Some Extra Help To Boost Your Cooking Skills

You've probably seen famous chefs on television cooking up delicious meals and wished that you could enjoy gourmet dishes. The good thing is that you can, if you make it. Cooking is like any other activity; if you hone and develop your skills, you can be a very good chef. Here are some great cooking tips that every good chef knows.

Change from ordinary table salt when cooking, to sea salt or kosher salt. The latter will add a much better flavor to the recipe. While it is important not to over-salt food for health reasons, leaving salt out of a recipe altogether can result in a meal that tastes bland. So seek a middle ground when using this seasoning.

The prep work comes first. It is important to have all the prep work done before you start cooking. When you have a timeline for your meal to be ready, things can get a bit stressful once you start cooking. Try to complete your preparations, so you can avoid scrambling later on.

Cook your rice in vegetable or chicken stock instead of using water. Choosing a stock will add both extra taste and valuable nutrients. The cooking process and time are the same as with water, so you won't be adding any extra work by trying this method.

Add a small pinch of sea salt to your ground coffee immediately before brewing. This will add a great punch of flavor to every cup. This process works well in either a traditional coffee maker or a french press. Don't add the salt before brewing time though, or your coffee flavor will be compromised.

Leave raw potatoes in cold water for at least 30 minutes before frying them to make crispier French fries. When your potatoes soak up cold fluids, their fibers are reinforced. This means that they will hold up better to the heat necessary for the frying process.

Learn some proper knife-work techniques to make your time in the kitchen safer, more productive, and more enjoyable. Proper cutting techniques not only help to ensure safety in the kitchen, but food cut properly and uniformly looks better (which of course makes it tastes better!) and cooks more evenly. Stop cutting off your fingertips and burning half of the French fries with proper cutting skills!

Use these tips as a blueprint, paving the way ahead for you as a home chef. Don't stop learning and getting ideas about cooking anywhere you can. If you make something once, and it doesn't come out well, try it again. Keep trying. Anyone can be a terrific chef if they just keep at it--even you!