Take yourself from nervous amateur to confident cook with these essential cooking techniques.
Start simple and apply these cooking techniques to some essential recipes.
As you learn, keep in mind that cooking is a skill that takes practice.
Credit: Blaine Moats
Food Safety
1.
How to Keep Your Food Safe
Food safety should be first and foremost in the kitchen.
Chopping and Prepping
2.
Get comfortable with achef’s knifeto make these tasks feel quick and easy.
Safety comes first, so start by learning basics like cleaning and sharpening your knife.
It’s an essential skill because dull knives are more dangerous than sharp knives.
Next, master how to make simple knife cuts.
The more you cook, the more practice you’ll get!
you’re able to even cheat on this cooking technique by buying already minced garlic.
Just know it won’t have the same flavor as fresh garlic.
How to Chop an Onion
Onions are full of flavor.
They’re the base of manysavory recipes like soupsand sauces.
Compared to general knife skills,chopping an onionis almost its own art form.
Without the proper technique, it’s easy to accidentally cut yourself when removing the pit.
With this trick in your repertoire, adding avocado slices to salads will be a snap.
What’s more, making yourhomemade guacamoleand whipping up fancy avocado toast will all be within your grasp.
Fortunately (for the frugal chefs among us), it’s simpler than you might think.
As you cut, look for the fat lines and the places where the joints meet.
The chicken will help guide your knife to where it should be cut.
Baking Tips
7.
Line a pan with foil before you bake brownies to cut cleanup time in half.
Ensureyour baked goods come out intactby taking a few extra minutes to line your cake pans correctly.
After all, no one wants a crumbly layer cake!
Tomeasure correctly, spoon your flour into the measuring cup.
When the cup is full, level it off with the straight side of a knife.
How to Bake Bread
Baking bread is a great cooking technique to have in your culinary repertoire.
There’s a lot more out therethan sourdough, too.
Learnhow to make simple quick breadsthat don’t require yeast, like acrusty focacciaor classic sandwich bread.
Whether you’replanning a birthday partyor just a small dinner party, a good cake is never out of place.
How to Make Frosting
Of course, every cake needs a topping.
Start simple with aneasy powdered sugar glaze, or learnhow to make the best-ever buttercream.
Cooking Techniques
12.
In fact, you could easily cook an entire meal in just your saute pan!
Just think of all the different ways this cooking method can come in handy.
This technique is a must-know!
Roasting vegetables is a great way to take them from plain to mouthwatering.
Just know that not all vegetables and proteins roast for the same amount of time.
Pay close attention to your recipe’s instructions or one of thesego-to cookbookswhile you learn this technique.
How to Cook with Fresh Herbs
Leave the dried herbs on the grocery store shelves and use fresh instead.
You’ll be surprised how much more flavor fresh herbs can add to a dish.
They won’t keep as long as dried herbs, so ensure you knowhow to store them correctly.
It’s a great way to take your dinner to the next level without adding cost.
Deglazing allows you to incorporate the browned bits left in the pan after cooking into your sauce.
This process adds a ton of flavor and ensures the sauce complements your meal.
How to Prepare Staple Foods
18.
How to Make Salad Dressing
Homemade dressing is better than store-bought for several reasons.
How to Cook Chicken
Is there anything aperfectly cooked chicken breastcan’t do?
Just be sure to master at least one method that will work best for you.
Using your oven is one of the simplest ways to enjoy a tender, juicy steak at home.
For beginners,baked fishis an easy, good-for-you protein perfect for basic dinners and special occasions.
The key islearning the flaking testto know when your fish is done baking.
How to Make Broth
Sure, store-bought might be easiest, buthomemade brothis the most delicious option.
All of your future soups and sauces will be much better once you learn how to make broth.
And there’s nothing better than a fluffy baked potato with all the fixings.
If you use a lot of rice, it might be worth investing in a rice cooker.
But, once you master cooking it on your stovetop, this technique is hard to beat.
How to Cook Pasta
Quick dinner?
Before you know it, there’s a meal on the table.
With so many uses, perfecting the cooking technique foral dente noodlesis a must!
Frequently Asked Questions
The 4 Cs are cleaning, cooking, cross-contamination, and chilling.
There are many different methods of cooking that require different types of equipment and cooking times.
