Cooking Hints & Tips Archive 18
Cooking Tip: Save butter wrappers in the freezer to use for greasing pans when baking.
Cooking Tip: Pancakes are lighter and fluffier when you substitute club soda for milk in the batter.
Cooking Tip: To make lighter and fluffier mashed potatoes, add a pinch or two of baking powder to the potatoes before whipping.
Cooking Tip: Cookie dough can be frozen up to three months in an airtight container or refrigerated three to four days.
Cooking Tip: Add a small amount of lemon juice to the artichoke cooking water to retain the color of the artichoke.
Cooking Tip: Leeks are full of hard to get at sand and dirt. Chop them first, then give them a bath in cold water and drain in a colander.
Cooking Tip: When buying cabbage, look for heads that appear heavier than their size with crisp leaves.
Cooking Tip: To roast garlic, sprinkle the bulb with a little olive oil and white wine, salt and pepper, wrap it in tin foil and roast in a 350F degree oven for approximately one hour.
Cooking Tip: Mushrooms should be wiped off with a damp cloth and not washed under the faucet since they are like sponges and will absorb the water.
Cooking Tip: For the best baked potato, use a potato with a high starch content like a russet or Idaho potato.
Cooking Tip: To seed tomatoes, cut them in half crosswise. Gently squeeze each half, using your fingers to remove seeds. To reserve the juice for use in dressings, sauces or soups, seed the tomato into a strainer held over a bowl.
Cooking Tip: Cold hard boiled eggs peel more easily than room temperature eggs. Gently tap the egg shell on the counter along the egg's center. Place the egg between hands and roll back and forth.
Cooking Tip: Add one tablespoon of pure gluten to the flour mixture of a 1 1/2 pound loaf of bread made in the bread machine. The gluten feeds the yeast. You will turn out a lighter and better loaf.
Cooking Tip: If needed, substitute 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa and 1/4 cup shortening for 4 ounces of chocolate.
Cooking Tip: Choose beef with a bright cherry-red color, without any grayish or brown blotches. The exception is vacuum-packaged beef, which, due to a lack of oxygen, has a darker purplish-red color. When exposed to the air, it will turn to a bright red.
Cooking Tip: When whipping cream, add the sugar when the cream is mostly whipped, and the cream will whip to a higher volume. Adding the sugar at the beginning results in lower volume.
Cooking Tip: Acids help proteins coagulate, so adding either vinegar or lemon juice to water used for poaching eggs helps keep the eggs from spreading out.
Cooking Tip: Zest is the colored outermost skin layer of citrus fruits. Zest can be used to flavor sweet and savory dishes, or candied, for pastry use. Be sure not to get any of the white pith when zesting citrus, as the white pith is bitter.
Cooking Tip: When buying zucchini, look for squash that is firm and heavy for its size. Do not wash until ready to use. Peeling is not necessary and the skin is thin and very fragile.
Cooking Tip: Zucchini blossoms may be battered and deep fried, or cut into strips and used in omelettes or soups.
Cooking Tip: Cool baked pies on a wire rack set on the counter. The rack allows air to circulate under the pie, preventing it from becoming soggy from the steam remaining it in.
Cooking Tip: A good way to keep pie crust from becoming soggy is to sprinkle it with a mixture of equal parts sugar and flour before adding filling.
Cooking Tip: Always make deep slits in the top crust of fruit pie. If you do not do this, the filling will be soft and soggy. To prevent the crust from getting too dark, you can cover it with a strip of aluminum foil or a pie shield. You also have the option of reducing the oven temperature if you notice things getting too dark.
Cooking Tip: Use a glass pie plate or a dull metal pie plate for making pies. The shiny metal pans keep the crust from browning properly. If using a glass pie plate, reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees. Do not oil or grease pie plates.
Cooking Tip: Cold ingredients and limited handling are the key to preparing a wonderful pie crust.
Cooking Tip: The enemy of melted chocolate is water. Even a hot and humid day can ruin your efforts. Be absolutely sure that hands, utensils, bowls, surfaces are totally dry. One drop of water in warm melted chocolate will cause it to seize.
