Cooking Hints & Tips Archive 47
Cooking Tip: To make fat-free broth, chill your meat or chicken broth. The fat will rise to the top, and you can remove it before using the broth.
Cooking Tip: When cooking a dish with both vegetables and meat, reduce the amount of meat by 1/3 and increase the amount of vegetables by 1/3. You will hardly notice.
Cooking Tip: Instead of salting gravy, enrich both the gravy's color and flavor by using a little soy sauce.
Cooking Tip: When sauteing, use a small amount of chicken broth or wine instead of butter or oil.
Cooking Tip: Substituting applesauce for half of the amount of vegetable oil called for in your baking recipes will reduce the fat content, or use all applesauce which produces a low-calorie, moist product.
Cooking Tip: When purchasing a turkey for brining, choose a natural turkey (not a self-basted bird that's been injected with a solution of salt and other flavorings). Look for the words natural or no additives added. Choose a 12- to 20-pound turkey. If the turkey is frozen, thaw according to the package directions before brining.
Cooking Tip: Remove and discard any leg restraints from the purchased turkey. Remove the giblets from the neck cavity and the neck from the body cavity (save in the refrigerator). Trim away any large areas of fat or excess skin around the body cavity, and cut off the tail.
Cooking Tip: Rinse thoroughly, inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Choose a container large enough to hold your turkey and brine mixture, plus it must be able to fit either in your refrigerator or a large cooler.
Cooking Tip: Roast your turkey breast-side down on a v-shaped rack until the last hour or so in the oven, then turn the turkey to brown the breast. The result is a moister white meat.
Cooking Tip: To make the perfect turkey gravy, you first make a stock fusing the giblets, which cooks on the stovetop while you are cooking your turkey (or cooked the day before). The secret to a good gravy is to skim off most of the fat from the drippings so the gravy isn't greasy tasting.
Cooking Tip: Select bright green asparagus with closed, compact, and firm tips. Also look for cut ends that are not dry.
Cooking Tip: Select asparagus stalks that are about the same thickness so cooking will be uniform. Thickness does not influence quality. If the tips are slightly wilted, freshen them up by soaking them in cold water.
Cooking Tip: Storage of fresh asparagus is important. Fresh asparagus must be kept refrigerated at all times. Wrap a moist paper towel around the stem ends and place in the refrigerator. Keep fresh asparagus moist until you intend to use it.
Cooking Tip: Keep frozen asparagus in the freezer until you are ready to use. Do no defrost before cooking. If the asparagus does defrosts, cook it immediately. Do not refreeze! Make sure you use the asparagus within eight months.
Cooking Tip: Cook fresh asparagus in a small amount of boiling water until tender. Fresh asparagus will be crisp-tender in 5 to 8 minutes.
Cooking Tip: Sprinkle some pumpkin pie spice inside your carved Jack O'Lantern to give the air a wintry spice aroma.
Cooking Tip: Chill your canned and bottled beverages by putting in top load washer and covering with ice. After you have removed all the drinks just spin out the water.
Cooking Tip: Try using raw spaghetti instead of toothpicks when securing stuffed chicken breasts and meats. It works great and it's edible.
Cooking Tip: To prevent cream whipped ahead of time from separating, add one quarter teaspoon of gelatin to each cup of cream during whipping.
Cooking Tip: Sausage patties rolled in flour before frying won't crack open during cooking.
Cooking Tip: To test whether hot oil is still usable, drop a piece of white bread into the pot. If the bread develops dark specks, the oil is deteriorating.
Cooking Tip: Fat from soup and stews can be eliminated by dropping ice cubes into the pot. Then stir and the fat will cling to the ice cubes. Remove the ice cubes after a few seconds.
Cooking Tip: Butter will go farther and have fewer calories per serving if you beat it well. This increases the volume by adding air.
Cooking Tip: Cottage cheese will remain fresher for longer period of time if you store it upside down in the refrigerator.
Cooking Tip: Tomatoes added to roasts will help tenderize them naturally. They contain an acid that works well to break down meats.
Cooking Tip: When you poach eggs, try adding a little vinegar and salt to the water. This will set the eggs and keep them in shape.
Cooking Tip: When beating egg whites, add a teaspoon of cold water and you will almost double the quantity.
Cooking Tip: Add food coloring to the water before boiling eggs, then you can tell the hard boiled ones from the fresh ones.
Cooking Tip: When handling eggs or removing them from the carton, try wetting your hands first and the eggs won't slip away.
Cooking Tip: To test whether hot oil is still usable, drop a piece of white bread into the pot. If the bread develops dark specks, the oil is deteriorating.
Cooking Tip: Cottage cheese can be used in place of sour cream when making dips. Just place it in the blender until it is creamed.
Cooking Tip: To bake the perfect potato, rub butter over potatoes before baking to prevent skin from cracking and to improve the taste.
Cooking Tip: For the best gourmet French fries, let cut potatoes stand in cold water an hour before frying. Dry well before cooking. The trick is to fry them twice. The first time, just fry them for a few minutes and drain off the grease. The second time, fry them until golden brown.
Cooking Tip: To tell how old an egg is, place the egg in a pan of cold water. If it lies on its side, it is fresh. If it tilts on an angle, it is approximately 3-4 days old, If an egg stands upright, it is probably about 10 days old. It an egg floats to the top, it is old and should not be used.
Cooking Tip: To easily separate an egg yolk from whites, poke a small hole in the end of an egg and drain the white through the hole. After you have drained the egg white, just crack the egg open for the yolk.
Cooking Tip: To peel thin skin fruits and vegetables easily, place in a bowl and cover with boiling water, let stand for one minute then peel with sharp paring knife.
