Cooking is an essential part of being a homemaker. You are responsible for the nutritional needs of everyone in the family, including yourself. It can be a lot of pressure. Especially if you’ve been nowhere near a stove before. The thought of a kitchen and stove can seem overwhelming for beginners.
If you are resourceful enough, you can teach yourself how to cook delicious, gourmet meals your family will love. You don’t have to take expensive classes or become a culinary master. You just need to know a few of the basics and you’ll be on your way to cooking delicious, healthy meals your family will look forward to.
Here are 21 tips to help get you started.
Use the right tool for the job
You don’t need an expensive stand mixer or Instapot, but you should familiarize yourself with the various kitchen tools. Get yourself a cheaper hand mixer. A garlic press, a good set of mixing bowls, measuring spoons, and measuring cups are all good to start with. You could find a lot of these things at your local thrift shop or flea market or even find some relatives who might pass them along. There’s nothing wrong with a hand-me-down.
Cross-contamination
If you are going to be handling raw meat or seafood, it’s important to learn how to avoid cross-contamination. Use a separate cutting board for your raw meat and seafood; don’t let it come into contact with produce.
If you have to set meat aside once it’s cooked, make sure you have a different plate. Ingesting raw meat or seafood can cause food-borne illnesses like salmonella.
Pork should be cooked at an internal temperature of 145F and poultry at 165F.
What is a smoke point?
The smoke point is the temperature at which oil starts to smoke. This point varies between oils, from 250*F to 500*F. Using a smoke point chart such as the pin below can help.
Unrefined oils like almond oil, flax oil, and many seed oils have very low smoke points, so it’s best not to cook with them at all and only use them as raw ingredients, such as in salad dressings. Refined oils, like coconut oil and avocado oil, have very high smoke points, and these types of oils are great for frying and broiling.
Mise en place
Always gather your ingredients together before you start cooking. This is called mise en place. Gather your ingredients, cut your veggies, and measure your sauces and spices. This will make the cooking process much easier when you have all your ingredients at hand instead of having to rush around trying to get a jar open while your food burns.
Always cook in a clean, organized kitchen
A clean, organized kitchen will be much easier to manage than a disorganized one. Cooking can be a messy business and fast-paced, but starting with organization can help things go much smoother.
I always start my meals by emptying the dishwasher and doing the dishes. That way, I’ll have an empty sink to work with when I need to start washing and chopping veggies. I also clean as I go. While waiting for water to boil or sauce to simmer, I look around and see if there is anything I can put back or clean up. This helps after dinner clean up go a lot smoother, too.
Clean as you go
You may spend a lot of time waiting for things to boil or thicken. Use this time to clean up. Gather used kitchen tools and put them in the sink. Rinse them and clear off the counters. Get out serving dishes. You could also take this time to read over the next steps in your recipe.
When in doubt, use your hands
Sometimes, your hands are the best tool in the kitchen. Don’t be afraid to use them to mix things or touch raw ingredients. You can always wash your hands afterward.
Wash your hands often
On that note, make sure you wash your hands often, especially when handling meat and seafood. Wash your hands before you start cooking and then again when you’re done with the mise en place. And any time you handle the meat or seafood. Make sure to take off any rings before you start cooking.
Even cuts
Making sure your cuts are similar in size will help ensure even cooking. Use the right knife for the right cut. Knife skills are a very important skill to have in the kitchen. And make sure to cut properly. Don’t be unsafe with a sharp blade. Always keep the knife pointed down when moving back and forth between counters and stoves, etc. And always account for your fingers. Here is a little knife 101:
How do you cook an egg?
Poach it over easy, scrambled? Knowing how to cook an egg is the very basic for any beginner. With this knowledge, you can now cook breakfast or top a burger with a fried egg.
Undercooked poultry
Always ensure that chicken and poultry is cooked to an internal temperature of 165F and that there is no pink in the middle. Salmonella is no joke!
Pork should be cooked to 145*f. It can be slightly pink, but be careful because undercooked pork can be a cause of trichinosis.
Beef and lamb can be cooked to rare or medium rare, but they can still carry a risk of foodborne illness. The best way to prevent this is to get your meat from local farms. That way, you can see where it is raised and ensure it is healthy.
Make your own seasonings
You can make a lot of your own spice mixes. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Store-bought seasonings contain a lot of salt and fillers. This way, you can control the salt content. Here is a basic taco seasoning mix:
1 T chili powder
2 t cumin
1 t paprika
1 t salt
1 t black pepper
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t dried oregano
a pinch of red pepper
Knife safety
These last few points may seem redundant, considering I mentioned them earlier in the post, but I can’t stress them enough! Always be aware of your fingers when using a knife! Never hold a knife in front of you when you are walking back and forth. Keep your knives sharp.
Pinterest is your best friend
You can be completely self-taught in the kitchen, and Pinterest is the way to do it. I use Pinterest every day to find recipes and cooking ideas. Start boards and collect recipes.
I’ve learned 90% of what I know as a chef from Pinterest. Check out my own board for chicken recipes to help get you started.
Save fat and grease; don’t pour them down the drain
Grease can clog your drains. I always use an old yogurt container to collect grease and then throw it out later.
Understand where your food comes from
Get a better understanding of where your food comes from. Shop at farmer’s markets and local farms. Learn to eat seasonally. You can go to the grocery store and get just about any produce you want, but chances are, it came from very far away.
Fresh, local, unprocessed
As mentioned above, the closer you are to the food source, the better. You can buy berries in January these days, but chances are they came from very far away, which means they are going to be full of preservatives.
Shoot for foods that are local and unprocessed. You are what you eat, after all. If you happen to live in Southern California and love raw milk, check out Knotted Leaf Ranch .
Taste as you go
Get used to tasting as you go. Sometimes, you need to adjust the salt and pepper. Just don’t try to taste anything that has had raw meat or seafood in it. Taste your spices before you put the meat into the marinade. Taste the sauce as it thickens. You’ll develop your palette this way.
Kitchen Gadgets
You don’t need anything too expensive, but kitchen gadgets are wonderful if you can afford them. These include things like meat grinders, pasta processors, and hand mills for grinding grain into flour. These things may be expensive investments, but they will get a lot of use.
Conclusion
If you follow these simple steps, you will be cooking in no time. You’ll be able to provide yourself and your family with nutritious, homemade meals—ditch the takeout menu!
For further reading on being a homemaker, check out my earlier post about the 23 Old Fashioned Homemaking Skills You Need To Learn.
