Cooking Hints & Tips Archive 12
Cooking Tip: To easily peel fresh ginger, use a tablespoon to scrape down the length of the ginger, removing the skin.
Cooking Tip: To keep fresh parsley fresh, store it dry in a jar, with the stems facing downward, in the refrigerator. Pour off any liquid that accumulates in the jar and it should last for a few weeks.
Cooking Tip: To quickly and easily proof yeast, dissolve the yeast in a large glass measuring cup, using the recipe's measurements for the amount of warm liquid. Place the measuring cup inside a large bowl that's filled with hot water. The heat is transferred to the measuring cup and quickly proofs the yeast.
Cooking Tip: To make perfect meringue, beat the whites until they form soft peaks, then sprinkle sugar on top of the whites. Let the egg whites and sugar sit for 5 minutes without stirring, then beat the eggs again until stiff peaks form. Spread the meringue over the pie and bake according to recipe.
Cooking Tip: To make creme fraiche, combine 1 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons buttermilk, and 2 teaspoons lemon juice in a glass bowl. Cover and let stand at room temperature for up to 24 hours, until thickened. It can keep up to a week in the refrigerator, covered tightly.
Cooking Tip: If a dish is too sweet add salt to it, a little at a time. If the dish is an entree, side dish, or vegetable you can add a teaspoon of cider vinegar to combat the sweetness.
Cooking Tip: To prevent your salt shaker from becoming clogged, add a few grains of raw white rice with the salt in the salt shaker.
Cooking Tip: When grating cheese, spray the grater with nonstick cooking spray before beginning. The cheese will not stick to it and clean up will be much easier.
Cooking Tip: To clarify butter use a heavy pan to melt one pound of butter over low heat. Skim off the froth from the top and carefully pour the clear yellow liquid from the pan, leaving the milky residue behind.
Cooking Tip: If you need semi-sweet chocolate chips, you can substitute nine tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder plus 1/2 cup sugar along with three tablespoons butter for them in a recipe.
Cooking Tip: If you don't have pumpkin pie spice on hand when it's called for in a recipe, here's an easy substitution:1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice = 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon allspice and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg.
Cooking Tip: Here's a quick and easy way to clean the grill. While the fire is still going, place a sheet of aluminum foil, shiny side down, on the grate. Leave it on for 5 minutes, then remove the foil. The remaining food particles will brush right off!
Cooking Tip: When preparing lower fat foods, such as chicken, fish or pork on the grill, spray the grid with no stick cooking spray before heating to keep foods from sticking to the grill.
Cooking Tip: When barbecuing, to prevent scorching the meat remember to brush your favorite barbecue sauce on the meat only during the last 10 to 15 minutes of grilling.
Cooking Tip: Add a special touch to a summer drink with a strawberry fan garnish. Make 4 lengthwise cuts from the point of a strawberry almost to the stem end with a paring knife. Fan the slices apart, keeping them attached to the stem. Slide over the edge of a glass.
Cooking Tip: To peel and section oranges, slice the end section off the orange. Peel away orange skin. Cut down against either side of membrane "dividers" with paring knife and lift out orange section. Do this over a bowl to catch the juice. Use this method for sectioning other citrus fruits such as grapefruit.
Cooking Tip: To easily seed a cucumber, cut it in half lengthwise and use the tip of a teaspoon to scrape out the seeds. If you purchase European or English greenhouse-grown cucumbers, now available in many supermarkets, there's no need to seed them as these varieties are virtually seedless.
Cooking Tip: To peel peaches, place whole peach in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove from boiling water with slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Pull skin off using blade edge of paring knife to grab peel. Also use this method to peel other fruits such as apricots and tomatoes.
Cooking Tip: Lemon zest is the grated rind from the outside of a fresh lemon that holds much of flavor of the lemon without the acidity that is in the fruit. To get the zest, rub the skin across a very fine grater, making sure to remove only the outer rind and not the bitter white pithy part.
