Cooking Basics
WIC Café
Preparing and cooking family meals can be simple. A few basic cooking tips will help you learn how to easily follow recipes. It is important to understand the terms used in cooking to be able to follow the directions correctly.
How to Follow a Recipe
Whether you are a beginning cook or have a lot of experience we hope you’ll find WIC Café useful for you. You will find information about the basics of reading a recipe and shopping on a budget. But you can also learn new skills such as cooking legumes and food safety and sanitation. Cooking can be fun and enjoyable, especially as new skills are developed. Learn about cooking from WIC Café today!
- Read the entire recipe. Doing this at the beginning will ensure that you have each ingredient on hand. You will also know if the recipe requires special equipment that you do not have.
- Make sure that you have enough time to complete the recipe. Many dishes will not turn out as well if left to sit in the middle of making. Especially in baking muffins, if batter is left to sit it may not rise.
- Gather all of the ingredients and equipment that you will need. This helps to significantly decrease cooking time.
- Preheat the oven. Even if this is not written on the recipe it is usually a good idea.
- Follow all instructions carefully. Some of the steps may seem unnecessary at first, but may become important later. If it is your first time making a recipe have a pen and paper nearby so you can write down notes and comments.
- Keep track of how long the dish takes to bake and write it down. This will make it easier to make the second time.
Basic Pantry Items
There are certain ingredients that you should always keep in your house. These may differ slightly from person to person depending on the recipes that you commonly make, but should include the following.
Common Ingredients:
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Cereal
- hocolate chips
- Crackers
- Dry milk powder
- Flour (white and whole-wheat)
- Honey
- Nuts
- Oatmeal
- Oil (canola and olive)
- Pasta noodles
- Peanut butter
- Rice (brown or white)
- Shortening
- Spaghetti sauce
- Sugar (white, brown, and powdered)
- Vanilla extract
Common Spices:
- Basil
- Bouillon (chicken and beef)
- Cinnamon
- Garlic powder
- Ginger
- Nutmeg
- Oregano
- Pepper
- Rosemary
- Salt
Essential Cooking Tools
You do not need to have every cooking gadget to be effective in the kitchen, but it is important to have good quality, basic tools.
Basic Tools for Healthy Cooking
Utah Department of Health program
http://www.checkyourhealth.org/pdf/cookcompanion/cookcomp_chap9.pdf
Cooking Tips and FAQs
Choose the Right Recipes
Find recipes that have reduced calorie and low-fat ingredients. Some recipe instructions offer substitutions that may be used to lower the fat content. Artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes can also be used to lower the calorie content of food.
Remember Altitude Alterations
Your elevation can affect cooking time and temperatures. If you live at a high altitude make sure to look at the instructions carefully to find baking alterations.
Check Measurement Units
Sometimes recipes list ingredient amounts in units that you are not familiar with. Information about conversions is available online at:
http://southernfood.about.com/library/info/blcooks.htm
Sift Flour, if Needed
If a recipe calls for sifted flour, put it through the sifter and then measure out the appropriate amount. If you do not have a sifter you may carefully stir the flour to incorporate air. Never tightly pack flour into the measuring cup. Brown sugar, on the other hand, should be firmly pressed into the measuring cup.
Use Hot Pad Holders
To help keep burns from happening, use hot pad holders to remove hot pans from the oven and stove. If hot pad holders get wet they need to be dried before using. Do not have rags or curtains near the stove’s burners.
Soak Dirty Dishes as You Cook
Fill your sink with warm soapy water while cooking and place used items in the water as you go. This will lift food off utensils and pans before it dries and will shorten time doing dishes.
Wash Cutting Boards Often
Never use the same cutting board to cut raw meats and other foods. This is cross-contamination and promotes the spread of food-borne illness. This can also occur when the same knife is used to cut meat and then other things. Always use different utensils for raw and cooked foods.
Keep Knives Sharpened
Dull knives are dangerous because they require more pressure to cut the food which can lead to more injury.
Check Baked Goods
To check when cakes and brownies are done; insert a toothpick into the center of the dish. If the toothpick comes out clean the food is done.
Links about Cooking Basics
Cooking Basics
About.com—http://southernfood.about.com/library/info/blcooks.htm
BettyCrocker.com—http://www.bettycrocker.com/How-To/Baking-Basics/
Check Your Health—http://www.checkyourhealth.org/nutrition/cook_companion.htm
eHow.com—http://www.ehow.com/information_1030-cooking-baking.html
FoodNetwork.com—http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/ck_cooking_guides/text/0,1971,FOOD_16096_22231,00.html Reluctant Gourmet—http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/technic.htm
Utah State University Extension—http://extension.usu.edu/fsne/
Cooking Dictionary
Reynolds Kitchens—http://www.alcoa.com/reynoldskitchens/en/coach/cooking_dictionary.asp
The Cooks Thesaurus—http://www.foodsubs.com/
Community Resources about Cooking
Cooking Classes
Classy Cuisine
4801 N University Ave
Provo, UT 84604
(801) 426-7922
Macey’s Food and Drug
1400 N State St
Provo, UT 84604
(801) 356-3216
Cooking and Nutrition Classes
Family Nutrition Program
Utah State University Extension
http://www.unitedwayucv.org/org/1416981.html
