Читать книгу A Smart Girl's Guide: Cooking - Patricia Daniels - Страница 22

the staples

The fridge and pantry are filled with

foods that are always there, waiting to

be added to anything from artichoke

dip to zucchini bread. When you need a

splash of olive oil or a teaspoon of cin-

namon, you just reach for them. When

you run out, you get more right away.

Ingredients like these are called staples.

Fats

Cooks use fats to make food taste good,

give it a nice texture, and keep it from

sticking to pans or burning. Fats are an

essential nutrient, too, keeping your skin

and hair healthy, storing energy for when

you need it, and more. They’re in meats,

nuts, most dairy, and some fruits and veg-

etables, such as avocados and olives. But

you’ll need to have fats such as vegetable

oils and butter on hand as staples, too.

Salt Box

Salt sharpens flavor—even though it isn’t food. It’s a

chemical compound called sodium chloride, which is

found in the ground as rock salt or dissolved in seawater.

Every animal and plant contains some salt, too—ever

notice how salty your tears or sweat is? Without salt,

muscles and nerves wouldn’t work right. Just don’t

overdo it in food, because too much is bad for you. The

tongue is designed to taste small amounts of salt, so go

light on it when you cook. It’s easy to add salt to food,

but really hard to take it out.