Start with the basics of cooking and you will be entertaining guests in no time.
The key to great cooking is learning the basics. Experienced chefs with extensive skills and knowledge all began their careers with the basics. Keeping things simple enables you to learn to cook without getting frustrated. Once you understand the basic principles of preparing a meal, you can learn new techniques and create elaborate dishes. Initially though, the simple lessons of cooking are enough to enable you to feed your family, host a dinner party or prepare a dish to share at a special event. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Tools
It is possible to cook food with no more than a stick and fire. Most cooks, however, will find great success using a wider variety of tools. Your first cooking lesson is to equip your kitchen with the basic tools of the trade. Include at least two pots, a pan, several knives, stirring spoons, and measuring cups and spoons in your collection. There is a kitchen tool for every cooking action imaginable, but inexperienced cooks need only the simplest tools. Herbs and spices are also kitchen tools. In addition to purchasing the fresh spices required in specific recipes, keep a selection of dry spices on hand, such as oregano, basil, salt, black pepper, thyme and cumin.
Cooking Methods
Your next lesson involves cooking methods. The simplest and most common of the methods are grilling, boiling, baking and steaming. Some cooks include frying in this category, but frying is not as healthy as the other methods and is not as common as it used to be. Grilling cooks food with intense heat from above or below. Boiling heats liquid to the point of evaporation and cooks the liquid or the food in the liquid. Baking is a prolonged method of dry cooking with convection heat. Steaming uses the hot vaporized water from boiling to cook food indirectly. More advanced methods of cooking include poaching, braising, broiling and saut ing.
Recipes
People learn to cook from recipes. Recipes guide cooking step by step, creating a path for cooks that leads them from a collection of ingredients to an edible meal. Directions make cooking easier but are not always foolproof. Your personal taste might differ from the recipe, or you might need to adjust for an older oven, the altitude of your location or a missing ingredient. Inexperienced cooks rely on recipes but learn to focus on taste. Sample your dish as you prepare it, so you can make adjustments while it is still cooking.
Ingredients
Your final lesson is on ingredients. Experienced cooks understand that high-quality ingredients are the key to a delicious dish. If you use only the freshest ingredients, there is no need to worry about disguising the flavor of a food. Steaming fresh vegetables is one of the simplest ways to create a delicious, healthy dish. Quality grilled meat is one of the best-tasting simple indulgences in dining. Learning to shop for ingredients is one of the simplest cooking lessons you can learn.
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