To learn how to cook well, it is not necessary to finish cooking classes. One only has to know some of the secrets and features cooking process. Pay attention to the ingredients, do not forget about the spices, and is not afraid to experiment, then you will be able to conquer all of their dishes.
Learn new techniques
To learn how to cook, you need to fulfill some basic techniques of cooking. Almost everyone can fry, boil and simmer. Now try to make something such methods:
- Stir frying. Very fast roasting. It is necessary to pour very little oil, spread it on the pan, wait until it is glowing, and throw it in prepared foods. Stir frying requires constant stirring. Sometimes it is possible to add special sauces (sauce just to find such - on the packaging will indicate that it is sauce for stir frying).
- Baking. The ideal way to cook vegetables. Requires no skill at all: it is necessary to lay down the vegetables in a pan or on a baking tray, season with salt, sprinkle with your favorite herbs and spices, pour the oil and place in preheated oven. The difficulty is only in time to take out the pan.
- Caramelization. A cross between roasting and vexation. A long process, which helps to "pull" of the sugar products (eg, onions or carrots) and turn it into caramel. The finished product is characterized by a sweet taste, dark color and strong flavor. What is this technique? It helps make ordinary products tastier or use them to create unusual dishes. For example, caramelized onion can be used as an ingredient in the preparation of a steak sauce, mincemeat or framework for well-known French soup.
study the ingredients
Why cook so cool? Because it is very fun and interesting. Entertain yourself - try to find five different ways to cook chicken with vegetables. It turns out that you can make a paste, cook soup, bake it all together, cook stew or roast into thin slices to the Asian style.
Learn also several win-win combination. Make of them will be quite difficult tasteless dish.
- Fish and lemon. A combination which can be used for frying and baking, and any other method of cooking fish.
- Tomatoes, garlic, paprika and cheese. The first three ingredients are combined perfectly in soups, sauces, stews and roasting. Obviously, the pasta or pizza from the first three ingredients perfectly complemented by cheese.
- Eggs and bacon, vegetables and bacon. The fact that the bacon itself is uninteresting product. But it has a distinctive rich flavor. Combining it with scrambled eggs, you get the perfect balance. The same goes for vegetables. Bacon gives them a touch of smoked makes tastier and richer.
- Melon and ham. Salad, which has pieces of sweet and fragrant melons and slices of delicious ham can not be bad. You can also add ripe figs. There is a way to make it even better mix of products: drink a glass of good wine.
- Poultry and fruit (orange chicken and duck and apples). Not necessarily obkladyvat meat fruit from all sides, imitating the cornucopia. Creative imagination: add the marinade orange zest; Make the bird applesauce. Do not be afraid. Will definitely delicious.
Learn to use spices
Few understand just the ingredients. You also need to study the spice. We picked up a few classic, time-tested combinations, which your dish will definitely be brighter. But you definitely do not need to stop there, and try to combine new spices.
vegetable
- Black pepper, garlic, rosemary.
- Black pepper, garlic, dill, horseradish, celery.
- Black pepper, red pepper, garlic, dill, parsley, horseradish.
For meat dishes
- Anise, coriander, dill, nutmeg, white pepper, paprika.
- Fennel, celery, cardamom, onions, white pepper.
- Allspice, black pepper, cloves, ginger, onion.
for soups
- Marjoram, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme.
- Celery, marjoram, parsley, savory, basil.
- All kinds of bouquet garni: French, German, English.
And one more tip: The composition of the finished sets of spices and find an interesting combination for yourself. And then collect the following sequence of themselves precisely to be sure, as a mixture of herbs.
Learn to use a lemon
If you are afraid to make the dish too acidic, start with foods that can not spoil the lemon. First, cook the fish. Then add the lemon juice in the vegetables (eg, broccoli before baking). Lemon and put in a hodgepodge. It is perfectly emphasizes the taste of this rich soup. This fruit can be used almost anywhere, but it should be done cautiously. If you shoot with the lemon zest, not the white part of the hook under the cloth - it tastes bitter.
use cheese
Not love cheese - almost a crime. There are so many different flavors that you just need to find your own. Cheese, soft cheese, hard cheese, blue cheese... It can be used as the main ingredient or as a spice. In general, it is difficult to do without the cheese.
Add salt soy sauce
Be sure to try to cook with soy sauce. If Asian influences in the dishes you enjoy, it will be just great.
First, soy sauce perfectly emphasizes the taste of vegetables, meat and fish.
Secondly, if you like soy sauce, you can prepare the ingredients ahead of time, and then for a few minutes to make the perfect rice with vegetables and seafood, ramen, udon with broth and so on. Soy sauce ingredients combine into one tasty dish.
If you love and know how to cook with soy sauce, also try to make something with miso paste.
Make friends with the same interests
How a knife to cut the meat, and how - the bread? Is it normal that the soup covered with thick foam? What to do? What should be the normal cream? These and other questions will inevitably appear in the cooking time, you need someone to ask. You can look for answers on the Internet. But it is better, if you are like-minded people - friends, who want to learn to cook. You can learn to cook and books, manuals and videos. But it is better to have a "fellow sufferer" and learn the secrets of cooking together.