Top Cooking Hacks That You Should Know

Struggling to balance between making healthy and tasty meals for your family, then let's take you through some helpful tips or hacks.

We will unlock your ability to make the tastiest meals for your family without ignoring the health part.

Hack 1: Season Your Butter

If you want to make a healthy meal, you know you have to use butter in moderation. That way, you will miss out on some of that great butter flavour.

So, what should you do? Well, season your butter; this will add flavours that you wouldn't get with just butter. Thyme, lemon zest, and garlic are some nice additions, especially when you are cooking meat.

How do you season your butter? Heat butter in a saucepan until it foams, remove from that, then add your herbs, spices, or any flavouring you like. Leave to cool. Then strain and refrigerate.

Hack 2: Use an Electric Smoker

If you are not the best at grilling, then an electric smoker will save you from stress. It is the perfect grill for beginners and it is more environmentally friendly than conventional grills.

You can also learn how to smoke brisket the right way with this tool. If you don’t own an electric smoker, add it to your next shopping list.

Hack 3: Don't Overdo the Salt

As much as a little pinch of salt will add to the taste of your meal, you need to be careful not to use too much.

Read the label of store-bought ingredients like sour cream, and the low-fat types might have more salt than regular types. You can use new herbs and spices to make up for the reduced salt.

You will discover that you don't have to use dried or powdered types. Fresh herbs and freshly made spices are many chefs'' preferred choices.

Hack 4: Roast Vegetables

Although veggies are super healthy, they are just not the tastiest of food. How do you enjoy your highly nutritious veggies, like beets, if you don't like them for their taste? Preparing the right way is all you need.

Roasting your veggies is the way to go. Get a baking sheet with parchment paper and roast at 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least 30minutes. Maybe just add a bit of oil to it. 

Hack 5: Substitute Butter, Sour Cream, Or Mayonnaise With Labneh

Try replacing your highest ingredient like sour cream, butter, and mayo with labneh. Labneh is a strained yoghurt cheese that is both thicker and creamier than Greek yoghurt.

You can bake with labneh instead of butter. Labneh adds flavour and moisture and or makes your food a bit lighter.

Hack 6: Use Salt In Your Tea And Coffee, Instead Of Sugar

Reducing the amount of sugar you put in your coffee or tea is the right step towards healthy living. Foregoing sugar completely and replacing it with sea salt is even an upgrade.

Salt adds some sharpness to the taste of your coffee or tea and brings out the gentle flavours you haven't enjoyed in past cups. It removes bitterness without the added calories from sugar.

Hack 7: Add Vinegar

Adding vinegar to your meal is another way to add something different to your meal, without even using salt or butter. Vinegar will make an average meal taste so great in the blink of an eye. 

There's variety when it comes to vinegar. The popular white vinegar aside, you can use the red vinegar to brighten the braised meat flavour. Balsamic vinegar will balance the flavour of too much salt in your soup. 

Hack 8: Cook Venison Instead Of Beef

If you intend to switch out the types of meat you cook, try switching beef for venison. Venison has the same protein as beef and one-fifth of the fat. It has even less fat than skinless chicken breast but packs greater flavour.

What part of venison should you cook or buy? Get the premium cuts, like loin, tenderloin, or rack. To get the best flavour and moisture, cook to medium-rare in a hot pan or grill.

Hack 9: Choose Bold Flavours

Cook with strong flavours. Asides from combining herbs and spices, you should cook your food in a way that will increase the flavour.

Certain cooking techniques like reducing and simmering concentrates flavour. This will make the food taste stronger, and you won't need to add fat to get a special flavour. 

Hack 10: Cook with Wine

Another way to intensify the flavour of your dish is to use wine to make it. Wine has less fat compared to butter or oil.

Wine doesn't exactly add flavour to food, but it allows the ingredients to taste better. The alcohol in wine helps the ingredients in the food release their special flavours better than water, broth, or fats (like butter and oil).

Cooking is a form of art and you should be open to exploring new tips and flavours. If you are on this journey, then we are certain these amazing hacks will make your cooking experience more fulfilling.