Cooking Made Simple

1033 Words3 Pages

Cooking Made Simple

When I first learned to cook about six years ago, there were no magazine articles or books in bookstores explaining how to cook; there were only cookbooks with recipes for one to decipher. Today, the articles and books that explain how to cook are minimal. Not everyone can compete with Julia Child in cooking gourmet food with the menu devised in our minds without referring to cookbooks, but many of us can learn to cook effectively. A step-by-step process should be followed to learn how to cook successfully.

1. Find a Recipe. First, search for a recipe you are excited about making; it helps when there are pictures along with the recipe because you'll get an idea of what the finished product should look like and whether it appears appetizing. Look through cookbooks and food magazines until you find a recipe that is pleasing to look at, easy to read with all the ingredients nicely specified and converted in U.S. measurements, has easy to find ingredients and is not something you've never heard of or something that's out of season.

2. Read the Recipe Completely. Once you find the recipe, read it thoroughly, making sure all instructions are perfectly clear to you. If some of the food terms are incomprehensible to you, you may want to refer to a good food dictionary.

3. Make Only One Recipe. Plan on making only one main recipe such as a chicken entree with a simple sauce and the rest of the menu should be simple such as a salad, a starch such as potatoes or rice and vegetables to go with the meat dish. For dessert, buy quality ice cream. Once you get more experience, you can gradually plan on making the salad dressing, fancier side dishes, and dessert from scratch.

4. Buy Necessary Tools. Make su...

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... avoid food contamination. After using dirty utensils such as knives used with raw meat products, be sure to place them in the washing area so you won't use the same knives on other food products such as fruit and vegetables.

10. Practice Cooking. Finally, learn to make one good recipe and prepare it as many number of times it takes you to master it. It could be two or three times or perhaps more. Then, gradually move on to expanding the number of recipes you have mastered. Be sure to follow the recipe completely. Don't change the recipe before you've made the original recipe. You'll never know what the original recipe should have tasted like. Over time, you can gradually add new ingredients to the recipes you've mastered.

Bibliography:

San Jose Mercury News, Food Section; Caroline Grannan, September 18, 1996, pages 1 and 4F, "Can't Cook? You Can Learn."

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