How To Cook » How To http://www.howtocooks.com Sat, 19 May 2012 13:41:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 How To Select and Store Carrots http://www.howtocooks.com/how-to-select-and-store-carrots.html http://www.howtocooks.com/how-to-select-and-store-carrots.html#comments Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:59:23 +0000 admin

Carrots are a very healthy addition to our diet. Buying good quality carrots will help to ensure that you get the best nutrients available in carrots and the tastiest too. This article discusses some things to look for when selecting carrots and the best ways for storing them once you’ve got them home.

Step 1  

Choose carrots that are in good shape. Look for a good, smooth form and a hearty orange colour. Select carrots that still have greens attached, as these tend to keep better and taste fresher. The leaves themselves should be fresh and bright green.

Step 2  

Select young carrots for the most sweetness. The slim early carrots are the sweetest.

Step 3  

Note that baby carrots are convenient but not as sweet as the slimmer young carrots. In fact, most baby peeled carrots are larger carrots cut down to size and sold as “baby” carrots.

Step 4  

Avoid choosing carrots with the following indicators:  

  • blemishes or cracks
  • wilting greens
  • flabby, rubbery or soft
  • “sunburned” green area at the tops

Step 5  

Store your carrots. Before storing, remove the greens, as they will deplete the carrot of both moisture and nutrients. Roll up the carrots in a sheet of bubble wrap (the small textured kind) and place in the vegetable drawer in the fridge. The bubble wrap will enable the perfect amount of moisture to stay close to the carrots, but the texture of the bubble wrap will prevent that moisture from gathering right on the surface of the carrots. If you use a plastic bag, that will lead to rotting. bubble wrap will add up to two extra weeks of freshness to your carrots. It is best to use carrots within one to two weeks, as this will provide you with the best nutrients and taste value.

Step 6  

If you grow your own carrots, keep some in the ground over winter. A little snow covering will keep them from freezing and in the spring you will be able to pick some lovely crisp carrots. The flavor of spring carrots is far superior to anything you’ve tasted yet.

Tips

  • If baby carrots have what appears to be a light layer of white on them, this is simply indicative of the fact they are already peeled. Soak them in cold water for a time and they’ll rejuvenate.
  • Peel older carrots – they are usually more fibrous and therefore have a less desirable peel for eating.
  • It is suggested that carrots be kept at 0ºC with a relative humidity of 90 – 100%.
  • Choose a carrot over a cookie! It’s better for you and won’t rot your teeth. 
  • Cooked carrots can be refrigerated for up to three days.
  • The sugar content in carrots makes them an ideal healthy alternative to sugar in cakes and muffins. Add some carrot and reduce the amount of sugar used.
  • Shredded carrots are also a great addition to peanut butter sandwiches as an alternative to jams. Just mix in some shredded carrots with your peanut butter before spreading it on bread. Drizzle with honey if desired.

Warnings

  • Do not store carrots near apples, bananas or melons; the ethylene gas in these fruits tend to increase the bitter compounds present in carrots (isocourmarins).

Things You’ll Need

  • Carrots
  • A sheet of bubble wrap (the small textured kind) for storage
  • Scissors for removing greens
  • Fridge for storage
  • Peeler

 

