Madhavi Porori asked:


A little bit of replacement of the ingredients can be very good and useful. Low fat food is an important one. Knowledge on low-fat basic cooking tips is a great way to help make the foods that your family loves without sacrificing the quality of the recipe. I have always loved to made banana bread for my family. Though it is an excellent recipe but the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of oil. I detested the adding of all that fat to the recipe and worried about the health of my family. Therefore I quit making the bread. Though my family complained but I’m more worried about their health than I did their complaints. Recently I found out that it is possible to replace with 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce for the oil in my banana bread recipe. Miraculously, the banana bread is moist, flavorful and no one in my family could taste the dissimilarity. Currently, I make the banana bread they enjoy with the personal satisfaction that they are not eating an unhealthy snack.

Soon after, I was amazed to find out that applesauce can also be used in place of butter for most recipes. Matching the measurement closely, take for example ¼ cup butter to ¼ cup of applesauce does not affect a recipe with the exception of providing less fat in the final product. A further discovery in basic cooking tips that I did not apprehend is that 1/2 cup evaporated fat free milk can be used as a substitution for 1/2 cup of heavy cream. This is one more calorie saver in addition to healthy substitution that saves my family from eating too many unhealthy calories and still allows me to prepare the foods that they love.

Spending some time to research low-fat substitution in daily cooking recipes can create a huge difference in the daily, monthly and yearly fat intake consumed by you and your family. Study supports that most Americans increase an average of ten pounds per year and that the obesity rate in the United States keeps climbing every year. Therefore if you want to eliminate yourself and your family from the high-risk weight gain issues that are plaguing the United States today, retraining and rethinking the way you prepare your food could make all the difference. Low fat food can save from many health problems including heart attack.



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Madhavi Porori asked:


Pressure cooking is quite a daily routine in everyday life.

Unlike a normal cooking vessel, it is in a pressure cooker that food cooks beyond the boiling point of water that is around 1250 Celsius. Hence food cooked here is even more hygienic as more germs are killed as against the boiling point of water at 1000 Celsius.

Pressure cookers are known in different names in different industries. The first pressure cooker when invented in 1679 by Dennis Papin was known as the steam digester. Larger volumes of pressure cookers are known as canners. In hospitals to sterilize material a pressure cooker known as an autoclave is used.

Where food is concerned pressure cookers can be used only for food that has water as a part of the ingredients or a good amount of steam will be produced. For instance frying chips or for deep-frying dishes the cooker cannot be used.

The dish to prepare has to emit some amount of steam. Also as steam is locked inside the cooker the dish is cooked faster. Shredded cabbage takes only one minute, fresh beans takes around 5 minutes, rice takes 5 minutes and a whole dish of vegetable curry takes only 20 minutes as against the 1 hour it would take on normal gas. Pressure cooker saves a lots of time, nearly 60 to 70 per cent.

Cooking Tips

When you soak rice and urad dal for idlis and dosas, wash everything thoroughly before soaking. Later use the soaked water while grinding. If you wash rice and dal after soaking you will lose most of the vitamins.

Excess salt in any dish can be brought down by adding diced potatoes, tomatoes or a teaspoon of sugar. 

When you are making vadas, if the batter is watery – you will have the problem of oil splattering when you fry it. Add a tablespoon of ghee to the batter and your problem will be solved.

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Laura Zinkan asked:


It is fun to make recipes that have been in the family for ages and vintage cookbooks are also a great source of hearty recipes. However, this can also mean needing an ingredient you haven’t stocked in your kitchen spice cabinet for ages! Knowing an ingredients “equivalent” or substitution can save the day.  Mom demystifies zest, horseradish, mustard and paprika and provides emergency substitutions for these ingredients.

Horseradish:  Horseradish gives recipes a kick.  It is the secret ingredient in my grandmother’s crab dip.  The taste is strong, sometimes described as tangy and hot, sort of like very strong radishes.  Fresh horseradish root is twice as strong as bottled. Prepared, or bottled horseradish is mixed with vinegar and other flavors.  1 tablespoon fresh horseradish equals 2 tablespoons of bottled.  Horseradish is also served alongside Prime Rib and other meats.  You can also substitute 1 teaspoon of wasabe, or Japanese horseradish or a few drops of hot sauce.  Keep in mind these substitutions are much hotter than horseradish so start with small amounts and adjust to taste.

