KITCHEN TIPS
To keep bacon from curling:
Snip edges with shears before cooking or broil in a bacon rack.
To keep fruits from discoloring:
Sprinkle with lemon or pineapple juice.
To make fish firm and white:
Add a little lemon juice to the water while boiling.
To keep brown sugar from becoming hard:
Place it in a glass jar and cover tightly.
To moisten brown sugar which has become hard:
Place a ½ slashed apple in the jar with the sugar or place sugar on one side of jar and a very moist slice of bread on the other and cover tightly.
To keep lemons fresh:
Place in glass jar of water and cover tightly.
To remove fish or shellfish odors from hands:
Use 1 tbsp of salt and wash hands as if the salt were soap.
To cut fresh bread easily:
Cut with a hot knife.
To make attractive designs on crackers:
Press cheeses or smooth spreads through a pastry tube.
To keep potato skins soft while baking:
Grease skins before baking.
To avoid boil over while cooking pastas:
Add 1 tbsp cooking oil or shortening to the water.
To keep bowl from slipping on work surface:
Place on damp towel or soft rubber mat.
To make rice whiter and fluffier:
Add 1 tsp lemon juice to each quart of water used.
To add flavor to doughnuts:
Add whole cloves or a cinnamon stick to the oil while frying.
To open fruit jars easily:
Place them upside down in hot water for a few minutes.
To make a professionally looking cake for decorating:
Cut the top of the cake level; then invert the cake so that the bottom is now the top. Set in the refrigerator to chill, and then decorate.
To grease cake/pie pans easily:
Mix ½ cup flour and ¼ cup shortening into a smooth paste. Spread thinly on pans, and if you bake a lot, keep extra on hand. Also great for muffin pans.
To skin a tomato easily:
Insert a fork into the stem end, plunge it boiling water and then into ice water. Then peel from blossom end.
To restore sweetness to older vegetables:
Add a little sugar to the cooking water.
To garnish lettuce leaves:
Place paprika on waxed paper, dip edges of leaves into paprika.
To remove vegetable stains from hands:
Rub with a slice of lemon as you would soap, then rinse.
For delicious and crisp celery:
Let stand in cold water to which 1 tsp of sugar has been added.
To keep punch from getting diluted:
Make a batch the day before and make ice-cubes from it, as the ice-cubes melt it just adds more punch, not water.
To prevent ice cream drips:
Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone.
To make perfect shaped pancakes every time:
Use a meat baster to “squeeze” your pancake batter onto the hot griddle.
To keep potatoes from budding:
Place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.
To prevent egg shells from cracking:
Add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling.
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.
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 stove-top - skillet will be much easier to clean.
To prevent a white mess on the outside of the cake:
When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead.
To remove a splinter:
Reach for the scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.
To yield a beautiful glossy finish on pie crust:
Brush beaten egg white over pie crust before baking.
To keep celery fresh for weeks:
Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator.
To help bring out the corn’s natural sweetness:
Add a pinch of sugar when boiling corn on the cob.
To determine whether an egg is fresh:
Immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh - if it rises to the surface, throw it away.
To cure headaches:
Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.
To remove food stains off your fingers:
Just slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.
To get rid of itch from mosquito bite:
Apply soap on the bite area, instant relief.
To clean mirrors:
Use air-freshener, it does a good job and better still, leaves a lovely smell to the shine.
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.
Gloves: For those of you who don't like to touch raw meat and poultry, with your bare hands, try this tip. Use powder-free latex disposable gloves, available at drugstores. Keep a box in a kitchen drawer, and you'll discover you can use them for many other tasks, such as handling hot peppers.
To unstop a bathtub drain:
If the tub drain is plugged up or draining slowly, there are two things you can do. 1). Pour 5-6 quarts of boiling water slowly down the drain. Most drains are stopped up from soap scum ,body oils and shampoo suds. These all clog the drain. The boiling water will melt these and open the drain. 2). If the drain is still clogged, remove the tub overflow cap, and pour 2-4 quarts of boiling water down it also. This will back flush the drain. After the drain is opened up, run hot water down it for 2 minutes to help clear it out all the way. This will work on any other drain also. You may want to do this every month to prevent any future clogs.
To remove black scuff marks on a floor: They can be instantly wiped away with a small amount of baby oil or petroleum jelly on a cleaning rag. Afterwards, be sure to wipe the floor thoroughly with a spray cleaner, or it will have a slippery spot.
To remove gum from leather: Put a dab of peanut butter on the gum. In a bit, the gum will peel right off.
To remove static electricity: Use a dryer softener sheet to wipe your television screen or computer monitor.
To clean mini blinds or slats of shutters: Use a clean paintbrush. It's a lot cheaper than buying expensive blind cleaning tools.
To make carpet freshener: Mix baking soda with ground cinnamon or cloves.
To clean radiators: Use a small brush type hair roller. Stick a pencil into the brush, making a handle and it's a wonderful brush for hard to clean places.
To wash your walls: Fill a paint roller pan with your favorite wall washing solution and use a clean paint roller. Rinse with clear water. It goes much more quickly than sponging.
To make your own window cleaner: Mix equal parts of vinegar, ammonia and water. Put in a squirt bottle, squirt on windows and wipe off with newspaper or towels.
To clean pewter: Rub the item with the outer leaves from a head of cabbage. Then buff with a soft cloth.
