6. Using Yeast Past Expiration Date
Yeast is actually a living single-celled organism, and dried yeast can be activated when water is added. But both fresh and dried yeast have expiration dates and can ‘go-off’ when stored in your cupboard or fridge. So make sure your yeast is fresh and ‘lively’. Also make sure that you follow the temperature instructions precisely. It its too hot you can kill the yeast. Generally the liquid temperature should not exceed 110 degrees F (38 degrees C).
7. Not Calibrating Your Oven
An oven with a reliable temperature throughout is important for success with recipes. You can make adjustments but its hard to do success. You can buy oven thermometers and meat thermometers. If your oven controlled are way out it may be worthwhile getting it fixed by a qualified technician. You should also recognise that the amount by which cakes will rise will vary greatly and some are mean to be flat and rather dense.
8. Changing the Proportion of Ingredients
Baking recipes, particularly, are like a chemical reaction an the amount of rising agent and moisture are critical to the outcome. If you change the proportion of liquid to flour, or fat to flour, the recipe could fail (disaster pudding). Stick to the recipe and don’t make changes to the main ingredients.
9. Not Understanding the Terms and Their Meanings
Recipes have terms and expressions which can easily be misunderstood – such as saute, fold, whip, blend, beat, and stir mean different things to various people. Sometimes these terms are defined in a glossary, but there is nothing like experience. Take time to learn what these expressions mean.
10. Not Reading the Whole Recipe First.
Many recipe writers may not get the exact sequence correctly or may miss something, which can really mess things up if you find out about it too late to fix it. Reading right through the recipe before you start will help you avoid these nasty surprises.
11. Substituting Ingredients
If the recipe calls for milk and you don’t have any, using buttermilk or cream and water in the recipe may not work. Likewise for similar substitutes or variations. Even substituting full-fat yoghurt for non-fat varieties may not work. The same applies for kosher salt versus sea salt, or unsalted butter versus salted butter. If you know what you are doing many changes may work out, but its risky.
12. Not being Accurate Enough
The real problem is with flour which is more bulky when sifted. When measuring flour in a scoop or cup, don’t pack it down hard into the measuring container like you may do with brown sugar. These differences can change the dish outcome. There are many other ways in which you can not measure the ingredients accurately. It pays to get a proper set of measuring cups and spoons.
13. Not Checking the Labels
Out of date ingredients can cause many problems and it always pays to read the labels. Many dried ingredients such as yeast will have instructions on how the product should be re-constituted and readied for adding to the dish.
14. Not Tasting as you go.
Despite following all the instructions the flavors or textures of a dish being cooked may be unbalance or not appealing. Adding even a tiny amount of salt or sugar can make a huge difference. The dish should taste right for you.
15. You Boil the Water when you should Only Simmer.
Simmering is a very slow boil with a bubble only breaking the surface every second or two. More vigorous bubbling means that the water is a boiling not just simmering. The difference is subtle but it can ruin some dishes. Vigorously boiling a beef stew can produce rubber like texture.
16. You Over-soften the Butter
Butter should be left to stand at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes so it softens but does not melt. Butter that is too soft will not cream properly with the sugar when making cakes. This creaming is vital to ensure you bake light and fluffy cakes with a soft and delicate crumb.
17. You’re too Casual about Measuring and Using the Right Ingredients.
Despite what people believe the quality and quantity of the ingredients does matter. One cook’s “cup of flour” may be equivalent to 1 1/4 cups measured by another person. Some people scoop out their flour, heaped in the container. Others scrape off the top (which is the right way). Others tap the container to pack it down or force it down with a fist. This will lead to too much flower. Flour should be lightly spooned or sifted into dry measuring cup, then leveled off a knife for most recipes.
18. You overcrowd the pan
Moisture in the form of steam escapes as food is being cooked. Overcrowding a pan, or using a pan that is too small for the dish will often mean the dish does not cook properly. When brown or sealing meat the crusty bits and brown bits are essential for flavor. It is best done in small batches. Overcrowding all the meat in the pan will not brown the meat properly.
