We all tend to make mistakes in the kitchen while cooking, especially when we stand near the stove for the first time or master a recipe for the first time, especially an exotic one. But if we continue to repeat these mistakes, they can become habits, and it will be terrible. If you have any of these bad habits, then it's time to take all possible steps to get rid of them. You don't want to lose face in the dirt, do you?
You're not heating your pans well.
In some ways, it's not your fault. At home, stovetop burners, whether gas or electric, heat up more slowly and produce less heat than those found in many restaurants. No wonder your pans aren't very hot.
And the vegetables don't pan-roast as well as they do in a restaurant, and instead you end up cooking slowly, which results in a loss of texture, color and flavor.
You'll need to make up for the lack of heat and take extra time to get the container thoroughly heated before you start adding food to it.
Solution: Heat a frying pan over medium heat until a drop of water starts to shoot and jump out of it. But do not add oil to the pot or pan before heating, as it will splatter.
You over-salt food
Naturally, you need to be careful when adding salt to your food. After all, you can always add more, but you can't take it out. Anyone who has tried this knows it's true.
When it comes to salt, most recipes specify "salt to taste," which obviously means you should taste the dish. But this also means that you have to rely on your sense of taste.
And it depends on the food. You won't brine a steak for the grill the same way you would a meat you plan to simply pan-fry. Knowing how much seasoning to add and when to do it depends largely on experience.
However, you don't have to add too much salt to your food, just taste it right before you serve it and simply add seasoning if necessary. Or put the seasonings on the table, and everyone can add salt to their taste to any dish.
Solution: salt the way you are used to eating. And don't forget to add seasoning to the cooking water for pasta, rice and potatoes!
You don't read the recipe carefully
This can be one of the worst cooking habits, and it leads to all sorts of unfortunate results. Have you ever started a recipe and then discovered halfway through that you were missing one of the ingredients? What did you do? Did they just give it up? Have you tried adding anything else? Did you drop everything and run to the store? Maybe, unless it's Christmas and you have a million pans in the oven or on the stove.
Or how about that situation where you started cooking something for an afternoon party, but only after you started did you notice that everything needed to refrigerate for 10 hours?
These are extreme examples, but it's your own fault because you didn't read the recipe before cooking. A less extreme case is to rummage through a drawer to find the tool you need. However, it's time to break this habit.
The right way: Read the recipe before you start. Twice.
Your kitchen knives are not very sharp
The worst thing that can happen is dull knives in the kitchen, because they don't cut food well. And when you work with a dull knife, you have to press harder to force the blade to cut food. And when you apply more pressure, the blade is likely to slip. Not only will you end up ruining the knife, but you might also hurt yourself, all because you were pushing so hard on it.
And it is not at all necessary to sharpen knives at home yourself. Take them to the workshop. A professional will do this relatively quickly and cheaply.
Regardless of who does the sharpening, make sure you store your knives properly. Protect your blades (and your hands) with covers or store your knives in a special holder.
Solution: Take care of your knives and store them properly so they remain sharp, not dull.
You are weighing the flour incorrectly
Again, not entirely your fault. Many recipes call for cups of flour, so it's not surprising that people measure quantities this way. But this leads to unreliable results because you're dipping your cup into a bag of flour, which is the wrong way to measure.
And unlike other areas of the culinary arts, baking is quite challenging for people who try to master it. There are many types of flour from which you can make different flour products.
The best way is to use a scale. Then you will definitely do everything according to the recipe correctly.
Solution: Weigh your flour on a scale.
Do you store butter in the refrigerator?
Food should always be refrigerated. Cooler temperatures slow down the growth of bacteria that can spoil your food. Why not refrigerate all foods?
Not so fast. First of all, it is not necessary. Temperature is only one of six factors that promote bacterial growth. Moisture and protein are two other factors.
And although butter is considered a high-calorie food, it contains very little protein. Thus, leaving a pack of butter at room temperature, even for a week, will not poison you.
Solution: Don't be afraid to store butter on the kitchen counter in a covered butter dish.
You marinate the meat to make it tender.
The problem is that the methods you are using to achieve this goal are wrong. Particularly marinating.
Someone, somewhere is responsible for the idea that marinating meat will make it tender. Whoever it is must eat raw meat as punishment.
The thing is that the acids in the marinade (in the form of citrus juice, vinegar and the like), which help destroy connective tissue, do the opposite. Unfortunately, this is an ineffective method. Acids do not decompose protein, they make it harder.
