How to learn to cook from scratch in no time

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-15 16:39

You don't have to complete a cooking course to learn how to cook well. One has only to know some of the secrets and features of the cooking process. Pay attention to the ingredients, do not forget about the spices and do not be afraid to experiment, then you can conquer everyone with your dishes.

Learn new techniques

To learn how to cook, you need to practice a few basic cooking techniques. Almost everyone knows how to fry, boil and stew. Now try cooking something with these methods:

• Steer-fry. Very fast roast. You need to pour quite a bit of oil, distribute it over the pan, wait for it to heat up, and throw the prepared food into it. Stir-fry involves constant stirring. Sometimes you can add special sauces (it's easy to find such a sauce - the package will indicate that this is a stir-fry sauce).
• Baking. The perfect way to cook vegetables. It does not require any skills at all: you need to put vegetables in a pan or on a baking sheet, salt, sprinkle with your favorite herbs and spices, pour over with oil and put in a preheated oven. The difficulty lies only in removing the baking sheet in time.

Caramelization. A cross between roasting and languishing. A lengthy process that helps pull the sugar out of foods (like onions or carrots) and turn it into caramel. The finished product has a sweetish taste, dark color and strong aroma. What is this technique for? It helps you make ordinary foods taste better or use them to create unusual dishes. For example, caramelized onions can be used as an ingredient in steak sauce, pie filling, or base for the famous French soup.

Study the ingredients

Why is cooking so cool? Because it is very fun and interesting. Entertain yourself - try to find five different ways to cook chicken with vegetables. It turns out that you can make a pasta, boil a soup, bake everything together, make a stew, or fry in thin slices in an Asian manner.

Learn a few win-win combinations as well. It will be quite difficult to make a tasteless dish out of them.

• Fish and lemon. A combination that can be used for frying, baking and any other way of cooking fish.
• Tomatoes, garlic, paprika, cheese. The first three ingredients are ideal for soups, sauces, stews and baked goods. Obviously, the pasta or pizza from the first three ingredients is perfectly complemented by cheese.

• Eggs and bacon, vegetables and bacon. The fact is that bacon itself is a product of little interest. But he has a characteristic bright taste. Combine it with scrambled eggs for the perfect balance. The same goes for vegetables. Bacon gives them a smoky flavor, makes them tastier and richer.
• Melon and ham. A salad that has slices of sweet and aromatic melon and slices of delicious ham can't be bad. You can also add ripe figs. There is a way to make this food combination even better: drink it with a glass of good wine.
• Poultry and fruits (chicken and orange, duck and apples). It is not necessary to cover the meat with fruit on all sides, imitating a cornucopia. Get creative: add orange zest to the marinade; Make applesauce for the bird. Do not be afraid. It will turn out to be unambiguously tasty.

Learn to use spices

It is not enough to understand only the ingredients. You also need to research spices. We have selected several classic, time-tested combinations that will definitely brighten your dish. But you should definitely not stop there and try to combine new spices.

For vegetables

• Black pepper, garlic, rosemary.
• Black pepper, garlic, dill, horseradish, celery.
• Black pepper, red pepper, garlic, dill, parsley, horseradish.

For meat dishes

• Anise, coriander, dill, nutmeg, white pepper, paprika.
• Fennel, celery, cardamom, onion, white pepper.
• Allspice, black pepper, cloves, ginger, onion.

For soups

• Marjoram, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme.
• Celery, marjoram, parsley, savory, basil.
• All kinds of garni bouquets: French, German, English.

And one more tip: study the composition of ready-made spice sets and find interesting combinations for yourself. And then put together such a combination yourself to be sure of the quality of the herbal mixture.

Learn to use lemon

If you're worried about making a dish too sour, start with a dish that can't be spoiled with lemon. Cook the fish first. Then add lemon juice to vegetables (such as broccoli before baking). Lemon is also put in a hodgepodge. It perfectly complements the flavor of this rich soup. This fruit can be used almost everywhere, only you need to do it carefully. If you remove the zest from the lemon, do not hook the white part under the skin - it tastes bitter.

Use cheese

Not liking cheese is practically a crime. There are so many different flavors that you just need to find yours. Cheese, soft cheese, hard cheese, blue cheese … It can be used as a main ingredient or as a spice. In general, cheese is difficult to do without.

Salt with soy sauce

Be sure to try cooking with soy sauce. If you like the Asian flavor of the dishes, it will be just great.

Firstly, soy sauce perfectly enhances the flavor of vegetables, meat and fish.

Secondly, if you like soy sauce, you can prepare the ingredients ahead of time, and then in a matter of minutes make wonderful rice with vegetables and seafood, ramen, udon with broth, and so on. Soy sauce will combine the ingredients into one delicious meal.

If you love and know how to cook with soy sauce, try cooking something with miso paste as well.

Make friends with the same interests

With what knife to cut meat, and with what - bread? Is it normal for the broth to be covered with a thick foam? What to do about it? What should be the normal cream? These and other questions that inevitably appear during cooking should be asked to someone. You can search for answers on the Internet. But it's better if you have like-minded people - friends who want to learn how to cook. You can also learn how to cook from books, instructions and videos. But it's better to have a "companion in misfortune" and learn the secrets of cooking together.