Whether or not you are a professional or an amateur, there is everyone who makes mistakes in the kitchen! But we have got you covered now, as we bring to your notice some of the most common blunders that we make in the kitchen and how to avoid them.
- You are using the wrong oil. To being with, you are making the most common mistake by using just one oil – precisely, olive oil for cooking everything! If you are cooking something which requires a lot of heat, it is better to use different oil with a high smoke point. This way, your fried food will not have an unusual smell or taste.
We suggest using sunflower oil, rice bran oil, sesame oil, etc more often for different cooking instead of olive oil which has a low smoke point.
- You are cooking with the wrong fats. Another common mistake is that people use one particular oil for all sorts of cooking. For example, there’s butter, olive oil, coconut oil, ghee, etc. which have a low smoke point, and they burn at a very low temperature, start smoking, their healthy fats break down and tend to release harmful free radicals.
We suggest you try swapping these fats with high smoke point oils such as refined sunflower oil, almond oil, canola oil, avocado oil, sesame oil, etc.
- You are overheating healthy oils. Please understand that oils with low smoke point such as olive oil and coconut oil can be destroyed when heated in high temperatures because of their nutritional compounds. These oils are best suited for salad dressings and drizzling over prepared food.
We suggest using neutral oils such as Grapeseedoil, refined sunflower oil, etc. for roasting, frying and sautéing.
- You are cooking garlic for too long. Always add garlic last to your pan or it will burn off quickly and your food will taste charred.
Use high heat cooking oil while sautéing or frying garlic, such as refined sunflower oil, rice bran oil, sesame oil, etc.
- You are cooking too many things at a time in one pan. You are preventing the flavours and taste of the different foods from tasting and cooking the way they should be by cluttering all of it in one pan.
We suggest you avoid covering and filling the whole surface of your pan. Cook some vegetables one after the other or in different pans at the same time.
- You don’t understand the difference between simmering & boiling. If a dish requires to be simmered on the stove, you often set it to boil where a lot of bubbles pop up which ends up spoiling the consistency, taste and bite of the particular food you are making – which should be simmered with a pop of bubbles for one or two boils occasionally.
Simmer foods that need to be tender at the end of cooking and not shred and blend away in the gravy. Try the very versatile – Freedom Refined Sunflower Oil for cooking a variety of foods, use it for sautéing, frying, roasting and cooking. It alsohas many surprising health benefits and facts that will take you by surprise!