Don’t Be Afraid When You Decide To Cook A Special Meal

Is cooking for the family every night getting old? The idea of cooking a meal for yourself should not be enough to send you in a tailspin! This article contains a number of tips that will make the process of preparing meals a lot easier. Make mealtime a source of enjoyment, not exasperation.

Protect your spice and herb collection by storing your jars at room temperature in a dark place. If your spices are exposed to moisture, heat, or light they may lose their flavor. Usually herbs and ground spices tend to stay fresh for about a year. Whole spices can retain flavor for about three or five years. You must store them correctly in order to maintain their freshness.

Cooking a large meal for friends or family requires a great deal of preparation ahead of time. Gather all the ingredients beforehand. Set all of the non-perishable ingredients and utensils out the day ahead. This will limit the amount of stress you experience when cooking the meal and help to ensure that you are able to cook the masterpiece you want.

You can prepare a lot prior to cooking to streamline your cooking process. Look at your recipes before starting and clue in on the steps that can be done ahead of time without having any spoilage issues. Much of the preparations can be finished one day prior to cooking. This can turn even the most complex recipes into quick, fun and fast cooking jobs.

If you partially freeze meat before slicing it, you will find that it is much easier to cut it into thin strips. This technique is especially useful for the meat slicing styles typically used in Asian cuisine. When meat is slightly frozen, it becomes simpler to slice because the fibers won’t stretch and tear that easy. A word of caution, allow meat to completely thaw prior to cooking. This will ensure even cooking of your meat.

One good way to store extra sauce is to freeze it using ice cube trays. This way, the next time you want some sauce, all you need to do is saute it in a pan. The sauce will be very edible after it comes out of the trays.

Cooking for your family can sometimes drive you crazy. There are a lot of things that can be done to make cooking easy. The next time you head to your kitchen, feel free to relax.