Cooking Tip: Pie crust dough freezes better in a ball than rolled-out dough. A ball takes up little room in the freezer and it won't be broken when you shove in another half gallon of ice cream. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap. Thaw at room temperature, in the plastic to prevent it from drying out, until only slightly chilled. Proceed with your pie.
Cooking Tip: As long as they are kept at room temperature, tomatoes picked at the mature green stage will finish ripening in supermarkets and after you purchase them. Within a few days, they will soften slightly, turn red and develop their full flavor and aroma.
Cooking Tip: Cut tomatoes in half crosswise. Gently squeeze each half, using your fingers to remove seeds. To reserve the juice for use in dressings, sauces or soups, seed the tomato into a strainer held over a bowl.
Cooking Tip: Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover tomatoes; bring to a boil. Immerse tomatoes about 30 seconds; drain and cool. Remove stem ends and slip off skins.
Cooking Tip: Store olive oil in a cool dark place for up to 6 months, or refrigerated for up to one year. Refrigerated olive oil will become thick and cloudy, but will return to normal at room temperature.
Cooking Tip: Tomato ketchup has a high acid content (due to both the tomatoes and vinegar in it) and therefore does not have to be refrigerated after opening. It is safe to store it at room temperature, but it will taste better if kept refrigerated.
Cooking Tip: Unopened bottles of ketchup can be stored for 1 year on a cool, dark, dry shelf. Tightly covered opened bottles will last a month in a cool, dark, dry place.
Cooking Tip: When preparing avocados, to avoid the browning of avocado flesh when exposed to air, immediately place the peeled fruit in lemon juice until ready for use.
Cooking Tip: Avocados will not ripen on the tree. They must be picked from the tree to initiate ripening. The leaves supply a substance that prevents ripening. The best way to store avocados is to leave them on the tree; they will store for 7 months or more when left on the tree.
Cooking Tip: Always use eggs right from the refrigerator for poaching, they are less likely to spread out, and the yolks are less likely to break.
Cooking Tip: The color of chicken eggs are determined by the breed. Breeds with white feathers and ear lobes lay white eggs; breeds with red feathers and ear lobes lay brown eggs.
Cooking Tip: Always use eggs right from the refrigerator for poaching, they are less likely to spread out, and the yolks are less likely to break.
Cooking Tip: When you are going to beat egg whites, let the eggs sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before using them. The egg whites will beat to a greater volume.
Cooking Tip: Albumen, or egg white, makes up about 60% of an eggs weight. As an egg ages, the protein in the egg white changes and becomes thinner and more transparent. Fresh eggs sit tall and firm in the pan, and older eggs will spread out more.
Cooking Tip: To keep strawberries from absorbing large quantities of water when washing them, place in a salad spinner to remove excess water.
Cooking Tip: To soften hard brown sugar, place an open bag of sugar in the microwave with a cup of water next to it. Microwave on high (100%) for 2-3 minutes. This works great, but isn't a permanent fix. Any unused sugar will dry up again. However, the process can be repeated each time you need sugar.
Cooking Tip: Fresh cilantro does not keep well, and the flavor of dried is not comparable. To store fresh coriander, pick out any wilted leaves, and put it in a jar with water like a bunch of flowers. Cover the leaves with a plastic bag and put the whole thing in the refrigerator. Change the water every two days or so, picking out any wilted leaves when you do.
Cooking Tip: To freeze grapes, wash, dry and de-stem grapes and pack in airtight containers and freeze. No sugar is required because of the natural high sugar and acid level acts as a preservative. Eat as a snack right from the freezer.
Cooking Tip: Cool hard-cooked eggs quickly after cooking, refrigerate them in their shells promptly after cooling, and use them within one week.
Cooking Tip: You can store onions for up to six months without freezing by wrapping them separately in paper towels or foil and storing in the refrigerator.
Cooking Tip: Chop and place onions on a cookie sheet in the freezer. When frozen, remove and place in freezer containers or bags, and seal. This allows you to remove the amount you want, when you want.
