Just moved out of home or stepping into the kitchen for the first time? Ok, in minutes we’ll get you up to speed on becoming a master of home cooking so stay with us!

Learning the basics of cooking is essential for any home cook and having a solid foundation in basic kitchen skills will help you create delicious, healthy meals that not only taste great but are also nutritious and easy to prepare.

Basic cooking skills include prepping ingredients such as chopping, slicing, peeling, and dicing; understanding different types of cooking methods such as boiling, steaming, baking, and roasting; mastering various techniques like stir-frying and sautéing; knowing which tools to use in the kitchen; and practicing food safety procedures such as proper storage and handling.

It sounds like a lot, but if you break it into chunks, as we’ll do, it becomes fairly easy to learn the basic principles. Acquiring these basic culinary skills can open up many exciting possibilities in the kitchen – from mastering classic recipes or experimenting with new flavors to creating amazing dishes based on your own imagination.

Let’s introduce all of these basic pillars of home cooking

The 3 Key Traditional Cooking Methods

Stove-top cooking is one of the most common and versatile methods for preparing meals. It involves using a stove, such as an electric or gas range, to cook food in pans or pots on the surface of the heat source. This method includes sautéing, simmering, boiling and stir-frying; each technique requires different temperatures and times to achieve desired results. With this type of cooking, it’s important to pay attention to temperature control so that food doesn’t burn or become overly dry.

Grilling is another popular method used for preparing various proteins and vegetables alike. Grilling generally uses direct heat from charcoal briquettes or a gas flame applied directly beneath the food over medium-low to medium-high temperatures; grates are placed over the fire source in order to keep foods away from direct contact with flames while still receiving enough heat for proper cooking. While grilling can be done indoors on a grill pan if necessary, outdoor grills offer greater convenience due to their larger size and better ventilation systems which make them ideal for large amounts of food preparation outdoors during warm weather months.

Oven Baking and roasting are other forms of dry-heat cooking methods that involve placing items in an oven at moderate temperatures between 350 – 450°F (177 – 232˚C).

5 Basic Cooking Techniques

Stir-frying is a technique that involves cooking small pieces of food quickly in an open pan with oil. This method requires the cook to constantly move ingredients around the hot surface while adding sauces and seasonings for flavor as they go. Stir-frying is great for creating quick meals like stir-fried vegetables, noodles or rice dishes since it cooks items faster than other techniques due to its high heat level.

Sautéing is similar to stir-frying but uses less oil and lower temperatures. It’s best used for tender cuts of meat, seafood or vegetables that need more time than what stir-frying provides them. Sautéing also allows flavors from butter, herbs and spices to really come through due to its slower cooking process; this makes it perfect for more delicate ingredients like mushrooms or onions which can easily burn if cooked too quickly at high heat levels.

Steaming is a healthy alternative way of preparing food without having any direct contact with liquid or fat at all; instead, steam generated by boiling water below creates intense yet indirect heat above which then cooks foods above such as fish fillets, vegetables and even dumplings in their own juices while still retaining most nutrients possible during preparation process. Steaming also helps preserve colors in some cases making it ideal when you want your dish colorful before serving; plus since no added fats are required steamed dishes often contain fewer calories overall compared to those cooked using other methods!

Boiling on the other hand requires submerging ingredients into hot liquid (mostly water) at 212°F (100˚C). Boiling rapidly heats up foods like potatoes, carrots and pasta so they’re done much quicker than with roasting or baking methods – however be sure not to overcook them so they don’t become mushy! Boiled meats such as chicken breasts can also be shredded once cooled down after boiling which makes them perfect additions for salads sandwiches soups

Baking and roasting are two popular cooking techniques that are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct differences. Baking is a dry heat cooking method that uses convection to circulate hot air around the food to cook it. This technique is often used for baked goods, such as bread, cakes, and pastries. Baking is also used for cooking vegetables, casseroles, and other dishes that can be cooked in an oven. Roasting, on the other hand, is a dry heat cooking method that is typically used for larger cuts of meat, such as whole chicken, beef roasts, and pork loins. Roasting uses higher temperatures than baking and is often done in an open pan, allowing the meat to brown and develop a crispy exterior while cooking through to the center. Both baking and roasting are great ways to cook food and can produce delicious and flavorful results when done correctly.

Getting to Know Basic Kitchen Tools

If you are starting out, the basic kitchen tools needed are

• Chef’s knife: A versatile knife used for a variety of tasks, including chopping, slicing, and dicing.
• Cutting board: A flat surface used for cutting and preparing food.
• Mixing bowls: Bowls used for mixing ingredients together.
• Measuring cups and spoons: Tools used for measuring ingredients accurately.
• Spatula: A tool used for flipping and turning food.
• Wooden spoon: A spoon made of wood used for stirring and mixing.
• Whisk: A tool used for beating and mixing ingredients, such as eggs or cream.
• Tongs: A tool used for grabbing and flipping food, such as meat or vegetables.
• Vegetable peeler: A tool used for peeling the skin off of vegetables.
• Can opener: A tool used for opening cans.
• Colander: A bowl-shaped strainer used for draining liquids from food, such as pasta or vegetables.

