Kitchen Basics: How To Be-bone A Chicken

Cooking is a wonderful art to learn. Whether it is purely for nutritional purposes or for the joy of creating a meal from scratch for your family and friends, the relaxation that can be associated with this skill is immense. But if you were never taught the basics of cooking, and finding your way around a kitchen is not your forte, here are a few handy hints you need to know.

Pasta is one of the best things that you can cook during the course of the day for the nutrients and carbs that it brings and its pleasant aroma. Make sure that your water is boiling for at least two minutes before you put your pasta into the pot for maximum quality.

After cooking with a large amount of garlic, rub both hands on your stainless steel sink before washing them. Use a vigorous scrubbing action. This will help to get rid of that lingering garlic scent on your skin. It will not leave a scent on your stainless steel sink.

A good tip when cooking with oil is to put it on the sides of the pan so it's already hot when it slides down into the food. The flavor will be greatly enhanced when it has completed cooking.

Mushrooms discolor fast and they don't look too appetizing when you serve them. You can prevent discoloration by following this technique. Squeeze the juice of a quarter lemon onto a paper towel and wipe the cap of each mushroom with it. This cleans the mushroom and prevents it from changing its original color.

For pasta that is cooked perfectly all the way through, do not place it in water until the water is boiling. Pasta cooks from the outside in, so to keep your pasta all one texture you need to cook it at the same consistent temperature from the beginning to the end.

Always use the freshest ingredients you can find for your cooking. Fruit, vegetables, meat, and seafood all taste better when they are fresh. Besides better taste, fresh ingredients are usually healthier than pre-packaged, canned, or frozen ones. Fresh foods have superior nutritional content and lack the unhealthy additives found in packaged foods.

If you are looking to reduce the sodium content of the meals you cook, take a careful look at your spice shelf. Many prepared spices are surprisingly high in sodium, whether or not they have a salty taste. And of course, avoid adding regular salt. Look to natural herbs and simpler spices to add flavor without sodium.

Cooking can be a joy if you invest in a good, sizable cutting board able to handle all of your cutting and chopping needs. If a butcher block table is out of the budget, look for a durable bamboo or sturdy maple for the job. A cutting board with a recessed groove surrounding the cutting surface is handy to catch juices from carving meats and makes clean up easy. If you will be using a cutting board on a smooth surface, look for one with rubber feet to avoid slipping. Maintain your cutting board with food-grade mineral oil (vegetable and olive oils can turn rancid) and make sure that you are properly clean, and more importantly, dry your cutting board after each use to prevent warping.

When you are chopping onions for a home-cooked salsa make sure you rinse them. Rinse your onions immediately after you cut them then blot them dry with a napkin. This will remove the sulfurous gas and will make your salsa taste better. This works well for other recipes too.

Ginger roots can be used for several dishes so it's worth learning how to store them. For a few days, you can just put them in the refrigerator's vegetable drawer. For much longer storage, freeze the unpeeled ginger root and cut the piece you need while it is frozen.

Blender

To avoid wasting chipotle peppers when you need only a couple from a can, puree the remaining peppers and adobo in a blender or food processor, then transfer the puree to an ice cube tray lined with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. When the puree is frozen, move the cubes to a freezer bag. You can use the chipotle cubes in soups, sauces, taco meat, and more.

To reduce prep time as well as wear and tear on your blender, freeze your smoothie fruit instead of using ice. Not only does using ice water down the flavor of your smoothie, but if you freeze your fruit first the step is entirely unnecessary. As an added bonus, frozen fruit blends much easier than ice.

Juicer

Fresh lemons are a very versatile garnish in many recipes, but getting juice out of lemon can seem like a huge chore. Rather than pulling out the big juicer, try this trick. Roll the lemon on the countertop for a few seconds, then place it in the microwave on high for 15 seconds. Take it out and cut it open - you should be able to squeeze twice the juice as before!

There is no longer a need to hold onto any fear of the kitchen. By following these ideas and learning the basics of cooking, you will be rewarded. With a little time and practice, you will be whipping up gourmet meals to impress your friends in no time at all.