Cooking Tip: Freeze baked cookies for months of ready-made snacks. Cooled cookies, double-wrapped in plastic sheets or plastic storage bags will last up to 3 months. To thaw, remove cookies from freezer, unwrap and place them in a single layer on wire racks for 15 to 30 minutes.
Cooking Tip: Place an open box of hardened brown sugar in the microwave oven with 1 cup hot water. Microwave at high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes for 1/2 pound of sugar or 2 to 3 minutes for 1 pound of sugar.
Cooking Tip: Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon baking powder to a frying batter for an especially delicate crust.
Cooking Tip: Whirl almost any kind of leftover soup that has no bones in a blender to make a quick sauce or gravy for vegetables or meat.
Cooking Tip: To keep celery crisp, stand it up in a pitcher of cold, salted water and refrigerate.
Cooking Tip: When you freeze bacon, there is no waiting for thawing if you arrange the strips flat, slice by slice, on waxed paper, then roll them up. Put them in a plastic bag in the freeze. To use, unroll and peel off the necessary number of slices.
Cooking Tip: For garlic-flavored potato chips, put a peeled garlic clove in a container with chips several hours. Discard before serving chips.
Cooking Tip: Mushrooms freeze well. Wash quickly, dry, then put them, sliced or un-sliced, in a plastic bag and freeze. Use them without defrosting. In any cooked dish, they will taste exactly like fresh mushrooms.
Cooking Tip: Store spices in a cool, dark place. Humidity, light and heat will cause herbs and spices to lose their flavor more quickly. Although the most convenient place for your spice rack may be above your stove, moving your spices to a different location may keep them fresh longer.
Cooking Tip: Because of its high fructose content, honey has a higher sweetening power than sugar. This means you can use less honey than sugar to achieve the desired sweetness.
Cooking Tip: When measuring honey, coat the measuring cup with non-stick cooking spray or vegetable oil before adding the honey. The honey will slide right out.
Cooking Tip: Most ripened or aged cheese is low in moisture content and can be frozen without drastic flavor and texture changes. Thaw slowly in the refrigerator for 24 hours or more. If frozen for several months, the cheese may dry out somewhat and become crumbly when thawed.
Cooking Tip: For clarified butter, slowly melt unsalted butter over low heat. Don't let the butter come to a boil, and don't stir it. This allows the milk solids to separate from the liquid butter. Once the butter has separated into three layers, foamy milk solids on top, clarified butter in the middle, and milk solids on the bottom, turn off the heat. Skim the foamy white solids from the top. Then ladle off the clarified butter. Be careful not to disturb the milk solids at the bottom of the pan.
Cooking Tip: When spaghetti squash is cooked, the crisp, tender, spaghetti-like strands yield a mild lightly sweet and fresh taste. The larger the vegetable, the thicker the strands and the more flavorful the taste.
Cooking Tip: Shiitake mushrooms are large, black-brown, and have an earthy rich flavor. This fungi is enjoyed in stir-fries, soups, or even a meat substitute. Dried shiitakes have more intense flavors and are sometimes preferable to fresh.
Cooking Tip: To toast sesame seeds, heat seeds in a dry skillet over medium-high heat stirring frequently until seeds are golden-brown and fragrant. Immediately pour out of hot pan to avoid over-toasting.
Cooking Tip: Strawberries should be a bright shade of red and the caps on the berries should be green and fresh looking. Berries that are green or yellow are unripe and will taste sour.
Cooking Tip: Green, sweet bell peppers have 2 times as much vitamin C as oranges; red and yellow bell peppers have 4 times as much.
Cooking Tip: One serving of figs is 40 grams, about 1/4 cup, or about 3 Calimyrna figs or about 4 to 5 Mission figs. Figs are high in fiber, providing 20% of the Daily Value, more dietary fiber per serving than any other common dried or fresh fruit.
Cooking Tip: Onions should be kept in a cool, dry open space away from bright light. Onions do best in an area that allows for air circulation. Because onions absorb moisture, do not store onions below the sink.
