Learning to cook can be just as fun as mastering it. By reading this article, you will find yourself becoming a better chef, as well as gaining overall confidence in your skill. Enjoy yourself once you have all of this knowledge.

Do all the prep work ahead of time. Before you start making your food, it is a good thing to have everything prepared. Trying to cook a meal that has to be on the table by a certain time can be stressful. You can help lessen the potential stress by getting all your prep work done early.

Let raw potatoes soak in some cold water for a half hour prior to frying them to increase the crispiness of French fries. A cold water soak helps the potatoes stand up to the rigors of deep fat frying.

You can sprinkle it on many other foods besides meat. A little on seeds or eggs can liven it up. All your guests will be left wondering where the delightful flavor came from.

Fresh Ingredients

Nearly any recipe benefits from using fresh ingredients rather than the frozen or dried version. Use fresh ingredients as often as you can; they offer more flavor and tend to be less expensive as well.

Mushrooms absorb large amounts of water, and this excess water will go into whatever you are healthy cooking with. Get a wet cloth instead, and wipe off each mushroom by hand.

If burgers get stuck to the grill, it will be difficult to flip them without mangling them in the process. You should brush a thin layer of vegetable oil over the grill before you begin healthy cooking. This will keep the food from becoming stuck to the grill surface.

Chicken Stock

If you are going to be making chicken stock, it is best to go big or not at all. Plan to make a big pot of stock so you can freeze and store it. That tasty chicken stock is very versatile and can be perfect for your next stew, casserole or soup. First, cool the stock and then stick it in the freezer.

Sauteing vegetables in a small amount of chicken broth is a healthy and delicious way to cook. Broth adds flavor to the vegetables while reducing the quantity of oil necessary for sauteing. Try this next time you cook vegetables for a great meal.

If you find it too much to prepare the nighttime meal, then take care of some of the work the day prior. Chop your onions, slice your vegetables, make the sauce or marinate your meat before bed. Healthy Cooking will be less stressful if you have prepared everything in advance.

Don’t throw out turkey leftovers, whether it is from a holiday dinner or an everyday meal. Rather, cut up the meat and store it in an airtight container in the freezer. Leftover turkey can be used for enchiladas, pot pie, sandwiches and salads.

Many herbs and veggies make odors on your cutting board no matter how many times you clean it. Use a permanent pen to make a mark so you know which side you are using.

Ethylene Gas

Place any unripened fruit that you buy in a plastic bag that is perforated. Fruits produce ethylene gas when they become riper. Bags with holes will prevent already-ripened fruit from rotting, since the ethylene gas can escape; on the other hand, under-ripened fruit benefits from a bag without holes, since the gas that causes ripening is retained.

It is very important to make sure your healthy cooking utensils are clean before you start healthy cooking. If there is food leftover after washing, this could ruin whatever you are going to cook. This could spread harmful bacteria into your food, and could be detrimental to your health.

Fresh herbs in a meal are delicious. Bunch them together and then use a pair of scissors to snip them. This will keep them drier and less heavy than if they are chopped.

Allow the food to sit for a little while before serving. It is a new idea to many, but allowing your food to rest can be quite beneficial. It has become almost habit now to serve up a meal as it comes right off the stove. However, you will miss out on great food if you do. Instead, allow each dish to cool briefly before serving it.

Having the prep work done a day in advance will make the healthy cooking process less stressful. Get everything together beforehand; ensure you have all the ingredients, and chop or measure anything you can in advance. This way, you won’t have to do the tedious tasks when you are ready to cook.

To give your pasta sauce some additional flavor, use some of the water that the pasta was cooked in. Set aside approximately one-fourth cup. When you are ready to mix your sauce and pasta together, incorporate some of this water. Starch in pasta water has a thickening effect on your sauce, making it seem creamier.

Run cold water over the onions after you cut them, if you plan to make salsa and keep it more than half an hour. Then use a towel to get the water off the onions. Fresh onions can emit sulfurous gas. If you wait long enough until the onions start emitting gas, your salsa could be ruined. Then you run the onions under water, much of the gas is removed.

Healthy Cooking

As you have learned from this article, there is much you can do to improve on your healthy cooking skills. All you need to have is a desire to learn new things and the time to do it. Busing this article, you could get around the kitchen easily. When you go into with the right attitude, healthy cooking can be quite fun.