Monday, December 14, 2009

Standard Cooking Techniques To Be Familiar With

By Corey Martin

Learning how to completely read a recipe and then cook it properly is a great skill that many people strive for but not everyone achieves. While it seems like common sense, reading the entire recipe from start to finish is essential as even the smallest step could be crucial to the result. Many people do not do this and their food suffers because of it. Do yourself a favor and spend the time doing this.

Basic cooking methods are pretty important to your overall success. Learning them increases your enjoyment of cooking a meal as well as the ease of you doing it. There are a few different aspects that you should become familiar with as you get more comfortable being the chef of the family.

Broiling is a cooking process that uses a high source of heat to directly heat or brown the food. While there are certain foods that can be totally cooked using broiling the majority of them are not typically prepared this way. You do need to remember, though, if you are using a broiler to not put the food too close to the heat source. Try to keep it around 4 inches or so away.

The process of steaming vegetables has always been popular with health minded people as the food tends to retain a large amount of the healthy nutrients. It is very easy to do and simply means cooking the food over a little bit of water until it is ready.

Many people also enjoy sauteing vegetables, or the process of cooking them over a higher heat in a special pan. You can add some spices or other ingredients during the process to give the food more flavor. Some popular recipes call for sauteing to be used to a certain degree.

Boiling or simmering your food is quite common as well as it is used by many people every day. This process uses a pan and a certain amount of water over an even heat for an extended period. It is very important to follow the recipe instructions to make sure that the food gets cooked completely while still keeping as much flavor as possible.

No matter which of these cooking techniques you use, whether you use one or a combination of them, it's important to learn the ins and outs of them through trial and error. Get familiar with how your oven cooks, which temperatures work best, how long you need to cook for, and which dishes seem to be received the best by your family. You will undoubtedly find favorite recipes but don't feel like you can't experiment either. As long as you follow the instructions you will have success in the kitchen. Over time you will grow to really enjoy cooking a meal for your family.

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