Mustard:  Mustard is another ingredient used in casseroles and dips to give recipes a kick. 1 teaspoon of dry mustard equals 1 tablespoon of prepared mustard.  You can also start with 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard and add more, adjusting to taste.  Before chilies and peppers arrived from the New World, Europeans used mustard and horseradish to spice up dishes.  Try adding a few drops of hot sauce or a dash of chili pepper if you don’t have any mustard.

Paprika:  Paprika is made from sweet, mild red peppers and has a light, delicate taste.  Its bright red color is also makes it a popular garnish.  If your recipe calls for a dash of paprika on top, it is probably there more for coloring than for flavor.  My grandmother’s hot dip calls for a sprinkle of paprika after baking.  You can substitute a dash of chili powder for color instead.  Chili powder has a smokier taste and is stronger so use sparingly.  Cayenne pepper is also red, but it is even hotter, so beware.  Another option is to decorate the top of your creation with something else, like minced parsley.

Lemon Zest or Citrus Juice:  Lemons add zip or tartness to sauces and holiday dips.  If your cottage garden is out of lemons at the moment, all is not lost.  1 teaspoon shredded lemon peel (zest) equals 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract or 2 tablespoons lemon juice.  The juice of one lemon equals about 2-3 tablespoons.  You can also substitute 3/4 cup lime juice for one cup of lemon juice.  Or  Substitute 1?2 cup vinegar for every cup of lemon juice.

Because these ingredients are mainly used as flavoring, feel free to experiment with different spicy ingredients.  For more of Mom’s cooking tips and apron humor visit her on the web at http://www.MomsRetro.com. Happy cooking!



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C Rodney Akomas asked:


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These days when people who are trying to lose weight search for the best diet cooking tips they search for milk shake diet cooking tips or fruit juice diet cooking tips. Or it could be any other diet cooking tips that are easy to prepare.

There are some basic diet cooking tips any one can learn to prepare in the kitchen. With life ever so busy these day you need to know great diet cooking tips.

The following are a handful of diet cooking tips that will save you money and time especially: Eggs(boiled) – When boiling the eggs and salt and vinegar to it. This tip will keep the egg in its shell should it *****.

Bacon- Make sure you run cold water over it to stop shrinkage before frying.

Salads – Make sure you cut your lettuce into wedges instead of tearing them up to save time when you make salads.

Unripe fruits and vegetables – Make sure you put your ripening fruit and veg in a brown paper bag in a dark cupboard or box for a few days.This will again save you time and money.

Pancakes – One of my favorites: To turn them more brown more quickly add a small amount of sugar to them.

Sauces – To make them, to prepare quick sauces, use condensed cream soups such as cream of chicken, mushroom, and tomato. these will aid in making fast and easy sauces.

Tenderization. You can use vinegar as a quick meat tenderizer. Just add a tablespoon of water when boiling meat for stews.

Frozen vegetables – you just run boiing water over them to stop them sticking together.

With corn – place the corn directly into boiling water, not adding salt. Make sure you do not overcook the corn orit will lose its taste.

If your grating cheese – freeze for twenty minutes before grating. this will make the cheese shred much easier.

Spaghetti sauce – Now these are great diet cooking tips: To your spaghetti sauce just add a pinch of bicarbonate soda to lower the acidic taste of the tomatoes.

Salted Peanuts – Great diet cooking tips for these will be wraping them in damp cloth to remove as much salt as you can. This will enhance your health.

As you can see there are a lot of diet cooking tips out there. Ihave just scratched on the surface of the possibilities when it comes to diet cooking tips. These diet cooking tips are not carved in stone. With a little bit of creativity and imagination one can come up with plenty of diet cooking tips to you in his or her kitchen.



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Denny Phillips asked:


Have you been frustrated by cracks in the top of your cheesecakes? Would you like tips to make flaky biscuits? Or would you just like to know a bit more about sweet potatoes? Try these cooking tips from the Good Cooking Central website today for better results in your kitchen endeavours:

• BISCUIT TIPS:

If you want biscuits that are crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside, you roll the dough thinly and fold it over once before cutting out the biscuits. They will then split open easily when you’re ready to butter them.

