Have you ever thought that
gourmet cooking is hard to do, or that you do not cook well? Let is time to
change your mindset from today.
Anyone and everyone can easily
pick up cooking skills. It doesn’t matter what your skill level is today; you
can do much better and make great dishes like the chefs at your favorite
restaurants. And you know what the best
part is? You already have the most
important ingredient . . . you know what great food is! Let's show you the way Xperimental Cooking
You choose the ingredients you
like and whip up meals to suit your specific tastes. Forget about strictly following recipes that
are complicated. All that is required
is for you to have fun and Xperiment with blending ingredients that you
like. Let your imagination rule . . .
pick the items and create your masterpiece; from types of meats and vegetables,
to how they are cooked, to what beautiful arrangement on your dinner
plate. Xperimental Cooking is also about
you and the people you are preparing a meal for. You know that each person has their unique
preferences, so Xperimental Cooking is about helping you fulfill those
preferences. Sounds complicated, you may
think? But actually, it is rather simple; especially after you develop the
basics that will forever change your mindset on cooking and open up a whole new
dimension of creativity you never knew you already had within yourself.
Now let us share with you the
little secrets of Xperimental Cooking . . .
the A, B, Cs if you will . . .
A. INGREDIENTS – The first key is
for you to build on your knowledge of ingredients, as they are the basic
building blocks for a good meal. You
already know of many ingredients, now go and take a closer look; experience each
ingredient individually and Xperiment with it.
Everything edible can be an ingredient in your creation, so you need to
know and understand each ingredient; from how it looks and tastes, to its
texture, to how it behaves when cooked in different ways, to which other
ingredients it is compatible with, to what happens if you add more or less of
it to your food, etc. As you have your
meals each day, take the opportunity to study the ingredients. Involve your family & friends and make it
fun as you experience & Xperiment.
At restaurants, and when you travel, question the chefs if you have a
chance and gain perspectives into new ingredients you come across. Try typing the ingredient you’re interested
in on your favorite search engine and discover a wealth of knowledge at your
fingertips. As you get to know about
more ingredients and become more aware of the characteristics of each
ingredient, you will be able to expertly combine them to expand the number of
new dishes in your cooking repertoire.There are endless combinations, so keep Xperimenting; you will discover
many winners to surprise your guests.Have fun building up your own database of ingredients.
B. QUALITY – When you begin with
great quality ingredients, you are certain to produce top quality meals; if you
start with poor quality ingredients, it won’t come as a surprise that the
results will naturally be disappointing.
Quality can easily be determined when you use all your senses . . . Use your sense of Sight to look carefully at
the ingredients. Check the color to see
if it is bright or dull, consistent or has blemishes. Practice and see if you can tell what the
Quality of an item is, just by looking at it.You will quickly be able to use your Sight to initially screen
ingredients to determine if they are worth a closer inspection or to move
on. Train up your nose and your sense of
Smell will come in handy when you search for Quality foods. If you have the opportunity, sample the items
before making your decision. Your sense
of Taste will be your most important tool when it comes to blending
ingredients. With a well developed sense
of Taste, you will be able to determine what ingredients, and in what
quantities, will go well together.Finally is your sense of Touch.Go ahead, pick up and handle the ingredients you are inspecting. Practice using all your senses to fully
examine ingredients and learn how to pick Top Quality items for your specific
needs. It is now time for you to
exercise your senses whenever you go shopping for food. Have a good time tuning up your skills in
search of Quality at the markets and stores.
C. DESIGNING – Now comes the fun
part of Designing your meals. The first
consideration is who you are cooking for and what are their likes and dislikes.
Use your knowledge of ingredients to decide on what blend of ingredients will
achieve the unique flavors you want. It is also fairly easy for you to design
meals to take into account differing preferences among your guests; simply
separate your ingredients and add or withhold them into individual portions of
your dishes. In the Design phase, you
may wish to consider the cooking style as well, since the way food is cooked
will make a difference in the outcome in terms of taste and texture.
D. COOKING STYLES – Mastering
many Cooking Styles is another way to increase the diversity of your
meals. Brush up on your cooking skills
by not only practicing the various Styles of Cooking, but also by paying close
attention to the details of the cooking process, what each Cooking Style does
to your food and the resulting
appearance, taste & texture.
Xperiment with variations to the standard method (different temperature,
time, sequence, combinations, etc.) and observe the results. Learn new Styles as you come across them, and
also try your hand at inventing new ways to cook. There are many methods of cooking your food;
some more conventional like Baking, Barbecuing, Braising, Roasting, Stewing and
Steaming. Some are more exotic like
cooking meat on a slab of hot stone. So do
try out the various cooking styles on your favorite foods and discover which
are to your liking. Think of new ways to
cook, after all its just applying heat to food.
You can also broaden your knowledge and skills by observing how people
of various lands cook their meals in special ways when you travel.
E. PRESENTATION – The final
element is how you serve up the feast that you have prepared. Food Presentation is the art of making your
meals visually appealing. The easiest is
to place all your food onto serving plates for your guest to help
themselves. Select large enough bowls
and plates, matching if desired, that can hold the amount of food you have
prepared. You can fill a serving bowl
with soup and sprinkle some chopped spring onions on top to garnish. Fish can be served on an oval plate, or one
of those fish shaped dishes, and you can arrange some lettuce and round slices
of lemon to decorate. . How about
tri-color pasta to really mix up the colors?
Now that you know the Secrets to
Xperimental Cooking, all you need to do is to start cooking; after all, as the
saying goes . . . “Practice Makes Perfect”.