19. You Mishandle the Egg Whites
Properly beaten egg whites are creamy, bulky and glossy, but they must be handled with care otherwise they won’t beat properly. You must separate the whites from yolks very carefully, as even a tiny speck of yolk can stop the whites from whipping properly. It is a good idea to let the whites stand at right temperature before whipping as cold egg whites don’t whip well. Always ensure everything is clean and dry and whip the egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks just start to form.
20. You Turn the Food too Often
Learning to stop flipping the food over too often is one of the most difficult lessons to learn and get used to when cooking. Food such as grilled, or fried steak or chicken won’t develop a nice brown, outer crust unless you allow it to cook. Many people recommend that you should only turn a steak over once when cooking it on the barbecue or grill. A related problem is that you don’t get the pan hot enough before adding the food. Let the cooking surface get hot and then leave it for a few extra minutes until its really hot.
21. You Under Bake Breads, Cookies and Cakes
Inexperienced cooks often under cook items when baking. Even if skewer or knife comes out clean, when you test for doneness, if the cake is still pale in color, its cooked but not finished properly not finished. Allow it to cook for an extra few minutes until it has an even, golden brown color. It will seldom be over cooked.
22. You Don’t use a Meat Thermometer.
Meat thermometers are small, quite inexpensive, and widely available and are an essential item in any kitchen. It takes all the guesswork out of knowing when meat is cooked just the way you want it. Thermometers don’t lie, but appearances can deceive, especially for the inside of a large piece of meat. There is also a safety issues with undercooked poultry.
23. You Overwork the Dough, especially low-fat Dough
Recipes with lots of butter or oil can over kneaded a little without much effect. But when you make a low-fat dough keeping the kneading to a minimum is very important. Some cooks also recommend that you spread the dough out by gentle pushing and prodding it rather than rolling over and over again. Gentle kneading keep the item lighter when cooked.
24. You don’t Cool Vegetables when Cooked to Stop the Cooking Process.
Cooking broccoli, green beans, asparagus or other green vegetables in boiling water for 3-7 minutes or steaming them leaves them bright green, tender and crisp – just perfect. But if you don’t “shock” these green vegetables by plunging them into ice water (or gently rinsing them under a little cold running water, they will continue to cook while hot and become flabby and horrible.
25. You put all the Salt in the Breading or Marinade
Too much salt tends to stop the marinade working a it won’t penetrate the chicken, steak, pork or fish that you are preparing. It is much better to only use a small amount of salt in the marinade, and then sprinkle some salt onto the meat after removing it from the marinade. The same applies to breading.
26. You place meat straight from the fridge onto the grill or into the oven.
Meats will cook much netter and more evenly right through if you allow the pieces of meat to stand at room temperature for 15 – 30 minutes. This stops the interior of the meat being uncooked when the outside looks done.
27. You Use Poor Quality Ingredients.
Good food and lovely dishes starts and finishes with the quality of the ingredients. Mediocre ingredients won’t produce good dishes – the best you can achieve is mediocre. If you are going to commit your time and effort to cooking always start with good quality ingredients. It will make the job easier and the outcome much more rewarding.
28. Your Mashed Potatoes are Gluey
Poor quality mashed potatoes generally are caused by overcooked the potatoes or not drying them properly. The heart of the problem is often that you have used the wrong type of potato. Certain types are ideal for boiling and mashing, others are not, s choose your potatoes carefully.
29. You Burn the Butter
Lightly browning butter can impart a nutty, caramel flavor to the food without tasting fatty. Once the butter starts to brown, it can quickly become burnt. Watch it carefully and when the butter just starts to turn amber-brown, quickly remove the pan from the heat and add the other ingredients.
30. Your Salad Goes Limp
To keep your salad greens at their best, you have to take account of timing, volume, and temperature. Only add the dressing just before serving. Many professional chefs serve salads on chilled serving plates to ensure the greens stay crisp when served. Don’t wash the lettuce until you’re ready to use it. Watch the volume of dressing you use and don’t drown the salad. Use a large bowl so the salad doesn’t get over crowded.
