Cooking in Uganda doesn’t necessarily require one to first attend cooking school. A few things can be done whenever someone cooks, to improve on their skills.

Below are some tips used for improving on our cooking in Uganda.

• Chocking up on your knifeChocking up on the handle of the knife to the point of holding the blade just above the handle. One should also consider having a good chef’s knife to enable good speed, confidence and control when cooking.
• Begin with using the best ingredientsLike the saying goes, something good is used to make something better. So if you want a perfect meal, you shouldn’t consider ingredients not at standard when cooking.
• Use of handsClean hands are tremendously sensitive and certified cooking tools. The ability of hands to sense how food feels differently at each level of doneness, even while using other tools like thermometer, knife, toothpick, makes them unique. For example, meat goes from being very soft when raw to a bit firm when cooked. Touch can also be used in cake baking to check if the dough is kneaded well, and also to check if a pear, for example, is ripe.
• Use Sea salt or KosherBoth Sea salt and Kosher salt possess a much better taste than the usual table salt. food should not taste salty though, but deciding to use little or no salt when cooking results in flat tasting food. Even when a certain recipe gives a specific amount of salt to use, the amount of the ingredients and palate you’re using may not be the same as the recipe writer’s, so it may be necessary to adjust.
• Avoiding crowding of the pan when cookingWhen cooking, You should be able to see the bottom of the saucepan between the food pieces. A lot of food in the pan can reduce the temperature, which creates a lot of steam, so you wont make food browning. You should also make sure you dry the food before sautéing it and ensure that the pan is hot and good.
• Don’t put too much liquids so that the food maintains it’s flavorIn case you’ve simmered meat or vegetables, remove the ingredients out after it’s done and make sure the sauce is reduced a bit more before it’s served. When the pan is deglazed, make sure the added liquid is reduced by boiling it on high heat. Homemade stocks should be reduced too before use.
• Baking pie and tart crusts should be longer than you think it should lastFor pastry doughs to taste much better, cooking should be long enough so that the sugars in the crust caramelize. Remember brown is preferred to pale blond.
• Roasted meats should be rested before carvingWhen roasted meat is not rested enough so that it’s juices redistribute, the roast will dry.
• A final splash of acid (citrus or vinegar juice). This should be added to almost any meat dish or vegetable or fruit dessert. For flavor perking at the last minute.
• Doneness tests should be trusted over the timer’s buzzerWhen trying a recipe for the first time, those descriptive words should be looked at to find an awesome recipe. “Boil till halved” or “bake till golden brown.” This needn’t take a lot of your concern that it may delay or hurry to reach that desired state. As compared to the time stated in the recipe preparation.

Put in mind some of those cooking tips and you’ll realize how greatly they will improve your cooking in Uganda.