5 Crucial Tips For New Cooks And Chefs - Cooking Tips - Learn How To Cook

Being new to the cooking world can be very challenging for someone who doesn't know their way around the kitchen. Becoming a great cook takes years of practice and experience as well as patience and a sense for good food. Not everyone is great at putting together a delicious three course meal every night but with a little practice it can make a tedious task look like a piece of cake as time goes on. Here are a few tips that can help even the most experienced cook have a smooth sailing in the kitchen daily.

• Less Is Always Best

Seasoning to taste is a very crucial part of cooking a great meal. It doesn't matter how good of a cook you think you are if the food is too salty or peppered down it will taste faulty. Adding too much seasoning can definitely ruin a possibly great and delicious meal. Remember you should just use a pinch at a time and keep tasting the dish until you get the right consistency of flavor you want. Putting too much at one time can ruin the whole dish and make the meal inedible as well as disappointing. It may look great to the eye but the taste will be horrible.

• Plate Your Dishes Like An Iron Chef

Make your dishes look attractive when serving. This may seem like a stupid tip but people will turn they nose up at great food because of how it is served to them. Make sure your plates and serving dishes are always clean and spotless. Watch the Food Network and start practicing daily how they plate food for a beautiful and delightful finish. Remember it doesn't matter how good the food is if it is not appealing too the eye of the person eating it.

• Always Measure For Eating Pleasure

I know we all have watched cooking shows where the chef automatically and magically knows what a teaspoon or a cup is without using any type of measuring spoon or cup. What we fail to realize is that these are usually professionals who have been cooking so long that they can do this without ruining their dishes. When you are an amateur cook, using measuring spoons and measuring cups aide greatly in the perfection of a great meal. Remember when you follow a recipe out a cookbook etc., those portions are not there for nothing. Sometimes using a teaspoon too much of something can ruin your whole dish beyond repair.

• Always Use The Correct Pot

Depending on the particular food you are preparing, you have to always select the right pot or baking dish to prevent a kitchen disaster. If you use the wrong size pot, it can lead to a big mess of spill-overs, as well as extra cleaning of your stove and/or oven. This can be eliminated by knowing the size of the dish you are making ahead of time and making sure that the pot and/or baking dish size adheres to the servings in question. Avoid plastic handles, as these can fall off easily and cannot go in the oven. Pick up each pan and feel it. If the pan is too large and heavy, you risk accidents. Do not forget to ensure the pan has a well-fitting lid.

• Be A Clean Cook At All Times
  

Always clean up as you go and make sure that you always cook in a clean kitchen. A good chef does not cook with dirty dishes in the sink from the night before etc. This is very important because cooking in a unsanitary kitchen can cause cross contamination and get you, your family or your guest very sick. It is best to wash and rinse all utensils, pots and pans that are being used right before you start to prepare your meal. Remember a clean cook is a safe cook. Don't put raw meat on the cutting board and then put cooked meat on there right after. This can cause salmonella or an even more dangerous bacterial sickness.