This doesn't mean you shouldn't marinate meat. The marinade adds a unique flavor. But no amount of marinade will soften the meat.
Solution: Forget about trying to soften the meat by marinating, you're just doing it for the flavor.
Who among us has not made mistakes while preparing dishes? But not everything is as bad as it might seem.
Softening the oil.
Many baking recipes call for softened butter. This means that when you press on a piece of butter, a dent should remain on it. Often the butter is too soft, resulting in stale cakes and cookies. Taking the butter out of the refrigerator 35-40 minutes before cooking is the best solution.
Precision in quantity.
Often the mistake occurs in the absence of an accurate measurement of the amount of ingredients provided. It is not always possible to measure something correctly by eye, especially for a non-professional. Use measuring cups and spoons for more precise quantities called for in recipes.
Too much.
Often when preparing a dish, you want to immediately dump all the necessary ingredients into a frying pan. This is especially true for stewing sauces. But this can result in the pan simply overcrowding and the meat or fish not being golden brown or carmelized as desired. It is better to divide the sauce into several portions and pour it in gradually. Everything needs moderation and no haste.
Turning food during cooking.
Another mistake when cooking can be turning it over frequently. It is better to be patient and let the product fry well until the desired crust is obtained. And the main thing is that it will be much easier to pick it up from the pan and turn it over.
Well-heated dishes.
Do you give the cookware enough time to warm up? If your saucepan or frying pan is not hot enough, then the food will simply absorb all the oil and who needs that? Let the pan warm up well for 1-2 minutes. To check, throw a piece of the food you are going to cook into the frying pan. Does it squeak? So you did everything right.
After you've cooked meat or poultry, be sure to let it rest for a while before cutting. This will allow all the juices to distribute evenly throughout the meat. Just leave the dish for 5-10 minutes; for poultry or roast, you can set aside 20 minutes.
Cooking vegetables.
When you remove the cooked vegetables from the stove, they still, oddly enough, continue to cook. To add crispiness to vegetables and stop the cooking process, place them in a colander and cover with ice water.
Straight from the refrigerator.
Do not cook meat or fish taken directly from the refrigerator. instead, let them sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. Otherwise, the meat can easily overcook on the outside and remain undercooked on the inside.
Many grains (especially rice) create a starchy powder when packaged and transported, so they should always be rinsed before cooking. Place the cereal in a sieve and rinse thoroughly under running water. This will prevent the grains from sticking together during cooking.
Marinade and spices.
When it comes to seasonings like salt and pepper, you should add them separately from the marinade as they may lose their effect. It is best to first dip the meat in the marinade, then add salt and pepper, and then the breading (if any).
Cooking dates back to the times when cavemen roasted a mammoth carcass over a fire. Over time, people have come up with many different ways of cooking, but the principle remains the same - heat food to cook and improve the taste. Everything else is details learned by an inquisitive and creative mind through trial and error.
Steps
Cooking Basics
- Boiling is a fairly crude method of cooking as air bubbles can damage delicate foods. Therefore, cooking is used only for certain products, for example: cereals, root vegetables, pasta, eggs, etc.
- When cooking, food may lose some nutrients and vitamins.
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Frying. This is a fairly quick cooking method that involves using a heated frying pan with oil or fat.
- A quality frying pan is important. A good frying pan will heat food quickly and evenly, responding quickly to changes in temperature.
- The most commonly used fat, sunflower oil or butter. Also as an option - olive, rapeseed and other vegetable oils. Butter gives a unique taste, but burns faster than sunflower oil.
- The basic rule of frying is to heat the pan and oil before adding food. Otherwise, the food will absorb some of the oil and may burn. You can check the temperature of the frying pan with a drop of water - if you drop it and the water quickly evaporates with a hiss, you are ready to cook!
- When frying, you need to constantly stir the food, then the food will not burn and will fry evenly. Do not overcrowd the pan to prevent food from falling out when stirring.
- Thick foods are not suitable for frying - thick pieces of meat, coarsely chopped vegetables, etc. - when frying, they will only burn on the outside without having time to fry on the inside.
- If you are cutting food for frying, cut into thin slices or grate.
- Cooking times vary for different foods, which is something to consider if you're cooking foods together. For example, if you fry potatoes with onions, then first you need to fry the potatoes thoroughly, and only then add the onions. Otherwise, the onion will quickly burn and the dish will be ruined.
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Frying. The difference from regular frying is the amount of oil used. With this type of cooking, the pan is filled half or more with oil, and the food is immersed almost completely in the oil.
