One of the things that will bring families and friends together is meals. Tasty meals make dining time even more enjoyable. However, not all people are good at cooking. Some struggle even with the basic things assumed to be known to everyone. Cooking needs practice to perfect different recipes. But cooking should not be boring. You can venture into new dishes and try them out until you are perfect. Also, you can engage your spouse or children to make the moment even more memorable. Here are a few tips to help any beginner, and they will not take much of your energy or time.
Fat
Most of the food that we like contains fats in them. Therefore, although we are advised to avoid fatty foods to stay healthy, it is almost impossible not to take them. Nevertheless, we can still keep healthy by taking fats in moderation. Besides, your body still requires fats, thus the cravings.
Fat heightens the experience of the foods you consume. For instance, butter or cheese will make your toast or pizza experience lovely. Therefore, when cooking, add only enough fats to avoid overdoing it. Also, you can avoid processed foods and invest more in preparing your meals.
Acid
Acid is why most people, like campus students, will use the hottest sauce on everything. Also, you will find kids sneaking into the kitchen to add ketchup to their food. Using acid in your food makes the food’s flavors brighter. You can use numerous acid sources during meal preparation, including lemons, tomatoes, wine, sauces, yogurt, or some cheeses.
Add these acids to mild foods such as salads to brighten them for better flavors. This is why vinegar and lemon are common when making salads.
Salt
Whether you or a beginner has been cooking for some time now, you are probably under-salting some foods. It is advisable to ensure that your water is salty before boiling foods such as vegetables, rice, or pasta. Some people boil rice without adding salt, making it tasteless. Salting your water will add flavor to your rice and pasta inside out. Also, salt helps lock in vegetable flavor and nutrients, allowing them to remain even after draining the excess water.
On the other hand, if you want your meat to be yummy, you should sprinkle some salt about 24 hours before cooking. This is because salt needs time to get deep into the meat, locking in flavor and moisture.
Heat
Most people go wrong when it comes to heat regulation. It is important to know that the way you heat yourself determines the change of molecules that will take place. Although it might seem complicated, this primarily involves protein strands in meat. Heat makes these strands tense up, but they uncurl and relax with time. Therefore, if you want your protein-rich foods to become tender, it is best to cook with low heat for longer. Unfortunately, most people will use high heat to make the process faster; thus, the meat does not tenderize.
Even if you are a beginner, following these tips will help unleash your cooking potential.