How to Elevate Your Cooking

Cooking is a wonderful pastime, and results in meals that your loved ones adore over and over. However, if you are someone who likes to experiment with different things and you are finding yourself bored of making the same things day in and day out, it may be time to change things up a little. Keep reading for ideas on how to elevate your cooking.

Expand Your Spice Inventory

There are a ton of spices across the world, and the combination possibilities are endless. You probably already have at least a basic array of spices in your kitchen, with a few extra staples that vary depending on what kind of food you make on a regular basis. If you are going to try making something that you have never attempted before that calls for spices that you have never heard of, be sure to do your research before making more room for those extra jars. This is especially important if you have to pay out the nose for a spice that is not found in your country. If you end up loving it, make sure to add it into the rotation fairly regularly so those spices do not go to waste.

Try Using Essential Oils

If you have run out of something like lemon or thyme and you cannot make a grocery store run, try using Young Living Essential Oils as a substitute. Essential oils are powerful and are frequently used in both cooking and baking. However, there are a few things to keep in mind if you decide to use essential oils. First, they need to be labeled for internal use, otherwise they are not safe to consume. Secondly, you need to read the directions. Essential oils are often very concentrated. If you do not properly dilute your essential oil, you can either make yourself sick or ruin the food, neither of which is something you want to happen.

Attempt Some Unusual Cooking Methods

You probably already have basic cooking methods down, such as boiling, braising, frying, and baking. However, there are other methods of cooking as well as ways to change up your current cooking methods that you previously may not have thought were possible. For example, if you have been staying in a hotel for a few nights and want a grilled cheese sandwich without leaving your room, you can always try making it with an iron.

If you want to try a cooking method from a different culture, there are many things that you can try, especially if you like being outside. In Hawaii, it is popular to cook meals using earthen ovens. If you want to try the process of a Hangi from New Zealand,  you will need a large amount of space and time to dig a significantly large hole. Similar to an earth oven, you put stones inside this pit, bury them, put food in a basket on top of the stones, put more stones around the basket, and cover those stones with more dirt. The Hangi is an art form and it has been around for millennia, with similar processes found in different regions across the globe. Be sure to do your research and ask around about the best way to go about this method if you decide to try it. If you are in New Zealand, try going to the Maori or Kiwi people directly if possible. 

Try Adventurous Flavor Combinations

There are a lot of flavor combinations that just go together, and you probably know most of these combinations and have put them to use in your dishes already. However, there are so many different ingredients that sometimes they need to be mixed up in unlikely pairings just so you can see what happens. Who knows? You might get a craving for a peanut butter and cheese sandwich or ketchup on vanilla ice cream after all is said and done.

Cooking is one of the best ways you can express yourself, and you should never be bored with doing what you love. Keep this article in mind the next time you want to try something new in your cooking and do not be afraid to play with your food from time to time!