10 Simple Cooking Tips For Beginners
If you are a beginner who wants to get started with cooking or an amateur cook who wants to hone your cooking skills, you have come to the right place.
When it comes to cooking we always search for ways to make simple tasks easier or make more flavourful meals.
After all, who doesn’t want to be known as a great cook?
The good news is that incorporating simple habits in our daily cooking routine can help us sharpen our skills and get better at this art.
- Read The Whole Recipe From Start To Finish
You should read the whole recipe twice before you start the cooking process.
- It will help you make sure you have all the ingredients you need. You don’t want to find out that you don’t have an important ingredient halfway through cooking.
- You will know if you have to start any procedures beforehand like preheating your oven.
- You will get an idea of how long the recipe will take to finish.
- Clean As You Go
A messy and cluttered space will stress you out and even hamper your cooking progress.
Cleaning small messes in between each step will put your mind at ease and help you focus better.
You can practice a few habits like setting aside a garbage bowl or putting empty packets in the trash as soon as you empty their contents.
- Purchase Good Quality Cookware
A lot of people tend to buy cheap cookware in order to save money.
In reality some of the cheap cookware purchases might not be safe, for example nonstick pans with teflon coatings or cheap copper and aluminium cookware. Find out more tips on safety cooking at HomeKitchenLand.
You will also have better control over heating with good quality cookware.
For example, if you use a cheap frying pan, you might not be able to achieve even heating or your food might burn faster.
- Sharpen Your Cooking Knives
Sharp knives make a bigger difference than you think.
A blunt and dull knife will not only make your prep a hassle but will also slow you down.
With a sharp knife, you get more control over cutting which helps you in achieving fine cuts and slices.
- Spice It Up
Does your food always taste bland and boring?
Rather than relying on adding a lot of salt and fat to make your food taste better, experiment with a variety of spices!
You can make your own spice mixes at home to brighten up your meals.
- Always Smash Your Garlic Before You Use It
Make sure you smash, chop or crush your garlic before you use it in your cooking.
This helps in releasing the enzyme called alliinase which catalyses the formation of allicin which is a beneficial health promoting compound.
Smashing garlic also makes it easier to peel.
- Keep Paper Towels Under Your Cutting Board
Keeping damp paper towels under your cutting board will prevent it from slipping while chopping fruits or vegetables.
Take a wet paper towel. Squeeze out the excess water and lay it under your cutting board to create friction between your board and counter.
- Add Salt And Vinegar To Water While Boiling Eggs
Salt raises the boiling point of water slightly and also helps in sealing cracks which might develop in eggs.
Adding a few drops of vinegar to water will help in softening the egg shells and make them easier to peel.
- Finish Mixing Your Cookie Batter By Hand
When you overmix your cookie batter, you end up with a tough batch of cookies which aren’t very pleasant to eat.
In order to prevent this, stop using your electric mixer once you start seeing streaks of flour in the mix.
Finish off by mixing your batter by hand.
- Use A Kitchen Scale
There are many advantages in using a kitchen scale.
- You can easily increase or decrease your recipe measurements.
- It is more accurate than cup measurements.
- It makes measuring of sticky food items like honey less messy and easy to clean.
Conclusion
Nobody is going to turn into a great cook overnight. But practicing these simple habits and being consistent will definitely help you get better at cooking.