Misc cooking tips (feel free to add to the collection!)

I like to know little things like these...


Brown onions faster- Onions will brown faster if 1/2 teaspoon of salt is added to the onions while frying


Avoid sticky rice- Add a few drops of lemon juice & a pinch of sugar to the rice while cooking.


Easy garlic skin removal- Garlic skin comes off easily if the garlic flakes are warmed a little before peeling.


Removing fat from soups- Fat can be easily removed from hot soup by floating a large lettuce leaf on the surface.


Crisp onions better- Onions will turn out crispier if soaked in milk for a little while before frying.


Salty soup fix- Place a raw potato in the bowl & it will absorb the extra salt.


Prevent egg smell in cakes- To get rid of the smell of eggs in the cakes, add one tablespoon honey to the cake batter while beating it.


Get rid of fish smell- Fish smell tends to linger on the pots and pans long after the cooking. Brew some tea (for 10-15 mins) in the pot/pan in which fish has been cooked. Discard tea leaves and water.


Make leafy vegetables crunchy again- Cut the stem off and separate the stalks. Add 3/4 cup granulated sugar to a vessel filled with cold water. Now place vegetables in it. Soak for 4 to 5 hours. Drain well and refrigerate.


Storing Onion paste- Paste of raw onions would turn bitter after a while. For longer storage life, fry onions in little oil before grinding.


Keep green leafy vegetables fresh for longer time- Wrap green leafy vegetables in a newspaper before putting in the vegetable bag or tray. This will keep them fresh much longer.


Make leafy vegetables crunchy again- Cut the stem off and separate the stalks. Add 3/4 cup granulated sugar to a vessel filled with cold water. Now place vegetables in it. Soak for 4 to 5 hours. Drain well and refrigerate.


Keep celery fresh for longer time- Celery wrapped in aluminum foil before refrigerating will remain fresh for weeks.

Stop potatoes from rotting- Potatoes rot quickly if stored near onions.To prevent potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.


Make ripe tomatoes firm again- Dip tomatoes in cold water, add some salt and leave overnight.


Ants away from sugar- Put two to three cloves in the container or jar of sugar to keep the ants at bay.

Remove the peel from garlic cloves with a rubber jar opener or mouse pad or any flexible rubber item. Just put the garlic on the pad, roll the pad over it, rub back and forth 2 or 3 times with the palm of your hand and voila! perfectly peeled garlic. (use the rubber side of the mouse pad for the garlic, not the fabric side)

That trail of wee ants heading for the dog's dish or any place else you need to keep food can be obliterated with a solution of 1 to 1 white vinegar and water. Just mop the length of the trail. It destroys the pheromone "track" the ants use to find their food source.

When using oil that's been used to fry some funky fish to fry those apple fritters for dessert, fry some potatoes in between. That way you won't get fishy fritters.

When you're sauteeing veggies, always add a pinch of salt to draw the moisture out of the veggies a little sooner to shorten the cooking time.

When you're really pressed for time and really must use instant mashed potatoes, try adding a pinch of cumin. You won't taste the cumin, but it deepens the flavor of the otherwise flavorless instants.

Always squeeze as much air out of the packaging of everything you refrigerate or freeze. It's that air that makes the food lose flavor.

So if it calls for 3 T milk and 1 T butter, use 1.5 T milk, .5 T butter and 2 T sour cream.

Then add a pinch of onion powder and a grating of nutmeg.

Sit it in a jar with some water on the bottom (like flowers in a vase), cover with a thin plastic veggie and hold that on with a rubber band. I keep mine in the door to help it stay upright.

To clean galric smell off hands, hold a stainless steel spoon or other utensil while rinsing hands under cool water. Rub the stainless over the hands.

For fried rice, use day old rice and scramble the eggs separately rather than dumping them on the rice while cooking.

and the meat won't stick

to tell if beans are done - blow on them, if the skin splits they are ready

Open the dishwasher, rest the pan on the door, spray. This keeps the spray from overspraying onto the floor (which could lead to bad falls) and washes up the next time you use the dishwasher.

If the cupboards are overflowing, mark small dots on the bottom or handles of dishes and pans when used with a Sharpie (silver for dark handles). After a month (or whatever time period), get rid of anything that doesn't have at least a dot on it, or store items without dots elsewhere.

Spray the measuring spoon with non-stick spray before measuring out honey, maple syrup or anything else likely to be sticky.

Weigh flour, don't dip, when baking. Flour, unlike salt or sugars, can compact. If you weigh it, your results are more consistent.

Put flour sacking towels on the counter under your workspace to make cleanup quick.

Use dish cloths rather than sponges, and change the cloth at least daily. If you must use sponges, put them in the dishwasher with the supper dishes every night to help prevent the growth of bacteria in them. If you, or someone you know knits, dish cloths made of heavy gauge acrylic yarn on a plain stockinette stitch will last practically forever and are tough enough to serve as scouring cloths.

Put clean dishes on the bottom of the stack rather than the top. Dishes are more likely to suffer minute stress fractures and to chip if they are used almost constantly, and dishes that are left stacked are also prone to fracturing. Rotating dishes can lengthen the lifespan of plates by years.

Paint over chips that do occur in dishes with clear nail polish to seal the chip against bacteria and to prevent nicks.

Keep kids' bandages in the kitchen. They're usually more brightly colored than regular bandages, and therefore less likely to be lost inadvertently.

If a pan has baked on spots that won't remove with standard cleaning, put it in a warm oven with a couple cups of boiling water (or while you're baking bread). The baked on spots should wipe right off when the pan is cool enough to touch.

in plastic bags with a paper towel. In fact place a paper towel along with mushrooms when shopping. They will last far longer and never get that mushy wet thing going.