Three terrible doubts in the kitchen

Sometimes when we read a recipe or a tutorial somewhere on the web (or in a cookbook), we can miss some fundamental hints that the original author left out, maybe because they was so common that they did not make sense to mention. Those small lacks give us doubts on how to proceed in the preparation of the recipe. One of the most important, when we are in front of a filled pot is:

To put the lid or not to put the lid?

For getting out of this little doubt, you could generally follow some directions. Cook without the lid when you have to check the food, for example:

• a broth that must be continuously skimmed to prevent its turbidity;
• pasta and rice that have to be mixed to prevent them from sticking;
• sauces to facilitate the evaporation of water.

and cook with the lid when you want to achieve a quick boiling and when you want reduce the loss of flavor and nutrients, for example when you cook:

• legume;
• potatoes;
• soups.

A second big doubt is:

Low heat? Medium heat? High heat?

It's very simple to say medium, high, or low fire, but at the beginning is not so simple to get the right one. If you follow a new recipe, you know that the cooking time and the type of fire go hand in hand and only experience can help you to do all right!

And finally:

What's the right dose?

Sometimes we read doses as a little bit, sprinkling, to taste, a finger, a nut, a teaspoon, a tablespoon, a tea cup. Often we wonder if the finger must be considered vertical or horizontal because there is a big difference! Unfortunately we are still working on this one.

And last but not least when you are wrong and the the result of your recipe goes from the oven into the trash, in Italy we say that non tutte le ciambelle riescono con il buco (litterally: not all the donuts succeed with the hole) that is: not everything turns out as it should! It happens in the kitchen as in the life, so take it with philosophy, laugh about it and know that the next try will surely be better.