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Grill and barbecue. Both options are used for cooking meat, vegetables, and fish.
- Grill - heat treatment using air (in the oven).
- Barbecue - treatment with heat from an open fire.
- Before such preparations, meat is usually soaked in marinades to give the dish a special taste and aroma, and fish and vegetables are sprinkled with spices.
- The meat is placed on a spit or grill, allowing the fat to evaporate.
- The product must be turned or twisted so that it cooks completely and evenly.
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Microwave. Electromagnetic waves are used to heat the moisture inside the products, and the convection component ensures air movement.
- Do not use metal utensils or foil in the microwave oven. The food will not be heated, and in addition, you may burn out the microwave.
- Peeled foods and eggs need to be pierced to allow steam to escape, otherwise they may burst.
- It is better to cover the food with a special cap - then the food will warm up better and faster, and will also not splash juices from the inside of the microwave.
- Many recipes can be adapted to be cooked in the microwave.
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Baking. Baking takes place in an oven or oven. The main products are meat, vegetables, confectionery.
- When baking meat dishes, special attention is paid to spices, which sometimes make the dish taste simply fantastic!
- In order to check the readiness of food, use special thermometers or just toothpicks.
- After the dish is removed from the oven, it is allowed to “rest” for some time to make cutting easier.
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Extinguishing. Essentially it is cooking in a small amount of water. It is usually stewed in a saucepan or deep frying pan, covered.
- The peculiarity of stewing is that the result is a finished dish, since the water is not drained, and the dish is obtained in its own juice.
- There are many recipes for stewing meat, and the preparation itself usually takes several hours.
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Bakery. In principle, the same as baking, but applies more to dough-based confectionery products.
- It is very important when baking to maintain proportions and not to overdo it with ingredients.
- It is also important to familiarize yourself with the oven modes so as not to ruin the dish.
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Terms. Various specific terms may be used in cooking. Here are some of them:
- Beat- mix vigorously and quickly. Use a fork, whisk or mixer. In the process, the mass is saturated with air, increases in volume and becomes more homogeneous.
- Knead- mix the dough with your hands into a homogeneous mass.
- Notch- cut the surface of the product for decoration or to allow juice to escape during cooking.
- Undercooked- the pasta should not be cooked completely so that it is a little tough.
- Coating- greasing food with oil or fat to prevent it from burning during cooking.
- Blanch- pour over with boiling water or steam (or place in boiling water for a short time).
Preparing to cook
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Find some recipes. Have you already decided on a dish? Then we recommend looking for various recipes for preparing this dish.
- Recipes may vary both in preparation method and composition. Choose the option that is best for you.
- If you have already tried this dish, find out the recipe from the person who cooked it. In this case, you will also be able to find out more about the dish and preparation.
- If you are looking for a recipe on the Internet, pay attention to reviews and ratings.
- Improvise - new dishes are born all the time, it’s worth adding something new or removing unnecessary things.
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Get the ingredients. You already have some in the refrigerator or cabinet, but for the rest you will have to go to the store...
- Buy fresh produce whenever possible.
- Try to stick to the recipe and do not substitute ingredients. Although, if you are open to experimentation, improvise! You may ruin the dish, but you may end up with a culinary masterpiece!!!
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Prepare your food. Kitchen utensils should be ready and at hand - be it a knife, grater or frying pan. Prepare everything in advance.
- Wash and clean produce.
- Grind the products: cut into cubes, slice into slices, grate - as you like or as required by the recipe.
- Add salt, sugar, pepper, spices, herbs - as needed. The same dish can be made in different flavors, just playing with spices.
- Soaking in marinade is a more complex process. Beginners are advised to first learn all the intricacies so as not to throw food down the toilet later.
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Heat everything in advance. This tip works for almost everything:
- Heat the water in advance if you are going to cook something.
- Heat a frying pan with oil in advance if you are going to fry.
- Preheat the oven in advance if you plan to bake anything.
Cooking. Cooking occurs when water boils, when the water heats up and reaches a temperature at which it begins to evaporate. The boiling point of water depends on atmospheric pressure, but is usually around 100 degrees Celsius. When boiling, food is placed in boiling water and cooked until it is done.
Each of us has had incidents in the kitchen more than once... Vegetables have become dull, meat is not cooked through, something is burnt... everything can be avoided, which, in fact, is easier than fixing. Read and take note of these rules, the cooking process itself will be easier and the result will please you!
1) Read the recipe carefully before you begin the cooking process. Analyze, imagine the process. This is your map on your culinary journey!
