Instant Cooking Remedies

[Karen Bakes]

After cooking you may have some stains on your hands. A great way to remove stains such as food coloring, koolaid, beets is to use a whiting toothpaste not gel, just squirt some out on your hands, work it into the stains and rinse.

[foodtvfan]

Thanks for all the great tips which I have added to my collection. Here are some of my favorite tips collected over the years :

HOW TO CLEAN A MICROWAVE OVEN
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon baking soda
large microwave-safe bowl

1. Place water and baking soda into a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Use large enough bowl so it does not boil over sides.
3. Do not cover.
4. Microwave for about three minutes and the food that was stuck easily wipes right off.

WOODEN CUTTING BOARDS
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/cuttingboard.htm
Wooden cutting boards are actually the safest to use. Even salmonella doesn't survive long on wood. For some reason, bacteria have a tougher time surviving on wooden boards. Research has shown that bacteria, such as the salmonella often found on raw chicken, will thrive and multiply if not removed from plastic boards. On wooden boards, whether they are new or have been used for years, the bacteria die off within 3 minutes. Researchers theorize that the porous surface of the wooden boards deprives the bacteria of water causing them to die.

1. Cover the board with a paste of baking soda and water and let it stand for 15 to 30 minutes.
2. Remove the paste with hot soapy water.
3. Rub the entire board with a little lemon juice.

DOUBLE BOILER SUBSTITUTE
1. Use a stainless steel mixing bowl over low to moderate boiling water, not too deep. Use a bowl larger than you need so you can tip it for easier whisking and/or stirring.
2. Do not let the water touch the bottom of your bowl.

OVERSALT REMEDYIf you accidentally over salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt for an instant "fix me up". Discard potato.

PEPPERS
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

EGG TIPS
1) Use an egg slicer to cut kiwi fruit, eggs, mushrooms, peeled apples for pie filling, and chunks of cooked potatoes.
2) Cut hard boiled eggs in half the way they stand in an egg carton. Fill with deviled egg filling. Use the egg carton to transport the eggs to a picnic or pot luck.

ICE CUBE TRAY USES
• Freeze orange juice ‘cubes’ for drinks. Add cherry or mint to cubes.
• Freeze leftover coffee or tea for iced tea or coffee or to flavor gravies and sauces.
• Freeze dollops of tomato paste in ice cube trays or on wax paper or plastic wrap. Bag in Ziploc bag, label and date.
• Freeze cooled potato cooking water; use one or two cubes to deglaze pans or for soup broth.
• Freeze leftover wine in ice cube trays to use in recipes, sauces, punch.

QUILT RULER
Keep a plastic quilt ruler with your baking tools. Use it to measure pastry, pasta squares or strips. Use ruffle edge cutter to make strips for lattice-top pies.

EMPTY SPICE SHAKER USES
• sow seeds in the garden, tape over some holes if necessary
• buy spices and seasonings in bulk food store, make removable labels on computer
• with name of spice and date bottled
• fill with flour to dust baking pans
• fill with cornstarch to sprinkle meat before browning (oriental tip for tenderizing meat)
• fill with icing sugar to dust baked goods
• fill with granulated sugar to dust cookies and coffee cakes

RUBBER GLOVES TO OPEN JARS
If you have a problem opening jars: Try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a non slip grip that makes opening jars easy.

ZIPLOC BAGS FOR MIXING
• Place all ingredients for tuna salad in a one-gallon Ziploc plastic bag. Remove excess air. Blend ingredients by squeezing the bag. Snip off one corner to squeeze out the amount needed for sandwiches, salads, etc.
• This idea can be used with many other foods such as deviled eggs, meatloaf, and seasoned ground beef for the grill and so on.
• Great idea for camping, picnics, or potluck get-togethers, and a lot easier to transport: Measure dry ingredients for recipes; place in a Ziploc plastic bag; for example, biscuit mixes, cake mixes, salad mixes, soup mixes, seasoning mixes, etc. Write the recipe you will be using on a label; attach label to bag.