]]> http://www.howtocooks.com/how-to-select-and-store-carrots.html/feed 0 How to make a choice suitable for eating flowers http://www.howtocooks.com/how-to-make-a-choice-suitable-for-eating-flowers.html http://www.howtocooks.com/how-to-make-a-choice-suitable-for-eating-flowers.html#comments Sat, 22 Oct 2011 01:19:31 +0000 admin http://www.howtocooks.com/?p=99
  • Decide what purpose you want edible flowers for. Examples include:
    • Salad additions, greens and fruit
    • Candied flowers (candied violets, sugared roses or Lavender [[ are delightful old-fashioned sweets)
    • Adding to pickles, jams, vinegars, syrups, sugar, etc.
    • Cooking baked goods (such as cookies or cakes)
    • Desserts, such as ice cream, cheesecake, custards etc.
    • Decorative purposes – garnishes for plates, cakes and more
  • Familiarize yourself with some of the more common culinary flowers. The following list is not exhaustive but it does give you a good indication of the types of flowers that can be suitable:
    • Nasturtiums - these are the perennial favorite for summer salads. Easy to grow, they bring an explosion of color to any salad. They are also good stuffed, crystallized, or as a garnish. They have a slight peppery taste. The seed pods are even used as a replacement for peppercorns and capers. The entire plant is edible.
    • Lavender - lavender is ideal for many culinary uses. Uses include tea, cookies, syrup, cake decoration,sorbets, ice cream, jelly, jam, custard, wine, vinegar – the list seems endless. Lavender imparts its own flavor, along with slight tones of citrus.
    • Violets - violets are perfect for adding to a range of food, as well as serving decorative purposes. Some ideas include candied violets, violet tea, violet cake and violet syrup. They can be included in salads, vinegar, jelly, butter or flavored spreads or simply used as plate garnish. Look for “viola odorata” or “sweet violet.
    • Rose petals - rose petals are renowned for many culinary uses, such as in syrups, decorations on icing, ice cream, dessert garnishes, jellies, jams, flavored butters, ice cubes and more. Rosewater is a famous use of rose petals.
    • Pansies’ - Are delicate little paper-like flowers that are great adorning salads. Other uses include floating atop a soup, decorating desserts, and garnishing a plate. Don’t neglect to include them in fruit salad as much as any other type of salad. Pansies have slightly sweet flavor.
    • Hibiscus - appropriate for salads and for making syrups and some alcoholic beverages. There arecranberry and citrus notes, but it’s slightly acidic, so use sparingly.
    • Chive blossoms - these are great for savory dishes and will impart a light onion flavor. Garlic blossoms are also apt and will impart a fresh and light garlic flavor to a salad or dish.
    • Marigolds - desirable in salads, where they lend a golden glow. Not all marigolds are edible, be sure you get the right kind.
    • Dandelion flowers - delicious addition to salads, provided you pick the flowers when they are young and eat them quickly after picking. They have a sweet flavor, like honey.
    • Carnation - has a sweet, nutmeg-like flavor. Suggested for salads and as a garnish.
    • Petunias - flowers of ‘Petunia x hybrida,’ or the common garden petunia, has flowers that are mild tasting. Good to use as a garnish
  • Prepare flowers. There are several things to do before you can use the flowers.
    • Harvest the flowers. The best time to harvest flowers is just after the dew has dried, early to mid-morning. Or, early evening can work as well, after the heat of the sun has faded, provided that the flowers appear in good condition. Do not pick in the middle of the day, as the heat can dry out the flavor and cause a drop in both flavor and color.
    • Remove stamen and pistil. If these are obvious (usually in larger flowers), remove them. White, pithy parts and any large stamens or pistils are usually bitter and can often be chewy.
    • Clean the flowers. Shake the flowers to remove insects, debris, and bits of dirt. Inspect closely to see if the flowers remain dirty and in need of a wash. If so, gently wash with a colander or tea strainer. Carefully use a fine and soft spray of water, as flowers are fragile and bruise easily. If the flower is especially delicate, just a brief soak will suffice.
    • Dry on kitchen towels. Arrange on paper towels and allow time to air dry.
    4. Use your flowers according to the recipe or garnishing needs. Follow your favorite recipe for the flower(s) in question. Search for recipes online or in recipe books, using the flower name for ideas. Once you have tried and tested out some recipes, consider leaving your versions for using edible flowers for culinary purposes on wikiHow. If using flowers to garnish, try different arrangements. It often helps to keep photos of your arrangements to inspire you in the future.
    5. Find out more about edible flowers. The use of edible flowers is becoming increasingly popular again, after falling out of favor for a time. Get to know the ways in which others are using culinary flowers by reading recipe books, asking a reference librarian, and looking online. You can also learn from such reputable sites as botanical gardens, botanical departments of universities and nurseries.

    •  

    ]]>     http://www.howtocooks.com/how-to-make-a-choice-suitable-for-eating-flowers.html/feed 0     Cook Like a Roman http://www.howtocooks.com/cook-like-a-roman.html http://www.howtocooks.com/cook-like-a-roman.html#comments Sat, 22 Oct 2011 01:09:20 +0000 admin http://www.howtocooks.com/?p=92 fit to be eaten culinary plants are helpful for quite a lot of functions, from cooking to sweet making and from salads to decorative presentations on a dinner plate. in finding out here which plantsare safe to devour, and get a few concepts for his or her use.

