Not everyone is going to walk into the kitchen for the first time and become the next Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Oliver. Unfortunately, you’re more likely to set fire to your meal than create a flawless masterpiece the first time around. However, with a little bit of practice and the right mindset, you’ll be sure to up your cooking game in no time. If you want to take your skills from good to excellent, or even from terrible to not-so-terrible, try out these tips below.
Quality Cookware is Best
It may seem like a $19 pan will provide more bang for your buck than a $59 one, but high-quality cookware sets cost a little bit more for a reason: the result is often better. When you have the right tools at your disposal, you’re more likely to create that perfect dish. However, if you were to choose the el-cheapo pan, there’s more of a chance you’ll end up scraping burnt food off the bottom and ordering pizza instead.
Switch Up the Seasoning
Herbs and spices add bold new flavors into a dish that salt and pepper simply can’t achieve, so if this is all you’ve been using in your recipes, it’s no wonder your food is underwhelming. You can add fresh herbs into everyday dishes such as mashed potato, while dried herbs work well by adding flavor and intensity to butter and oils for use within dishes. If you’re yet to discover the wonderful world of seasonings, it’s time to take a trip down the spice aisle at the grocery store.
Appreciate Technology
While Grandma’s recipe book would have worked fine before technology went crazy, it’s now a redundant item. Give the old girl her book back and tell her cooking apps are now the next biggest thing. There are thousands of cooking apps currently available to both guide you through the cooking process and provide you with full, interactive recipes that are almost fail-proof. The best part is, unlike Grandma’s handwritten book, there are even photos and videos to make sure you’re on the right track.
Utilize Kitchen Appliances
Before the bread maker, people used to have to spend hours mixing, kneading, proofing and baking bread by hand and often with odd contraptions. Everything changed when the bread maker was born in the 1980s – people could walk away and come back to a loaf of bread ready to be eaten. Without a doubt, appliances add a lot of convenience to the kitchen. Take the stress away by letting an appliance help you out so you can focus on plating up the perfect dish and honing your skills.
Try New Techniques
As Albert Einstein once said, “if you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got”. Therefore, if you continue to bake, fry, and grill your meals, you can’t expect to create your next masterpiece. Your food will always come out the same, albeit sometimes more burnt or undercooked than before. This is why it’s important to try new things. Rather than roasting that beautiful cut of beef, why not try Sous Vide? As opposed to grilling fish, you could smoke it in various wood chip flavors. The options are endless for how a change of technique can transform a meal.
Taking your cooking to the next level requires a combination of things, including an upgrade to higher quality cookware and a willingness to step outside of your comfort zone. So, pick up the spices, try out that kitchen mixer, and cook up a storm like never before – you’ll be a contender to Nigella Lawson in no time!
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
LOVE all of these and yes, good cookware is the best idea! You definitley get what you pay for.
I agree we get what we pay for Robin.
If you have the best equipment to start with and add in fresh herbs and spices along with fresh food you are half way there to making a great tasting meal. I have never started a fire in the kitchen, maybe some smoke but no fire. LOL
I did a fire one time and should share the story with everyone as its a teaching lesson.
I agree, quality cookware will make all the difference. Look for pans that have two functions: stove to oven, stove to refrigerator, etc.
I love those tips Terri and they are things I didn’t think about but will look for when I go to purchase new pans for my home.
Great tips that I definitely need. I try my best but my daughter usually is our recipe person for out web site.
Thank God you have her Wendy because I would like to share recipes but don’t know how and can’t afford to hire someone to help me out.
I am in total agreeance about the quality cookware. It took me years to realize this, but once I did, and I finally got my stainless steel Calphalon cookware, things changed. That is the best investment I’ve made in the kitchen, outside of appliances.
I would love to have a set of pans like that Joanna and I know one day I will because I want my son to learn to cook and before I teach him I want to have quality cookware for him to use so he knows the difference and can pick out the best when he is grown and out of the house.
I am new to cooking and planning to buy some, and ohhh yes, I am definitely coming up with quality kitchen wares. Will be taking up your suggestion too.
Thank you, Anosa I am glad these tips helped you out.
I love getting creative in the kitchen and trying new recipes and new techniques. I have a cabinet with all my fave kitchen tools / gadgets and they inspire me to be creative every day.
I also have favorite items although my husband gutted the kitchen and through a lot of things away and has said once we are finished I can replace everything and let me tell you I am so excited and can’t wait as most of our stuff was hand me downs.
Okay, I am someone that needs these tips. I am an okay cook at best. I’ve been cooking okay food for a lot of years though.
An okay cook usually has Recipes only they know how to cook that is the best ever which includes my moms Potato Salad.
I’ll keep these in mind. I am a terrible cook, I admit that. I’ll have to try these out and see if I improve.
I bet you becomes a awesome cook Amber.
These are some awesome tips. I’m definitely going to give them a try as I need all the help I can get.
I hope the tips help you out Leona.
I am really not a good cook so any little hint or tip I can get to try and make me a bit better is something I love to collect and these sound great!
Thank you, Sara and I hope the tips help you out.
