Cooking at home is one of the best ways to save money and ensure a healthy diet.
But why does it have to be so hard?
Actually, it’s not. These easy cooking tips will help you craft delicious, healthy, and budget-friendly meals at home.
Easy Cooking Tips for Anyone
Most people aren’t naturally gifted cooks. They learn through trial and error, but we’re here to help you avoid the error part.
Discover the best secrets and tricks of the trade to master the kitchen in no time.
Preparation is Key
You need to prepare before you start cooking anything. This vital step can reduce the stress of cooking and ensure you don’t miss an essential part of the process.
Prepare by reading the recipe in advance and taking out everything you will need – including pots, cutting knives, and spices.
Next, cut, chop, and prep your veggies. Do it before you even turn the frying pan on. Then prep the other ingredients, like melting butter, boiling water, or mixing dry ingredients.
Taking time to plan your process before you start cooking will save you headaches in the kitchen.
Taste Your Food
Following a recipe to a tee is great, but everyone has different palates. Tasting your food as you go will ensure it is perfectly spiced to meet your needs and allows you to fix problems while it’s still cooking.
“Taste. Your. Food,” demanded one user. “Don’t be like me, the idiot who used precise measuring spoons for his first two years in the kitchen. Add a little bit of salt/spice. Taste it. If it’s a bit under-seasoned, add some more. Doing this is how you build up intuition in the kitchen, and it’s how you learn how season things intuitively,” they explained.
Another likened not tasting your food while cooking to playing music with earplugs and painting with a blindfold.
Cooking is an art for your taste buds, so use them to ensure everything is correct.
Use Medium Heat
Hotter isn’t always better. Too many people turn the burner all the way up and then wonder why their food is burned.
High heat should only be used for quickly searing meat; in most cases, the medium setting is your best friend.
“In college, I had a friend ask how I made grilled cheese both melty and without burning,” shared one user. “He was just putting it on high and sticking the sandwich on the pan.”
Turning the burner down is probably the easiest cooking tip to implement.
Know When To Follow a Recipe
One user explained that recipes are vital when baking, but more of guidelines when it comes to cooking. Others agreed, adding that baking is more of a science, while stovetop cooking can be considered an art.
Beginners should follow the recipe to a tee when baking. However, after you become more experienced in the kitchen and learn the science behind baking, you should experiment a little and see where it takes you.
“Baking is all about understanding the rules, so you know how to carefully break them,” explained one user.
Read the Recipe
Recipes are your best friend when you first start cooking. Read it, understand it, and read it again!
It’s far too easy to skip a crucial step when trying a new recipe. It’s essential to follow the instructions exactly as indicated, especially when making the dish for the first time.
“Follow every step as written THE FIRST TIME you make it. Once you know how it turns out when the recipe is followed to the letter, you’ll have a better idea of how to tinker with the dish to suit your tastes,” advised one user.
Oil, Garlic, and Butter
Want something to taste good? Add oil, garlic, or butter. In moderation, these three components can enhance most dishes’ flavor.
“This is the basis of every Portuguese meal, onion and garlic slow fried in olive oil, works with countless dishes,” shared one Redditor.
Of course, it doesn’t work on everything.
“Took this advice, and now I’m banned from the ice cream parlour,” joked another user.
Clean As You Go
Cooking and cleaning every night is a monumental task that can quickly become overwhelming. Many users said cleaning as you go can help reduce the burden.
“If you’re not using a utensil or strainer or whatever you use anymore, clean it while you wait. I’ve kind of made it a game to see how efficient I can be while cooking. It’s kind of fun,” claimed one user.
Others said they wash, rinse, and clean up whenever they can. If the meat is simmering, rinse a bowl. Clear the counter while the water is boiling.
This easy cooking tip isn’t so much about making a great meal, but about reducing the stress of cooking at home.
But Avoid Multi-Tasking
Cleaning as you go is great for experienced chefs and for when you’ve got the timer set. But if you’re trying a new recipe for the first time, you may want to avoid distractions.
Do one thing at a time. Ensure it’s done properly before moving on to the next task.
Add Slowly
When cooking, you can always add more of something, but you can’t take it away. You can easily add more salt whenever needed, but once something is over-salted, it’s nearly impossible to fix.
Therefore, you should add spices in small quantities, mix, and taste before adding more.
Use a Meat Thermometer
Undercooked meat can lead to dangerous diseases such as Salmonella poisoning. It’s vital to cook your meat to a proper temperature to prevent these illnesses.
“Meat thermometer is a must,” stated one user. “I use it on everything, even testing the temp of my kids’ chicken nuggets or my chimichanga from the microwave to see if it’s warm inside.”
Others said you should get two, a large one for whole birds and roasts, and a smaller one for pork chops or steaks.
Start Small
No one starts out making mouthwatering five-course meals for their friends and family. Most start with simple, easy-to-follow recipes and work their way up.
Start with the basics and follow each step as it’s listed. Watch videos and read books on cooking. Make small tweaks to your favorite budget foods.
After you get a handle on easy recipes, you can graduate to more complicated things and even create your own culinary masterpieces.
Invest in Quality Cookware
Dull knives make prep a nightmare. Poor-quality pans stick, burn food, and make cooking harder than it needs to be.
Buying decent cookware the first time will save you loads of time and energy in the kitchen. It doesn’t need to be the super fancy kind, either.
“You don’t have to spend 100s of dollars on good cookware, but a 50-90 dollar set works well,” shared one user.
Others also discussed getting a knife sharpener. It may seem counterintuitive, but a sharp knife is far easier and safer than a dull knife.
Ask YouTube
If you learn better by seeing, search for recipes on YouTube. The platform features thousands of chefs sharing their favorite recipes with you.
The best cooking channels show you how to prepare the meal with step-by-step instructions, showcasing what it should look like along the way. These videos can help you ensure you’re on the right path.
Don’t Be Afraid to Fail
Our society fears failure, but why? Failing at something teaches us valuable lessons about how to do it right.
The same idea works in the kitchen. You will mess up recipes. Sometimes, it will be so bad that you’ll end up ordering a pizza instead.
But don’t give up. That failed recipe gives you insight into how to do it right next time. The old adage “if first you don’t succeed, then try, try again” definitely applies to mastering the kitchen.
You Can Become a Culinary Master
Anyone can learn to cook, even those who currently can’t boil water. It takes time and practice, but by following some of the easy cooking tips in this thread, you can learn to create delicious meals at home.
Give it a try!