    1.  Crdevoure a Roman pantry. If possible, arrange your food storage in order that Roman foods and non-Roman foods are saved on other cabinets to make it more straightforward for you. top off on the following important Roman staples:
      • Oare livings and oare living oil. Pliny the Elder sang the virtues of the oare living via claiming that: “except the vine, there’s no plant which bears a fruit of as great importance because the oare living”. purchase “pure” oare living oil for cooking and “additional virgin” for flavoring uncooked things;
      • Honey. Use this as an alternative of sugar. Or, you’ll be able to also use dates to sweeten dishes;
      • Chickpeas (sometimes called “garbanzo beans”) and lentils;
      • entire grains and whole grain flour such as “emmer”, “spelt” or “some distance” (sorts of whdevour) and barley. Emmer and spelt are available in “health food” stores. Emmer is an excessively historical variety of whdevour and is essentially the most authentic selection for early Roman cooking. Rye was also consumed via the Romans;
      • Salt;
      • vegetables such as radishes, parsnips, carrots, cabbage, leek, finishive, celery, globe artichokes, cucumber, marrow, lettuce, onions. pennycress, nettles, asparagus and beets;[1]
      • Fruit such as grapes, raisins, currants, sultanas, figs, dates, medlar, mulberry, damson, plums, cultivated cherry, apples, pears, crab apple, raspberries,blackberries, strawberries, and elder berries;[2]
      • Many herbs and spices such as oregano, dill, mustard, lovage, rosemary, rue, sage, sweet marjoram, thyme, aniseed, borage, black pepper, poppy seeds, fennel, mint, flat parsley, garlic, and savory;[3]
      • Nuts include walnut, almond, chestnuts, and stone pine;^hktthree^
      • Mdevour within the form of hen, mutton, or red meat (and ham, Sir Francis Bacon, sucking pigs) was far more common than pork, even if pork was provided as rations to Roman garrisons in Britain and was a lot revel ined in Roman Britain;^hktfour^ wild bird was common, such asduck and goose, and wealthy Romans also ate other birds we’re less more likely to devour in this day and age, such as swan, stork, flamingo, and crane;^hktfive^ rabbit, hare, and deer might also have been consumed via Romans;
      • Fungi (edible mushrooms);
      • Snails and frogs (the French were not there first!);
      • Seafood including many types of fish (eel, perch, pike, carp, etc.), crustaceans, and shellfish was very popular;
      • several sauces, including garum (a fish sauce similar to that utilized in Thai and Vietnamese cooking) or fermented fish sauce (liquamen); oenogarum was fish sauce mixed with wine. See “pointers” to learn how the Romans made fish sauce. check out a up to date fermented fish condiment, such as gentle Worcestershire sauce[7] or chopped sturdyer, saltier anchovies[8].
      • Cheese both arduous and soft was made via Romans. Ricotta and feta are very appropriate varieties;
      • Wine (cooking and drinking) and vinegar. Vinegar delivered a sharp taste to sauces, preserved culmination, vegedesks, and fish. The Romans also brewed beer.
    2. steer clear of the usage of the fallacious ingredients while cooking Roman style. Some common non-Roman foods that you just must now not use in authentic Roman dishes are these foods from the Americas: tomatoes, potatoes, chilies, corn (maize). except for white cabbage, all cruciferous vegedesks, including broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts, are publish-medieval vegedesks. Pasta (exceptlasagna) also was now not identified to the Romans.
    3. prepare your kitchen apparatus. by the time of the Romans, cooking apparatus had turn out to be far more complex than previous cooking cultures.^hkteight^Cooking was done over a raised brick fireside with acharcoal fireplace. at the same time as a few foods such as mdevour or fish may well be grilled direct on the charcoals, other food needed to be cooked in tripod pots over the coals. in addition, it is most probably that the Romans used steaming methods. Baking and roasting was also done in an oven the usage of wood or charcoal as gas.[11]obviously, your modern-day oven and range can be easiest replaces. As for your cooking apparatus, the extent of the authenticity is up to you but listed here are a few common Roman pieces and possible replaces:
      • Use a just right, massive mortar and pestle (mortaria). this is your Roman style food processor. A marble one is perfect because it will now not select up flavors from such common ingredients as garlic. obviously, in case you are feeling lazy, the Romans might most certainly have snapped up food processors within the blink of an eye, so do not hesitate!
      • Use a pizza stone for baking.
      • Use a large pot for stews. The Romans used iron cauldrons but there’s a just right explanation why we do not have a tendency to anyextra %u20thirteen they are heavy! a large casserole may also be used as a Roman oven.
      • Use a frying pan (fretale or sartago) for cooking fish and frying vegedesks. A patellawas used as a reasonably deeper frying pan that could also be taken to the desk, and the patina was an even deeper pan for extra complex dishes. perhaps use such pieces as paella pans and casserole dishes with out lidentifications for replaces.
      • Use jugs and pitchers (amphorae) for storing and pouring your oare living oil, wine, and other liquidentifications. obviously, a measuring jug may be easiestly acceptable as a up to date-day replace.
      • Roman knives, strainers, pots, and pans had been generally similar to our modern-day ones, so it is most probably your kitchen is already neatly-equipped for Roman cooking.
    4. know how to prepare the food. The cooking methods include: baking, roasting, steaming, raw (salads), frying in oil, and hconsuming. Grain may well be milled, so flour for baking and sauces is permissible (amulum thickened sauces), in addition to floor grain dishes such as porridentificationge and gruel (puls or pulmentus). if you’re in reality keen, search for your own flour mill to grind the flour recent at home. although additional work, the recentness could make it worth your while. Bread was common but tlisted here are differing kinds: autopyron was a slave and canine bread created from most commonly bran with a little flour;athletae was unleavened bread mixed with soft curd cheese; buccellatum was the troop’s staple dry biscuit; and artophites was light leavened bread created from the best flour baked in a mold.[12]
    5. in finding a few recipes. several historical writers left collections of recipes, but they are in reality arduous to make use of. Some just right up to date interpretations of Roman cookbooks are indexed under. check out making one of the vital following:
      • Libum (like cheese bread) or extratum (a garlic and vegedesk cheese spread) to start out.
      • Cooked mussels, prawn cake, and oyster omelet
      • Seared fish
      • Grilled red meat chop the usage of a dry method
      • Cooked hen
      • Roman sweet cake and honey desserts.
      6. Serve the food. Serving the food was a little other from in this day and age, where palms are relegated to speedy food and nibbles, while desk food requires the use of up to date utensils. In Roman instances, consuming food with the palms was far more common and napkins had been an very important for wiping grimy palms. Romans had knives and spoons but they lacked forks.[13] it is up to you how some distance you need to are living with out your fork! once once more, certainly Romans might have embraced the fork if they’d thought of it first. Spoons had been used for sauces and soft food, with a small spoon referred to as a cocleare used for casting off shellfish from shells.[14] additionally it is most probably that massiver spoons served as ladles. cast foods had been devouren the usage of the palms.

