Five Easy Ways to Improve Your Cooking

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 You don’t have to be a chef to make dishes that are attractive and delicious. Here are a few easy adjustments you can make to your own recipes to improve both presentation and flavor.

1.      Use frozen or fresh vegetables instead of canned. Canned vegetables are heated and partially cooked inside of the can as part of the canning process. This process leeches the color and taste out of the food. Vegetables that are flash frozen tend to keep their color and flavor much better than their canned counterparts. When possible, purchase fresh vegetables. Cans are your last resort.

2.      Pay attention to colors. When selecting side dishes, try not to choose foods that are the same color. For example, if you are serving potatoes au gratin, do not add corn as the vegetable. Instead, try using green beans or peas and carrots. Bright, natural colors make a dish look more appetizing.

3.      Use complementary flavors. Certain flavors counter one another in ways that boost the appeal of the dinner. Try pairing a sweet side dish with a spicy entrée or add fruit to a meat dish. If everything on the plate has similar flavors it will make the meal seem bland.

4.      Steam instead of boiling. When you boil vegetables, much of the nutrients and flavor leak out into the water. Steaming helps vegetables keep their vibrant color and natural flavors. Steaming can be done stir-fry style in a wok, or the vegetables can be placed on a steaming rack above a pot with a few inches of water boiling below.

5.      Give dishes time to absorb the flavor. This is especially true of starch-based dishes such as rice or pasta. Once these dishes have cooked through, let them simmer on low heat for an extra ten to fifteen minutes. The starch will take on the savor of the other ingredients and make the dish more flavorful.