Soul food cooking that taste good down to your toes, comes from developing the following 8 habits. The more of these habits you can develop and follow the better soul dishes you'll prepare.
1.. Knows How To Season Food.
Meat Loaf
One of the key signs of a good cook, especially soul food cook is the seasonings. Not too much because it's overpowering and can ruin a meal. Not too little. Why? Because it can make a dish boring and listless.
A good cook seasons with just enough to bring out the natural flavors and aromas of the food. But the sign of a master is knowing what seasonings go with what foods. This is the higher echelons of cooking.
2. Good Taster: Accurate Taste Buds.
The next habit to have is accurate taste buds. Contrary to popular belief a person with accurate taste buds is not born but can develop this skill. Just like a muscle, your taste buds can grow stronger with exercise. How do you exercise them? Taste different seasonings and learn how to recognize them. The more you practice the better you'll get at it and the better your soul food cooking skills will get.
3. Knows How To Do "Make Due" Cooking.
One of the essentials of southern cooking in most African Americans homes, especially in the south, is to learn how to do - make do cooking. Make do cooking is learning how to make a dish or a meal taste good even though you don't have all the ingredients in the recipe. This could mean substituting an ingredient for another or adding an extra amount of another ingredient. My Grandmother was a master at this art.
4. Knows How To Make A Little Go A Long Way When Necessary.
This is another variation of step 3 ( make do cooking). But the difference is in your ability to stretch a little so it seems like a lot more. For example, if you have a small amount of meat, you can make it stretch by turning it into a soup, gumbo or casserole dish. They're many variations, tips and tricks to making a little go a longer way.
5. Know The Top 21 Cooking Terms.
Most good soul food cooks know at least 21 basic cooking terms and the differences. For example
1. Bake
2. Barbecue
3. Baste
4. Braise
5. Broil
6. Cube
7. Deep Fry
8. Dice
9. Fold
10. Grill
11. Knead
12. Marinate
13. Mix
14. Pan Fry
15. Roast
16. Simmer
17. Smother
18. Steam
19. Stew
20. Stir
21. Whip
6. Know How To Fix Basic Food Mistakes.
No matter how good of a soul food cook you are, you'll sometimes make a mistake. The difference between a good cook and a better one is your ability to correct your cooking mistake, without having to throw out the dish. Can you still make it edible?
Traditionally most African American families had to do that. How? By salvaging the edible parts, changing the consistency, texture or thickness of the dish. For example, vegetables that were overcooked was turned into or added to a soup. Meat that was overcooked or too dry was finely chopped and used in gravies, gumbo or casseroles or stew. Bread that was stale was added to ground beef and made into a meat loaf.
7. Knows How To Read Soul Food Recipes When They Have To.
Although our Great Grandmother seemed to know what to put in a dish to make it taste heavenly. On closer examination if you question them you'll discover when she first made the dish she read a recipe. Or she got it from someone who read and followed a recipe.
Most cooks can read a recipe if they have to. In fact, the sooner you learn how to do it, the more dishes you'll be able to cook.
8. Takes Pride In How A Dish Looks as Well as Taste.
It often said a person eats with their eyes. You'll notice the first thing a person does before they place a morsel of food in their mouth is they look at it. Even babies do it.
The better or more appetizing the food looks, the more it causes our mouths to water. We can't help it. On the other hand, the worse it looks the worse it makes us feel. That's why a good soul food cook gives as much attention to how a dish looks as they do to how it taste. Why? Because they both play a large role in making a meal enjoyable.
Soul Food Cooking - 8 Habits of a Good Soul Food Cook
Be sure to see the top 20 soul food recipes chosen by readers this month, plus watch soul food experts cook the most popular southern dishes and watch the recipes come alive before your eyes... Go to http://blackhomeownernews.com/soulfoodrecipes.html.
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