Curating a love for food is often like falling in love with both a craft and an art – as well as a beautiful expression of culture. It’s easy to take the plate of food in front of us for granted, but it will always tell a story, from the preparation methods used to curate it to the sourcing of the ingredients itself.
As home cooks, it can be easy to fall into our own way of doing things, with our own indulgences, and our own desire to align with a certain diet. There’s nothing wrong with this at all. Feeling comfortable in the kitchen is important, particularly if you have a family to feed daily and only so much time to do it in.
But when you do have time to experiment, perhaps on a weekend or maybe when meal-prepping, challenging yourself as a home cook can be a great way to learn and feel renewed in your efforts. In this post, we’ll discuss how to achieve that, and what benefits this approach could grant you:
New Cooking Methods
It can be nice to try new cooking methods from time to time. For instance, when was the last time you tried sous vide meats? It could be that purchasing a small water bath, vacuum sealing a steak, and then cooking it slowly over hours provides you with a delicacy of flavour that you hadn’t thought possible. This can allow you to extend your reach as a cook, even if that just means using a pressure cooker to steam vegetables rather than using your regular boiling method.
Sourcing Supreme Ingredients
It’s also important to source supreme ingredients from time to time when you can. For instance, this online butcher provides a range of amazing meats, allowing you to try different steaks and cuts that you may have been oblivious up until now. Perhaps you can sear a good steak, but have you tried to cook a beautiful filet mignon before? Expanding your repertoire and trying to be creative with your options can lend you a truly beautiful outcome, helping you feel more confident in the kitchen, and even giving you the impetus to try new things at the behest of your new supplier.
Dinner Parties
If you really wish to test yourself, it can be nice to invite those you love and appreciate to dinner parties in order to have a good time. Note that this doesn’t have to be an ultra-formal event, it might just be that you invite a friend over to try a range of cheeses you’ve imported in order to get a real taste for them, and what kind of wine pairings they go with. Or, you might decide to try inviting a friend around for a venison meal now that you’ve finally figured out how to cook the meat properly. After all – what good is food if it can’t be shared? It might be that a friend or relative returns the favour.
With this advice, you’re certain to challenge yourself as a home cook, and benefit in the best possible way.