Tricky Tuesday #6: Useful Food and Kitchen Tips
Below are some food and kitchen tips that might be useful to you [and me]. 😉
1) To keep cookies fresh, toss a piece of bread in the cookie jar. The cookies will extract moisture from the bread and retain their softness. Hmm, interesting. I also read something before with cake.
2) Cut a cheesecake with a wet knife to ensure that the filling doesn’t stick to the knife’s edges and ruin presentation. This is also good when cutting brownies.
3) To get the most digestive benefit from bananas, wait until they’re browned and spotted – the more spots, the better. Under-ripe or just ripe bananas can lead to constipation. Overripe bananas have developed their sugars and induce the complete opposite effect. From the start, I always thought that all bananas, ripe or unripe, are good for digestion. I used to eat bananas with little green on the skin. When I see black spots, they are always converted into banana muffins. One day, I was lazy to turn them into muffins so I put them in the blender with milk and oats. That’s when I realized that overripe bananas are really good for digestion. I always do that since then.
4) Is the salt in your shaker clumping? Put a few grains of rice into the shaker to absorb excess moisture. You don’t have to worry about the grains of rice – as far as I know, salt shakers have small holes, so the grains would not fit into the hole. 😛
5) Adding a little bit of baking soda to dish water will help to remove pungent odors from utensils and dishes. I must try this myself.
6) Another way to spread icing more easily on a cake is to sprinkle the top with flour as soon as the cake is removed from the oven. I always struggle putting an icing on a cake. There’s nothing wrong if I try this the next time I bake a cake. And that will be soon. 😛
7) Store spices in a cool, dark place that is not above the stove. Humidity, light, and heat will cause herbs and spices to lose their flavor. I always keep my spices away from the heat [or oven] to prevent them from sticking together or from losing their flavor.
8) Added just a pinch too many of salt to your soup? A raw potato added to the soup white cooking absorbs the extra sodium. Toss a chunk in the pot and let it linger in there until the soup is appealing to your tastes. I don’t think I overdo the salt on my soups or any dish. I’ve always been afraid of salt. Um, if I overdo salt on scrambled eggs, what do I do?? 😀
9) Place dough in the freezer for a few minutes to prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin.
10) Pour oil into a pan that has already been preheated. This will prevent sticking later on. Only add vegetables to a saucepan if they begin to sizzle upon impact. To check if the oil is hot enough to add vegetables, flick a few drops of water into the pan – if the oil makes a sizzling sound, it’s ready. Ha! This impatient girl is always not patient enough to wait for the oil to be preheated enough. 😛 I will try next time, okay?
Do you have anything to add? Or have you tried some of these? Please leave your comments below. 😉
xx Jhuls
13 Comments
afracooking
I always love reading tips and tricks. Trying to think what my favourites are: when squeezing excess moisture out of grated zucchini or similar do not use a cloth (all that picking off bits) but use your potato ricer instead.
Jhuls
I will keep this tip in mind and include it in the next (or next, next…) Tricky Tuesday post. 🙂
afracooking
🙂 Feel free to share it (someday) or not 🙂 I am just looking forward to all your new posts on new tips and tricks.
Mac McPherson
Hi Jhuls
6) For the coeliacs where flour is very expensive and can flavour, use icing sugar and sieve it onto the cake.
10) Use a low to medium heat with your pans, especially non-stick. It will make them last longer and not sear food. (Unless you are cooking and then roasting such as with duck).
Jhuls
Thanks for these tips, Uncle Mac. I’ll copy and use in the next (or next…) Tricky Tuesday post. 🙂
apuginthekitchen
Great tips Jhuls, never knew the one about icing the cake, thanks for all the tips.
Jhuls
I never knew that, too. I will use that the next time I make a cake. 🙂
Everyday Excited
I really appreciated number six (the one about the flour on top of the cake pre-frosting). The last time I frosted a cake, I thought “There must be a way to prevent ripping off the top and having the crumbs mix in to the frosting.” And now there is. 🙂
Here’s a kitchen tip: Stove or oven burn? Immediately and generously apply yellow mustard to the burn. If applied right away, it’s been known (speaking for myself) to prove immediate relief, takes the burn welt down in half the time and hardly leaves a mark (by the next day).
Jhuls
Thank you so much for your lovely tip, I always have burns on my hands. I could use this next time. <3 I hope you have a wonderful weekend. <3
Elaine @ foodbod
I love them all!!! So useful!
Jhuls
Thank you so much, Elaine. <3
simplyvegetarian777
Another bout of useful tips :).
Jhuls
Thank you so much, Sonal. <3