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We know that many of you are truly excellent cooks, but we also know that achieving perfect flavor requires more than just following the recipe. The recipe itself is only one part of the final result. No less important factors are the selection of tasty, good ingredients and also how they are handled.
Kitchen tips
We bring you these 11 kitchen tips that will make your food much tastier and give your guests the perfect feeling that a real chef is standing before them.
When to flip a steak while frying
If you leave the meat in the pan for too long, its crust will become very tough, and more importantly the inside will be dull and dry. To find out whether the meat is ready to be flipped, try gently shaking the pan. If the meat starts to slide across the pan, you can flip it.
Add cheese only at the end
When baking in the oven, it’s better to add cheese to the dish about 5 minutes before taking it out. Otherwise the cheese may burn in the oven or form a hard and not very tasty crust.
Find out if an egg is fresh
Drop an egg into a glass of cold water. If the egg sinks to the bottom, it means it is fresh and you can safely use it. If it floats in the middle, it is about 2 weeks old but still usable. An egg that floats on the surface is really old and you should not use it.
Choose the right oil
Frying in virgin olive oil is challenging because it starts to smoke quickly. Therefore choose oils with a higher smoke point, or use, for example, pork lard. You can also fry in olive oil, but choose lower temperatures and fry only briefly.
Let the meat rest
Never serve meat that has just been fried or grilled. Instead, let it rest for a few minutes before serving. This way the juices stay in the meat even after slicing and its texture and flavor will improve.
Grill fish with lemon
Use lemon slices as a layer between the grill grate and the fish itself. The meat will not be exposed to excessively high heat, and it will not stick to the grate or fall apart. In addition, lemon will give the fish a pleasant fresh flavor.
Consume wine as soon as possible
Wine begins to react with air immediately after opening, which means it can spoil within just a few days. Some types of wine are so sensitive that their quality drops sharply already on the second day after opening. Therefore, after opening, drink or use the wine as quickly as possible.
Make your own mayonnaise
Your guests will surely be pleasantly surprised by your homemade mayonnaise. Simply whisk one egg and gradually pour in 150 ml of olive oil. For seasoning, in addition to salt, you can use spices to taste, herbs, or mustard.
Use a hot glass to soften butter
If you need to soften butter that has hardened in the fridge, pour hot water into a glass and leave it there for about a minute. Then pour out the water and cover the hardened butter with the warmed glass. Thanks to this trick, the butter will become pliable within minutes and you can easily spread it.
Pan-fry fewer pieces of meat at once
If you are making a sauté, avoid having many pieces of meat in the pan at once. If the individual pieces touch each other, the meat will not sear but will boil. This causes the meat to release the juices that are inside and will result in a tough and dry outcome. To prevent this, fry the meat in a large pan where each piece has its own space.
Use warm milk for potatoes
When preparing mashed potatoes, be sure to use warm milk. If you use cold milk, the potatoes will lose their nice yellow color and take on grayish tones that certainly don’t look appetizing.