Common pots and pans for a basic kitchen setup include

• Skillets or frying pans: These are shallow, flat-bottomed pans with sloping sides used for frying, sautéing, searing, and browning food.
• Saucepan: These are small to medium-sized pots with straight sides and a long handle. They are used for heating liquids, cooking sauces, and boiling small quantities of food.
• Stockpot: These are large, deep pots with straight sides and a lid. They are used for making stocks, soups, stews, and boiling pasta.
• Dutch oven: These are heavy, deep pots with a tight-fitting lid. They can be used for a variety of cooking methods, including braising, roasting, and frying.
• Saute pan: These are similar to skillets but have higher sides and a lid. They are used for sautéing, stir-frying, and cooking foods that require more liquid than a traditional skillet.
• Griddle: These are flat, non-stick pans used for cooking pancakes, eggs, and other breakfast foods.
• Wok: These are round-bottomed pans with high sides used for stir-frying and sautéing.
• Roasting pan: These are large, deep pans with a rack used for roasting meats and poultry.

In addition to the basic kitchen tools mentioned above, having a few specialty items can also come in handy when it comes time to cook. For example, an immersion blender is great for pureeing soups and sauces right in the pot or mixing large amounts of ingredients together quickly and easily. A food processor can help make tedious tasks like chopping vegetables much faster, while a mandoline slicer is perfect for creating paper-thin slices of potatoes or other vegetables that need uniform slicing. Other helpful tools include mortar and pestle sets which are useful for grinding spices into powder as well as garlic presses which make mincing cloves quick work.

Preparing Ingredients

When it comes to preparing ingredients, chopping and dicing are two of the most important skills a home cook needs to learn. Chopping refers to cutting food into large chunks or cubes, while dicing is the act of slicing something into small cubes or pieces. The size of the chopped or diced pieces will depend on what you’re making and how fine you want them to be. For example, if you’re making a stew or soup with larger pieces of vegetables, you’ll want to chop them into larger chunks before adding them in. On the other hand, if your recipe calls for finely diced onions or garlic for use as flavoring agents in sauces, soups, and stews then smaller dice sizes will be necessary.

In addition to chopping and dicing, peeling and slicing are also essential techniques used often in cooking recipes. Peeling involves removing the outer skin from fruits such as apples and pears; some recipes may also call for peeling vegetables such as potatoes prior to cooking them. Slicing can refer either thin slices cut using a knife (e.g., tomato slices), medium-thickness cuts made using an adjustable slicer (e.g., cucumber rounds), thick wedges carved out with a sharp knife (e.g., onion wedges) or very thin strips shaved off with a peeler.

Food Safety

Food safety is an important aspect of home cooking and should never be overlooked. Properly storing food items helps to maintain their flavor, texture, and nutritional value while also reducing the risk of bacterial growth or cross-contamination. Foods should always be stored in a cool dry place away from direct sunlight and sources of heat like ovens or stoves; any perishable items such as dairy products, meat, and fish need to be kept at refrigerated temperatures (35°F – 40°F). Additionally, when shopping for groceries try not to keep raw meats with other foods in order to prevent contamination.

When handling food it’s essential that you wash your hands thoroughly before preparing meals as well as after handling raw meat, poultry or fish; this will help reduce the spread of bacteria which can cause food poisoning if consumed. It’s also important to avoid mixing cooked foods with those which haven’t been cooked yet in order to avoid cross-contamination between them. Finally, make sure all utensils are clean by washing them after each use so they don’t transfer bacteria onto new dishes being prepared afterwards!

What are some easy recipes for first-time home chefs to start with?

What these simple dishes will teach you is that of mastering temperature and time. They are easy to prepare, the only important factor is setting the temperature just right so things don’t burn before they have cooked through.

Spaghetti with tomato sauce: Cook spaghetti pasta according to package instructions, and heat up your favorite store-bought or homemade tomato sauce in a separate saucepan. Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain it and toss it with the tomato sauce. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Stir-fry: Cut up your favorite vegetables and meat (such as chicken or beef) into bite-sized pieces. Heat up a tablespoon of oil in a wok or large skillet, and stir-fry the vegetables and meat until cooked through. Add soy sauce, ginger, and garlic for flavor.

Omelet: Whisk two eggs in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add a tablespoon of butter. Pour in the eggs and cook until set. Add your favorite fillings (such as cheese or vegetables) to one side of the omelet and fold the other side over.

Grilled cheese sandwich: Butter two slices of bread and place a slice of your favorite cheese between them. Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook the sandwich until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted.

Conclusion

What did we learn? After reading this you have an introduction to the pillars of being a healthy and successful home cook, those pillars are; food safety, food preparation, using the right tools, the method of cooking, and the core techniques. That’s really all there is to it!

From here, you can start building your knowledge and experience over time, and we recommend starting with one dish you love and one technique, practicing that over and over until you get it just right.

Once you perfect one dish, your head will be in the right place to conquer many other dishes easily.