiling and steaming. They do a good job of holding their shape. The most common types of waxy potatoes are red and white potatoes.

Use a backup to the oven timer, such as one on your watch. Watches have timers, so do today's cell phones, televisions, etc. There are plenty of timely options here, pun intended.

Using less fats, like extra virgin oil or butter, when you cook will help you to lose weight and keep your heart healthy. Oil and butter have lots of fat. A smart alternative is to switch to a nonstick cooking spray, it gives similar results with less of the unhealthy ingredients.

If your recipe calls for a liquid, try using something other than water or milk. This will add a spark to that tired old dish. You could use chicken broth or juice, instead of water. You can try out buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream instead of milk. A simple switch like changing a liquid in a recipe can improve the nutritional quality while giving the dish a whole new spin in taste.

Make sure that you take care with the cooking time for a perfectly baked cake. Recommended baking times are just that, recommendations, and can sometimes be misleading because simple things like elevation can change the baking times of the cake. A good way to judge whether a cake is finished is by sticking a toothpick into the center of the cake. If you stick a toothpick in your cake, and when you pull it out, it does not have any batter on it, the cake is ready to be taken out of the oven.

You can chop fresh herbs quickly by bundling them together in bunches and cutting them with scissors. This will keep the herbs drier and lighter than chopped with a knife.

When you plan on using wooden skewers for cooking, soak them in water for 30 minutes prior to cooking. This way, you don't burn them when you are cooking with them. Try using two skewers parallel to one another instead of just one skewer.

You can use it on practically anything. Try using the seasoning on pumpkin seeds, or get creative by adding it to your favorite egg dish. People will want you to tell them your secret ingredient.

An easy way to get more flavor from simple favorites, like soup or mashed potatoes, is to replace the required water with stock. If you don't have prepared stock, you can a bullion cube to the water. Your food will have sufficient moisture, but you will also add a layer of complexity to the taste of the dish.

If you have to prepare any dish that involves garlic, get the freshest possible garlic available. When garlic is fresher, it will not taste as bitter. You can identify fresh garlic by its lack of bruising and firm skin.

Blot ground meats to remove moisture before you cook. You want to do this with a paper towel to get rid of any moisture that is in your meat. If you do not do this, the moisture will be released as it is cooking. Basically it just burns away. This is especially important when your trying to sear meat, because it will steam instead.

Sometimes, your burgers can stick onto the grill. This makes removing them extremely difficult or impossible without compromising their shape. To avoid this possibility, you can apply a light coat of vegetable oil to the grill before cooking.

Do you have a difficult time figuring out how long you should grill your meats? It is always good to use a meat thermometer to determine when your meat is properly cooked. Think about closing your grill's lid to cut down on grill time any time you grill meat thicker than an inch and a half.

If you want to reduce the amount of calories and fat in a mashed potato dish, substitute cauliflower for some of the potatoes. Because cauliflower has a pretty bland taste, it blends well with the potatoes and enhances the flavors of the other ingredients. Cauliflowers look very similar to potatoes in texture and color when they are mashed. It will allow you to have a delicious side dish that is healthier and still flavorful.

When baking pie or tart crusts, bake them longer than you think you should. The crust should have a nice golden color to be fully cooked. When the crust is a golden color then you know the sugar has caramalized and you will have a sweet and crispy result.

It is vital for cooks to have their supplies organized when cooking. An unorganized kitchen is an unhappy kitchen. You will have difficulty finding what you want to make your delicious recipes. Put like items with other like items. Keep your herbs and spices together and follow this grouping rule with other supplies as well.

There is a lot more to cooking than placing foods onto a plate. It is a fun activity, and can be delicious as well. It's normal to fail occasionally when cooking, but with the information provided, those failures should happen less often. Apply these techniques in the kitchen to enjoy culinary greatness.