Be more confident: How to Make Homemade Food

How to Make Homemade Food

Making homemade food or cooking meals from scratch is a great way to
experiment, have fun, learn about food and to increase your
creativity and skills of resourcefulness. Yet, it has become
commonplace to rely heavily on pre-packaged meals or eating out
because it is thought that homemade food is too much effort or too
hard.

In this article, you'll learn that homemade cooking is neither
difficult nor an effort and that its rewards outweigh the excuses.
Whether you want to start right at the beginning using homegrown
produce or just complement your meals by adding a homemade touch,
here's how to cook at home.

!! Steps !!

As convenient as instant meals are, eventually they stop being really
satisfying and cease to taste good. Work out the extent of how
homemade you'd like to get. For whatever reason you may want to cook
more (or everything) as homemade, there is no right or wrong way,
home cooking simply offers a great opportunity to improve your
personal wellbeing once you become familiar with the kitchen. The big
plus is its really with minimal additional work or effort. Some of
the basic reasons you may want to ask yourself are:

* Do you want to be more self sufficient in starting to grow your
own produce [1] in your own garden or the local community garden.

* Do you want to find ways to improve store bought meals, or find
something a little better than convenience meals that no longer
satisfy?

* Are you looking to save money, be more independent or increase
your living skills & quality of life? Cooking your own food as
well as cooking to share makes so much more connection with the
world, family and friends as well as let you gain more
appreciation for the food you eat.

* Are you're keen on slowly building up to growing your own food for
more health focussed changes to your eating & lifestyle habits?
Cooking at home which can be the easiest way to change permanently
as it gives you more control over what you eat.

* Are you just interested just in how food is prepared and how to
find out different methods to make it more interesting?

Not everyone has access to farmer's markets, while some are only open
on the weekends. If they're local, take full advantage of them. Buy
fresh produce regularly. Regularly means getting out almost daily
where possible, not just once a week or fortnight, as the quality of
fresh food quickly degrades. Shopping is not only something we do
often anyway, but it gives us the chance to get outside a little more
often and have the chance to try some new things. Working with
spoiled food makes home cooking far harder and less enjoyable than it
really is because you have to find ways to cover up the staleness [2]
or degraded quality rather than working with the lovely flavours and
textures of fresh ingredients. Why make a throw-it-all-in soup when
you can make a tantalisingly fresh stir-fry?

* If there is a local fresh produce store open early in the morning,
this is a really great way to get in and out quickly, and to
restock your fridge and pantry before work or the duties of the
day. As an added benefit, by going early, you get to have first
pick of the freshly arrived produce and the whole experience is
far less crammed, rushed, and far more enjoyable. And when you
come home from work or studies, you don't have to worry about
shopping when you're feeling tired.

The library is another great source if you want to get some cooking
ideas. Find inspiring recipe books or cooking websites online.
Cookbooks [3] with wonderful photos can be a hugely inspiring source
of ideas, even if you only select one or two recipes from each book.
To keep down the costs and keep your bookshelf space free, consider
using the library; even cooking eBooks [4] are now available for
borrowing from many libraries with online resources. And if you want
to own the cookbooks, consider purchasing them secondhand; used
cookbooks can be very cheaply sourced from yard sales, charity
stores, online auctions, and second-hand bookstores.

* If you're not familiar with cooking, try to get a book that covers
all of the basics of cooking. There is a good number of such
cookbooks in publication, and they will be a never-ending useful
resource so it's worth spending the money to get a good one that
you'll use for years to come. Look for one that covers everything
from preparing foods, storing foods [5], making sauces, baking,
using different cuts of meats, explanations of cooking terms,
descriptions of fruits and vegetables, etc. Visit a local
bookstore and flip through a few before deciding which one works
best for you.

* Regularly borrowing books on different cuisines from the library
can be a fun way of opening your cooking expertise up to a variety
of new dishes. You can make a copy of a favourite recipe [6] or
two from borrowed books and keep them in a binder.

Learn about cooking [7]. As it happens, what makes cooking the
hardest is when you don't actually know what to do, or how to do it.
Many avoid the kitchen because they don't want to make a mistake and
waste food and feel guilty about it and not having that "knowledge"
makes people have low confidence about cooking. Fortunately, this is
quite easy to overcome as there are many ways to learn cooking,
including attending a course (where you'll make new contacts and
perhaps even new friends), reading the cookbooks and recipe
magazines, surfing the web for videos and "how-to" manuals, asking
friends or family to teach you, or just by watching cooking shows
[8] and learning from what you see. The best lesson is always trial
and error, but it's quite easy to eliminate the most simple errors
for ordinary cooking. Anyone can cook, but only people who take an
interest in how cooking methods work can cook well. Developing an
interest in experimenting with flavours, textures and methods also
makes the whole field of cooking far more interesting to explore.
Kitchen tools don't have to be fancy, although better
results are usually tied to better quality. It is better to buy a
good secondhand tool rather than a poorly made new one. Equip your
kitchen well. Some modern homes have little more than a microwave
aside from an oven and stovetop [9]. You can buy portable stoves and
small benchtop ovens from camping stores or houseware stores if you
don't have access to anything complex. You can often find these
secondhand at charity stores and yard sales. Other basic and
essential equipment includes:

* Measuring spoons and cups [10], mixing bowls, a wooden spoon and a
whisk [11], baking trays, pots and pans (saucepans) of varying
sizes, a steamer, baking trays, spatulas, tongs, knives and
cutting boards, a grater [12] or food processor and a sieve. These
can all be sourced secondhand easily but if you can afford to buy
brand new, purchase the best quality you can afford because many
of these items will last you for years.