Cooking Tip: A tea bag contains approximately 35 grains of tea.
Cooking Tip: When you are going to beat egg whites, let the eggs sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before using them. The egg whites will beat to a greater volume.
Cooking Tip: Zest is the colored outermost skin layer of citrus fruits. Zest can be used to flavor sweet and savory dishes, or candied, for pastry use. Be sure not to get any of the white pith when zesting citrus, as the white pith is bitter.
Cooking Tip: Cherries should be stored at 35F degrees. Cherries taste best if eaten at room temperature. Generally speaking darker color cherries are sweeter.
Cooking Tip: The star fruit, or parabola, is a unique fruit that has a 5 pointed star shape when cut across the middle of the fruit. They range in taste from pleasantly tart and sour to slightly sweet. As a general rule, the yellower the sweeter.
Cooking Tip: Canned food has a shelf life of at least two years from the date of processing. Canned food retains its safety and nutritional value well beyond two years, but it may have some variation in quality, such as a change of color and texture.
Cooking Tip: Chilies should be stored unwashed and wrapped in paper towels in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. Dried chilies should be stored in airtight containers at room temperature for a maximum of four months. To keep dried chilies for more than four months, store them in the refrigerator.
Cooking Tip: White chocolate originates from the cacao plant, but it is not "chocolate." According to the FDA, to be called chocolate a product must contain chocolate liquor, which is what gives it the biter intense chocolate flavor and color to dark and milk chocolates.
Cooking Tip: Fennel is more delicate than celery and will dry out quickly. Before storing, cut the stalks off, wrap the stalks separately from the bulb in plastic bags, and store in the crisper section of the refrigerator. Fennel should keep for three to four days, but it is best to use it as soon as possible.
Cooking Tip: When buying tangerines, look for deep yellow or orange color and a bright luster, a sign of fresh, mature, food flavored fruit. Avoid pale yellow or greenish fruits, which are likely to be lacking in flavor.
Cooking Tip: Lettuce leaves should be torn by hand; cutting with a knife will turn the edges brown faster. If you must cut lettuce, be sure to use a stainless steel knife.
Cooking Tip: Butter absorbs odors very easily and quickly in the refrigerator, so keep it tightly covered.
Cooking Tip: Soaking pecans in salt water for several hours before shelling will make nut meats easier to remove.
Cooking Tip: Pie crust dough freezes better in a ball than rolled-out dough. A ball takes up little room in the freezer and it won't be broken when you shove in another half gallon of ice cream. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap. Thaw at room temperature, in the plastic to prevent it from drying out, until only slightly chilled. Proceed with your pie.
Cooking Tip: To store opened ice cream, first place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface and smooth it down lightly with your fingers. Then close the lid securely (use a rubber band if you have to) and return to the depths of your freezer.
Cooking Tip: Serve ice cream in chilled bowls, preferably glass. Not only is the frosted bowl refreshing to look at, but the ice cream will retain its shape longer.
Cooking Tip: "Temper" ice cream before you scoop - leave it at room temperature for 8-10 minutes before serving. Return ice cream to the freezer immediately after it has been served to minimize the formation of ice crystals.
Cooking Tip: Use a gentle touch when shaping ground beef patties. Overhandling will result in a firm, compact texture after cooking. Don't press or flatten with spatula during cooking.
Cooking Tip: If a recipe calls for fresh herbs and you have only dried, use 1/3 the amount called for. If a recipe calls for dried herbs and you have only fresh, use 3 times the amount called for.
Cooking Tip: Sprinkle your wooden salad bowls and cutting boards with salt and then rub them with a lemon to freshen them.
Cooking Tip: To keep marshmallows from turning hard, store them in the freezer. When thawed, they're still fresh.
Cooking Tip: Keep bread fresh longer by placing a rib of celery in the bread bag.
Cooking Tip: Before cutting cookie dough into shapes, dip the cutters into flour. Lift cutouts with a long, thin spatula so there's less chance of distortion.
