All you need to become a better cook these days is a bit of knowledge and you will broaden that culinary horizon with some cooking tips that can elevate your meals. Becoming a culinary master is not about cooking faster or changing your ingredients but bringing out the best from what you are already doing by becoming more creative. The following ways are some of the best tips to become a culinary master;
Stay Sharp
You need three basic different types of knives in the kitchen; Carving knife, chef’s knife, and a paring knife. Make sure you use the chef’s knife 90% of the time, because it is an all-purpose knife for slicing, mincing, dicing, and chopping. The paring knife is most suited for intricate works such as peeling, while the carving knife is for cutting bread and slicing prepared meat. Using the right knife can help achieve better results in the kitchen, just like using the appropriate Food trays for different purposes.
Use the Right Type and Quantities of Ingredients
Too little or too much of an ingredient can make or mar the taste of your meals. Never ignore measuring quantities in the recipe. Make sure you source for the real ingredients from the farmer’s market and don’t try to search for substitutes.
Improve the texture of your foods
Whether it is crunchy, creamy, hard, juicy or soft, you can improve your culinary skills by improving the texture of your final products. For example, a plain turkey sandwich can be quite boring until you throwing in some crunchy lettuce, juicy tomato, and some creamy condiments, then you will see how everyone will appreciate and accept such snack.
Replace Your Non-stick Skillet and light up your work area.
If your scrambled eggs slide off the pan especially when you don’t use oil or butter, then you should consider upgrading the pan. Similarly, you should consider upgrading your food trays if they are becoming breaking up or can’t handle the pressure of handling some cooking steps.
Lighting up your work area can boost your culinary skills to a large extent. Consider replacing the 40-watt lightbulb located in the oven hood with a clamp light that can be found in an electric hardware store.
Get a New Kitchen Sponge, New “Y” Peeler, and Bigger Mixing Bowls
It’s quite interesting to know that getting new kitchen items such as a sponge, mixing bowl and peeler can make a remarkable impact in improving your culinary skills. If your sponge is filthy and smelly, it will never get your dishes clean.
Your kitchen peelers can get dull after continuous usage for a few years, you need to get new ones just the way you should change your food trays. You need a bigger mixing bowl too. You can’t toss a salad or mix cookie or make some meatballs inside a tiny cereal bowl, doing such may create a big mess. Always go for a bigger mixing bowl for your mixing.
Avoid Evil Glass Cutting Boards, and Stop Crowding the Pans
Glass cutting boards are truly evil because they will dull your knives. They are very slippery and they can be very hard to use. Instead of glass cutting boards, choose the bamboo, wood or plastic. Similarly, you must avoid crowding your cast iron skillet or sheet food trays, crowding your food in these materials will get them steamed and soggy instead of making them crispy.
Make Use of Metal Measuring Cups and Spoons
There are several reasons you should replace your plastic measuring cups with metal cups and spoons, the reason being that plastic will warp over time, which means they will become less precise and your measurements will become less accurate. Similarly, you should replace your dish racks with microfiber dish-drying mats.
Bake Your Pies inside a Glass Pie Pan
There are several reasons you should consider baking your pies inside a glass pie pan and the primary reason is that it heats than the tin. With better heating, you will know quickly when the pie has turned golden brown and you can avoid over-cooking.
Oil, Salt, and Roast, in That Order
Many people don’t take this order importantly and that is why their recipes don’t absorb much flavor. When you are roasting your veggies, simply toss them oil, and then season them with salt and pepper before you eventually roast them. This way, your seasoning will stick to your food, and the flavor will be absorbed much better for a more delicious taste. Do not salt before oiling and roasting, if you do, the seasoning will be scattered all over and some parts of the food will not even have the flavor.
Wait Until the Pan is Hot Before Greasing
If you are planning to seer, fry or sauté anything in the pan, you need to learn to wait until the pan becomes hot and then add the fat and immediately add the remaining ingredients. Adding oil or butter into a cold pan and then letting it heat up means the oil will burn and smoke and that means the butter or oil will turn bitter and brownish. You may not follow this rule if the heat is very low and gentle to start a fat inside a cold pan.
Conclusion
There are lots of other culinary tips and ideas you should consider that will improve your culinary skills. for instance, you should understand when to add your herbs and spices. At the beginning of the cooking, you should add the hardy and pungent herbs like rosemary, thyme, and marjoram. The more delicate herbs like parsley, basil, mint, and Cilantro should be added a few minutes before the end of the cooking time. Delicate herbs should be added some 3-5 minutes before serving the food. You will be surprised at how much flavor is absorbed and preserved when you add them at the right time. The more you practice the steps highlighted above, the better your final recipe products become and the better your culinary skills are sharpened.