      • Romans had bowls, plates, cups, finger bowls, jugs, goblets, and wine ladles.
      • presents had been generally created from a range of materials including pottery, glass, silver, bronze, iron, pewter, etc. you can also need to research further in case you are trying to succeed in an authentic desk glance provided your Roman food
      7. add the wine. Romans cherished their wine, so feel free so as to add wine on your meal.^hktthirteen^ In Roman instances, it was imagineed dangerous manners to drink wine undiluted^hkt1four^ but you may wish to forget about that nicety given the care taken in making up to date day wines “good”, or you’ll be able to even try making mulsum. And the opposite beverages?Posca and water. That makes the selection easy!
      eight. grasp a Roman dinner party. Romans had been well known for dinner partying. once your Roman cooking abilities have broadened, imagine holding a mini-dinner party for your friends and family, to introduce them to the delights and wholesome facets of consuming like a Roman.

      • consider the presentation was an important facet of a a success dinner party. position candelabra on the desk, use your perfect dinnerware, and add a few recent plants to the dining room (triclinium) for beauty.
      • Romans might steadily recline to devour, placing three couches around the desk.^hkt1five^ So, you have a just right excuse to drag the couches up to a low lying desk and to calm down as you revel in your Roman dinner party.
        • watch out consuming while reclined or drinking alcohol, and do not mix the 2: every increases the risk of choking. Recline sidentificationeways, now not immediately back. Don’tstain your sdevour: placed a fewthing over it or keep away from messy food.
      • visitors can be anticipated to convey their own dining napkins with them; at the finish of the night, they’d fill their napkins with leftovers to take home as what you may understand as a kind of an eco-frifinishly Tupperware identical!^hktsixteen^

     

    Incoming search terms:

    • roman breakfast recipes
    ]]>     http://www.howtocooks.com/cook-like-a-roman.html/feed 0     How to Store Food in a Pantry http://www.howtocooks.com/how-to-store-food-in-a-pantry.html http://www.howtocooks.com/how-to-store-food-in-a-pantry.html#comments Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:21:57 +0000 admin A neatly-stocked pantry offers you a lot of choices on the subject of meal coaching. preserving it clean and arranged no longer simplest makes it simpler to seek out what you wish to have, it additionally be sures that meals are properly stored. whilst stored as it should be, meals are much less more likely to break or cross stale, and pests are much less more likely to take in home on your pantry. the precise pantry is cool and darkish as soon as the doors are closed, and keeps a temperature among 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit

