Fresh Is Always Better

Instead of going for ingredients that are not so fresh, opt for those that are as fresh as possible. This is one thing that counts and that could be the difference between food that tastes great and food that practically has no taste.

The Magical Ingredients: Lemon Juice, Vinegar And Lime Juice

In the event that you have a bland dish, the ingredients mentioned will help in offering the complexity that you are surely looking for.

Knives Need To Be Sharp

This is especially true in the event that you need to cut something that is hard or if you simply have a lot of ingredients that need to be cut. The problem with most kitchens is that the knives are dull. Make sure that yours are sharp since this will definitely make cooking a lot more enjoyable.

Start From The Beginning

We understand that you want to bake something that is really complex but it is a much better approach to start with the simple soup. That is because it is free-form and baking requires much attention to detail, which is gained in time. You cannot become a really good cook overnight.

Lay Ingredients Before Starting

That will help you to easily have everything that is needed at hand. Simply use was paper to lay ingredients on. You will love this approach.

Be Extra Careful With Your Seasoning

One of the worst things that you can do when cooking is to over season foods. It is a lot better to under season as the overall negative effect would not be as bad as with over seasoning.

Use Chicken Broth For Cooking Vegetables

This is great since it will help prevent the vegetables from sticking while also incorporating flavor. Tofu or beans stand out as a wonderful protein source that has to be considered in anyone’s diet. The protein rich foods can easily be found in most grocery stores around the world. By using beans or tofu you can easily add more flavor, which is what you surely want. Also, let the bone inside the roost if you are short for time. Meat will actually cook faster since the bone will carry heat right to the roast’s center.

A Few Words About Plastic Bags

A very helpful cooking tip for both beginners and more advanced cooks is to use a plastic bag when storing unripe fruits. Simply place the fruits in it and perforate it. When you do that, air circulates. At the same time, gas is retained. Fruits will retain taste.

Since we mentioned gases, keep in mind that freshly cut onions have sulfurous gasses. This is a gas that can easily leak out, making the flavor bad. You can get rid of the gas by rinsing onions.

A Few Words About Cutting Boards

It is important to properly take care of the wood cutting boards. This is because it can easily warp and crack when too much moisture, dryness or heat exposure is present. The board should not be submerged when it is cleaned. Use soapy water instead. Regular oiling can help it to maintain quality for a longer period of time.

Cooking Temperature Counts

Most novice cooks do not yet have the necessary patience to wait until a dish is cooked, especially when referring to those that take a lot of time. If the cooking book that you read says you have to leave something in the oven for 3 hours at a certain temperature, do not use a higher temperature in an attempt to get rid of cooking fast. This will only make the dish bad. It is vital that you respect recommendations and that you do not try to hurry things up. The best dishes do take a lot of time to turn into masterpieces.

Olive Oil For Frying

There are hundreds of websites that talk about the benefits associated with olive oil. We cannot deny this but the list of benefits leads some people to thinking that it is a very good idea to use olive oil for frying. This is not at all the case. Palm tree oil would be better if you want to use something more special but if you cannot afford the costs, regular cooking oil is always better.

Speaking about oil, make sure that you do not overdo it. Also, although it is tempting to do, never re-use the cooking oil. You are throwing away a lot of the possible taste when you do that since the oil naturally gains some of the flavor. To make it even worse, oil that was already used for cooking is even worse for your health than fresh one.

Always Take Your Time

If there is only one thing that you would remember from this article, it is this one: always take your time when you learn how to cook. Ask questions and use the internet to your advantage. If there is something that you do not understand on an article written on a blog or a recipe, ask. You will be surprised to see that the community actually helps itself a lot.

Do you know other cooking tips that are very good for beginners? If so, feel free to share in the comment section. Remember that every single cook out there was helped by someone in the beginning. Cooking is seen as an art form by many and we are definitely not far away from that. Let us help each other make art!

By Boris Dzhingarov who is founder of Dzhingarov.Com, edited by Adrian Cruce!

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Equipment to have before setting up a restaurant:

Cooking equipment

A restaurant is meant to cook food and serve it to the customer, which is natural. Unless your customers are a bunch of cavemen, you will need to cook your food and spice it before serving. This is why you’ll certainly require cooking equipment like deep fryers, stoves, ovens and grills to command the aroma out of your food items. You’ll also need a cooktop. This will give you the power to fry, sauté or cook any type of food without any restrictions.

