Ice Cubes Sticking:
When you make lots of ice cubes for a party and
then put them in one container, do they end up
sticking to one another? Here is a trick. Next
time you need to store lots of ice cubes just
dump the cubes into a brown paper bag before
placing them into the freezer and you're
guaranteed not to get a large clumpy
"iceberg".
Cake
"holes":
Keep your cakes "hole" free. After
mixing batter run a knife through it. It'll
remove any air holes in your finished baked cake.
Chicken
Soup Trick:
Here is a great tip on easy clean up when making
chicken soup. Put whole chicken, vegetables,
herbs, spices, etc into a disposable cheesecloth
bag. All the flavorful goodness will strain out
through the orous fabric and the messy
"glop" will stay in the bag.
Double
Boiler:
Keep the water level up in your double boiler by
placing a few marbles in the bottom of the
boiler. They'll let you know when the water gets
too low and it will keep you from ruining the
pan.
Instant
Message Board:
All those messages and grocery lists can clutter
up a kitchen fast. Paint the inside of a cupboard
door with chalkboard paint and presto - you have
a perfect message board and it's out of sight!
Plastic
Wrap:
Having trouble finding the edge of your plastic
wrap? Take piece of ordinary scotch tape and
touch it to the roll until you locate the edge.
Homemade
Potpourri:
Add a few teaspoons of sugar and cinnamon to an
empty metal pie plate and slowly heat on the
stove. Your home will smell like a bakery!
Fish
Odor:
To remove the odor of fish from cooking
implements, rinse in vinegar water.
Salt
Shaker:
Tightly wrap a piece of aluminum foil around the
salt shaker to keep the dampness out of the salt.
Keep
5 - 10 grains of rice inside a salt shaker to
prevent clogging.
Cereal:
Heat soggy cereal or crackers on a cookie sheet
for a few minutes to bring back the snap.
Crisp
those Chips:
Place stale chips under the broiler for just a
few moments to crisp them right up.
Cookies:
Cookies will stay fresher if you place crushed
tissue paper in the bottom of your cookie jar.
Crackers:
Crackers will stay crisp when wrapped tightly and
stored in the refrigerator. Place 1/2 apple in
the cake box to keep cakes fresh.
Prevent
Spattering:
To keep frying food from spattering, invert a
metal colander over the pan, allowing the steam
to escape.
Sprinkle
a little salt into the frying pan to prevent
spattering.
Prevent
Sticking:
Boil vinegar in a brand new frying pan to keep
food from sticking.
Always
heat the frying pan before adding oil or butter.
This will keep food from sticking.
Electric
Fry Pan:
When frying in your electric fry pan, prop up one
side slightly and fry on the elevated side for
grease-free cooking.
Broiling:
When broiling meats on a rack, place a slice of
bread in the broiler pan to soak up the fat. This
also reduces the chances of a "fat
fire".
Hamburger
Patty Trick:
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.
Brown
Sugar:
To soften rock-hard brown sugar, simply add a
slice of soft bread to the package and close the
bag tightly. In a few hours the sugar will be
soft again. grate the sugar with a hand grater
for immediate results. Or: set the sugar
alongside a cup of water in a covered pan and
place in the oven on low heat.
Corn
Silks:
Dampen a paper towel or cloth towel and brush
downward on the corn cob. Every strand of corn
silk should come right off.
Sticky
Noodles:
Add a lump of butter or a few teaspoons of
cooking oil to the water. Rice. noodles or
spaghetti will not boil over nor stick together.
Honey
or Syrup:
Before measuring honey or syrup, rinse the cup in
hot water or use the cup to measure oil first.
Freeze
honey in small freezer containers to prevent
sugaring. It thaws quickly.
Prevent
Scorched Milk:
Add a bit of sugar (without stirring) to milk to
prevent from scorching. Rinse the pan in cold
water before scalding milk and it will be much
easier to clean.
Olive
Oil:
Olive oil will stay fresh longer if you add a
cube of sugar to the bottle.
Popcorn:
Popcorn should always be stored in the freezer.
This helps prevent unpopped kernels.
Cocoa:
Cocoa stays fresher when kept in a glass jar in a
cool, dry place.
Marshmallows:
Marshmallows won't dry out when frozen.
Raisins:
For plumper raisins, soak in orange juice and
store in the refrigerator.
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