Helpful Cooking Tips
Friday, June 22nd, 2007 by The Cooking Guy Subscribe To Our Feed
Have you ever wished you knew how to save a ruined dish, increase the flavor or make cooking easier? Well, you’re not alone. There are many tips that have been passed down over the years that I know you will find helpful.
Meats
- After the meat is done cooking, let the meat rest for 5 minutes before cutting. This will keep the meat tender and juicy. Also, when possible, cut meat across the grain. It is easier to slice or cut meat when it is partially frozen.
- When microwaving chicken, cover the dish with vented clear plastic to keep the chicken from drying out.
- Rubbing lemon juice on fish before cooking will enhance the flavor.
- No time to marinate meat? Pound meat lightly with a mallet, sprinkle with meat tenderizer and add marinade. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
- Use plastic baggies to marinate your meat. It will be fast and easy clean up.
- Tomatoes added to roasts will help tenderize the meat.
- If making hamburgers, add cold water to the beef before grilling. This will make the hamburger juicier.
Breads
- Put a small dish of water in the oven when baking bread to help keep the crust from getting too hard or brown.
- Use shortening to grease pans. Margarine or butter will be absorbed into the dough or batter.
- To prevent hard or dry crusts, rub bread tops with shortening after you take them out of the oven.
- Water that is too hot will kill yeast. One way to tell if the water is the correct temperature is to pour the water over your forearm. If you can not feel either hot or cold, the temperature is just right.
- Always sift flour before measuring if you are not sure.
- Reduce oven temperature by 25 degrees when baking in a glass pan.
Vegetables
- Lemon juice will remove onion scent from your hands.
- To avoid watery eyes when chopping onion, put onion in
the freezer for 10 minutes before chopping. - To cut down on odors when cooking broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower, add a little vinegar to the water.
- Revive soggy lettuce by soaking in cold lemon water.
- Spray plastic bowls with cooking spray before adding vegetables or food that can stain.
- Never soak vegetables after slicing; they will lose some of their nutritional value.
- Instant potatoes are a good soup or stew thickener.
- If cooking vegetables that grow above the ground, boil them without a cover.
- To bake potatoes quickly microwave for 5 minutes and then place in a preheated oven. Or soak potatoes in salted water for 20 minutes before baking. This will help them cook more rapidly.
- Add potato cubes to cover salted soups or stews. The potatoes will absorb the salt. Remove potatoes when ready to serve.
- Add a paper towel to opened bags of lettuce to absorb the moisture. This will absorb the moisture and keep the lettuce fresher.
- To keep cauliflower white while cooking, add a little milk to the water.
- To absorb the smell of cooked cabbage, put a small cup of vinegar near the stove.
Fruits
- Over-ripe bananas can be peeled and frozen. Use them in a fruit smoothie, bread or cakes.
- Strawberries keep best unwashed in the refrigerator.
- Use a Melon Baller to core a pear.
- To ripen peaches, nectarines or pears, keep them in a paper sack tightly covered.
Drinks
- For refreshing water, add slice of fresh lemon or lime to the water glass or pitcher.
- Flavor tea lemon juice, honey, lemon drops or mint candies.
- Add sparkle to your fruit drink by adding club soda.
Now that you know some of the best tips for being successful in the kitchen, the next time you run into a snag you will be well prepared.
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