Some housewives cook according to old family recipes, others subscribe to food bloggers, and still others go to various culinary master classes. Be that as it may, we all love to eat deliciously, and to make the cooking process as fast and enjoyable as possible, we use some tricks. Novate.ru talks about those who will make the dishes healthy.
Trick 1: pickling food in salt
The marinade does not always allow you to achieve the ideal tenderness and softness of the product. But the solenoid works with no regrets. This is water to which salt, sugar and herbs are added, and then meat, poultry or fish are kept there for several hours before cooking. In fact, this is a cross between marinade and brine, as you can guess from the name. Water saturates the fibers of the product, and salt softens them, making the dish very juicy and tender. As for herbs and spices, they not only improve the finished taste of the dish, but also give it a magical aroma.
For one liter of water, you will need one and a half tablespoons of salt and a couple of tablespoons of sugar. Additives here can be rosemary, garlic and ginger. Small pieces will marinate well in three hours, large pieces will take about a day. After removing the meat from the solenoid, blot it with a paper towel so that no liquid remains on it.
Trick 2: Oil in a spray bottle
Most PP recipes tell you to cook in a nonstick skillet or with a minimal amount of oil. Since the brush is not always convenient to use, it is worth building a cooking spray. There is nothing difficult here - you just need to pour the vegetable oil into a spray bottle. You can pour the product in pure form, or you can add a little water so that you can easily displace the oil from the cartridge through a small spray bottle. In the latter case, the bottle will need to be shaken well before each use.
It seems like an elementary thing, but it can be used to easily cover the bottom of a frying pan or a baking dish with a thin layer of oil. As a result, the food does not burn and the finished dish contains much fewer calories, since there is a minimum amount of fat. By the way, you can spray not only the bottom of the dishes, but also a measuring spoon, grater or knife so that various sticky foods are not attached to them. But it is not worth spraying oil on a hot frying pan - it is flammable. Best applied cold.
Trick 3: Instead of aquafaba eggs
Aquafaba is the liquid that remains after cooking legumes such as beans, chickpeas, or lentils. Also called aquafaba liquid from under canned peas. It is able to whip into a good dense foam, thanks to which it can safely replace eggs in the recipe of some dishes.
If you stick to the right diet and try to exclude eggs from your diet, or they simply are not left in the refrigerator, aquafaba will come in handy. With it you can make meringues, soufflés, meringue, marshmallows, lean mayonnaise. It also serves as a great alternative to eggs when baking. The advantage of aquafaba is its low calorie content and the fact that it does not have a specific taste and smell that it could "share" with the finished dish. If you didn't use the liquid right away, it's okay - aquafaba can be stored in the refrigerator for three to four days.
On a note: The liquid can be frozen in ice cube trays and then added a few cubes at a time to vegetable soups. This way you can increase their nutritional value.
Trick 4: tartar in baked goods
Tartar is a crystalline sediment that forms on the walls of the barrel in which the wine is aged. Tartar has many hidden culinary functions. It can be used as a leavening agent for confectionery and bakery products if ground beforehand. Considering that commercial leavening agents sometimes contain ammonium carbonate and can impart an ammoniacal taste to baked goods, tartar looks more advantageous against their background, as it is a natural product.
Also, some chefs add it to creams and mousses as a stabilizer to help them maintain the desired shape and consistency. Another option for using tartar is in glaze, where it is placed to give elasticity to the finished product. And if you add a small amount while whipping the egg white, you get a strong and non-falling foam.
Trick 5: Custom Kitchen Utensils Set
Many people think that the final taste of a dish depends solely on the recipe and culinary skills. In fact, the kitchen utensils you use play a very important role. Analyze what dishes most often appear on your menu - it is quite possible that a couple of pots and pans are no longer enough for these purposes. For example, a very useful device is a grill pan, which is useful in the process of cooking vegetables and meat: the dishes that are cooked on it are not as fatty and high-calorie as on cast iron.
You should also think about purchasing a temperature probe. This device is designed to measure the temperature inside a pie or steak, so you can determine whether a dish is cooked.
A few more culinary life hacks
• If you put kefir in the freezer, then in a few days it will turn into delicate curd - you just need to put it in a sieve and let the water drain. You can add strawberries or dill with parsley to it for a saltier dish and eat it for breakfast.
• To make the dumplings juicy, add water to the minced meat. Another option is to place a small piece of butter in the center of each dumpling before pinching the dough.
• If you get unripe fruits or vegetables at the store, put them in a dark place along with bananas. They produce ethylene gas, which promotes rapid ripening, so in the company of bananas, other fruits will ripen in just a day.
• If you do not like slices of onions in your food, and also feel horror just at the thought that it will have to be peeled and cut, use onion powder instead of a vegetable. He will give the dish the necessary flavor. By the way, according to the same principle, you can add garlic powder to food.
We advise you to take note of these Scientific culinary life hacks that allow rational use of products