# Cooking Tips



## sandra1980 (Jan 16, 2009)

To keep cauliflower white while cooking add a small amount of milk to the water.


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## dimityrdimitrov (Dec 28, 2008)

Salting the eggplant remove the bitter taste.


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

Wrapping a head of celery in aluminum foil in fridge will keep it fresh and crisp for weeks.


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## lance folicle (Nov 1, 2008)

That is something I'm going to try. I'm always buying just a few stalks of celery for immediate use. If I can buy an entire bunch and keep it for a while, you'll have made my year with your tip. Thanks!


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## chefallen (Jan 4, 2009)

Add turmeric to the water when poach and steaming green and orange veggies to maintain that fresh color. add a balsamic reduction to berry coulees to get that fresh flavor back (sweet yet tart)


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

When steaming green veges I'lll go by whats been done for years a pinch of sodium bicarbonate. In moderation it will not kill the vitamin content . amonium bicarbonate also works but not as popular Also neither will alter flavor..


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

If you have any wine left after a meal, that you aren't going to use immediately. Make ice-cubes with it and keep ready to add to any sauce, stew, casserole.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

when hard-boiling an egg, very lightly slightly crack the large end on a hard surface, (no pins needed!) and it will peel easily

when making polenta, measure your water as usual and boil only 3/4 of it - leave the rest cold and mix it with the polenta. Hot liquid is guaranteed to make lumps in any kind of flour while cold water will prevent lumps. When the water boils, add the wet polenta. When it boils again, lower the heat so occasional bubbles come up to the surface, cover, and stir occasionally. It comes out fine. No lumps, and cooks very well. 
To clean the pot later, just fill the empty pot with cold water and leave several hours. the polenta will peel off easily

Burned pot with black burned gunk stuck to it that will require hours of scraping - don;t scrape - put washing soda in it (or if hyou don;t have any, use bicarbonate of soda) and water, bring to a boil and leave sitting a few hours. The burned stuff will come off with a sponge.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

NOT salting the eggplant when it isn't bitter


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Ishbel, that's a great idea. I often would like to have wine on hand to use for cooking but i rarely drink it, not really crazy about it and neither my husband nor I can take more than a glass without getting sleepy and gastritis. But you can't leave leftover bottles very long so this is a really great idea. Next time we have guests and wine i'll do that. thanks.


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

I've been doing it for 20 plus years - often I only want three or four cubes to add a little richness to a pan gravy for roasts.


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## chefallen (Jan 4, 2009)

This whole wine thing works very, very well. I do the same. I have even gone as far as freeze beer for use in beer batter. I also freeze left over sauces and gravy and use them the same way. At time depending on what I am cooking I will also freeze the meat dripping and font from whatever kind of roast that I am cooking; when I do this I will refridgerate over night and remove as much grease as possible.


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

I've never tried freezing sauces or gravy - and doesn't the beer's bubbles cause problems?

I have to confess, my freezer contains very little - lots of ice-cubes of wine, some water icecubes with mint or herbs, a loaf or two and some butter! I don't freeze meals and tend to eat left-overs the next day, if at all - most of the time I throw them out!:lips:


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## chefallen (Jan 4, 2009)

yeah it goes flat, but when i am making beer batter i am looking for the taste of the beer not the carbonation


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

OK. I thought it was the bubbles that makes for lighter batter, but don't ask me why I should think so... it's just another 'my mum said'...!


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

I believe you are 100% correct. Since other batters use club soda, seltzer, sodium bicarbonate to get those bubbles or effervessance to make batter lighter. I believe the least of anything I must freeze is best. I would want it fresh , so then my customers will get it fresh. If I wanted it frozen, I would buy it that way.:lips:


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## daveok (Feb 13, 2009)

Wrapping cheese in aluminium foil keeps it fresh longer. Store your squid in milk keeps it fresh longer and it doesn't go off as easily. I heard that chopping romaine with a plastic knife does not make it go off, but I have never seen that in action. (apparently stainless steel does) Soaking onions in ice water (drop them in a cambro etc) makes you not cry as much when you cut them.


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

When making pastries, if you have "hot hands", take time to run your wrists under cold water for a couple of minutes to help keep them cool.


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## daveok (Feb 13, 2009)

Garlic is allways better crushed, or cut. Garlic that is diced, or put in one of those slicing machines is never as good. Adding a little bit of beer to your pancake mix or anything really that you want light and fluffy is allways better than baking soda and viniger. *Allways *was your hands after handling, cutting or cooking chilli's, and especially before you goto the bathroom as its an extremley painful experience to go through. Another tip is to be nice to everyone in the kitchen, no matter how annoying they are, as you may be in their place one day and will know how it feels. When first starting at a restaurant, don't talk a lot, do your job and friends will come after you have prooven yourself. (Important)


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## bachelor chef (Feb 17, 2009)

That is a great idea about freezing the wine in ice cube trays for later use. Thanks!


