You Can Be A Great Cook: Learn How

No one likes the idea of serving their guest a meal that turns out to be a flop! Everyone needs a little help now and then. So, before you head to the kitchen, read up on some tips that will help you cook food that is not only edible, but spectacularly awesome. Follow these tips to impress your guests and improve ordinary family meals, as well.

Get the most juice out of lemons. Fresh lemon juice is much more tasty than the kind that comes out of a bottle, but it is sometimes surprising how little juice you can get out of a lemon. Heat the lemon in a microwave for 20 seconds on high power. Then, roll the lemon on your cutting board using as much pressure as possible. This way, you will get about twice the amount of juice out of the lemon, and your dish will be much more flavorful!

You can salvage the work you've done and quickly rectify the situation with this little trick. In a small bowl, combine two tablespoons of water and 3 teaspoons of corn starch. Add this mix to the sauce little by little until it becomes thicker. Be sure to gradually stir in the solution, and frequently stir the sauce so that it does not become too thick.

Add a small pinch of sea salt to your ground coffee immediately before brewing. This will add a great punch of flavor to every cup. This process works well in either a traditional coffee maker or a french press. Don't add the salt before brewing time though, or your coffee flavor will be compromised.

You don't need to go out and buy an expensive gravy for your dish. Instead, save the juices that your meat creates at the bottom of your pan, and use that as the base for a nice gravy. It's a lot cheaper and can taste great. There are many different recipes available that use this juice to make gravy.

If you have a family, you will want to implement a process for cleaning up after you cook your meal. This is very important as you will want to conserve the excess food that you do not eat for future servings. Post meal cleanup is just as important as pre-meal preparation.

As your cooking prowess grows, you will learn to appreciate the versatility of stocks and broths. Rather than buying these useful ingredients at the store or wasting your time cooking them in small batches, prepare stocks in large quantities. You can store surplus stock in plastic bags in your freezer, ready for quick use in future recipes.

Always continue to taste test all of your food as you cook them. Cooking a sauce, and you're not sure if it needs more salt? Just taste it and you'll know right away. Getting into a habit of testing all of your foods will keep you from accidentally over-spicing or under-spicing it.

Now that you have read these great cooking tips, you can go into the kitchen armed with the knowledge that whatever dish you cook, you will impress your friends, family, and guests the way you want to! So, head over to the kitchen and get cracking.