**This a collaborative post. Read our disclosures here**
Tasty dishes are thick and packed with flavor. Using water doesn’t seem like a good way to produce a meal that will blow the pants off unsuspecting guests. If anything, it makes sauces thicker and, well, watery. As farfetched as it sounds, it’s based on a true story!
Yep, H2O is an excellent way to reduce the taste if you don’t have the faintest clue how to cook. Wannabe chefs should understand that water is one of their best friends even if it seems lifeless and unappealing. Just look at what it does to raw vegetables and packets of Ramen noodles, guys.
Of course, basic cooks understand how to boil ingredients and serve them on a plate. What the average person doesn’t realize is water as a means to create mouth-watering meals. Well, you’ve come to the right place because here are the tricks you should keep in mind.
Cocktail Time
Cooking makes you think of hovering over a hot stove while the ingredients fuse together. In truth, creating anything that is edible or drinkable is a form of cooking. So, with that in mind, let’s talk about cocktails. We’ve all had the Friday afternoon syndrome, the one where the thought of an alcoholic beverage fills you with hope. Well, now there’s no need to pay a fortune in a fancy, and a rather pretentious bar. All you need is liquor; fruit infused water and a fruit of your choice. Put the alcohol in a glass and add a healthy dose of H2O to make sure you aren’t tipsy with one sip. Then, cut up the fruit into small chunks and add to the glass. Voila – a rugged, delicious, homemade beverage. You would pay at least $10 for a drink like that in town.
Big Batch Boil
Consider something like a stew or a broth. The last thing you want is for a big portion to lack taste. To get a tasty gravy or soup-like consistency, you first need to throw in a couple of hundred milliliters of H2O. Don’t worry if the spuds and vegetables appear is if they are going to drown because they are having the time of their life. You could say everything is going swimmingly at this point. Once the water is in the pot, the key is to bring the consistency to the boil so that the stock reduces more and more. By the end, the watery stew should be thin(ish) and not gloopy, but it will also have strong flavors. The reason for this is that the water brings the dish together as the heat begins to reduce everything down to a beautiful gravy.
Leftover Syndrome
You pull a chicken or any piece of meat out of the oven and strip it like a shoal of piranha. But, ever the eco-warrior, you don’t want to throw the carcass in the garbage because it feels like a waste. Still, there is nothing you can do with skin and bones, right? Not entirely because the remains will spring to life with a splash of water. Okay, so they won’t reform or anything like that, but H2O allows you to put the bones to good use. By placing the remains in a pot and adding water, salt and pepper, you can create a mouth-watering gravy. If you prefer it a tad thicker, don’t be afraid to add instant granules to the mix and simmer down. Once it’s done, just add to your plate to complete the meal.
Non-Microwavable Reheat
Leftover meals tend to go in the microwave until they are piping hot. As a useful as a microwavable oven is, the way the radiation sucks out the water leaves the food dry. Anyone who has tasted lasagna the next day will understand one-hundred percent. Sadly, this dish is hard to save, which is why you should eat it fresh from the oven. However, pasta dishes with a sauce are easy to salvage thanks to water. The key is to add a tiny amount to a pan and then put it on the heat. The extra H2O means the sauce or the pasta won’t dry out or stick to the pan, and it will feel as if it’s freshly cooked. Should the sauce be too thin, you can add salt and pepper to taste. Or, use a dollop of cream to add moisture and thicken the consistency at the same time.
Finally, remember that the best way to use water while cooking is to avoid waste because it’s liquid gold. Do you think you can use the advice above at home?