These are all great tips. I agree so much on the cookware. When I was young, I grabbed whatever was cheapest. Thankfully I learned quickly that it was best to spend the money on quality products.
I agree with you Lisa quality over price always.
One thing that revolutionized my cooking was when I got a Bellini. It’s made my cooking so much easier because it kneads dough and pastries. These are all good tips.
I would love to have a Bellini and will add it not only to my Bucket List but my Christmas Wish List as well.
I agree that high quality cookware makes a huge difference. It gets me more excited about cooking since I get to use it–and the food really does turn out better.
Yes, it does Alyssa and I can’t wait till our kitchen is done and I get to go shopping and pick out new cookware.
I love these ideas. I really love to cook but sometimes I get in a rut and make the same things every week.
With the pickiest child on the planet, I do the same thing because I know my son will eat because otherwise, he would starve.
I really enjoyed reading this post. These are really helpful tips. I love trying and applying new techniques in the kitchen.
I do as well Tasheena and I am so glad you enjoyed the tips.
I have never cook the same way, I always love tweaking a recipe for my own satisfaction. Sometimes it turn out great and sometimes a disaster, it’s part of learning.
It is part of learning and if we didn’t experiment we don’t know what we would come up with.
Cooking isn’t something that came naturally to me, my family wasn’t great cooks. Thankfully along the way, I found my groove. Your tips are simple yet helpful in aiding someone along their journey.
Thank you, Lori, and like you, over time I have gotten better but still have a lot to learn.
I take a lot of pride in my cooking. These are great ways to really step up my game!
Thank you, Kita and I am glad the tips helped you out.
I enjoy using some of my new appliances and they do save me time. Using the freshest herbs to season really makes a difference in the food you eat.
I agree with you fresh Herbs do make a difference and I am growing my own Mint plant to use in my tea and I need to also put it in the foods I cook.
My cooking really needs help. These are some awesome tips. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you, Leona and I hope they help someone out.
I need these tips. My daughter does most of the recipe making for our site and I do the informational posts. There is a good reason for that. 🙂
At least you have someone to help you I do it all on my site and I need to find some help as its getting overwhelming for me.
I need to try and do these things because I admit, I’m a terrible cook. I also hate cooking, but I love eating, so I’m working on doing better in the kitchen.
I don’t mind cooking Amber although I have gotten lazy and depend on my husband to do it for me. So I need to bite the bullet and cook because I am home all day and he is at work. So I will try and do better this week.
Switching up the seasoning is my downfall! I find one seasoning and put it on literally EVERYTHING haha!
I do too Jasmine as it is easier than finding something new.
I agree about having good cookware. I really does make a difference.
Thank you, Tammy, and now I am off to purchase new cookware as mine is wearing out after 11 years of use.
Thank you, Tammy
These are great tips! I love switching up seasonings it really makes a world of difference with the taste of your food
I also love trying our new Seasonings and I love visiting Spice stores to see what I can find that my family might enjoy as we all have varied taste it can be hard to find one we all like.
These are some great sounding tips – I really need to think about trying things that are just a little bit different as I am one of those people who sticks with what they know.
With the pickest child in the world, I tend to stick to things I know he will eat although it gets tiring so I have been trying to venture out more and it has lead to him trying new things at times. So if the truth is none then I might be stuck in a rut as well as its easier to purchase things I know my family will eat instead of picking up new things and trying to figure out how to use them.
It’s so much fun to try new things when you’re cooking. It’s like playing only better. These tips are so helpful!
Thank you, Karen I am happy the tips was helpful and it is fun to try new things when cooking.
When I was first married my husband and I combined our pots and pans and they were defiantly of the cheaper variety. Over the years we have defiantly learned the importance of higher quality pots and pans. They really do make a difference.
I agree with you on the quality of pans Jeanette and most of ours was hand me downs I had when we first got married. Although we did get a set of pans at our Wedding Shower which I was grateful for they wasn’t the best they did work and now 11 years later I am investing in new more expensive quality pans as my son is wanting to learn to cook and I want to teach him quality is better.
It’s so important to invest in some quality cookware. Not only for your cooking but for your health also.
Heather, you are right it can affect your health as well as the quality of your food.
Great tips! I agree with the cookware tip to the max. Good cookware makes a huge difference.
Thank you, Terri and I am glad the tips was good ones and I hope they helped you out.
These are awesome tips. Technology is amazing, I can browse tons of recipes online and lots of options to try.
Yes, you can and I enjoy being able to do that although I am old school and enjoy holding and browsing through Recipe books as well.
I never used to think much about my cookware until I started staying at home. And now I cook and bake every single day and I’ve realized how much of a difference quality cookware really does make. I try to buy things that can serve it’s purpose on more than one thing as well.
I also make sure and get items that can do Double Duty as it takes up less room and saves me money and allows me to get more items than I could afford if I had to buy each piece separately.
I love to cook! I especially love to cook with quality ingredients. It really does make a big difference.
I agree with you Kate the quality of ingredients can affect the way a recipe tastes.
I agree with you Kate it makes a huge difference.
I love having fun in the kitchen! It’s always nice to try something new when you’re cooking. I think these are awesome tips!