We all start somewhere with our various hobbies and skills, and cooking is no different. There’s an infinite amount of new things to learn when it comes to preparing food, which can be exciting and daunting at the same time. If you’re just starting to get into cooking, you may wonder how to improve your cooking skills beyond your initial level. Keep these points in mind to hone your abilities.
Read the Recipe Fully
Later on, you might have the know-how to skim recipes quickly and then get straight to cooking. In the beginning, though, make sure to fully read over each new recipe. This way, you can anticipate what you’ll have to do. You can then bring out the bowls, plates, and kitchen utensils you need as well as all the ingredients involved. You’ll also be less likely to get halfway through cooking only to realize you forgot something important and have to rush that step to make up for it.
Organize Ingredients Beforehand
Another action you can take to prevent becoming overwhelmed is to organize all your ingredients before you start to cook with them. This doesn’t just mean setting them out; you should also trim any inedible parts, wash them, and cut them into the size and shape you need them to be. By preparing your ingredients beforehand, you can easily throw them into the dish when needed. Separating this ingredient prep from the actual cooking also gives you space to practice skills such as dicing without needing to rush against potentially burning or overcooking the dish.
Use the Right Tools
You may not be a world-famous professional chef, but you still need to use the right tools when you’re making food. If you can’t cut through that chicken breast without slowly hacking away at it with your blunt knife, your cooking skills won’t have room to grow. Replace any tools that aren’t doing their jobs and invest in essentials that will serve you well for a variety of foods. For example, a quality chef’s knife is a good place to start in stocking up your culinary armory.