How can we become a good cook? What is a good cook? Is it just making food that tastes good? I like to think that being a good cook is about the whole picture, from planning a meal to executing the whole thing. To become a successful cook, you have to get a Feel for Food.
Basically, we think about what we’re going to make for a meal, and if you have a feel for the food then we can judge how much to make, how to prepare it, what cooking temperatures are required and how much time will be needed to get it all dishes to the table at the same time. When we understand all of this we start being a more intuitive cook. Not everything you make is going to follow a recipe. Knowing your ingredients, allows you to figure it out how to cook your meal. I am not talking about menu planning. Menu planning is separate thing. I am talking about how you would organize your cooking times to have all elements of your meal served hot at the same time. This skill takes “knowing your ingredients.” For example, how would you know an ingredient is going to freeze well? It just takes a little experience and practice.
It can be fun to get an unfamiliar foods and experiment cooking it to get a feel for it. My husband asked about parsnips the other day. So we bought some, googled it, (it looks like a white carrot) and cooked it. This might be a fun way to introduce your family to new foods.
To get a feel for your food ask yourself these questions:
- How long does it take to cook?
- How do you know if it’s cooked?
- What will happen if it’s cooked wrong?(too long or not long enough)
- What’s it going to look like when cooked correctly?
- Does it shrink in cooking.
- Does it expand when cooked?
- Can it be frozen?
- Does it have germs?(This is important to know for prepping before cooking)
These are the basic things that I think about.
I will use zucchini as an example. Have you ever cooked zucchini? It’s a pretty good and versatile vegetable. I use it for Italian dinners or summer BBQ’s. I do all sorts of fun stuff with zucchini, but you need to remember it cooks pretty fast. That is something to take into consideration if you’re going to throw it in for a casserole or some recipe, or if you’re just going to cook it as a side dish, or if you’re going to put it on the barbecue.
Since it cooks quick, how do you know when it’s cooked? You can taste it, or cut it to feel the texture. Now while cooking zucchini, (let’s say sautéing it with onions, garlic, and EVO), I would take a piece of it out of the pan and I see if I like the texture. Does it still seem hard in the middle? If so, I would really like this to cook just a pinch more but I am going to stop cooking it at this point. Why, because I know by experience zucchini will continue to cook for a while after I remove it from the heat. Keep in mind that everything you make will continue cooking a little bit if it’s still feeling heat, even though you take the direct heat off of it. If it’s still in that warm pan, it’s going to cook.
That zucchini is an item that we’re going to have to watch while it’s cooking so we don’t overcook it. How do I know if I cooked it wrong? Zucchini turns into slime if it is overcooked. It’s unappealing and just mashed up and that makes you mad! “Dang it. I overcooked the zucchini!”
Sticking with zucchini let’s answer another few of those questions. Zucchini doesn’t shrink, really. It gets soft around the edges. Little chunks of zucchini will soften a little bit. If you cut it in little round pieces, you’ll notice the middle sinks a little bit. It doesn’t expand in size either. Now you know it’s an ingredient you have to watch closely. It would also be an ingredient that you would add later to a soup.
Can it be frozen? I suppose it could be frozen in a casserole, but it is a vegetable I probably would not freeze. I think they may sell it in the frozen food sections here or there, but I would think that when you freeze something, ice crystals get into all the cells and then bust it apart a little. It doesn’t go bad. It just loses its texture. That’s the worst thing about freezing foods. They tend to lose texture and increase in moisture.
Now, let’s pick another vegetable. How about carrots? They take a while to cook. Remember it’s about the longest vegetable to cook where, zucchini is one of the shortest. You are not going to sauté carrots up quickly in a pan. You need to roast, steam, or boil carrots. Unless you buy canned carrots because they are already cooked in the can. How long does it take to cook? Probably about 30 minutes in either method and you won’t have to watch it. It would be an ingredient you could add at the start of a soup. Carrots should freeze well in a soup or casserole.