[blancpage]

What a wonderful batch of tips, thank you for sharing foodtvfan. I'm really glad I still "watch" this topic. So much to learn and try.

[Chef #456258]

Michelle_My_Belle wrote:

Radagast97 wrote:

William (Uncle Bill) Anat wrote:
Hi Karen;
...
5. Testing baking soda for freshness - Add 1/4 teaspoon of
baking soda to 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice
If it bubbles, then the baking soda is fresh.
...
"Uncle Bill"

Uncle Bill,
You had many great suggestions, but the one above caught me off guard. Baking soda (aka sodium bicarbonate) doesn't go stale or bad. Your test would always work.

Baking powder does go bad, given it's a mixture of an acid and base, but baking soda is extremely stable, unless exposed to temperatures that would burn up the box.

It will lose it's ability to absorb odors over time, but the test you proposed will still show bubbling even 20 years later.

Your friendly neighborhood chemist,
Glenn

but does it loose the qualities that make it usefor in bakeing (not just sitting in the fridge to absorb orders) over time?

It will not lose the qualities needed for baking, except that it might have some funky flavors which wouldn't be great in food.
Glenn

[Molly53]

Hi and welcome to the forums, Glenn. Nice to meet you!

Did you know that you can choose a more personal and unique name to go by than a random number or a blank? Click on MY ACCOUNT at the top of the page, make the changes you'd like, scroll down and SAVE CHANGES.

If you'd be more comfortable with a number, that's absolutely fine. It's just much easier for us to communicate with you in the forums if you remove the # sign.

Please click on FAQ's and Additional Information, a thread full of clickable links and explanations that you'll find invaluable as you start to move around the site.

[muffinlady]

I saw this on TV decades ago and it works.A Recipe to Remove excess Spice:

make a mixture of 4 parts water 2 parts vinegar and 1 part sugar

you do not have to use the water but be very careful as you will knock out all spice.

[Chef #1319306]

If you are frying garlic and get distracted doing something else and it gets burnt. sometimes it can burn beyond belief and you will have to discard it but if it is just to the point of giving your food burned garlic taste. Just add some additional fresh crushed garlic to the burnt stuff and it fixes the taste.

[blancpage]

Impressive; every time I come back to this forum, a new gem of a tip is here to learn. Thanks everyone! Take care all!

[pianojan]

Hi Karen..............great list of cooking tips! With regard to lumpy gravy, I searched high and low for something I saw being used on the Food Network a couple of years ago, and FINALLY found it on a clearance table of Martha Stewart gadgets. It is a flat whisk, and it smushes and breaks up lumps in gravy beautifully! It sort of looks like a spatula, but has whisk wires. I'm a champion gravy maker, but on occasion, it sets up too fast and then I have to add some more liquid and work it out to smoothness with this awesome tool.

[Merlot]

What a GREAT thread!!!
Lots of good tips.

[Veggie_Cook]

I really liked your thread!

Thanks!

[champione]

I must make my first post about smelly hands. When at your fav rest on fish night and you see people eat the lemon wedge.
Things my Mom taught me rule #1
The lemon wedge is to get the fish smell off your hands

[blancpage]

Ah hah! I always thought it was for squeezing onto my fish.
Thanks for the tip, and I'll remember to use the lemon for my hands as well as to squeeze on my fish, lol.

[foodtvfan]

blancpage wrote:
Ah hah! I always thought it was for squeezing onto my fish.
Thanks for the tip, and I'll remember to use the lemon for my hands as well as to squeeze on my fish, lol.

Boy, learn something every day! I've always squeezed the lemon over my fish (and breaded chicken or pork too); tastes great. Now I will do the same but save the squeezed lemon to use on my hands too!

[BBQ#1]

What great tips! Enjoyed reading all the pages posted. First time to this forum. Thanks to all !