Family Cooking Tips

Archive for the ‘Cooking Info’ Category

Whether you?re a chef in training or someone just looking to broaden your horizons in the culinary world, there is one place that you must go through-pastry chef school.

As a pastry chef, one will have many duties which could include the management of kitchen staff, ordering of supplies, baking goods, keeping an orderly kitchen and the decoration and plating up of different pastries as well as desserts. In order to carry out these duties, there are various skills that will be required by a pastry chef and a few amongst them would be the ability to pay attention to small details, endurance and creativity in terms of culinary ability. While becoming a pastry chef is all about experience, the best place to start would ideally be a pastry chef school.

Choosing a pastry chef school is a big decision as it is vital to make the right choice for the long run. A course at a pastry chef school might last only a short time, but it will be an investment for the future and will let you create many a gastronomical delight the rest of your life.

There are many things to look at when choosing a suitable pastry chef school and perhaps the best place to start is by visiting the school and seeing how the classes are conducted and getting an idea of how much practical work goes into learning. Another thing you need to look at is the qualifications and experience of the teachers and lecturers; this is important, as they will be the people whose knowledge will be imparted to you. It is also a good idea to find out what the curriculum is in each school you are considering- this will allow you to narrow your choices to ensure that you will be learning things that you are actually interested in. The next criteria should perhaps be the number of graduates or past students who have found jobs and are doing well, although this also depends on personal motivation and interest, it could still give you an idea of the success rate of the pastry chef school. It is also important to check that the pastry chef school is an accredited one.

Pastry chef school requires a lot of strength, determination and hard work to get through, but it is a well known fact that pastry chefs are very well paid and if you do get bored of working for someone else, you?ve always got the option of opening your very own bakery!

Corn has been a staple of the American diet since America was born. The largest grain crop in United States is corn and that is no surprise because corn is so tasty no matter how it is prepared. But there are many methods on how to cook corn so you do find that a lot of people actually are not sure how to cook corn properly. So here we will take a look at how to cook corn in a few different ways.
The first method on how to cook corn is the most famous and most probably the most popular as well. Any explanation on how to cook corn must have an explanation on how to cook corn on the cob. This traditional method has been around for so long it would be almost criminal not to have had corn on the cob. Boiling corn on the cob is a very tasty method because that makes the kernels of corn tender, moist and juicy, making it an absolute delight to eat. When you start to explain how to cook corn on the cob the first thing you will need is a large cooking pot. It has to be large enough to hold all the ears of corn that you have. Once you have the pot it on the stove and fill it almost three quarters with cold tap water. Once that is done you need to turn the heat up and bring the water to a rapid boil. By this time you must have husked the corn and cleaned or wiped off any dirt from the cob as well. Once the water has come to a boil add the husked corn on the cob to the pot and wait for seven minutes. Once seven minutes are up remove the corn on the cob from the pot and enjoy.
Another way on how to cook corn is to microwave them. Here there is a slight difference because when you microwave corn on the cob you only husk the outer layers of the cob. The inner layers are retained to keep the tender and sweet flavor of the corn. After you have cleaned your ears of corn wash them completely in cold water. Then take some water moistened paper towels. Make sure that the paper towels are just moistened and not soaked in water. Wrap each ear in a paper towel and microwave on high for about three minutes.

Shrimp is a popular dish all around the world. It is a tasty delicacy that should not be missed given the opportunity. But one thing that many people do not know is how to cook shrimp. So here are some pointers on how to cook shrimp.
When you look at the many different varieties and methods on how to cook shrimp it is difficult to choose a specific method. But when you think about how to cook shrimp and how you want to cook the shrimp then you can proceed. Once you decide how to cook shrimp the way you want you need to buy shrimp. It is best to buy shrimp that are frozen while they still have the shell. When you think of how to cook shrimp you will get to know that having the shells will help protect the meat of the shrimp from dissolving while it is cooking. The shells will also add additional flavor to the shrimp as well. You can cook the shrimp with or without the shells. You can even remove the shells after cooking if that is how you prefer. All of these tips you will know when you learn how to cook shrimp.
Right now I will tell you how to cook a pound of shrimp. If you want to know how to cook shrimp this same way for larger amounts just cook it in batches. For a pound of shrimp you will need two quarts of water. Bring the water to a boil and add a small amount of salt and lemon juice to the water. Once the water is boiled you should shut off the fire and add all the cleaned shrimp to the water at once. We shut off the heat because shrimp are better when they are cooked gently. Leave them for three to five minutes.
You need to check if the shrimp is done. To do that cut one in half and if the meat is opaque the shrimp are done and you can now take them out of the water. At this point you may remove the shell from the shrimp if you cooked the shrimp with the shells. After doing this there are many ways you can prepare them. You can boil or poach them. Frying, grilling or steaming is also done. Once you learn how to cook shrimp you can experiment till you find the right method for you.

Lobster has been a delicacy in many parts of the world for quite some time now. Many people, however, are unable to cook their own lobster, mainly due to laziness and not knowing how to cook lobster the proper way. They prefer to have it served to them in a restaurant rather than having to prepare it themselves. Lobster is actually easier to prepare than most people think. Like most sea food, lobster cooks fast, so does not require a lot of time in the kitchen.

Let us help you with how to cook lobster:

Different ways of how to cook lobster are chosen by people who prefer each way for reasons specific to that method of cooking. For instance, many people argue that steaming lobster gives the lobster a richer flavor than when it is boiled. Logically, this may seem true, since the flavor is not washed off when the lobster is steamed; it remains packed in the meat. However, the fact that it is better than boiled lobster may not be true. According to me, how to cook lobster is something that depends completely on personal tastes.

Cooking lobster is very simple and easy. Cooking it alive is said to preserve freshness, while also being the more inhumane method of how to cook lobster. When boiling lobster, it is a good idea to use sea water to give additional flavor. However, using salted water will suffice. The pan in which the lobster is being boiled should be large and should have a lid to cover it up. Furthermore, the water should cover the lobster completely. Adding ingredients such as white wine, pepper, parsley and bay leaves will give the lobster meat an extra flavor. This too, should be done according to personal tastes. It is important not to over boil the lobster to avoid having mushy meat. The ideal time for boiling is about ten minutes for a one-pound lobster. Around three minutes should be added for every pound in larger lobsters.

How to cook lobster by steaming is a similar method to boiling. The main thing here is to have a large enough steaming rack to hold the lobster. How to cook lobster in this method is to place the steaming rack over a pan of boiling salted water. Steaming, however, cooks the lobster slower.

Lobster should be served hot, immediately after being cooked. Butter is the ideal accompaniment to any lobster dish as it gives a rich flavor to the lobster meat.