Cooking Tip: For pretty ice cubes, drop berries or small pieces of fruit into the compartments of an ice cube tray. Fill the tray with water and freeze. To make fun stirrers, put vegetable or fruit chunks on small skewers.
Cooking Tip: When going on a picnic, foods frozen in resealable plastic food storage bags can help keep the cooler cold in addition to ice packs. By the time you are ready to eat, the frozen food should be thawed and ready to use.
Cooking Tip: When going on a picnic, keep picnic foods out of the sun. Set out small batches of food at a time and, as a general rule, discard any foods which have been left in the sun for over an hour. Also, keep foods covered until ready to serve.
Cooking Tip: When going on a picnic, always keep the cooler in the shade. To minimize the number of times the cooler is opened, keep the drinks in one cooler and the meats and salads in another cooler. Then, label the coolers. And finally, never leave the cooler in the hot trunk of the car.
Cooking Tip: When going on a picnic, fill clean milk cartons or milk jugs with water and freeze until solid. Add them to the cooler to help keep the chilled picnic foods cold. When thawed, the cold water can be used as refreshing drinking water or for cleaning up everything from the kids to rinsing off the dishes.
Cooking Tip: When going on a picnic, be prepared for bees. Open a can of sugary soda, place it away from you, and watch the bees keep busy with it and not bother you. Also, bring baking soda along on your picnic to mix with water for a paste that will take the sting out of any bee or insect bites until you get home.
Cooking Tip: To peel hard-cooked eggs, crack them by tapping them gently in two or three places and place them in a pan of cold water.
Cooking Tip: To reduce a liquid, boil it uncovered to diminish the quantity an concentrate the flavor.
Cooking Tip: Store strawberries in a moisture-proof container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Wash them just before use.
Cooking Tip: For a juicier barbecued hamburger, rub both sides of the meat with cold water before grilling.
Cooking Tip: It's best to place a cookie or baking sheet under the baking pan of a fruit dessert while in the oven. This will catch any spills and make clean up easier.
Cooking Tip: Never fill a pressure cooker with more food than half its capacity if the contents are mainly liquid, or two-thirds if the contents are mainly solid.
Cooking Tip: Storing cheese in a tightly covered container with a few sugar cubes will keep it from molding as quickly.
Cooking Tip: To roast peppers broil whole peppers with tops 5 inches from heat, turning occasionally, until skin is blistered and evenly browned but not burned. Place peppers in a plastic bag, close, and let stand 20 minutes. Peel skin from peppers.
Cooking Tip: Whole spices stay fresh about 2 years while ground ones usually only last about 6 months. You should refrigerate red spices, such as paprika, to preserve their flavor and color.
Cooking Tip: Eggs should not be washed until ready for use because they are protected with a soluble film which protects the porous shell against bacteria.
Cooking Tip: One lemon will yield about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
Cooking Tip: One pound ground coffee is the same as 5 cups or 80 Tablespoons, and makes 40-50 servings.
Cooking Tip: One pound of spinach is the same as 2 1/2 quarts raw or 1 1/2 cups raw.
Cooking Tip: One pound of white potatoes is the same as 2-5 medium or 2-3 cups cooked, mashed.
Cooking Tip: One pound of all purpose flour is the same as 4 cups of sifted flour.
Cooking Tip: If your coffee tastes bitter, put two or three cardamom pods into the pot while it is brewing.
Cooking Tip: Steak, roast, or poultry bones can be frozen until needed for soup stock.
Cooking Tip: To poach food, place them in seasoned liquid. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover tightly. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer so small bubbles form and break below the surface of the liquid.
Cooking Tip: Cooking time in a microwave oven is directly related to the amount of food in the oven. The more food cooking at one time, the longer it takes because the microwaves have to be shared.
Cooking Tip: It's best not to refreeze foods that have been frozen already and thawed, as this increases the risk of contamination by harmful bacteria.
Cooking Tip: You shouldn't grease a baking pan with margarine or butter as they contain salt that generally causes hot foods to stick.
