Uncategorized – Tsunami of Spices

When it comes to cooking, it is essential to keep in mind that everyone started somewhere. There is a lot of learning that needs to be done to become a productive cook and then there is always room for improvement. Not only do you need to begin with the basics when it comes to cooking but you almost need to begin again when learning to cook a new cuisine.

Many people cook for different reasons. Some cook to eat and survive while others cook because they really enjoy the process of cooking. Whatever your reason for cooking or learning to cook you should always begin with the basics.

The first thing that you need to learn is the different terminology used in cooking. when it comes to cooking basics, try simpler recipes for a while and then expand your limits. You don’t have to study cooking for years to get better at cooking food. Even as a beginner, it’s possible to cook delectable meals without detailed skills.

Cooking is perceived as an art that results in delightful foodstuffs. It is the only science that saves one from hunger and satisfies our cravings. One requires several sorts of gadgets to efficiently prepare food.

Cooking is fun, but kitchen safety is a priority. Many pieces of equipment can be very dangerous. Sharp objects like knives, open fire by the oven, electrical appliances around the kitchen. Following the basic rules of the kitchen, safety is a good rule, to begin with. Always give attention to what you’re doing in the kitchen. Adopt a plan for kitchen cleanliness, and have necessary safety equipment at your disposal.

THE BASIC RULES OF COOKING

The Kitchen Gear

The apron is used as a great shield against spills and stains. It is considered a uniform and a mandatory tool for home cooks and chefs who spend most of the day in the kitchen.

Read the Entire Recipe First

Reading the entire recipe before you start cooking will just give you a quick heads up before you make it into anything.

Use Measuring Tools

Measuring tools are some of the most important items in the kitchen.

Chop Easily With a Sharp Knife

Make sure that your knife is sharp. Not only will it make things easier, but it will also make things safer.

Don’t Improvise too Much

Wait until you're a little bit more experienced before improvising and adding your own touches to the recipe.

Let Red Meat Sit Before Cutting It

Wrap the meat in aluminum foil and let it sit there for around 5 minutes so the juices will have some time to settle before you cut it.

Turn Pan Handles to the Side

Make sure that the pan handles on the stove are facing inwards, to avoid accidents.

Taste Dishes Before Serving

Tasting food before serving it to anyone is the only way to make sure that it tastes great

Don’t Work Near Heat Sources

Avoid working near the stove, to prevent burns and spillage.

4 Steps for Food Safety

CLEAN ----Always wash your food, hands, counters, and cooking tools.

Wash hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds. Do this before and after touching food. Wash your cutting boards, dishes, forks, spoons, knives, and countertops with hot soapy water. Do this after working with each food item. Rinse fruits and veggies. Clean the lids on canned goods before opening.

SEPERATE------ Keep raw foods to themselves. Germs can spread from one food to another.

Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs away from other foods. Do this in your shopping cart, bags, and fridge. Do not reuse marinades used on raw foods unless you bring them to a boil first. Use a special cutting board or plate for raw foods only.

COOK---- Foods need to get hot and stay hot. Heat kills germs.

Cook to safe temperatures: Beef, Pork, Lamb 145 °F Fish 145 °F Ground Beef, Pork, Lamb 160 °F Turkey, Chicken, Duck 165 °F Use a food thermometer to make sure that food is done. You can’t always tell by looking.

CHILL----- Put food in the fridge right away.

2-Hour Rule: Put foods in the fridge or freezer within 2 hours after cooking or buying from the store. Do this within 1 hour if it is 90 degrees or hotter outside. Never thaw food by simply taking it out of the fridge. Thaw food: In the fridge Under cold water In the microwave Marinate foods in the fridge.

Tales from the Table

When you plan your meals right, you won’t have too much of it leftover. This is the smart way of cooking food and reducing waste. However, in some families, leftover night gives the cook in the family a much-needed break. Leftover food is also ideal for elderly people or those living alone who prefer not to cook every day. So here are some tips, ideas, and easy ways to use leftover food.
Leftover foods can be a benefit to both…… your budget and your time. They’re also a great way to reduce food waste.

A shocking amount of food goes to waste. Much of this food gets thrown away before it ever reaches consumers, but a lot of food waste comes from our kitchens. Some of this waste results from leftovers from meals that aren’t eaten, and some is created during preparation, such as vegetable peels. Either way, food waste is expensive.
Hence if you find yourself constantly discarding leftovers and food portions, it’s time to be productive and start utilizing them.

Many people just don’t know what to do with leftovers. After finishing a dinner ,some might look at what’s left on the table and can’t understand any way of serving it again. So rather than put it in the fridge, they decide to throw it away and be done with it.
But that food is still perfectly good, and there are plenty of ways to put it to good use. By thinking outside the box, you can plate it for the servants or give it to the people who are sitting outside hungry, or use them as ingredients in a different meal that can feed the whole family next day.

The simplest way to use up leftovers is to eat them for lunch. If it’s a weekend it’s easy enough to reheat that leftover. If you don’t want to eat the same thing two days in a row, simply save it for the next day.

If you have to go to work, these leftovers can still be the source of lunch, instead of throwing it away. Leftovers are a chance to get creative

If you want a change, you can combine your leftovers with fresh ingredients to make a new dish, such as a salad or sandwich.

Practically, if you don’t want to eat the same thing so many times in a row, you can just put the whole meal in the freezer and reheat it later in the week for a quick dinner.

If you think you’re not going to have a chance to finish your leftovers within a few days of preparation, you can transfer them to a freezer-safe container and store it in the freezer. Good containers for freezing leftovers include:

Pyrex Bowls
Mason Jars
Plastic Containers
Zip-Top Bags
Freezer Wrap.

It’s a good idea to label containers of leftovers with the contents

Normally, it’s best to restore leftovers whenever you can instead of letting them go to waste. However, this only applies to food that’s still safe to eat. If leftovers have already gone bad, they’re not food anymore they’re a case of food poisoning. To keep yourself safe, it’s best to discard any food that looks or smells at all suspicious. However, you can’t always identify bad food by smell, so you should also keep track of how long your leftovers have been in the fridge. This is particularly important with cooked meat and any type of salad containing mayonnaise since this food goes bad quickly.

However, even if your leftovers and food scraps are no longer fit to eat, there’s still one way left to get some use out of them By putting rotten fruit and veggie scraps in a compost bin, you can turn them into fertilizer for your garden. So even if your leftovers can’t feed you, they can still feed your plants.

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THE BASIC RULES OF COOKING

4 Steps for Food Safety

The Leftovers

Tales from the Table