* An apron is highly recommended, or elaborate & pretentious as it
seems, a cook or chefs jacket. These can be sourced usually quite
cheaply from hospitality suppliers. Unprotected clothes can turn
people off cooking after the odd splash or spill has ruined a
favourite shirt. Aprons and jackets are quick to remove so when
you sit down to eat, or are cooking to impress guests, you have
avoided a potential headache having to change. They keep you clean
after handling powders (such as flour, turmeric etc), liquids or
other staining ingredients. They also can protect you from hot
splashes.

Plan your meal [13]. While this may sound simple, there is actually
more to it, much like planning an event. All the same, once you get
used to what's involved, it soon becomes second nature and it won't
seem like a chore at all.

Some recipes even give you an estimation of preparation time which
makes it much easier. Play close attention to the amount of time
you'll spend cutting and preparing food, then the cooking and
cleaning up [14]. Add this time up so you know when to start. If you
start at 8:30pm to make a dinner that takes 2.5 hours to make it will
be too late for most people to eat, so it would better to start
earlier. Most recipes will give an indication of preparation time,
and with experience, you'll learn to work this out for yourself.

* The other time factor to be aware of are foods that cook quickly
and those which take longer. Obviously, differences between food
such as a three hour roast versus a toasted sandwich [15] that can
be cooked in minutes will be clear to you. However, knowing that
some foods in the same group have varied cooking times is
important to avoid over- or under-cooking the food. For example,
carrots and beans take longer to cook than broccoli, so if you
were to steam them, you'd need to add the broccoli [16] later than
the carrots and beans, or the broccoli would be overcooked and
tasteless by the time the others were cooked. This type of
knowledge can mean the difference between a mediocre meal and a
truly delicious one. With time and experience, this knowledge
becomes innate, provided you don't accept sub-standard cooking!
It's best to plan ahead to ensure that all ingredients for a meal
are cooked and ready at the point of serving so you don't have
overcooked or undercooked food.

* Have everything ready to use Be organised before you
begin the cooking. Organise your "mise en place". In
cooking-speak, this term is used to mean "have everything ready".
Have your ingredients and tools ready to go for the main cooking
so you don't have to run around looking for things. Having your
mise en place prepared makes cooking and cleaning vastly easier.
It is also much like any task requiring materials – when
everything is at hand, there is no need to panic or to suddenly
realise that you're out of an essential ingredient!

* Clean up as you go, rather than leave a big mess at the
end. This makes the whole job easier. Have a sink of hot water
ready and a bowl or bin ready for your waste and peels. Quite
often you can wash up tools and dishes as you go so the final
clean up is much smaller; this is a smart way of operating as it
lessens the end mess and burden and makes cooking, as well as the
kitchen psychologically more inviting and less messy. For neat
freaks or for people who get easily frustrated when tools go
missing, cleaning up as you go is essential.
Always take things like time for allowing dough to rise
into account Take notice of any requirement to preheat
ovens [17] or pans for frying to ensure that you are
ready for that need. As an oven can take 10 minutes to
warm up to its required temperature, it's a problem if
you're pouring a cake batter into a tray with the oven
still cold. Many cakes and baked items need to be placed
in the warm oven straight after beating or mixing so that
you don't lose the benefits of the chemical reactions
occurring in the batter. If you have to leave it while
the oven warms up, the consistency and success of the
cake or other baked item can change for the worse.

* It can be very helpful to read the reasons behind why certain
things need to be done, such as chilling, preheating, kneading
[18] for certain lengths of time, allowing dough to rise, etc. If
you're curious about chemistry, physics, maths, and how the world
works, you'll discover that the kitchen is a marvellous place to
brush up on your knowledge in these areas in a fun way, and it
definitely helps you to better understand the need for doing some
things.

* Taste as you go. If you're afraid of doing too much
tasting, taste just before serving to adjust for salt and pepper,
or other flavourings. Chefs are trained to taste the cooking as it
comes along; without doing this, they cannot be sure that the dish
is turning out the way it is supposed to. Tasting a dish is a
great way to ensure bland food or other potential flavour
disasters are caught before it reaches the table. Flavours [19] do
change so its best to add seasoning towards the end, as cooking
spices for too long may make them bitter and salt can accumulate
in long cooked meals as liquids evaporate. Other flavours can
change as they cook. Things that won't need tasting generally
involve food that you're steaming [20], boiling, or baking in its
original state, such as vegetables; things that do need tasting
are dishes that you've put together using a recipe.

