Cooking Techniques

So you're a diabetic. You get all these wonderful dessert recipes from friends that you simply can't eat because they will spike your blood sugar level and get your blood sugar glucose levels all...

Serrano hams, a Spanish specialty, are cured to preserve the meat and lock in flavor. Serrano hams are made using a hog's back leg. To make your own Serrano ham, you need adequate space to cure...

Balancing spices in your dishes will help you add depth in flavors, keep the food from becoming overpowering and tailor the meal to your own personal taste. While many foods lend themselves to a...

If you want to tenderize your beef, consider marinating with papain. You can find papain naturally in the leaves and skin of raw papaya. Papain is a protein enzyme that breaks down the connective...

Smoking spare ribs is a fairly straightforward process involving three ideas: (1) slow cooking, (2) using a low temperature and (3) using smoke for flavoring and heat. Amazing things happen to...

Herbs such as rosemary have a variety of uses: in cooking, in sore throat gargles, in aromatherapy--even in an oil to reduce rheumatism pain. For some uses of an herb you will need to chop the...

Smoking meat with hardwood chips in gas grills requires more steps than in traditional charcoal grills. Simply throwing wood chips on the flames of gas grill burners will char the chips and not...

Soy flour can be used as a substitute for wheat flour when frying chicken. It is high-protein and low-carb, making it suitable for low-carbohydrate diets. Since it contains no gluten, it is also...

You can preserve many types of food in solutions of vinegar, a process commonly called pickling. Among the most popular are cucumbers, peppers, beans and other vegetables. Pickled foods last...

Country hams are cured as a way to preserve the meat without having to keep it refrigerated. Country hams are typically cuts made from from the hog's back leg. Country hams have a salty flavor and...

Roasting a turkey for the holidays is both wonderful and terrifying for those who attempt it. The glory that goes with cooking the perfect celebratory family meal is rewarding, but the fear of...

Food carvings are a great food presentation method to make ordinary food items seem extraordinary. Food carvings are usually made from fruits or vegetables; perhaps a potato or radish carved into...

People have been cooking with wood since the dawn of humankind. Charcoal briquettes are by comparison an exceedingly recent invention and, many barbecue aficionados would add, inferior from a...

Red snapper is a delicious dish, if prepared properly. There are many ways to prepare and buy your fish, but whole at the market is the most common for the red snapper. Following a few simple...

Over-boiled vegetables and meat that has been cooked dry and flavorless make for an unpleasant meal, and they have also lost many of the vitamins that give them their nutritional value. Cooking to...

If you have cooked with the common banana, you are in for a new experience with plantains. Though both are a fruit, and they are in the same "family," think of plantains as the "body builder"...

We all know what a joy it can be to prepare a fresh duck after a hunt or a trip to obtain one from a farm. It's important to clean and pluck your duck properly before you cook it. Plucking a duck...

According to the FoodSaver manual, marinating meat in a vacuum-sealed container opens the meat's pores, allowing the marinade to penetrate more quickly and deeply. Instead of marinating meat...

An electric rotisserie is a counter-top cooking appliance that allows you to roast poultry, chicken, fish or vegetables quickly and evenly. The rotisserie turns food so that all areas are evenly...

Fresh cabbage from the garden is used in many recipes as well as eaten fresh. If you have an excess of fresh cabbage from the garden or purchased from the grocery store, make pickled cabbage. It...

Fennel is a vegetable with three distinct, edible portions: the bulb, the stalks and the leaves. Fennel has a taste similar to licorice, and you can either eat it raw or cooked. The leaves can...

Do you have a rotisserie attachment for your grill or fire pit? With some preparation and help from your friends, you and your party can roast a pig and enjoy succulent, flavorful pork cooked...

Because of the many measuring cups and spoons available, determining the correct amount of a necessary ingredient for a recipe can be tricky. Fortunately, measuring vegetables is fairly...

Not every fish is created the same. Some fish are large, some are small, and some are in between. Every fish worth eating should be filleted with a similar approach. Filleting a fish is not...

