Kitchen Hints

Add a pinch of raw rice to table salt to prevent it from getting soggy.
Add a few teaspoons of oil while boiling lentils to help cook well and prevent spill over.
If milk begins to boilover, quickly sprinkle a little cold water over it, and the overflow with subside.
When pan frying always preheat the pan before adding the butter or oil.
Submerge lemon in hot water for 15 minutes before squeezing to yield twice the amount of juice.
To keep cilantro fresh, wash it with water and roll tightly in a paper napkin. Store in a plastic bag and keep in the door compartment of your refrigerator.
Do not wrap foods containing natural acids, such as, tomatoes, onions, lemons etc., in aluminum foil. A chemical reaction caused by the combination of acid and the foil can affect the taste of the food, use plastic wrap instead. Salty foods can cause the foil to rust.
When freezing liquids, leave a half an inch headspace at the top of the container to allow for expansion.
To avoid stains in your tupperware spary with non-stick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces.
To freeze a frosted cake, put it in the freezer without any wrapping. Once it has frozen, wrap it and replace. This keeps the frosting from sticking to the wrapping.
Allow fruits, especially grapes, plum, and pears, to ripen at room temperature before refrigerating to inprove the flavor.
To keep peppers fresh, remove the stalks and store.
Store spices in a cool, dry place, heat and light deteriorate them.
A dried hot pepper will repel insects in a bean container.
To store bread , pita, english muffins, rolls, bagels, or breadsticks wrap them airtight in a plastic bag and store them in room temperature or freeze them. The refrigerator will dry out these bread items.
To chill and crisp salad greens or coleslaw quickly, place them in a metal bowl and put them in the freezer for a few minutes.
No more tears when you freeze onions for 5 minutes before chopping them.
To get rid your any odors on your hands after chopping onions or garlic, rub moistened salt into your hands, then rinse with warm water and soap.
To get of any odors from your microwave oven, chop half a lemon into 4 pieces and put them in a small bowl with a cup of water and boil it for 5 minutes. A few cloves can be added to this too.
Always preheat oven to the required temperature before baking.
Never boil coffee since boiling brings out the tannic acid in the beans and makes it bitter.
Brush a little oil over the cheese grater before grating, so that the cheese will not stick to the grater.
Place a few bay leaves in kitchen drawers to keep insects away.
Insert paper plates between fine china plates as you stack to prevent scratching.
Grind lemon peels to remove bad odour from garbage disposal.
To renew and freshen the kitchen sponge, soak it overnight in salt/baking soda. Or wash it with dishes in the dishwasher.
To make stainless steel shine, rub the flatware with lemon peel, or, soak them in seltzer or club soda, wait till the fizz is gone, and then rinse and dry.
Pour boiling salted water to open up a choked kitchen sink.
To clean kitchen appliances and stainless steal kitchen sinks, use club soda, it cleans and polishes at the same time.
To remove rust stains on counter tops, wipe the area with lemon juice.
To remove food stains, cover the area with a paste made of baking soda and water, and leave it on for a few minutes, then wipe it off with a damp cloth or sponge.
To clean and remove soap film in the dishwasher, run a cup of white vinegar through the entire cycle of the empty dishwasher.

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