How Can You Save Time In Kitchen

How Can You Save Time In Kitchen?

Sorry guys, this article took long time to publish since I was busy with my personal life. In today's article I am going to explain how you can save your time in kitchen and improve your efficiency.

The more cooking tips you find the more you will learn. You can Save both time and money in the kitchen with these small hints. The following i presented are just a small handful of the many basic cooking tips that you can incorporate into your everyday cookery life. 

Cooking is indeed enjoyable. It is also one thing that most people want to learn because we always deal with food every day as we please our family with our good cooking skills; we impress our partners with great dinners; we want to cook for ourselves to make sure we eat healthy and best.

Rice

Cook more than you need. Rice keeps in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can re-heat it in the microwave for a minute, covered. While boiling, boil in generous amount of water.

Butter

If you need soft butter quickly, microwave it for 5 seconds, turn the stick over and microwave for another 2 to 5 seconds. Remember, salted butter lasts longer than unsalted butter however, the flavour of unsalted butter is strong. So, be careful while selecting butter.

Boiled Water

Always use cold water and cover the pot. It will boil faster. Be careful while carrying boiling water and more attentive while dealing with steam.

Skin Removal

To remove chicken skin, hold it with a paper towel and pull toward the base of the drumstick or wing.

Defrosting

Always separate the frozen foods so they can be used in the quantities needed. Example, chicken breasts in plastic bags, waxed paper or freezer paper. They can then be put in plastic freezer bags and you can use what you need. You can thaw in refrigerator, microwave oven or in cold running water.

Roasting

Roasting on a rack is best. But if you don't have a rack, you can use two large onions cut in half and placed on a roasting pan. The roast will rest on them and the fat will drain and the onions will add flavor to the meat.

Garlic

Getting off the garlic skin can be tricky. You can microwave the cloves for about 10 seconds and they will slip right off.

Sliding

To stop bowls and cutting boards from moving on the counter put a damp towel under the board or bowl.

Kitchen Tools

A kitchen scissor can be used to chop green onions, mushrooms, and fresh herbs. You can also use it to cut large lettuce leaves and slice chicken into strips for stir fry; also trim bread for grilled cheese. Make sure it's a sharp pair and use them only for food. Other uses dull the blades.

Tomato Skin

If you need peeled tomatoes, cut them in half and microwave them. Use the high setting for about 3 minutes. The skin will peel away easily.

Freezing Wine

Adding wine to recipes is easy if you freeze any leftover wine in ice cube trays. Then they can be added to sauces and casseroles.

Grating

Spray a little oil on the grater before you grate cheese and other sticky foods.

Chilling Cheese

Semi-soft cheeses like mozzarella and Monterey Jack can be frozen for five minutes before shredding to prevent the cheese from sticking to itself.

Kitchen Inventory

Check your recipes and be sure you have all the necessary ingredients on hand before you start to cook. You can save a lot of time this way.

Some other Tips

• When using fresh herbs instead of dried, use 1 Tablespoon fresh for 1 teaspoon dry.

• Vinegar for lemon juice. Use ½ teaspoon white vinegar for 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• When your recipe calls for buttermilk add 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar to your regular milk. Some old banana bread recipes even call for this substitution.

• 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder can be substituted for 1 clove of fresh garlic.

• 1 pound of fresh mushrooms will be about the same as a 10 ounce can of mushrooms.

• Powdered sugar can substitute for granulated sugar in baking. If you are looking for a delightful taste alternative try a cup of honey with a pinch of baking soda in place of a cup of granulated sugar.

• 2 cups of fresh chopped tomatoes is equivalent to a 16 ounce can of crushed tomatoes. You may have to drain the can or adjust for moisture in the recipe.

• Adding about 2 Tablespoons of molasses to a cup of granulated sugar will substitute well for a single cup of brown sugar.

• Sherry or port wine can be used instead of red or white wine. Just lower the amount to 2 Tablespoons equals ½ cup

Healthy Cooking Tips

scrubbing vegetables instead of peeling them will retain many nutrients that vegetable held as most are found in the skin. Steaming vegetable or using the microwave will also retain a lot of valuable nutrients and if you want to boil your vegetables, then do it in a small amount of water and not over boil them. Lastly, incorporating stir fry recipes into a healthy diet can also allow many vegetables to be cooked quickly while retaining nutrients that they harbour.

