The 10 Commandments of Good Cooking

1. Use Real Food if Humanly Possible …

… which of course it is!

Use fresh whole raw fruit andvegetables, fresh meat and fishand whole ingredients that havebeen minimally processed orrefined.

Avoid processed stuff suchas American “cheese” slices, usebutter rather than margarine,make your own salad dressing,etc.

Don’t compromise on quality.

2. Read through the Recipe …

… before you start cooking.

• Ensure you have enough time.

• Make sure you have all the ingredients.

• Check the yield and halve or double as necessary.

• Have you got the necessary equipment?

• Preheat the oven, if needed, to the correct temperature.

3. Know your weights & measures.

Recipes may use metric orimperial measurements or theAmerican cup system. If youare not familiar with the scaleused, then avail yourself ofGoogle and look it up beforeyou start cooking.

Good Idea ~ maybe print off aset of conversion charts andkeep them in the kitchen.

4. Prepare ingredients before you start cooking.

For instance …

• Wash fruit and veg.• Cut, slice, chop etc.

vegetables and fruit as necessary.

• Trim meat, skin fish, portion as needed.

• Grind spices.• Wash and chop herbs.• Weigh and measure

ingredients.

• … and so on.

This then enables you to cookquickly and smoothly oncestarted, without interruption.

5. Learn some knife skills.

You’ll be amazed how it speedsthings up.

I don't think I can teach themhere but there is plenty of infoaround. I will, however, justgive you a hint – this is thecorrect way to hold the knife.

6. Taste and adjust seasoning before

serving.

Season at the start of cookingin accordance with the recipebut also make sure to taste thefinished dish before serving itand add whatever might beneeded.

Use a clean spoon each timeyou taste a dish OR 2 spoons;one for dipping, one for tastingOR drop a little of the food tobe tasted onto the back of yourhand and then lick it. Thenwash your hand.

7. Experiment … don’t be afraid of

Flavour!

The more you cook and themore you eat the more you willlearn about what goes withwhat – play with your food!

E.g. …

• A little salt can make sweet things taste sweeter.

• A squeeze of lemon can brighten flavours.

• Add fresh herbs at the end of cooking.

• A little sugar is a great boost to tomato sauces.

8. Baking is a science – don’t

experiment!

Successful baking relies onchemical reaction in thepresence of heat and shouldnot be messed with unless youare very confident.

Temperature is also crucialwhen baking.

Stick to recipes here – you can,of course, play with fillings,toppings and accompaniments.

9. Always rest meats before serving.

Roasted, grilled and pan friedmeats, will all benefit from a restin a warm place before serving.

The reason is that while restingthe meat relaxes, becomes moretender and any juices that havefled to the middle of the meat toescape the harsh heat flow backinto the relaxed protein makingit juicier.

Rest roasts for up to half an hour(in a warm-ish place, looselycovered with foil), steaks andchops for 5-10 minutes or so.

10. Serve food attractively

Not only is the dish morevisually pleasing but goodlooking food also stimulates theappetite.

Ideas …

• Try to garnish appropriately -parsley is not the only option!

• Sometimes a sauce looks better under rather than over the food.

• Drizzles and sprinkles in empty spaces can make a plate look more interesting.

• Use colour creatively.

I hope these ideas will be helpful.

Of course there are many, many other useful tipsand suggestions to help make a great cook of you– these are just the fundamentals.

For another 491 or so Truly Useful Cooking Tips &Techniques with no silly hacks read on …

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Methods, hints, tips and tricks to make cooking quicker and/or easier and/or more effective and/or more delicious including …

~ Good ideas~ Things you MUST NOT DO~ Storage tips, ~ Kitchen equipment info~ Conversion charts~ Miscellaneous stuff such as how to separate eggs without resorting to the popular plastic bottle “hack”!

Read more here …