Traveling the World Through Food: How to Experiment In the Kitchen

Traveling the World Through Food: How to Experiment In the Kitchen

When it comes to whipping up a delicious recipe, you don't have to be a trained chef! Anyone can make a mouth-watering dish with the right ingredients. If you feel like you've been stuck in a recipe rut and want to break out of it, then we're here to help. While a good recipe is the key to a great meal, it doesn't have to limit your creativity. With an endless amount of recipes and cuisines to choose from, cooking in the kitchen can be a new and exciting experience every time you do it. Knowing how and when to use recipes as inspiration is crucial when creating a mouth-watering meal customized to your family's taste buds. By investing the help of a few worldly dishes, it becomes easy to please everyone at the dinner table. Not sure where to start? Keep reading to discover how you can travel the world through food and experiment with your all-time favorite recipes.

Treat Recipes as a Guideline, not a Rule

Traveling the World Through Food: How to Experiment In the Kitchen | Bob's Red Mill Blog Recipes are an excellent guideline for making wonderful meals, especially if you're trying out new cuisine. That being said, you do not always have to follow a recipe step by step. If you come across a recipe that sounds delicious, yet features a veggie you're not fond of, don't write the meal off just yet. Instead, study the ingredients and think of a vegetable that you'd like to use in its place. By making simple swaps here and there, you can make good recipes even better. Customizing food to your taste preferences is the key to a happy, full stomach. This week take a trip to Germany and try out this Spaetzle recipe. A German noodle that is hearty, delicious and easy to make, Spaetzle is a classic comfort food that pairs perfectly with a chilly fall evening. Pan fry it and toss it in browned butter, or get creative and add your favorite sauce to the dish. The possibilities are endless!

Use More Vegetables

Traveling the World Through Food: How to Experiment In the Kitchen | Bob's Red Mill Blog Vegetables are used in almost every cuisine worldwide. From France to China, veggies are a staple in famous dishes like pasta, stews and stir fry. This week, when heading to the grocery store, experiment with your recipes by picking up a few vegetables you wouldn't usually cook with. Bake them, grill them, sear them or add them to a delicious soup. Using more vegetables in your weekly meals is a great way to boost your nutrition intake and amp up a dish's flavor. For a veggie-powered dish, take your taste buds on a trip to China with this Veggie Chinese Dumpling Recipe. Homemade Chinese Dumplings is the perfect dish to make if you're trying to impress a crowd. While they may sound challenging, they're incredibly simple to make. Whip up a batch full of your favorite vegetables, and remember the recipe is just a guideline!

Add Flavor with Spices and Herbs

Traveling the World Through Food: How to Experiment In the Kitchen | Bob's Red Mill Blog Spices and herbs are a crucial ingredient in a well-flavored recipe. And because they vary from region to region, they are also what make different cuisines so unique. While parsley, basil and sage may top the list of commonly used spices in Italy, China uses very different spices like anise, cinnamon and ginger. Learning how and when to use spices and herbs properly is a great way to experiment in the kitchen and improve your weekly menu. To find out which spices you should always have on hand, review this guide on common kitchen spices. Take a trip to the Mediterranean, and make this Mediterranean Eggplant & Freekeh Salad with Honey Tahini Sauce. Full of flavor, this dish features parsley as one of the main ingredients. However, it doesn't have to be the only herb used. Get creative when making this recipe, and add your favorite spices and herbs to take the flavor up a notch.

Try out Different Cooking Techniques

Different cuisines often use different cooking techniques. To make sure that you stay out of a recipe rut, make sure you're switching it up in the kitchen. While you may love oven-baked, or grilled food, it's not the only cooking method out there. Take your skills to the next level by learning a new technique that's unique to a particular cuisine. Searing, braising, stewing and steaming are just a few of the many that you can try! To help you get started, expand your flavor horizons with this Sorghum Sushi Salad with Seared Tuna and Avocado. Seared tuna, soy sauce and minced ginger are the star ingredients of this recipe, making it one of the most flavorful meals we've tried so far! From the Mediterranean to Germany, there are hundreds of different cuisines you can try out in the kitchen! Use this list to help you step out of your cooking comfort zone and try a recipe you usually wouldn't. We can't wait to hear how it goes! From everyone at Bob's Red Mill, happy cooking!  
Bob's Red Mill
January 10 2020

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