Things Your Mother SHould Have Told You

Tips and Tricks everyone can use

SEPTEMBER 2, 2013  

I have to admit, I’ve not tried all of these so if you do and they don’t work please let me know...

THINGS YOUR MOTHER SHOULD OF TOLD YOU

1. Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips.

2. Use a meat baster to “squeeze” your pancake batter onto the hot griddle and you’ll get perfectly shaped pancakes every time….

3. To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.

4. To prevent eggshells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling.

5. Run your hands under cold water before pressing Rice Krispies treats in the pan and the marshmallow won’t stick to your fingers.

6. To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature and roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing.

7. To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on the stovetop.

8. Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces and there won’t be any stains.

9. When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won’t be any white mess on outside of the cake.

10. If 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.”

11. Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.

13. Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it.

14. When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn’s natural sweetness.

15. To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh, but if it rises to the surface, throw it away.

16. Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.

17. Don’t throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.

18. If you have a problem opening jars: Try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.

19. Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.

20. To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the area and you will experience instant relief.

21. Ants, ants, ants everywhere … Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march. See for yourself.

22. Now look what you can do with Alka Seltzer. Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous china. Clean a vase. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets. Polish jewelry. Drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes. Clean a thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka-Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary). Unclog a drain. Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka-Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then run the hot water.

45 Cooking and Baking Tips

1. When boiling milk, first stir in a pinch of baking soda. This will help keep the milk from curdling.
2. Add one teaspoon of lemon juice to each quart of water when cooking rice, this will keep rice fluffy.
3. First rinse raisins, dates and figs in very cold water before putting them through the food chopper. They will not form such a gummy mass.
4. For crisper salads: Place a saucer upside down in the bottom of the salad bowl before filling with salad. Excess moisture will run underneath the saucer and this will help keep the salad crisp and fresh.
5. Tasty flavored whipped cream: First whip cream then add 2 tablespoons of flavored jello and continue beating on slow until the whipped cream is right consistency.
6. Leftover ham: Lay ham slices in a baking dish then cover with maple syrup. Refrigerate overnight then fry the ham in butter the next morning.
7. Add a dash of lemon juice into meatballs before cooking them.
8. You can substitute crumbled cornflakes for bread crumbs when making meatloaf.
9. When a recipe calls for butter the size of an egg, use four tablespoons.
10. Cookie & Cake Decoration: Keep a small amount of sugar in small glass jars, add a few drops of food coloring and shake jar. Keep several colors on hand. You can also use this technique on shredded coconut.
11. Pickle Juice uses: Use sweet pickle juice to thin salad dressing or make French dressing with instead of vinegar, more delicious.
12. Cook vegetables with one or more bouillon cubes instead of salt–improves flavor. Tossing in a few garlic cloves when boiling vegetables makes things tastier too.
13. Salt added to flour used for thickening gravies, etc., will help to prevent lumping.
14. Chilled evaporated milk, whipped until fluffy, may be used as the base for several frozen desserts by the addition of different flavors, fruits, nuts, instant coffee, cocoa, jello, and other flavorings. Then add coconut, drained fruits, etc., as desired. Use easy crusts such as crushed cereal or crackers such as graham.
15. After crimping the edge of the pie crust, lift the edge of the crust gently all around with your fingers. This keeps the dough from sticking to the dish while baking and makes it easier to take out the pieces of pie.
16. Place crackers, dried bread, cookies or sugar which has lumps in a sturdy plastic bag (make sure it has no holes). Roll with a rolling pin or fruit jar as coarse or as fine as you like then pour into a measuring container. If you have more than you need at the time, just tie the bag and place in a pantry or freezer for later use.
17. A teaspoon of sugar mixed with your yeast and water makes it raise better. Even if you are making bread you can use some sugar. Never mix salt directly with the yeast and water mixture as the salt kills the raising action.
18. Keep brown sugar in a closed container with an apple in it, the brown sugar will stay soft and moist.
19. Grate orange and lemon peel before peeling. Dry and add to spice cake or any cookies or puddings. The dried grated peel will keep well in a covered jar.
20. Wrap parsley in foil first, then freeze. Shave off as much as needed, rewrap and return to the freezer. It will retain its flavor and freshness.
21. For fried foods that require flouring, try pancake flour for a change, it’s quite nice.
22. To keep peeled potatoes from turning dark without putting them in water, wrap in paper towel and wet under the faucet.
23. Baking bread? Do not preheat. When you light your oven, pop in the bread pans immediately and you’ll be amazed at the resulting lightness of the bread.
24. Toast oatmeal in the oven before adding to other ingredients when making oatmeal cookies-–delicious!
25. Add two teaspoons of vinegar to jello and it will keep the jello from melting when you serve it.
26. If you scorch milk by accident, put the pan in cold water and add a pinch of salt. Takes away the burned taste.
27. Add a few sprigs of fresh peppermint to leftover tea while it is still warm, then refrigerate. Serve over ice.
28. Roll pastry on waxed paper. Before placing paper on work surface, wipe surface with a damp cloth to prevent slipping. Flour paper lightly, and with forefinger draw a circle an inch and a half larger than the pan you intend to use. You’ve seen pastry cloths with guidelines…and they really do help. When pastry has been rolled out, pick up paper pastry and all. Fit into pan, paper side up and then pull paper away from crust. Prevents tearing or stretching twist paper and pan. Another nice tip: You can also roll pastry between two sheets of waxed paper.
29. If it is a meringue pie you are making…add four or five marshmallows cut into pieces or 1/2 cup miniature ones, to meringue just before spreading. These marshmallows give both flavor and body to the meringue. The latter is important if pie is to stand for sometime before serving.
30. Lemon juice or vinegar in water where cauliflower is cooked makes it keep its white color.
31. To pare pineapple easily cut into rings and peel each slice separately.
32. Add a slice of lemon to peeled sweet potatoes while cooking. The lemon will help them clear and free of discoloration.
33. A tablespoon of minute tapioca sprinkled in apple pie will absorb excess juice while baking.
34. Add one teaspoon baking powder to mashed potatoes to make them fluffy.
35. Dip the blades of shears in hot water before cutting marshmallows, they won’t stick.
36. Have a small bowl of melted butter and just brush on corn on the cob with a pastry brush. If you have a metal bowl you can put a chunk of butter in the bowl and set on grill to melt while meal is grilling.
37. For bananas that are ripe and ready to eat but you have too many, peel the bananas and freeze them then dip in melted chocolate and freeze again, these make a nice treat!
38. Fill a large hole or sugar shaker with flour and use that when needing to dust surfaces with flour or just pour out a tablespoon as you need it, this is handy way to keep a bit of flour on hand instead of digging in the flour bin.
39. Use pastry wheel to cut rolled cookie dough in squares or diamonds, much less rolling and very pretty.
40. Rinse measuring cup in hot water before using syrup, oil, etc. Will pour out clean and not stick to cup.
41. Canned fruit is much better if opened and removed from the can an hour or two before using to restore the oxygen.
42. When making popcorn balls, slip plastic bags on your hands when shaping them, won’t stick or burn your hands.
43. A wire cheese cutter is ideal for cutting chilled refrigerator cookie dough.
44. To liven up day old bread or rolls you can put the bread in a large bowl and place in a pot with a shallow level of boiling water. Remove from heat and cover the pot to steam the bread briefly. The bread will be warm and soft in a couple minutes. You can also use stale breads to make big batches of breadcrumbs and delicious homemade croutons.
45. An ordinary funnel makes the best cooling rack for your tube cake pans.

More tips and tricks here