2) Mise en place - literally “put in place.” The basic rule of professionals when cooking. Before you start cooking, prepare all the necessary utensils, prepare and measure all the ingredients, cut, wash. In general, prepare everything you will need while preparing the dish before you start.
Auguste Escoffier, the same Auguste Escoffier, the French chef, probably the most legendary personality in cooking, made this rule mandatory in the kitchen.
3)Taste often! It happens that some ingredients unexpectedly make the taste richer and saltier (some types of cheeses, herbs, smoked meats, and so on). In addition, not all types of salt are equally salty, just as not all varieties and even batches of sugar are equally sweet.
4) Be sure to preheat the oven ahead of time if the recipe calls for it! Don't skip this step. Since the dish will be baked equally on all sides, in addition, the cooking process will begin at the correct temperature, which significantly affects the initial result.
5) Correctly, carefully measure the amount of ingredients indicated in the recipes. This is especially true for baking, since it is more chemistry than art. Measure everything carefully and you will be able to avoid hard bread, shapeless cookies, unbaked muffins, and so on.
6) When frying, do not put too much in the pan, be it meat, liver or just pancakes. Otherwise, you won't have that delicious golden crispy crust that everyone loves so much! You will be simmering, not frying!
7) Heat the pan well before adding food to it. Be patient, this is important!!
First, the product will absorb a lot of fat in a cold pan.
Secondly, you can forget about an even golden crust.
Thirdly, food may stick to some pans, and you will have to carefully remove it all! (We are talking about stainless steel frying pans, which are the best for obtaining an appetizing crust and high-quality juices after frying to create a divine sauce. They need to be heated thoroughly, add oil, and only then the product for frying!)
8) If you are cooking meat or fish, no matter what cooking method you choose, allow the product to come to room temperature first. The pulp will cook evenly and the cooking time will be shorter, which affects the final result.
9) When you cook, bake, roast a bird or piece of meat, or even a steak, let the meat rest on the platter before slicing. For small pieces and steaks, 5 minutes is enough; for whole birds and large roasts, 15-30 minutes are needed. Depending on the size. Then the meat will be juicier, since the juice will no longer flow out as much. And it will be easier to cut because the meat will “relax.” You tried so hard, then why ruin everything so quickly?!
Cooking foods at low temperatures will help preserve vitamins and nutritional value - preferably no higher than 100 °C, as well as steaming or boiling water. It is better to cook vegetables at temperatures below 60 °C - otherwise vitamin C is destroyed. You can preserve the maximum of valuable substances if you peel the vegetables right before cooking, put them in boiling water, immediately reduce the heat and cook under the lid.
High-temperature cooking over a fire or grill has recently become a habit among us, notes nutrition consultant Laurent Chevalier: “In prehistoric times, people baked meat on stones near a fire, in the Middle Ages they cooked food near a fire, but never on the flame itself. In rural areas, until the mid-twentieth century, people continued to use a wood-burning stove, where the temperature did not exceed 120 °C"*. Chemists confirm that temperatures above 120 °C destroy nutrients and trigger reactions that result in the formation of elements that can harm the body. Thus, cooking over an open fire causes the Maillard reaction: this French chemist discovered that high temperature changes the quality of the amino acid in the presence of sugar. “It is this reaction that gives the characteristic color to bread crust, chicken skin, and chips,” says nutritionist Anna Belousova. “Plus, it gives off that delicious fried smell.” But all this is accompanied by the production of acrylamide, a molecule recognized by the World Health Organization as potentially carcinogenic.
Good idea: Slow cooking at low temperatures preserves the flavor and nutritional properties of meat, poultry and fish. For example, baking 800 g of veal fillet at 70 °C requires one and a half hours. Marinades help reduce time while avoiding unwanted chemical reactions. Anna Belousova recommends using kiwi for this at the rate of one ripe fruit per kilogram of meat. “The main thing is not to overdo it,” the nutritionist emphasizes. “Its juice contains so many enzymes that it can turn old beef into a tender pate.” It’s good to add wine when cooking: evaporating without a trace, it improves the taste of the meat. To get a golden brown crust and not harm your health, you can rub the meat with a mixture of curry and paprika - natural antibiotics and antiseptics.
Should be avoided: intensive and prolonged processing of food in the oven, frying pan and grill. If you do fry, make sure that the food does not burn: the crust should remain golden and not blacken. It is also better to avoid chips, crunchy cereals, store-bought cookies and highly roasted coffee. These products contain many potentially hazardous substances that are formed during industrial cooking.