* Mmm... homemade jams. Expand your cooking horizons. If
you wish to make homemade preserves [21], cakes and other treats
on a regular basis, aside from cooking ordinary meals, the process
is really the same as cooking a meal: Research your recipe, plan
your methods and organise your ingredients and tools; then it's
easy! Once you begin to feel more confident, you can even start to
make preserves, jams, sauces, etc., from harvest [22] gluts so
that you can enjoy the food at different times of the year,
especially if you have access to a home orchard. And there is
nothing more liable to fill you with pride than being able to
offer your homemade food as gifts or building some merit donating
to charities if you have a surplus.

!! Video !!

!! Tips !!

* The whole aim of the game to make cooking at home easy is to be
organised and pre-prepared.

* Cooking is perhaps one of the oldest magic tricks & entertainments
- how to make raw food into an amazing meal, especially when it
features something unexpected or a surprise. Just like magic
tricks, the method is usually very simple and practice makes the
master. If you cook each day, or make bulk meals to freeze, this
is all the practice you need to be able to cook - the more the
better! Classically the "secret recipe" is always what keeps
people guessing and the chef in high esteem. Today, its really
very similar when people aren't aware how to cook, that being able
to make raw food into a meal remains magic and a great way to
impress and entertain.

* Children are ideal for getting involved in certain jobs, such as
cracking eggs into a bowl, stirring cake batter, cutting cookies,
or pasta into shapes, picking produce etc is a win win scenario.
You have fun with your family, children learn about cooking and
will be more independent and have some skills for their future. It
also can give them a break from home-work to refresh the mind as
well as you can save time as kids can do quite a few cooking jobs
(in a safe context), providing it is engaging for them. (Anything
that involves pressing buttons and watching the result is usually
a winner).

* Mistakes are going to happen so if it is something that is more
complex than you are familiar with, give yourself plenty of time
in case you make a mistake the first time so you have plenty of
time to try again. The great thing about mistakes is that they are
learning processes, and many cooks before you have worked out lots
of ways to fix mistakes. If you do burn, drop, or overcook
something, always do a quick search online first to see what
remedies exist before giving up in despair. For example, rice that
has been slightly burnt can often be recovered by placing a slice
of bread over the top, with the lid on the pan for five minutes.
The bread will draw out the bad taste of the burning, and the rice
can be eaten still. Learn as many of these fix-it tricks as you
can and your confidence will improve greatly.

* Always be on the lookout for simple kitchen gear that makes life
easier. There are lots of gadgets that make it easier to open
jars, peel vegetables, juice fruits, grind, core, or grate food,
etc. and shopping in the kitchen section of a store can be fun.

!! Warnings !!

Kitchens are potentially dangerous places. There are some basic things
to learn to minimize the dangers:

* Always keep saucepan, pot, and pan handles facing inward, not over
the edge. Not only do you risk bumping the handle otherwise, but
small hands can pull them off the stove when you're distracted.

* Place kitchen, carving, etc., knives back in their holding block
or in the drawer when not in use. Get into the habit of washing
them straight after use, drying, and placing them back into their
storage spot. That way, nobody will get hurt. If you need to walk
with a knife, always alert others in the kitchen that you're doing
so.

* Keep pets and small children out of the kitchen while you're
cooking. If you want to cook with kids, do kid-friendly food on
special occasions. If you want your kids to soak up the cooking
atmosphere, seat them somewhere safe where they can see what
you're doing but cannot get in the way.

* Turn off hotplates after use. Just make it a habit. Same with the
oven.

* Keep cooking ingredients separate from cleaning ingredients,
including when shopping. If you use cooking ingredients for
cleaning, such as baking soda, purchase two packets and keep the
cleaning packet separate from the cooking packet (mark them
clearly).

* Never cook when drunk. It might sound obvious but sadly a lot of
people have burned down their houses when forgetting that they
were cooking food.

* Be very careful with hot oil. It spatters easily, especially in
contact with water, and it burns horribly on skin.

* Use oven mitts of very good quality when moving things in and out
of ovens. Silicon is a good oven mitt material but test them first
for fit and comfort and take care as they also retain heat for
longer than fabric mitts.

* Learn how to deal with food odours that waft through the house.
Some of the biggest cooked food odour culprits include fried fish,
baked lamb, fried foods of any kind, and curries. There are lots
of fixes, including pouring vinegar into a bowl and leaving it on
the kitchen bench top.

!! Things You'll Need !!

* Cookbooks

* Good kitchen gear and utensils

* Fresh food

* Storage facilities and equipment

!! Related WikiHows !!

* How to Learn Cooking by Yourself [23]

* How to Be Self Sufficient in a City [24]

* How to Learn to Cook With Cooking Classes [25]

* How to Keep a Pantry Organized [26]

* How to Cook Pasta [27]

* How to Present Food on a Plate [28]

* How to Cook Real Mexican Food [29]

* How to Do Formal Vegetable Cuts [30]

* How to Prepare Good Garnishes [31]

!! Article Tools !!

* Read on wikiHow

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Wednesday 19 January 2011

How to Make Homemade Food

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