Simple kitchen skills you can learn at home

Going to culinary school is a dream for many aspiring chefs and people who want to improve their kitchen skills but what many people do not know is that there are things that can be learnt without one having to go to culinary school.

Mastering kitchen skills is an art that many do not learn in culinary school but learn at home with a lot of practice.

These are some of the things that one can easily learn at home without having to go to culinary school.

1. Getting the best ingredients

Before you go grocery shopping, make sure you have a list of the best ingredients to use for making different dishes.

Many people tend to use any ingredient in any dish not knowing that every ingredient is made for a specific dish.

Ingredients like olive oil, black pepper, paprika, dhania, curry powder and various herbs should always be stocked in the kitchen as they are common ingredients in everyday dishes.

2. Knife Skills

Every good cook must have proper knife skills. From knowing how to keep them sharp, hot to hold different knives and which knife cuts what, kitchen masters know their tools.

One can also learn about essential kitchen tools without having to go to culinary school. From chiffonade to julienne, these are skills that many people learn at home without having set foot to any culinary school.

Every single knife in the kitchen has its own purpose. Avoid using one knife should for everything. Have specific knives for cutting meat, fruit and vegetables.

3. Cooking pasta

Pasta is one of the simplest dishes to make, easier than rice. All you need to do is boiling water to which you add salt and then your pasta. Allow the pasta to boil for about six minutes stirring using a fork from time to time.

Once it is cooked, remove the pasta from the cooker then pour cold water on it in order to separate the pasta so that the end product does not look like Ugali.

After this, your pasta is ready to serve with an accompaniment of your choice.

4. Cooking Rice

Rice is another easy dish to prepare, not to mention it takes very little time to cook. If your rice always comes out crunchy or if it is gummy, this could be an indication that you didn’t put in the correct amount of water, you didn’t cook it for look enough or you let it overcook.

Always measure the amount of water you use to cook your rice. One cup of rice needs two cups of water, two cups of rice need four cups of water, etc.

Make sure you use the same cup or jar used to measure the rice to measure the water.

Do not cook for more than 15 minutes.

5. Roasting vegetables

Many people prefer steaming their vegetables rather than blanching them or eating them raw in a salad or side dish. A good cook will always remember that most flavours come from roasting your vegetables.

This is not something one needs to learn in culinary school as it is a simple method that can be done at home and made to your specifications.

The first step is to preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Then cover a baking tray with parchment paper. After this, place the chopped vegetables on the parchment then sprinkle with olive oil, fresh black pepper and salt. Using your hands, ensure the vegetables are coated in the oil, pepper and salt. Spread the vegetables on the parchment paper so that they are in one even layer and put them in the oven. Place the baking tray in the oven.

Onions, mushrooms and peppers cook in 15-20 minutes while potatoes, carrots and root vegetables like Brussels sprouts cook in 40-50 minutes.