Knowing your way around the kitchen is a skill that surprisingly not a lot of people have. This may be due to lack of practice when growing up, or because they simply stopped trying after the first couple of times were a failure. Using the following expert-given tips, you will be stepping up your cooking game in practically no time.

1- Understand Cooking Jargon

If you do not have any experience cooking, and you try reading a recipe for the first time, you will feel like you are trying to decode an extremely difficult secret language. In reality, you just need to understand what certain abbreviations and commonly used words mean. Most recipes have the same basic terms, so if you understand the basics you will find yourself being better able to follow a ton of recipes easily. For example, you should know that tbsp means tablespoon while tsp means teaspoon. Although the difference between these two abbreviations is one letter, it can make a huge difference when following a recipe. Imagine the recipe you are trying out calling for a teaspoon of black pepper and you adding a tablespoon instead!

2- Find the Right Equipment

Good quality kitchen equipment can greatly affect the outcome of your cooking. For example, if your oven does not heat the food evenly, then you will find yourself with overcooked and undercooked food in the same tray. It may seem like a hassle to search for the top small toaster ovens or the best air fryers for your kitchen, but kitchen gadgets and equipment are investments that you will be glad to have when you start cooking and baking. The right tools certainly have an undeniable effect on how well your cooking is.

3- Follow Steps Precisely

This cannot be stressed enough. It is quite tempting to veer off a recipe, especially if you do not have the right ingredients or tools to use, however you should try your best to follow steps as precisely as possible, especially if you are baking. Cooking and baking are like doing science experiments where the result is delicious food that you get to enjoy with your family and friends. Not following the steps provided in a given recipe is bound to change these results, and unfortunately, it does not always work out for the best. Before trying to experiment with changes, you should get the basics down and be confident in your cooking skills. After that, you can change up recipes and try out different concoctions to your heart’s desire.

4- Watch Tutorials

If you are having trouble following steps or you are more of a visual learner, then you should check out different tutorials online. Seeing professionals go through the steps will help you find out what you are doing wrong and fix it. It will also help you figure out how you can create beautiful and tasty food without making a mess of your kitchen. Tutorials are also great if you do not want to read through too many steps and unnecessary information since you can just play the video, pause it to finish the step, and so on until you are done.

6- Less is Always Better than Too Much

It is important to remind yourself that you can add more later, but you cannot take out ingredients when cooking. This is crucial when it comes to seasoning your food with any spices. For example, when adding salt to a recipe, add small amounts, then try out the food. If you add a lot of salt on the first go, and the food turns out to be too salty, there are some ways to save an oversalted dish, but not that many. It is better to be safe than sorry in such cases. Just add a little at first then more later on if you feel like the food is bland.

Using these six tips, you will be on your way to becoming a better cook in no time. If you have had a bad kitchen experience in the past, it is time to get over it and improve your cooking skills with these guidelines. You are guaranteed to fall in love with cooking and will have a hard time wanting to leave your kitchen.