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 Bacon and sausage:
- To prevent bacon from curling, dip the strips in cld water
before frying.
- Bacon will lie flat in the pan if you prick it thoroughly
with a fork as it fries.
- Keep bacon slices from sticking together; roll the package
into a tube shape and secure with rubber bands.
- A quick way to separate frozen bacon: Heat a spatula over
the stove burner, then slide it under each slice to separate
it from others.
- For a special treat, dip the slices of bacon in beaten egg
and coat with breadcrumbs. Fry as usual.
- Sausages will shrink less and not break at all if they are
boiled about 8 minutes before being fried. Or, you can roll
them lightly in floor before frying.
Poultry:
- After flouring chicken, chill for one hour. The coating
adheres better during frying.
Tenderizing:
- Boiled Meat - Add a tablespoon of vinegar to the cooking
water.
- Tough Meat or Game - Make a marinade of equal parts cooking
vinegar and heated bouillon. Marinade for two hours.
- Steak - Simply rub in a measure of cooking vinegar and oil.
Allow to stand for two hours.
- If you want to stew an old hen, soak it in vinegar for
several hours before cooking. It will taste like a spring
chicken!
Nut:
- To shell walnuts, iti s important to get out meat whole.
Soak overnight in salt water before cracking gently.
- To open coconuts, puncture the eyes with an ice pick and
drain out the coconut milk. Place the coconut in a shallow pan
and bake at 350 degrees for 45
minutes to one hour, until the shell begins to crack. Cool it
enough to handle, then tap it smartly with the hammer. The
shell will almost spring apart. Pry
out the meat with the knife.
Pies:
- When making apple pies, cut the fruits in cubes rather than
slices. The cubes gives better support to the upper crust.
- For an extra sweet flaky crust, spread your pastry board
with powered sugar rather than flour.
- To keep lemon chiffon pie from falling, add a teaspoon of
baking power to the filling recipe.
- Always heat milk tot he boiling point before mixing with the
eggs for the custard pie. This prevents the bottom crust from
getting soggy.
Rice:
- If you has few drops of vinegar to the cooking water when
boiling rice, you aluminum pot will not turn dark, and the
flavour of the rice will not be
changed.
- A slice of dry bread, placed over cooked and drained rice
will absorb all the moisture, leaving your rice dry and
fluffy.
- You can reheat left over rice by putting it in a sieve and
steaming it over boiling water.
Salads:
- Lettuce, Celery, Coriander Leaves - They keep longer if your
store them in the refrigerator in paper bags instead of
cellophone ones. Do not remove the
outside leaves of the first two until ready to use.
- Lettuce will not 'rust' as quickly if you place a paper
towel or napkin in the storage container.
- Line the bottom part of the vegetable compartment with paper
toweling. This absorbs the excess moisture and keeps all
vegetables and fruits fresh for a
longer period of time.
- Or, put a few dry sponges in the vegetable compartment to
absorb moisture.
- To remove the core from a head of lettuce, hit the core end
once against the countertop sharply. The core will then twist
out. This method prevents
unsightly brown spots which results when you cut into the core
end.
- For those who have a spin dryer in their washing machines :
If salad greens are wet and you need them right away, Place in
a pillow case and spin dry for a
few seconds. this hint is especially good to know if you are
serving salad to a large crowd.
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