Most people want to attend culinary schools to hone their kitchen skills.

Mastering culinary can give a satisfying and empowering feeling to ordinary kitchen chores. You want to learn fancy cooking lessons and follow amazing recipes from websites like Culinary Corners to help take your skills to a different level. Read on to learn the basic culinary skills every cook should know. 

Whether you are a homemaker who enjoys impressing your family and friends with your culinary skills or someone who plans to open a restaurant soon, it helps to know and master the basic techniques in cooking and preparing meals. 

Using Sauces

Making a sauce is easy, but it can be powerful enough to transform any dish. A bland pasta dish or casserole can become flavorful by adding a white sauce with herbs, mushrooms, or cheese. A fish dish will taste great by adding flavored butter to it.

And instead of using a spoon, a balloon wire whisk can help blend your sauce quite well. Whisking also prevents the creation of lumps in a sauce. 

There are various sauces, both modern and traditional, but the knowledge of creating five mother sauces can help you become an excellent chef. These go-to sauces are tomato, hollandaise, Espagnole, velouté, and béchamel.

Check out these inspirational foodie cookbooks for recipe ideas!

Learn the Effects of Heat

In general, culinary arts teach people to start cooking with a hot pan. Preheat and do not rush this stage as the cooking surface usually drops its temperature as soon as you add the second food into the pan. Add browning foods like onions and garlic first, then add the others. 

If you are cooking proteins, like pork, chicken or beef, wait for the smoke to rise from the oil before adding them. For vegetables, make sure to see that the oil shimmers. You may use a cooking thermometer to obtain the right temperature, as well as for food safety. 

Cooking With Spices and Herbs

One important rule in culinary is to always taste your dish before serving yourself or your guests. At the initial stage of cooking, you may add herbs, such as marjoram, sage, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and other hardy herbs. Save the frail herbs like basil, chives, tarragon, cilantro, and parsley, for the last minute. This also helps maintain their bright colors and fresh flavors. 

Professional chefs recommend using Kosher Salt instead of fine table salt. This is because the large grains of Kosher Salt distributes and disperses on the food more evenly. Also, using freshly ground black pepper is always best. You can find more tips and uses of spices and herbs on culinary websites like Culinary Corners.

Learn Essential Methods of Cooking

When it comes to cooking, you master it by learning different methods and not by following recipes alone. Common methods that you should become an expert at are:

• pan-frying
• submersion cooking
• sauteing
• roasting
• stewing
• steaming
• broiling
• deep-frying
• braising
• baking
• grilling

Remember, the more you practice your basic culinary skills, the better you will get. 

Basic Knife Skills 

One of the most vital tools in the kitchen is a knife. Invest in a quality set of knives, especially if you are cooking almost every day. Learn to use different types of knives properly to make prep time faster and to avoid injury.

You will greatly benefit if you know how to cut meat, fruits, vegetables, etc., consistently in the same shape and size. For one, it enables you to cook the foods more evenly, if they have the same dimension. 

When cutting something using a knife, use your other, non-knife yielding hand to steady the food. Use the knuckle of your middle finger as a guide for the next cut during the knife upswing. 

You may enroll in a culinary school or go to a specialty shop that offers cooking lessons. You may also get inspiration from a website like Culinary Corners and foodie cookbooks to create top-notch dishes for your loved ones. If you know the basic techniques and have the right kitchen tools, you can make the best meals at home or in your restaurant.

What are some basic kitchen skills you have picked up? Please share in the comments below.