I thought it was time to start a page for general kitchen tips, please send us yours to add – june@hintsandthings.co.uk –
Contributed by Mark Shileds (12 years old!)
Take the tea out of about 10 tea bags (or use loose tea) and mix together with 8 oz. of demerara sugar and 8 oz. of long grain rice. Line a Wok with tinfoil, put the above mixture on top and cover with another piece of foil. Lay your trout, salmon, chicken breast or duck (whatever you are cooking) on top of the foil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover with lid. Leave to cook on a gradual heat for about 15/20 minutes. This will give the food a delicious “smoked” taste. Be warned, however, it does make a rather pungent smell in your kitchen. If you don’t fancy smoking your own food then there are companies out there offering excellent smoked meat and other produce at very competitive prices.
Maureen Hutchinson
Thanks to Harvey Alexander for these two tips
Thank you Michael Paterson.
To bake a moist ham, pour a can of Coke into the baking pan, cover with aluminium foil and bake. Remove the foil 30 minutes before the end of cooking time. The dripping combined with Coke provides a delicious brown base for gravy.
This tip was sent in by Doreen and Craig Stocker as well as “Siren”
Thank you Jo-Ann Giuggio.
Thanks to Robin for this one.
If you have to cook a hen (i.e. older bird) which usually take much longer than the young chicken place a heavy metal knife and fork (MUST BE ALL METAL NO WOOD OR PLASTIC) inside the boiling water along with the bird and you will cut the cooking time by more than a half. This also works well with most hard to cook meats (turkey, pork) it even works with potatoes.
Thanks for this very original tip Mary Valencia
. After being advised to put skewers in baking potato’s to reduce cooking time, which worked, I took this method one stage further and applied it to beef, pork, lamb and chicken, which also worked and thus reduced my energy bill by at least half an hour each time. N.B. DO NOT do this when cooking in a microwave and BE CAREFUL when removing the skewer as it will be extremely hot! When preparing tuna salad, chicken salad or potato salad, pre-chill all the ingredients first. This keeps this potentially hazardous food from getting to temperatures where harmful microorganisms will grow. Most people believe that the mayonnaise is the culprit, but actually because commercially prepared mayonnaise contain lemon or other stabilizers, it actually insulates the meat and potatoes. You must then place into a refrigerator at a temperature of 41 degrees.
Thank you Sandra Girard (Health Inspector)
Bette sent in this one – thank you.
Pastry too flaky or you haven’t got time to let it rest – then tightly cover your surface with some cling film, sprinkle with a little flour, place the pastry on the film, then cover again with lightly floured film. Once you have made a cling film sandwich simply roll out the pastry, take the top layer of film off, flip the pastry into your flan case or baking tin.
Charlotte Ward makes this sound so easy – thanks Charlotte.
Thanks to Tina for this one Contributed by Jan Cornelius
- To remove the smell of onion and/or garlic from your fingers: Wet
your hands and rub your fingers on something stainless steel – the sink, a splashback, the kettle, a large implement like a ladle. I didn’t believe it would work, but it does!
Sarah Nicholson
- To avoid stinky garlic smelling fingers for what seems days on end
here’s a tip……….. before peeling and chopping, coat your finger tips with a little olive oil. When you’re done, just wash normally with soap and there’s no smell. Cheaper than that more expensive metal soap bar.
Ms. Watfa yassine Thank you “SchoenRacer”
Jane contributed this gem. Thanks.
To kill bacteria in kitchen sponges (the cleaning variety that is – not cake), put them into the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds, then wash in the usual way. BE CAREFUL – they are very hot in the centre so make sure you run them under cold water before squeezing.
Thank you Denise.
Other than salt in water to make it boil faster, use a little bit of vinegar, especially for potatoes, it will keep them whiter. To make potatoes fluffier while your mashing them add a pinch of baking soda, they will turn out really fluffy and taste better too.
Both tips sent by Natalie Trahan, thanks.
Thanks to Siren for this one.
Both these tips were submitted by Travelling Gourmet Personal Chef Service – thank you.
Courtesy of Mary Ann Macy – thanks.
Thank you “Sugarlouise”
To keep packed lunches at a safe temperature, freeze a part of the lunch, e.g. a small tub of yoghurt or a juicebox. Pop it into an insulated lunchbag and it will keep the rest of the lunch chilled until lunchtime.
Contributed anonymously. Thank you. I actually make my sandwich with bread taken from the freezer, this keeps it nice and fresh until lunchtime.
We have found the best way to prepare garlic is to feel the garlic, then chop it up in the food processor, until fine. We then form ropes on wax paper, roll it up and freeze. Then when required we take out the rope and cut off what we need and replace the rest in the freezer until the next time.
Thank you Rozetta Hahn for this one.
Courtesy of Kim Hedrich
To keep mealy moths (and therefore weevils out of your grain products put whole bay leaves in each container. Several leaves dropped at the back of the shelf won’t hurt either. The moths hate the smell of bay leaves and will, therefore, leave the area. This works for some species of roaches too.
Thank you Mairi Krausse
If you boil quite a few eggs ahead of time for a dish and decide to put them into the refrigerator until you use them, here’s a quick tip to make sure that you do not accidentally pick up the wrong ones. When the eggs are boiling, place a few drops of food colouring into the water.
Thanks “Siren” of the USA.
Thanks to Pam in Bath for this one. General Food and Cooking related tips. Food tips General kitchen tips
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