Get Into Cooking With These Fantastic Tips!

Have you ever wondered how the chef prepared your meals at your favorite restaurant? Have you even tried to prepare the same dish at home? The advice in this article can help you become a better cook, so that you can whip up delicious meals at home whenever you want. Many people love to cook and find it an enjoyable and rewarding activity.

Store herbs and spices in an area that is cool and dark. Their flavors suffer when they are exposed to heat, light, and humidity. As a general rule, keep your ground spices no more than one year. Whole spices, on the other hand, can still be bursting with flavor five years down the line. When spices are stored in the correct manner, they will stay fresh for much longer.

Find a dark, cool area in which to store herbs and spices. Warmth, humidity and light will make them stale and unflavorful. It has been found that ground herbs and spices maintain their flavor for roughly a year. Though if you have whole spices, you will notice the flavors are strong for 3-5 years. They can remain fresh longer if stored properly.

Preparation is incredibly important prior to cooking a meal for loved ones. Take an inventory to be sure that everything that you will need is available. The day before your meal, get your kitchen into cooking mode and hunt down your favorite utensils, pots and pans. Doing so allows you to focus on the cooking itself.

If you are cooking a meal for some important occasion, stick with a tried and true recipe. Never experiment with a new ingredient or recipe in this situation. This can lessen the stress of your cooking.

If you have made sauce, put the leftovers into an ice cube tray and freeze. Just melt the sauce cubes in a sauce pan when you are ready to prepare dinner. The sauce is still good after it is frozen.

You are on the way to becoming a wonderful chef. Be creative and keep trying new things to put together delicious meals. With all the yummy ethnic food you can prepare, only your knowledge and imagination limit what you can do in the kitchen!