To re- heat biscuits, put them in a well-dampened paper bag. Twist the bag closed and put in a 300º oven for several minutes or until warm.

For soft-sided biscuits, bake them in a pan with sides and put the biscuits close together. For crusty biscuits, bake them on a cookie sheet and separate them from each other.

• PREVENTING CHEESECAKE CRACKS:

Grease the sides of the pan before adding batter. The surface will not stick to the sides of the pan and ***** when the cheesecake starts shrinking as it cools.

Run a knife or a metal spatula around the edges of the pan immediately after removing the cheesecake from the oven.

Drastic temperature changes can also cause a cheesecake to *****. Avoid putting a warm cheesecake from the oven into the refrigerator.

To disguise cracks, top the cheesecake with fruit or some other topping.

• SOUR MILK:

Since sour milk is not really sold in the grocery stores, when a recipe calls for sour milk, simply add 1 TBSP. of vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk. You can also use buttermilk to replace the sour milk called for in a recipes.

• BAKING POWDER:

If you use too much baking powder in a recipe it will produce a product with a coarse grain, and will cause the product to eventually fall. If you use too little baking powder, the product will not rise enough and be heavy.

Baking powder tends to lose its strength over time and should be kept in a tightly covered container. Moisture will cause the baking powder to deteriorate faster.

When increasing the amount of eggs in a recipe, decrease the baking powder by 1/2 teaspoon for each extra egg added.

• CUTTING FAT WITH APPLESAUCE:

To reduce the fat content in your baking recipes, substitute applesauce for half of the amount of vegetable oil called for in the recipe. Using all applesauce produces a low-calorie, moist product.

• ADJUST TEMPERATURE FOR DIFFERENT PANS:

Keep in mind that the type of pan you use when baking can determine the outcome of your finished product. For glass pans, turn down baking temperature by 25?. If you substitute a shallow pan, reduce the overall baking time by one quarter. If you use a deeper pan than suggested in the recipe, increase the overall baking time by one quarter.

• ALTERNATIVES TO COOKING WITH BUTTER:

When browning or sautéing onions, hamburger, etc., replace the butter by spraying your skillet with non-stick spray or use chicken or beef broth instead.

When baking, use reduced-calorie margarine instead of butter (but note that the texture may not always come out the same). Non-fat margarines currently on the market do not tend bake well.

Cutting butter in some of your recipes can cut a lot of the calories making it a diet-friendly option.

• SWEET POTATOES:

Due to rapid spoilage, keep sweet potatoes fresh, by storing them in a dry, cool (55-60°) place at a temperature of about 55-60°. If stored in the refrigerator, they may develop a hard core and an “off” taste. Sweet potatoes will keep for a month or longer if stored at the proper temperature. At normal room temperature, they should be used within a week of purchase. Brush off any excess dirt before storing, but do not wash them until you are ready to cook them.

When preparing, wash sweet potatoes well. It is best to cook them whole whenever possible as most of the nutrients are next to the skin. Also, the skins are easier to remove after they have been cooked. Pierce the sweet potato skins with fork. Place potatoes in a pan and cook in an oven heated to 375° F for about 45 minutes or until tender. Cool potatoes slightly before removing skins. To cook sweet potatoes in a microwave, wash and pierce potatoes. Place them on a paper towel. For 2 medium sweet potatoes, cook on high for 5–9 minutes, or for 4 potatoes cook for 10–13 minutes.

Sweet potatoes are high in vitamins A and C, and are a good source of fiber.

• SUGAR SUBSTITUTES:

To substitute for 1 cup of sugar use any of the following:

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 ½ cups molasses

2 cups corn syrup

3/4 cups honey

1 ½ cups maple syrup

Note: If you use molasses, corn syrup, honey, or maple syrup you need to reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe.

• BROWN SUGAR SUBSTITUTE:

If you need to substitute brown sugar in a recipe, for each 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar use 1 ½ Tablespoons molasses plus 1 cup granulated sugar.

To make 1 cup light brown sugar from dark brown sugar, use ½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar and ½ cup granulated sugar.

To make 1 cup dark brown sugar, use 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar plus 1 tablespoon molasses; or 1 cup granulated sugar plus 1/4 cup molasses.

If you would like to see more hints to help you in the kitchen, and get great recipes too, visit the Good Cooking Central website.



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