Cooking Tip: Nutritionally, brown eggs are the same as white eggs, although they are often more expensive. The color of the shell is determined by the breed of the hen.
Cooking Tip: To ripen tomatoes put them in a shallow box or bowl and slip into a brown paper bag. Close then end and leave at room temperature.
Cooking Tip: A tablespoon of vinegar added to water before poaching eggs helps keep the whites from spreading.
Cooking Tip: When measuring shredded cheese, let it fall lightly into the measuring cup - do not pack firmly. One pound shredded cheese equals four cups.
Cooking Tip: To measure sticks of butter or margarine, follow the markings on the wrapper. For unwrapped butter or margarine, soften it, then measure in a measuring cup.
Cooking Tip: To prevent avocado slices or pulp from turning brown toss or sprinkle with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice.
Cooking Tip: If the oven is turned off just when the meringue is brown, and the door is left slightly open, the pie cools slowly and prevents the meringue from splitting.
Cooking Tip: Before sauteing onions, pour boiling water over them then pat dry; they cook faster this way.
Cooking Tip: Carefully wipe your knife blade with vegetable oil before chopping raisins, dates, or other sticky dried fruit to prevent sticking.
Cooking Tip: To score food for cooking, cut its surface about 1/4" deep to facilitate cooking, flavoring, or appearance.
Cooking Tip: To mince fresh ginger, pound the peeled ginger with the back of a knife blade until the pulp separates, leaving the threads behind. Then mince as any vegetable.
Cooking Tip: To keep ice cream from dripping out the bottom of an ice cream cone as the ice cream melts, place a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of the cone.
Cooking Tip: If you bake in dark, nonstick baking pans you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 25F degrees to keep food from overbrowning.
Cooking Tip: When using a cake mix, try dusting the pans with a little of it instead of flour to eliminate the white layer on the outside of the cake when baked.
Cooking Tip: To peel peaches, place whole peach in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove from boiling water with slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Pull skin off using blade edge of paring knife to grab peel. Also use this method to peel other fruits such as apricots and tomatoes.
Cooking Tip: For pretty ice cubes, drop berries or small pieces of fruit into the compartments of an ice cube tray. Fill the tray with water and freeze. To make fun stirrers, put vegetable or fruit chunks on small skewers.
Cooking Tip: For recipes that call for room temperature eggs, bring the eggs to room temperature quickly (without cooking them in the process) by dunking them in lukewarm water for 5 minutes.
Cooking Tip: To ensure whipped cream stays whipped and fluffy longer, dissolve 1 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin in 1/4 cup hot milk and beat it into a cup of already whipped cream.
Cooking Tip: To make graham cracker crumbs, place graham crackers in zipper-style plastic bag. Close. Crush by going back and forth across crackers with a rolling pin.
Cooking Tip: To peel hard-cooked eggs, crack them by tapping them gently in two or three places and place them in a pan of cold water.
Cooking Tip: To determine the freshness of baking powder, add 1 teaspoon to 1/3 cup of hot water. If the water bubbles vigorously, the baking powder is fresh.
Cooking Tip: Cold temperatures can destroy the flavor and texture of tomatoes. Store them at room temperature and use them within a few days.
Cooking Tip: To plump raisins or other dried fruit, soak them in liquid until they almost return to their natural
state.
Cooking Tip: Combine a light fluffy ingredient, such as beaten egg whites, into a thicker mixture with a gentle
over-and-under lifting motion.
Cooking Tip: To keep asparagus its freshest, wrap the bases of the fresh asparagus spears in wet paper towels and keep tightly sealed in a storage container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Cooking Tip: Store highly perishable foods, such as milk, in the main part of the refrigerator. The door does not stay as cold as the rest of the refrigerator. Use the door for condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise, which are more stable.
Cooking Tip: When freezing foods, force or draw out as much air as possible, seal tightly, label and freeze immediately for best results.
Cooking Tip: Squeeze juice from lemons when you have time and freeze the juice so it's ready to use when you need it.