Cooking Tip: Cream won't curdle when pour over fruits if you add a pinch of baking soda with the cream before serving.
Cooking Tip: If you add a small pat of butter when cooking fruit for jams and jellies, you won't have any foam to skim off the top.
Cooking Tip: If you have a problem with fruit jellies not setting, place the jars in a shallow pan half filled with cold water, then bake in moderate oven for 30 minutes.
Cooking Tip: To save leftover wines, freeze them in ice cube trays. They can be used for any dish you would season with wine or can be also used in coolers.
Cooking Tip: Kale is overflowing with essential nutrients such as calcium, lutein, iron, and Vitamins A, C, and K. Kale has seven times the beta-carotene of broccoli and ten times more lutein.
Cooking Tip: Kale contains naturally occurring photochemicals sulforaphanes and indoles which research suggests may protect against cancer.
Cooking Tip: The best pasta is made of 100% semolina. Pasta made from durum wheat retain their shape and firmness while cooking. When cooked properly they do not get mushy or sticky. Pasta that are not made with semolina produce a softer noodle and will not hold up well when tossing.
Cooking Tip: You may substitute for another type of pasta in recipes; but if you want to use another type, remember it is best to substitute one pasta type with another of similar characteristics.
Cooking Tip: It is important to match the shapes of pasta to the sauce. Flat pastas are best with thin sauces; other shapes have nooks and crannies to catch pieces of chunkier sauces.
Cooking Tip: When baking and you need to cut in the butter, an easy way is to keep the sticks of butter in the freezer. When needed, use a cheese grater to grate the butter into fine pieces.
Cooking Tip: To prevent cream whipped ahead of time from separating, add one quarter teaspoon of gelatin to each cup of cream during whipping.
Cooking Tip: Let raw potatoes stand in cold water for at least half an hour before frying to improve the crispness of french fried potatoes.
Cooking Tip: When slicing a hard boiled egg, try wetting the knife just before cutting. If that doesn't do the trick, try applying a bit of cooking spray to the edge.
Cooking Tip: Keep a small plastic bag in your can of vegetable shortening. When it comes time to grease a pan, just slip your hand in the bag, scoop out what you need and spread it on the pan.
Cooking Tip: Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes before using them so they won't burn during cooking.
Cooking Tip: If you prefer metal skewers, which have a long life, use square or twisted types, which will hold the food better than round ones.
Cooking Tip: To keep food from slipping off during cooking and turning, use two parallel skewers rather than a single skewer.
Cooking Tip: If you're using a wooden skewer, as you thread the food move the pieces close together, with no space showing. If the skewer is metal, you can leave small spaces between the pieces.
Cooking Tip: When using foods with different cooking times, such as shrimp and beef, don't combine them on the same skewer. Instead make skewers of just shrimp or just beef.
Cooking Tip: If you have a problem opening jars, try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a no-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.
Cooking Tip: Create your own colored sugar by placing granulated sugar in a plastic bag. Add a few drops of your favorite food coloring and shake to blend. Pour out into a plate and let dry, then use.
Cooking Tip: A jar lid or a couple of marbles in the bottom half of a double-boiler will rattle when the water gets low and warn you to add more before the pan scorches or burns.
Cooking Tip: When slicing a hard boiled egg, try wetting the knife just before cutting. If that doesn't do the trick, try applying a bit of cooking spray to the edge.
Cooking Tip: For a different flavor and less fat, use chicken stock instead of butter or milk when whipping up mashed potatoes.
Cooking Tip: It's important to let cooked meat sit a little before carving. That allows the juices to retreat back into the meat. If you carve a roast too soon, much of its goodness will spill out onto the carving board.
Cooking Tip: Sausage patties rolled in flour before frying won't crack open during cooking.
Cooking Tip: A dampened paper towel or terry cloth brushed downward on a cob of corn will remove every strand of corn silk.
Cooking Tip: Poke a hole in the middle of the hamburger patties while shaping them. The burgers will cook faster and the holes will disappear when done.
Cooking Tip: A roast with the bone in will cook faster than a boneless roast as the bone carries the heat to the inside of the roast quicker.
Cooking Tip: When baking and you need to cut in the butter, an easy way is to keep the sticks of butter in the freezer. When needed, use a cheese grater to grate the butter into fine pieces.
Cooking Tip: If you put onions in the freezer 15 minutes before you chop them, you'll reduce the spray of vaporized onion oils - which means your eyes won't tear when you cut the onions.
Cooking Tip: To prevent cream whipped ahead of time from separating, add one quarter teaspoon of gelatin to each cup of cream during whipping.
Cooking Tip: If your cake recipe calls for nuts, heat them first in the oven, then dust with flour before adding to the batter to keep them from settling to the bottom of the pan.
Cooking Tip: When slicing a hard boiled egg, try wetting the knife just before cutting. If that doesn't do the trick, try applying a bit of cooking spray to the edge.
Cooking Tip: When a recipe calls for adding oil, garlic, and onions to a pan, always add garlic last. This keeps it from burning and tasting bitter.
Cooking Tip: Biscuits will be crisp on the outside and flaky in the center if you roll the dough thin and fold it over once before cutting out biscuits. They'll also split open easily when you're ready to butter them.
Cooking Tip: To re-freshen and heat biscuits, put them in a well-dampened paper bag, twist it closed and put in a 300° oven for several minutes or until warm.
Cooking Tip: If you want soft-sided biscuits, bake them in a pan with sides and put the biscuits close together.
Cooking Tip: If you want crusty biscuits, bake them on a cookie sheet and place them apart from each other.
