20 Kitchen Secrets

Today we're presenting some of our favorite most interesting cooking tips and secrets. Add your own in the "comments" section!

 

• To get more juice from a lemon, heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds, roll it on your work surface, then squeeze.

 

• Food too spicy? Too much ginger or chili ruining your meal? Add a squeeze of lemon juice to tone it down.

• To avoid clumping, freeze berries, meatballs and the like on a baking sheet. Then transfer them to zip-lock bags.

 

• To peel garlic, put the cloves inside one metal bowl, covering with another metal bowl. Shake vigorously. 

 

• To keep milk past it's expiration date add salt. A pinch of salt in a gallon will do it. The salt slows the rate of bacteria growth.

 

• When boiling corn on the cob, add a tablespoon of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness.

 

• To see if an egg is still fresh, put it in water. Fresh eggs sink; bad ones float.

• Cream whips better when cold, in a cold bowl.

 

• If you are going to be getting fat or oil on your hands (e.g. when working with minced meat by hand) wet your hands first and you’ll find your hands loads easier to clean. 

 

• Nuts tend to sink in cakes and loaves. To help prevent this, toast them or toss them in a bit of flour from the recipe before adding them to the batter.

 

• Restore bubbles in sparking wine or champagne by added a raisin or two into the bottle. 

 

• If you only need a few drops of lemon juice from your lemon, don't cut it in half. Instead, save its moisture by puncturing it with a metal skewer and squeezing out just what you need. 

 

• Keep hard cheese from drying out by spreading butter or margarine on the cut sides to seal in moisture.

 

• When vegetables like radishes, celery or carrots have gone soggy or limp, immerse them in a bowl of ice water and a slice of raw potato (it will work without the potato, but not quite as well). The veggies will firm up before your eyes!

 

• Bananas keep longer in a bunch. 

 

• Honey does not go bad. Don't throw it away when it gets cloudy. 

 

• For kale, chard, mustard greens, and collards, instead of cutting them out with a knife, simply "zip" the leaves off. With one hand, hold a leaf at the bottom by the thickest part of the stem. With the other hand, gently pinch the leaf with your index finger and thumb and pull it up and off along the stem. (RealSimple)

 

• When grating cheese, spray the surface of the grater with cooking spray to prevent the cheese from sticking. Or you can use vegetable oil lightly.

 

• Use cooking spray on plastic storage containers to prevent stains from tomato sauce, marinara, chili, or any sauce that might stain your Tupperware.

 

• You need cold hands when working with dough for pie crusts or biscuits. Before you begin, run your hands under very cold water and dry them thoroughly.

 

 

Comments

[Karen]

Thanks for these. One comment. The chefs I've worked with taught me to add a drop of milk to the water when cooking corn. The chemistry of the milk actually brings out the corn's natural sugars. Adding sugar only makes the corn sweeter, well, because it's sugar.

[Beverly Harkleroad]

If you over salt a dish,, like beans or peas add a whole unpeeled washed potato to last 30-45 minutes of cooking. The potato will absorb the salt.

[Pat]

just read on another "tips" site that bananas ripen faster in a bunch... which is it?

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