Washing equipment

Customers will forgive you if you make all the mistakes restaurant owners make except for one; untidiness. People just can’t stand the fact that they may be exposed to health risks by coming to have a twenty-minute meal at your restaurant. The only way to avoid this is to acquire washing equipment and install them everywhere including the kitchen, restaurant halls and in the restrooms. Include appropriate sinks with enough supply of soap and warm water. Washing equipment like sink is extremely essential for cleaning your tableware, utensils and pots. And they are also essential in food processing.

Freezers and refrigerators

One of the most difficult aspects of starting a restaurant is the fact that you cannot correctly predict how many people will come in any day. So you need to pile up the food stuff in preparation for any emergency customer influx. But while you keep the food in the kitchen you need to ensure they are of top quality. This is what makes refrigerators and freezers one of the most important equipment to have before setting up a restaurant. It will help stop bacteria from growing in your food and save you from any disaster that may occur due to food getting spoilt. There are a large range of refrigerators and freezers for you to choose from the small under-counter ones to the walk-in models.

Safety equipment

The mixture of naked fire, cooking gas, kitchen furniture, cooking oil and humans in one room can only mean that disaster is around the corner. This is why you’ll need to acquire reliable and efficient safety equipment in your kitchen to manage any fire disasters in case of emergency. Apart from fire people can also accidentally cut themselves or trip and get injured. Some the kitchen fire safety equipment that you need to acquire includes first-aid kits to treat all kinds of injuries, fire extinguishers to suppress fire outbreaks, and vent system for cooking equipment.

If you don’t have the cash to buy the new equipment you can settle for the fairly used ones. But make sure that all the equipment are in good condition and create enough space to accommodate them.

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But standing out on the street is nothing compared to the challenges that await you in the kitchen of your rental flat in Paris.

Where Is All My Space?

This is the first obstacle you will face. Kitchens in Paris rental flats are tiny. Really tiny. The space is even proportionally smaller than a kitchen in a similarly-sized apartment in New York. There are complex reasons for this that we’ll get to later.

Counter space is limited. Cabinet space is often crammed in overhead because it’s limited underneath by, yes, a washing machine. Because of the expense the number of pipes and drains was limited to basically the kitchen and the bathroom. The washing machine would have to be in one of these two areas, and, obviously, the kitchen is the better choice. Later it became normal and expected so it’s present in even newer buildings. If you have a dryer, it’s in the kitchen, too.

So be prepared to work in a small space.

Is That Tiny Thing My Refrigerator?

Yes it is. Don’t look around for a separate unit somewhere. You get just one tiny fridge, and that’s it. But don’t worry about it. You can handle it if you make a few simple changes:

• Get used to cooking fresh—it’s part of the reason why Europeans tend to be healthier than Americans, and you’ll love it
• Get friendly with your local market—it’s part of the Paris experience to drop in on your local market almost daily to pick up ingredients to cook tonight
• Store foods differently—Parisians often store fresh herbs on their balconies and cheese on their counters. If it’s used in a reasonable time frame, cheese stores well this way.

Follow these tips and you’ll be surprised at how well you get along with a very small refrigerator.

How Many Grams in a Cup of Comté?

If you are planning on trying to cook American recipes in Paris, you might want to pack your measuring cups. In France and other European countries, many recipes are written in weights rather than in volumes like in the US. If you’re lucky, your kitchen will have a scale. If not, you’ll have to buy one. But don’t expect to find the measuring cups you’re used to. Even if you do find some, they’ll be metric.

Why the Differences?

The home is the physical embodiment of culture. People design physical spaces not just around their utility, but around perceptions of their utility. In France, cooking in the home has traditionally been regarded as an undignified necessity, which is why the kitchen was often designed as a small, separate space that excludes guests.

In the US, people are proud of cooking, part of our general perception that labor is ennobling. Of course, this extends more to the ostentatious preparation of a space in which one could cook but rarely does. The result is that the kitchens are typically made into inviting spaces—think how many parties you’ve been to where you spent a great deal of time in the kitchen.

In Paris, if you want to avoid offense, don’t barge into your host’s kitchen or offer to help preparation or clean-up, even if you can fit.

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