9 Cooking Tips To Make Our Lives Easier
To make good dishes we do not need to take classes, nor much experience. What we do need is knowledge of the ingredients we use and some cooking techniques and tips to make life easier for us! So here are a few tips to survive any cooking process:
Using a meat thermometer
Making sure that the meat we are cooking is cooked to our liking and that above all, it is safe to eat, requires experience, and even connoisseurs know that there is nothing like using a good meat thermometer for this. Other methods, such as the timer or finger pressing the meat, can fail because the cuts are not always even and also because of the structure of the meat itself.
Advance the preparation of meals
Undoubtedly, there are dishes that it is better to make the same day and that also allows us to prepare them in a short period of time. However, when it comes to difficult or more complex preparations, a good idea is to advance some of the steps, such as washing, peeling, or cutting the vegetables and refrigerating them, or cooking those long-cooking ingredients a day before. By doing so, the stress of preparation will be reduced and we will enjoy cooking more.
Store your spices in a cool, dry place
Dried herbs and spices play an important role in the kitchen: they give our dishes a unique and different flavor. To better preserve their aroma and flavor, it is best to store them in a cool and dry place, away from light, humidity, and heat generated by the stove and oven fire.
Prepare broths in large quantities and freeze them
The beef, chicken, fish, and vegetable broth always give a more intense flavor to our dishes. To always have them on hand without having to make them every time you need them, prepare them in large batches and freeze them in plastic bags or ice molds. That way, when a recipe asks us for it, we will simply put it in the pot and let it melt.
When you fry food, keep it for 5 minutes under the surface of the oil
We all like some good fried chicken pieces, some French fries, some onion rings, some well-battered shrimp. The trick so that they come out crispy and do not stick to the bottom of the pot is to hold them with long tongs for 5 seconds under the upper surface of the oil when introducing them in it and before releasing them. This will seal the exterior, preventing it from sticking to the pan or another piece.
Add a little salt when chopping fresh herbs
Sometimes when chopping fresh herbs such as rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, and parsley, it has happened to us that when cutting them with the knife, the small pieces are dispersed throughout the table. To avoid this, the simplest and most effective trick is to sprinkle a little salt on the cutting board.
To roast a chicken without a grill, use onions
A roasting rack is not something we use very often, so it is not always convenient to buy one. But in case we want to roast a turkey, we can substitute it by cutting onions into thick slices and placing them on a greased baking sheet. On top of the onions, we will put the chicken. When baking, the onions will absorb the juices from the chicken, making it as golden as we like it.
Use sharp knives
Many times we think that a sharp knife in the kitchen is dangerous. But a knife that is not well sharpened is more dangerous, because to cut we will misuse it, having a greater probability of accidents. Therefore, it is best to make sure that our knives are well sharpened, as this is safer and will make our work more efficient. In this case, we recommend our incredible knife sharpeners, no more dull blades that make cooking a bad experience. Find them here
Use wax paper in your baking molds
The vast majority of them were taught to grease and flour the molds before baking, to make them unmold faster. However, it is best to use wax paper to cover them, as this not only makes unmolding faster, but also makes cleaning the molds not a nightmare.