Preparation
While setting the oven to 100°C is not difficult, we cannot control the temperature of a frying pan or grill just as clearly. Hot coals exposed to fat ignite and cause the release of benzopyrene, a potentially carcinogenic substance. To avoid this, Laurent Chevalier advises choosing vertical electric or gas barbecues. And Anna Belousova suggests cooking on “calm”, slightly reddish coals, when there is no smoke from them, and, if possible, not using purchased coal. “It is impregnated with chemicals to make it burn faster,” explains the nutritionist.
What about the microwave? “Not a single serious study has yet proven its harm,” notes Laurent Chevalier. “However, it is known for sure that under the influence of electromagnetic waves, more than a hundred food substances, including many vitamins, minerals and bioflavonoids, change their chemical structure. But no one has yet studied how they affect the body. Therefore, they are called only potentially dangerous,” explains Anna Belousova.
THE MICROWAVE OVEN SHOULD NOT BE USED CONSTANTLY: IT CAN CHANGE THE STRUCTURE OF FOOD SUBSTANCES.
Experts agree that it is acceptable to use the microwave for heating from time to time. But it is important not to put food in it in film or plastic containers (both materials are petroleum products), otherwise the food will come into direct contact with hazardous substances - bisphenol A and phthalates. “By the way, these chemicals are released not only when heated,” the nutritionist emphasizes and recommends reducing the use of plastic to a minimum: buying products in cardboard or glass containers or without packaging at all, and instead of plastic containers using ceramic and enamel dishes or waxed paper for storage .
Good idea: It is better to give preference to traditional cooking methods. Baking in the oven is convenient, but the temperature in it should not exceed 120 °C. It is good to have a special thermometer in the kitchen to monitor the cooking process.
Should be avoided: contact of products with open fire. It is also better not to consume ready-made deep-fried foods, especially in restaurants where the same oil is used several times. The content of carcinogens in such a dish is off scale.
Dishes
When exposed to heat, non-stick coatings, chipped aluminum cookware and plastics release substances that are harmful to health. Therefore, it is especially important to choose dishes made from quality materials, even if they are not cheap. The best option is stainless steel. The price is significant, but such dishes practically do not deteriorate over time. You can cook vegetables, meat, rice, pasta and even baked goods in it. Also good are cast iron, glass, ceramic-coated pans, fireproof porcelain, enamel and unglazed ceramics. The latter, however, requires careful care. “This porous material absorbs everything, so it is not worth cleaning it with modern cleaning products,” warns Anna Belousova. “Only baking soda and laundry soap are suitable for it.”
STAINLESS STEEL, CAST IRON, CERAMICS, GLASS OR PORCELAIN – YOU NEED TO CHOOSE QUALITY TABLEWARE.
Good idea: Instead of aluminum foil, use wax paper for baking.
Should be avoided: primarily plastic of all types, as well as non-stick coatings, such as Teflon. Its effect on the body is still poorly understood due to the “trade secret” of production. And of course, you should not use pots and pans with chips and scratches.
Oil
The healthiest oils contain a minimum of saturated and maximum unsaturated acids (omega-3 and omega-6). Rapeseed, soybean and linseed oils have these characteristics. But they are only suitable for seasoning ready-made dishes, as they do not tolerate heat well. Among the most resistant to high temperatures are refined olive, sesame and sunflower oils (heating up to 230 °C is permissible) and grape seed oil (up to 200 °C).
Good idea: It is better to store butter in melted form, as it is more resistant to oxidation. To obtain the required amount of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, it is optimal to use refined olive oil for frying, and unrefined olive and sunflower oils for seasoning ready-made dishes.
Should be avoided: the oil should not smoke. The substances that are released (benzene, benzopyrene, acrolein...) are harmful even in small doses. It is best not to fry with animal fats that darken at high temperatures, such as butter and lard. They begin to burn at 120 °C, and therefore are suitable only for quick culinary manipulations, such as sautéing flour or frying garlic.
* L. Chevalier “Je maigris sain, je mange bien” (Fayard, 2011).
Rice oil: health concentrate
Rice bran oil, widely available in Asia and Australia, is also available in our health food stores. It has a lot of advantages. Firstly, it begins to smoke later than other vegetable oils - at 240 °C. Secondly, it has a neutral taste. In addition, numerous antioxidants and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in its composition help reduce cholesterol levels and improve intestinal health. And the special substance gamma-oryzanol, which is found only in rice bran, normalizes liver function. O.M.