Cook beef brisket on a grill for a tender, delicious barbecue feast. For the most tender results, buy the right cut of beef and slow cook your brisket on a grill set up for indirect grilling....

A food slicer is an integral part of food preparation. Not only will it slice meats and cheeses to a variety of thicknesses, it can also be used to quickly slice onions, cucumbers, potatoes and...

Dehydrating food is a great way to preserve it or make it more packable. You can take dehydrated food on long travels, while backpacking or on camping trips. Homemade dehydrated food is better...

Prosciutto, the pungent antipasto ham of Italy, is like regional wines. The specifics of preparation vary, dependent on the agricultural practices, customs and climate of the locality. Each...

It's hard to think of summer without imagining the delicious flavor of fresh vegetables. At the height of their season, fresh veggies can be savory and sweet, and it's possible to enjoy them...

Freezing vegetables is one way to enjoy the flavor of summer well into the fall and winter. It also is a great way to save money. Growing or buying vegetables when they're in season and preserving...

Onions and peppers cooked on the grill can be a great accompaniment for sausages, steak, tofu or any other protein you can grill. Cooking onions and peppers in a disposable aluminum pan covered...

Homemade jams, jellies and preserves can be stored in a variety of ways, such as freezing or refrigerating, but perhaps the best way is to process them in Ball canning jars. Canning can extend the...

Rotisserie is a method of cooking by roasting meat slowly over low heat, turning it constantly on a spit. The result is meat with a crisp outside and juicy, flavorful inside. Rotisseries can be...

Grillers who use gas grills can achieve a more traditional smoky grilled flavor by adding wood chips to their backyard repertoire. Adding wood to the grilling process will enhance the flavor of...

Cooks have been preserving fresh fruit by canning at home for generations, and chances are that your mother or grandmother canned many foods. It was a common practice in previous decades to have a...

The compact, electric George Foreman grill is a great tool to have when a stove isn't available or just when you don't want to deal with the mess and bother of an oven top skillet. Though the...

Ribs in a smoker cook much more slowly than on a grill or in the oven, allowing the flavor and tenderness to develop. Smoke permeates the meat and adds flavor that cannot be had any other way. The...

Julienne is a classic, but time consuming, knife technique in which food is cut into short, 1/8-inch square pieces that resemble matchsticks. Vegetables are most commonly julienned, but some...

Using Mason jars to can foods has been done for decades. Canning your own foods allows you to store them long term. Using glass Mason jars with the two-piece snap lids will protect your canned...

Cooking baby food in jars is a possible solution to preserving homemade baby food; however, cooking many types of foods in jars carries the risk of botulinum contamination (botulism). Only fruits...

Home canning lets you preserve homemade foods. Can your own foods in Mason jars to save money or just for the satisfaction of preparing your own preserved foods to share with friends and family....

Summer Sausage is traditionally a cured, fermented sausage seasoned with salt, sugar or dextrose, mustard, black pepper, and garlic with many cultural and geographic variations. Summer sausage is...

Though "London broil" refers to a preparation technique, some cooks and butchers use it to refer to several "tough" cuts of beef meat, such as sirloin tip and flank steak. In a more traditional...

Turkey Legs are super sellers at festivals, bazaars, and even craft shows. It is a nice way to make some money because everyone loves roasted turkey legs.

Like most good cooks, you probably know "by heart" the recipes for some of your family's favorite dishes. A "pinch" of this, a "sprinkle" of that has served you well...

Pressure canning requires special equipment to be done safely. Learning to use a pressure canner is fairly easy, provided you follow the instructions for both the canner and for the preparation of...

Weber gas grills are among the most popular of all gas grill brands today. Offering convenient and easy options for outdoor cooking, these grills are easy to start and even easier to cook with....

You can save time and money, and eat well too, by employing once a month cooking. It's not as daunting as it seems. With a little planning, some savvy shopping, and maybe some help from family...

The key to perfect fudge is, I feel, all in the cooking and just the right amount of ingredient's. Lets get started!

Smoking meat requires relatively low temperatures (150 to 220 degrees Fahrenheit). Because the meat is kept in the smoker at this low, constant temperature for a long period of time, higher...