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## ajaykumar (Mar 8, 2009)

Tips are great here friends


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## mainaman (Mar 10, 2009)

actually soaking in salty water does that


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## jkiel1 (Mar 26, 2009)

I have a tip kind of in the same vein. When cooking fresh veggies including dried beans. Add just a small amount of sugar to the water in enhance the flavor. Maybe two to three teaspoons will do. People will notice the flavor but can't put a finger on why. It's probably healthier than adding MSG too.
jkiel Ormond Fl


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

Freezing fresh ginger keeps it good for a long time. Leave the skin on.


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

When you get to the end of a jar of jam, mustard or whatever keep it to flavor a vinegraitte. In this nearly empty jar of strawberry jam I will add olive oil and balsamic vinegar to make a strawberry vinegrrette for a spinach salad this weekend. Then I peel off the label and use it to store other things 

View media item 98483


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## skyler (Jan 27, 2014)

I do the bottom of the jar thing, too...works great.

One of my favorites...Once thawed, use your potato ricer to squeeze liquid from frozen spinach.  Comes in handy when making any dish calling for spinach. 

Store mushrooms in a brown paper lunch bag in the fridge.

When cooking/browning ground meats/poultry, use a potato masher to break it up.  Much easier than wooden spoon or spatula.


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## pollopicu (Jan 24, 2013)

Love this thread.


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

Sometimes I throw a pigs foot into my braises to thicken up the braising liquid.  This trick is also helpful if you want to gelatinize stock for soup dumplings and other magic.


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

Cook greens uncovered, and they keep a brighter color. If you don't believe it, ask the Vah chef.


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Skyler said:


> I do the bottom of the jar thing, too...works great.
> 
> One of my favorites...Once thawed, use your potato ricer to squeeze liquid from frozen spinach. Comes in handy when making any dish calling for spinach.
> 
> ...


I always have mushrooms in the fridge, what do you mean by brown plastic lunch bag? I've never seen one of those.

I discovered the potato masher for ground beef a couple of years ago. It's genius!


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## skyler (Jan 27, 2014)

Koukouvagia said:


> what do you mean by brown plastic lunch bag? I've never seen one of those.
> 
> I discovered the potato masher for ground beef a couple of years ago. It's genius!


Oops...just edited my post...that would be brown *paper* lunch bag.

Several years ago I sent the potato masher/ground meat tip to Fine Cooking. They printed it and sent me a nice check.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

when making crème brulee , if there are air bubbles after you have sieved your liquid , simply take your torch and burn of the air bubbles.

Your dish will have a flat surface once its cooked.

Always fill the water bath once the pan is in the oven with boiling hot water.


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## jake t buds (May 27, 2013)

I store mushrooms in the veg drawer uncovered. They last quite a long time. 

Put parsley in a jar of water, cover with a paper towel and a clear produce plastic bag. Change the paper towel when too damp. It lasts for weeks. 

I separate cilantro and wrap small bunches in a paper towels and put in a plastic bag with a few holes punched in it. Lasts twice as long as normal.

Add ground up(mortar/pestle) vitamin C tablet to green soups like broccoli and pea to keep them bright green.

I've also found that how you cut garlic depends on how much garlicky flavor you want. This is why you can braise things with 20 cloves and it won't overwhelm, whereas mincing 3 cloves addd to a light cream sauce will be too strong. Take those same three cloves and coarsely chop them then remove from the sauce does something else. I think Alton Brown did a garlic episode and presented some science about garlic molecules or something being activated more when you keep making them smaller.


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## bazza (Apr 2, 2007)

When you need to peel a lot of garlic, break the cloves fron the head and place them into a bowl, then place another bowl over this upside down. Hold the two bowls together and give them a good shake. Works a treat, I never believed it until I tried it. The skin comes clean off and you just need to pick out the cloves.


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## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

To keep fresh picked garden greens fresh put in a zip lock bag with a damp paper towel, they will keep 2-3 days. Ice cube trick is great for anything liquid that can be tossed into a gravy or soup to add flavor.

For those who vacuum bag leftovers place anything wet or soft in the bag, place it on a sheet tray and freeze it, then vacuum seal it. I just did that with 4 pieces of leftover lasagna.


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## jeremy7086 (May 8, 2014)

Hey Sandra, this is necessary if you have alkaline water. Don’t cook your cauliflower in aluminum or iron pot; the chemical makeup of cauliflower will react with the metal and turn the vegetable yellow or to a blue-green color.


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