Cooking Tip: Marinating is easy if you use a plastic bag. The meat stays in the marinade and it's easy to rearrange and turn. Just throw away the bag when done for an easy clean up.
Cooking Tip: Cookies will stay moist in a cookie jar if a slice of bread is placed in the jar with them.
Cooking Tip: Icings won't be grainy if a pinch of salt is added to the sugar when mixing.
Cooking Tip: Dipping cookie cutters into slightly warm vegetable oil will give the cookies a much cleaner edge.
Cooking Tip: Use the water you have boiled potatoes in to make a moister, more flavorful bread dough.
Cooking Tip: Rubbing poultry with salt and lemon juice will lessen its unpleasant odor during cooking.
Cooking Tip: If you are out of honey and a recipe calls for 1 cup of it, you can substitute 1 1/4 cup sugar plus 1/4 cup of the liquid called for in the recipe for it.
Cooking Tip: If you are out of corn syrup and a recipe calls for 1 cup of it, you can substitute 1 cup sugar plus 1/4 cup water for it.
Cooking Tip: If you are out of unsweetened chocolate and a recipe calls for 1 ounce or square of it, you can substitute 3 tablespoons cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon shortening or margarine for it.
Cooking Tip: If you are out of semisweet chocolate and a recipe calls for 1 ounce or square of it, you can substitute 1 square unsweetened chocolate plus 1 tablespoon sugar for it.
Cooking Tip: If you are out of cake flour and a recipe calls for 1 cup of it, you can substitute 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons for it.
Cooking Tip: Eggs are easiest to separate when cold. Do not pass the yolks back and forth from shell half to shell half to separate. Bacteria may be present in the pores of the shell, contaminating the yolk or white.
Cooking Tip: Place fresh ginger root in a plastic bag and store it in the freezer. It will keep for months. Just grate the amount you need and return it to the freezer.
Cooking Tip: Pickled foods are generally high in sodium. To reduce the salt in pickled cucumbers and peppers, rinse with cold water before eating.
Cooking Tip: The best way to tell if a pineapple is ripe it to thump the side with the flick of a finger. A ripe pineapple will give a dull thud.
Cooking Tip: Romaine lettuce is greener than iceburg lettuce and has about three times as much vitamin C and six times as much vitamin A as iceburg lettuce.
Cooking Tip: You can reheat rice without overcooking it by heating it in a colander over a pan of boiling water, making sure the rice does not touch the water.
Cooking Tip: To store fresh herbs, place two to three layers of paper towels in a zipper-style plastic bag. Place short-stemmed fresh herbs such as sage, basil or thyme inside bag and zip closed. Place plastic bag containing herbs in the refrigerator.
Cooking Tip: To chop a hard-boiled egg, use a small knife and cut the cooled, hard-boiled egg into thin slices. Next cut each slice crosswise in both directions several times.
Cooking Tip: To make carrot curls, use a vegetable peeler and cut cleaned carrot into strips the length of the carrot. Twirl strips into curls; fasten with wooden picks. Let stand in ice water until ready to use. Remove wooden picks.
Cooking Tip: To peel and section oranges, slice the end section off the orange. Peel away orange skin. Cut down against either side of membrane "dividers" with paring knife and lift out orange section. Do this over a bowl to catch the juice. Use this method for sectioning other citrus fruits such as grapefruit.
Cooking Tip: Cold temperatures can destroy the flavor and texture of tomatoes. Store them at room temperature and use them within a few days.
Cooking Tip: If using a dark, nonstick baking pan, you may need to reduce the recipe's baking temperature by 25 degrees.
Cooking Tip: To plump raisins or other dried fruit, soak them in liquid until they almost return to their natural state.
Cooking Tip: It's best to place a cookie or baking sheet under the baking pan of a fruit dessert while in the oven. This will catch any spills and make clean up easier.
Cooking Tip: To preserve the creamy texture of a frozen cheesecake, thaw it in the refrigerator for 12 hours before serving.
