Did you know that most Americans prefer home-cooked meals?
It’s what prompts most to learn to cook to impress their friends, family, and loved ones. Most immediately imagine themselves cooking lavish meals from the get-go. They don’t consider cooking a difficult skill to master and that you need to understand the basics of cooking to advance.
To help you start, we’ve listed the four basic cooking skills everyone in the kitchen must know. Read on and learn how you can expedite your improvement with ease.
Cutting
Many people dream of cutting foods at incredible speeds. Attempting to do this on your first try will only cause you to injure yourself. Learn how to grip your knife and position the food you cut first.
Depending on what you’ll cut, there are different ways to grip a knife. The most basic grip involves using your thumb and pointer finger to choke up and hold the base of the blade. Doing so gives you more control over how the knife moves, which you can improve by choking up two fingers.
Cut at the speed you’re comfortable with. Going too fast will, as mentioned above, result in cuts on your fingers. Take your time and always practice, and you’ll master one of the essential basic cooking techniques in no time.
Seasoning
Many people underestimate the importance of seasoning. You may produce a beautiful dish, but poor seasoning would make it taste like oatmeal.
To become better at seasoning, keep the essential spices for cooking in your kitchen. Salt, black pepper, and MSG should always be present when cooking. Once you’re used to how they taste and affect the food, expand to more exotic spices to widen your palate.
Meat Handling and Storage
Talented chefs know their way around different meats. Knowing how to identify its freshness and grade by sight, touch, and smell allows you to pick out only the best for your dishes. It also applies when cooking, helping you achieve juicy meat dishes that have off-putting flavors cooked out.
Properly storing your meats is also an important skill to learn. Putting them in separate containers before placing them in the fridge prevents cross-contamination. It’s among the best ways to avoid salmonella poisoning.
Food Sanitation
When preparing food by yourself, it’s essential to wash away anything that may have clung to them. It’s common to do this with fruits and vegetables, which often have dirt and pesticides on them if they’re fresh from the harvest.
The fundamental way of doing this is to soak them in warm water. Fruits will have their wax coating removed while the dirt clinging to veggies will soften up, allowing you to scrub even tough skins. There are other ways to wash veggies and fruit that ensure a deeper clean quickly.
Cooking Basics 101: Become a Better Cook
Cooking need not be challenging to learn and master. These cooking basics will help you improve your skill and become better faster. Take your time to master them and become a master cook today!