Are you cooking a steak? In which case, there are all kinds of rules of thumb about how to cook the perfect steak. Of course, these rules vary according to how you like your steak served. We never cook a steak in the house. We only cook our steaks on the grill but there are many great stove and oven methods. You should plan on anywhere from 2 to 6 minutes per side AND you need to tend it. This is not a walk away food. How do I know if it’s cooked? Basically, you may want to use a meat thermometer. Please note, when you’re cooking any food, you’re not supposed to mess around with it. Just put the food on there and let it cook on one side. If it’s sticking it will release when you have got some caramelization. So many people are constantly turning. You are annoying the food!
As you’re cooking a hamburger, you’ll learn by experience, you’ll see some moisture at the top, like a little blood at the top. That’s a good way you know it’s being cooked in the middle and it’s getting cooked all the way through. That’s always my hint to turn it over.
Hamburgers shrink a lot. That’s something to take into consideration when you’re making them. You make the patties too big for the bun because it is going to shrink up a little.
What will happen if your meat is cooked wrong? It’s either going to be underdone or overdone. Can it be frozen? Yes, meat can be frozen before it is cooked, and then again after cooking. If you have leftover steak you could freeze it for another day or you can throw it in some chili or on a salad the following day.
Let’s talk about noodles or pasta. We used to say noodles, now everyone says pasta. Here is another thing that I learned 10 years ago. Now, mind you, I didn’t know this my whole life, but my mom always made spaghetti noodles. She would put the noodles in the sink and rinsed them after cooking. I always wondered why did she rinse it? We always put salt in the water. Were we trying to get the salt off? What was the deal? I looked it up and the reason we rinse it is to get it to stop cooking. That’s why you do it. Bam, rinsing the noodles stops their cooking. When you’re cooking broccoli, for example, and you want it really al dente you may have seen people maybe plunge it in an ice bath. Bam, it stops cooking right away.
What we like to do with noodles now is something interesting that I do every time. I will never rinse a noodle again, because number one, we’re cooking it in salt (and we don’t add the salt to the water until the water is boiling. Salt is not going to make the water boil faster and it actually pits your pans. I have little pans that have discoloration now because I always used to put the salt before the water boiled.) You wait until the water is boiling and then add the salt. This also helps season the noodles. What I do now after my noodles are cooked to my liking, is to put them directly into the sauce with a little bit of the pasta water. Let me take you through step by step.
How long do I need to cook the noodles? There are so many kinds of noodles available I recommend reading what is recommended on the package and then subtract a couple of minutes. What if your using noodles that didn’t come in a package? How do you know if this kind of noodle is cooked? What will happen if noodles are cooked wrong?
Boil these noodles until you have noticed they are looking bigger. Then right when you think the noodles are almost done test one. If you bite it and see a little bit uncooked in the middle, that’s the good time to turn it off. Remember the noodle will continue to cook for a while afterward. That’s called al dente for any kind of noodle. Then what you do is you put the noodle directly in the sauce with a little bit, let’s say, half a cup of pasta water, and the starch from the noodle water gets in the sauce and makes it absorb into the pasta. The noodle finishes cooking in the sauce. Delicious!
What if I overcook my noodle? Usually overcooked noodles just get mushy. Noodles don’t shrink, but they expand a little. Can noodles be frozen? When you’re making lasagna and noodles that are in a casserole or soup, they can be more forgiving and freeze easily. However, just freezing some cooked spaghetti noodles is not a good idea. Noodles just don’t hold their texture as good as we would like. If you make too many noodles try repurposing them into a pasta salad.
So, I hope that this explains getting to know or getting a feel for your food. It’s part of learning to be a good cook. When you know how individual foods act when they are cooked you can better prepare, plan and execute your meals. It’s not just the ingredients you use. It’s knowing how each ingredient reacts. It’s a big old science experiment. Pick up something you are afraid to cook or a vegetable you don’t know and try something new.
Please watch the Getting a Feel For Food video HERE
Please look for future Getting a Feel For Food podcast HERE