Want To Become A Great Chef? You Must Read These Tips!

You need a few basic fundamentals to be a better cook. Take the advice given in this article to become a better cook. Make sure to take all of these steps into consideration.

Protect your spice and herb collection by storing your jars at room temperature in a dark place. Exposure to humidity, light and heat all affect the flavor of your spices. In general, herbs and spices that are ground will retain their flavor for up to one year. Spices that are raw, or whole, can keep the original flavor for as long as five years, though it usually falls somewhere between three and five. If you keep these properly stored, they can sometimes stay fresh for an even longer period of time.

Add salt and horseradish to your foods if you want to instill more flavor and add spice to each of your meals during the day. These ingredients are found everywhere and are very inexpensive, allowing you to maximize your level of taste with very minimal expenses. You can Improve the flavor of many foods with these ingredients.

Cooking hamburgers seems to be easy, but there are some tricks to learn. Make a hole in the center of the patty before you put it on the grill. The hole prevents the meat from rising in the middle so you wont have an uncooked middle with burnt edges any more. The whole will completely disappear during cooking so no one will notice your trick.

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.

You should use nonstick cooking spray when cooking a meal or snack. The nonstick cooking spray keeps food from sticking to a pan without adding unneeded fats and calories. There are some sprays that are flavored, so that you can get the same flavor as if you had used butter.

When cooking pumpkins, first set the pumpkin upright; then slice it down the center, cutting it in half. Take both halves with the cut sides down and place on different baking sheets to bake. The next step is putting a little bit of water on your baking sheets, you then want to bake the pumpkins at around 350 degrees Fahrenheit periodically checking them for about an hour.

If you are making a dish where you will need thin strips of meat (fajitas, Chinese) freeze your meet for about 20 minutes before cutting. This will allow you to slice the meat very thinly with ease. You may think this sounds a little strange, but it will definitely do the trick.

Nutrition

Substituting another liquid for milk or water can help give your meals a new flavor. When you cook vegetables you can use chicken broth or add beef instead of water. Other dairy products such as buttermilk or sour cream can be used in place of milk. A good method for increasing your nutritional intake is by increasing the amount of liquids you drink throughout the day.

To preserve more of the nutritional value of your vegetables dont cook them for too long. As you cook a vegetable, its nutrient content diminishes. Good techniques for quickly cooking vegetables are steaming and stir-frying. Slow cooking has its place, but dont neglect the quicker techniques with their greater nutrition.

Being a good cook is not rocket science. It takes a little effort and time, but it isnt overly complicated. Some people naturally love cooking, while others need a push. They just need a little information. Whichever camp you fall into, this article has hopefully nudged you a little closer to being a real cooking wizard.