Cooking does not have to be difficult to be “gourmet” but there are a few rules that must be followed. Two of the caveats of gourmet cooking call for no pre-packaged prepared or half-prepared foods to go into a gourmet recipe and no cooking a gourmet meal in a microwave. If you have not changed your mind yet, then maybe you are ready to try some gourmet cooking. Once you learn the rules and master a few techniques, gourmet cooking will not seem so complicated.

Only fresh ingredients go into a recipe- This means no dehydrated herbs or spices. All herbs must be fresh. Garlic cannot be “powdered”.

Quality matters more than anything else does. If the cheapest is not the best quality, then pay a little more.

“More” is not necessarily better. Enough is enough. There truly is a line that must not be crossed when it comes to adding seasoning or other ingredients to a recipe. Sometimes you must figure out where that line is all by yourself.

Sauces - Learn to deglaze and how much wine to use in different sauces. Find out the reasons for using every ingredient you put into your sauce.

Searing - Searing meat seals in juices before it is placed into a hot oven or slow cooker for hours on end.

Parboiling - Know how to boil foods until they are just enough “cooked” to cook them!

Essential Chopping and Grating - You should know how to julienne, flake, dice and grate.

Marinades and Rubs- Know how to prepare a marinade and how long to marinate different types of food before cooking. Understand which ingredients make the best rubs and how to use rubs to season the meat you cook.

Know Your Ingredients - Understand every ingredient you use for there are some rules for cooking certain types of food that do not apply to others. There are some ingredients that should never be used with certain others.

Cooking Appliances - You cannot use a microwave, but you can use a crock pot. Crock pot recipes for gourmet cooking are a little more complicated than the typical recipes used in crock pot cooking, but crock pots cook some foods (especially meat) better than the oven.

Gourmet chefs are not necessarily “born” though some might argue that there are people who were obviously born NOT to cook. If it has been said that you “cannot boil water”, do not fear. You can learn. All joking aside, gourmet cooking requires a lot of practice. Nearly every gourmet chef will tell you that they are constantly improving on their own recipes. Start by getting a cookbook that explains the above techniques and more and then practice preparing the foods.

There is a good chance you have already prepared some gourmet foods without realizing that you were cooking “gourmet”. It is not always as fancy as it sounds, but when you cook a gourmet meal for your family and friends, they do not have to know that!