Burnt Toast, Ways To Avoid Ruining Your Food / Cooking Tips / By Bary Smith No ratings yet. No ratings yet. Cooking is a valuable skill that everyone should have. A meal at home is fresher and more delicious. Unfortunately, not everyone has as much skill as they desire. Read below to find great advice to improve your skills. You should store your spices and herbs in a cool dry space out of direct sunlight to avoid flavor loss. Heat, light, and a large amount of humidity can ruin spices and herbs. Herbs and spices generally keep their taste and flavor for about one year. Spices that have not been ground have the potential to last upwards of five years. If you store them properly, they will stay fresh for a longer period of time. Store spices and herbs in cool and dark areas so their freshness and flavors are preserved. The quality and freshness of spices and herbs will diminish when locked in warm areas. TIP! For the best cooking results, spices have to be replaced after six months. When spices are stored for too long, their flavor degrades, resulting in a less potent spice. Being organized is a key step when planning to prepare a meal for family or friends. Gather all of your ingredients well in advance. Set all of the non-perishable ingredients and utensils out the day ahead. This will aid you in keeping calm and doing your best. Corn Starch Here is a tip that will thicken your sauce quickly and easily so that all your hard work will have not been wasted. Combine 1 tablespoon corn starch with 2 tablespoons water, and stir together in a separate bowl. Add the mixture into sauce and set to simmer in order to thicken it. Make sure not to add the corn starch too quickly; keep stirring and stop when the sauce is thick enough. Try cooking with saffron if you are all about trying new spices. Saffron has a bold, upbeat flavor that you won’t find in anything else. Saffron is a world renown herb. It is a highly sought after spice, but it’s also the most expensive one. TIP! When you decide to cook with skewers there are a few strategies to keep in mind. Avoid round metal skewers and stick to square or twisted types. Before frying raw potatoes, allow them to soak for half an hour in a bowl of cold water; this will result in crispier fries. When potatoes are allowed to absorb cold water, the texture is able to withstand the extreme heat of cooking without breaking down and becoming mushy. If you cooked with a sauce, save the leftover sauce in an ice cube tray that you can freeze. This makes it easy to prepare a quick meal by reheating the sauce using a saute pan. Don’t worry, your sauce will taste great even after having been frozen. It is desirable to store dry goods like flour and sugar in tightly sealed containers. Foods stored in airtight containers remain fresh longer due to lack of exposure to air. In addition, the foods will be protected from insect infestations. You can find these containers in a variety of sizes online or at local stores. Regardless of where you purchase them, using these containers is a choice you are unlikely to regret. If you are just beginning your adventure with home cooking, look online, at a bookstore, or at the library for a cookbook that has simple, easy recipes that you’ll take pleasure in both preparing and eating. Try your hand at some of the recipes, remembering that patience is key during the learning process. TIP! If you are going to stir-fry meat, be sure to have it cut on the bias and finely sliced. This may take some time and effort. As you can see, cooking can be easy. With the right techniques, creating delicious dishes for family and friends can suddenly become a breeze! Now that you have been introduced to these great tips and tricks, you just need to make the time to go and give them a try! Please rate this Please Rate Winnellie Supermarket Post navigation ← Previous PostNext Post →