Don't Try To Be Perfect

Never be hard on yourself when attempting new recipes, always do the best you can and don't try to be perfect, because I'm afraid nothing and nobody is perfect, even those celebrity chef's we all see on TV. Believe it or not they mess up recipes just like the rest of us.

Pre-heat Pots and Pans

I was always taught that before beginning the process of cooking any food, was to make sure that the pots and pans were heated properly first. The reason being is that it saves time whilst cooking and also reduces the risk of food sticking to the pots or pans. Having said that there many varied opinions on this subject and what I would say is that it's really trial and error if you decide to use a cold pan.

• When you are cooking pasta you should cook it about 60 seconds less than the cooking time that is printed on the package. You can then put the pasta in whatever sauce you have prepared with it and let it complete its cooking process while it soaks up all of the flavours of the sauce.

• Apples keep in the refrigerator three times longer then if left at room temperature.

• Celery will last in the refrigerator for weeks if you wrap it in aluminium foil before storing it in the crisper drawer.

• Do not freeze boiled eggs, as it will cause the egg whites to become watery. Freezing will also cause the mayonnaise to separate and milk to curdle.

• Never overload the pan with food if you are sauteing food. This is because moisture will get trapped between the foodstuffs and your food will end up being steamed and soggy) instead of sauteed and crisp).

• For the same reason, make sure you remove excess water from ground meat before pan frying, by blotting with a kitchen towel. If you don't your meat will steam rather than sear in the frying pan and the texture of your dish will be ruined.

When is the best time to add fresh herbs?

There are hearty herbs and delicate herbs.

Heartier herbs like sage, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, oregano, and marjoram should be added at the beginning of the cooking process. Whole herbs or large sprigs can be added to flavor the oil or the water, at the beginning and should be removed before serving. Minced or finely chopped herbs may burn as they cook faster and should be added after the cooking process has started. For example, after the aromatics like onions have started cooking, then add the smaller bits of herbs. The more delicate herbs are parsley, cilantro, tarragon, basil, and chives should be added at the last minute. These can lose their bright fresh taste and colour very quickly when cooked.

Similarly, To test if a dish is microwave safe or not simply Put the dish in the microwave next to a glass of water. Turn the microwave on for one minute. If the water is cool and the dish is warm, don't use it in the microwave.

Some more tips to know

• How to find if an egg is hard-boiled?

Place egg on counter top and spin it. If it spins round and round it is hard-boiled. If it wobbles and will not spin, it is raw.

• How to decide if an egg is fresh?

Place egg in a container of cool salted water. If it sinks to the bottom it is fresh. If it floats on top, toss the egg out, it is not fresh.

• How to clean a scorched or burnt pan?

Sprinkle burnt pots with baking powder, adding just enough water to make a paste. Let stand for several hours, generally the burned part will lift right out of the pan.

• How to clean coffee stains?

Remove tea or coffee stains from light covered cups by rubbing stained areas with salt and a little water, rinse.

• How to clean a stubborn stain out of a non-stick pan?

Boil a mixture of 2 tablespoons baking powder, 1/2-cup vinegar and 1-cup water for 10 minutes. Re-season pan with vegetable oil.

• How to keep your grater clean?

For a fast and simple clean up, rub vegetable oil on the grater before using.

• Clean excess grease from a roasting pan?

Sprinkle the pan with salt, then wipe pan with a damp sponge or paper towel. Wash as usual

• How to Unclog a kitchen sink?

Mix equal parts vinegar, salt and baking soda and pour solution down drain; let it sit one hour, then pour very hot water down the drain.

• How to easily peel and chop garlic?

Store the garlic cloves in the freezer. Take out as much as you need and peel and chop while still frozen.

• How to keep garlic cloves from drying out?

Store them in a bottle filled with cooking oil. After the garlic is used up, the oil can be used for garlic-flavored oil, or for salad dressing.

• How to save honey that has sugared?

Place the jar in a pot of boiling water.

• How to keep fresh corn yellow when cooking?

Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to the cooking water, a minute before you remove it from the stove.

• How to keep bacon from curling while cooking?

Dip the strips in cold water before frying

And only run the dishwasher when it is full. If you only have half a load, either wash it by hand or wait until the next meal when you can run the machine at maximum capacity. Putting a half load of dishes through the dishwasher uses exactly the same amount of energy but with only half the benefit, so maximise what you get out of your machine.