    1. Rebundle beans, rice and other dry meals once you open their bags. place them in a tightly sealing glass, plastic or metal container
    2. Label all rebundled food with the contents and the date they have been purchased. for those who do not have that date to be had, use the “use via” date at the label of the unique packaging or mark down the date you first opened the bundle
    3. Reseal reusable packaging after each and every use. Fold down the liners in cereal fieldes sooner than sealing the top of the field. Open bundles speed breakage and can attract pests.
    4. organize pieces on your pantry the use of the primary in, first out way. place newly purchased pieces in the back of older pieces. this technique is helping be sure all food is eaten in a well timed way.
    5. clean the pantry cabinets weekly. Wipe up any spills or crumbs instantly and sweep out the pantry floor, if applicable. A clean pantry is much less most likely to attract pests.
    6. retailer potatoes and onions in a vegetable bin in the darkishest, coolest component of the pantry. Alternately, store onions in a dangling mesh bag in the pantry. quilt potatoes with a sheet of burlap so any light that enters the pantry doesn’t flip their flesh green.

    [wpsociallock title="Click here to get PDF version."]

    ]]>     http://www.howtocooks.com/how-to-store-food-in-a-pantry.html/feed 0     Directions for French Press Coffee http://www.howtocooks.com/directions-for-french-press-coffee.html http://www.howtocooks.com/directions-for-french-press-coffee.html#comments Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:41:24 +0000 admin Making coffee with a French press is a superb way to revel in the full flavor of the coffee beans. whilst typical drip coffeemakers have filters that absorb one of the oils from the beans, those oils are preserved within the French press. also known as a coffee press, a French press is available in quite a lot of sizes and has models product of glass, steel and plastic. For probably the most flavorful cup of coffee, use freshly floor beans and filtered water.

    1. Fill a kettle with 8 to 24 ounces — depending on the choice of cups being made — of chilly, filtered water and positioned it on the stove to heat
    2. make a selection the coarse surroundings on the grinder and grind the beans as with reference to if you end up using them as possible for the hottest flavor
    3. degree 2 tbsp. of floor coffee beans in keeping with cup into the ground of the French press.
    4. permit water to nearly achieve the boiling aspect and then pour it over coffee floors. remember to soak the entire floor beans.
    5. make sure the plunger is up, and then position the French press lid on top of the carafe to stay the contents warm, but do not push the plunger down.
    6. Brew the coffee for approximately 5 minutes
    7. Press the plunger down slowly while the time has elapsed.
    8. Pour the coffee into heated mugs even though maintaining the lid of the French press in position.

    ]]>     http://www.howtocooks.com/directions-for-french-press-coffee.html/feed 0     Ways to Serve Pancakes http://www.howtocooks.com/ways-to-serve-pancakes.html http://www.howtocooks.com/ways-to-serve-pancakes.html#comments Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:41:24 +0000 admin Pancakes are reasonably-priced and easy to arrange, and even supposing they are appreciated most commonly at breakfast, they may be able to be served any time of day or night. loved by way of both children and adults, the round, flat quick-bread disks are usually served with butter and syrup and often have end result, nuts or chocolates incorporated into their batter. Serving pancakes in different techniques additionally provides selection to foods.

      ]]>       http://www.howtocooks.com/ways-to-serve-pancakes.html/feed 0       Accessories for Tea Making http://www.howtocooks.com/accessories-for-tea-making.html http://www.howtocooks.com/accessories-for-tea-making.html#comments Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:41:24 +0000 admin

    1. for those who experience drinking tea, you’ll make your tea-drinking revel in much more experienceable by means of the use of a couple of tea accessories. certain accessories can be utilized proper in the tea, used to help make the tea, or used to place the tea into. which you could acquire these tea accessories from a gourmet tea store, world retailer or thru a web based service provider.

      2. Tea Thermometer

      • which you could acquire a thermometer specifically designed for heated beverages, in order to inform you how scorching your tea is. this may permit you to heat your tea to the exact temperature that you simply prefer the most. The thermometer is inserted into either the teapot, or proper for your tea cup to check the temperature of your tea.

      Teapot Trivet

      • Tea may also be very hot inside of a teapot, which can go away marks on table most sensible or coffee tables. One technique to prevent your furniture from turning into broken is to make use of a teapot trivet, that’s positioned underneath the teapot to somewhat elevate it off of the table. which you could acquire all kinds of various teapot trivets, including ceramic, metal or fabric trivets.

      Tea Flavorings

      • Tea can turn into a style sensation when you add in a area of expertise tea tasteing, reminiscent of vanilla, mint, chocolate or Irish cream. Tea tasteings are on a regular basis blended with a herbal sweetener, reminiscent of stevia, and may also be dropped with a dropper proper into your cup of tea. as a result of stevia is very focused, you best want a couple of drops into order to taste your tea.

      cff0478nbsp;

      ]]>       http://www.howtocooks.com/accessories-for-tea-making.html/feed 0