Mastering the kitchen involves understanding healthy fat profiles, variety-specific grain preparation, and safe food handling techniques.
As binding agents, eggs are a standard ingredient in most baking recipes. They also provide moisture and volume to baked goods such as cakes, cookies and muffins. If you're a vegan, have an egg allergy, don't like the taste or simply find yourself out of eggs, use an egg substitute in a pinch.
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Cleaning up your diet can easily lead you to try exotic foods as you search for healthier alternatives to your usual favorites. Sometimes you come across things like Greek yogurt, which is a versatile and valuable addition to any nutritional plan.
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Of the dry bean varieties, both kidney beans and the type known simply as small red or red beans sport a deep, burgundy color, while pinto beans are a lighter red color. All adapt to a range of cooked dishes, including baked beans and refried beans.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that at least half of the grains you consume each day should be whole grains like brown rice.
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Chilean sea bass, also known as the Patagonian toothfish, is a large, white-fleshed fish primarily found in the deep water between Antarctica and the tip of South America. Although it shares the name, this fish does not belong to the bass family and is not the same as sea bass fished in the United States.
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Whether you're trying to cut back your calorie intake or just eat more vegetables, spaghetti squash can make a healthful addition to your diet.
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Buckwheat has been used as a traditional porridge in Russia, where it's native, and it was grown in the American colonies by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The Japanese even make their soba noodles from buckwheat flour.
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With their fiery kick, jalapenos will add a spicy flavor to your favorite recipes. If you can stand the heat, the small peppers also taste good on their own. Cooking jalapenos deepens and enhances their flavor all for just a few calories and a negligible amount of fat, as well as a boost of vitamin C and potassium.
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Whether to choose light baking pans or dark baking pans comes down mostly to personal preference. Vintage pans are usually dark to begin with, and may have darkened with age. With the exception of nonstick baking pans, most bakeware sold today is made of aluminum, and light in color.
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Wahoo is a lean, firm fish with a mild flavor and is versatile enough to be cooked in a variety of ways. The fish is found primarily in the tropical Pacific waters, especially off the shores of the Hawaiian islands, where it is more commonly referred to as "ono."
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The only effective antidote for onion and garlic allergies is to completely avoid consuming either food, even in small quantities. An allergic reaction to a food is caused by a mistake of the immune system. Your immune system reacts to the proteins found in onion and garlic as if they are dangerous for the body.
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Tamales are a delicious way to experience traditional Mexican flavors. These treats, consisting of seasoned meat or vegetables surrounded by corn masa, are usually steamed inside a corn husk or banana leaf until the outer layer is cooked.
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Eating legumes several times each week is recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as beans and lentils are an excellent source of fiber and protein. According to Julie Sahni's excellent resource, "Classic Indian Cooking,"
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Cakes usually rise more in the middle, creating a dome to the cake. Cracking is also a problem for some bakers. While you can cut off the domed, cracked area of the cake, steps you take during the mixing and preparation phase reduce or eliminate the concern.
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Before the 1960s, taste was described using four words: sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Today, thanks in part to the shiitake mushroom, we use a fifth: umami. This sensation is caused by a chemical called guanosine monophosphate, which is found in large amounts in shiitake mushrooms.
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Andouille sausage is a smoked meat typically prepared from seasoned pork and fat. Cajun andouille sausage, one of the two main andouille varieties, is a common ingredient in Louisiana Cajun specialty dishes such as gumbo and jambalaya.
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Costco, the members-only wholesale club, sells two types of frozen lasagna under their store brand, Kirkland's Signature, and occasionally offers a fresh version in the deli. These preassembled dinners save time spent precooking the filling and assembling a lasagna from scratch.
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Rice bran and olive oils both have much to recommend them. Olive oil has enjoyed a longer run of popularity as a healthy source of monounsaturated fat, but rice bran oil offers some compelling benefits too, such as its claim to fame as a multi-use hypoallergenic oil.
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Canned pink salmon is economical, long-lasting and versatile. A 3-ounce serving contains only 4.2 grams of total fat, less than 1 gram of saturated fat and is an excellent source of vitamin B-12, vitamin D, selenium and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
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If you love pasta but prefer not to eat white flour or canβt because it contains gluten, then you may want to try brown-rice pasta.
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