An Easy Guide to Gourmet Cooking

By Ashley King

To some, gourmet cooking may seem like something that is out of reach. However, no matter if you're a chef or an everyday cook, this isn't the case. There are many different gourmet cooking techniques that you can use to improve your cooking abilities.

One path to developing these skills is to sign on for a gourmet cooking class. The downside is that many of these courses can be quite costly, and you might not have the time in your schedule to make it to all the classes.

With gourmet cooking classes not an alternative for many, what are some other means of studying gourmet cooking techniques that you can integrate into day-to-day meal preparation?

Fortunately, there are several things that you can do that can help you learn gourmet cooking techniques that you can incorporate into meals that you make every day.

First off, you have to think of gourmet cooking in a realistic light. It doesn't mean expensive, nor does it mean rare or exotic. Gourmet cooking entails utilizing only the freshest ingredients that are of the highest quality.

A good way to approach gourmet cooking is to take a look at everyday spices. An example would be garlic. A gourmet chef would never use garlic powder, bottled garlic, or any other type of garlic that isn't freshly chopped. A gourmet chef would also never use dried and bottled herbs. Instead, fresh herbs from the produce section of the grocery store would be used.

In some cases these ingredients will be more expensive, however in most you will find that the price difference will not be nearly as excessive as you would think and far cheaper than eating out. In addition, once you become accustomed to the gourmet cooking style you will not even want to eat out. Instead you will want to dine at home, trying new techniques and cooking methods at your leisure.

The fastest and simplest way to add gourmet cooking into your everyday meal preparation is to enhance the quality of the ingredients that you're using. Then you'll want to learn how to cook the ingredients properly.

The first way to learn how to do this is through books. Books are great tools for teaching you the basics and allowing you to work at your own pace. Your local bookstore should have plenty to choose from, so go there and look through a few until you find one you like.

Your cookbook should deal with the basics, including what type of knife you should use for various tasks, how to prepare chicken stock, and the process for clarifying butter. These are all fundamental cooking techniques that can often seem unattainable because they are considered to be gourmet.

You will soon be able to see that gourmet cooking is something that anyone can do. You can easily bring it into your own kitchen. All it takes is a little time and effort.

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