-
Boiled milk will not form a skin if you add a teaspoon of
water to it.
-
Add beer to a cheese dish to intensify the flavor.
Mustard and salt also bring out the flavour.
-
Add a
packet of chicken or onion soup to macaroni in place of plain milk.
-
To prevent milk, pasta and rice from boiling over, put teaspoon of butter
in the water or milk.
-
Make
your own Ultramel custard by adding 125ml fresh cream and 5ml of vanilla to
every 500ml custard and beating well.
-
Rancid butter can be soaked in 30 ml milk at room temperature.
The milk will absorb the rancid flavour.
-
Grainy yogurt can be stabilized by mixing 5ml corn flour
and a little water add to the yogurt and continue cooking
-
Place a marshmallow in an icecream cone to stop it
leaking out the bottom of the cone. To cut marshmallows use cold water on
your scissors or icing sugar to stop them sticking.
-
Cream that does not thicken can be improved with a little
lemon juice.
-
Use room temperature eggs when beating the whites.
A pinch of cream of tartar makes the foam more stable. 5ml of corn flour
makes egg whites easy to get stiff for meringues. Store the yolks
covered in water in the fridge for up to 3 days. Egg whites can be stored in
an airtight container in the fridge for three weeks.
-
To
stop eggs from breaking while boiling pierce the end with a pin or add salt
to the water.
-
Add a
spoonful of breadcrumbs or corn flour to scrambled eggs to stretch it and improve the
flavor.
-
Add a
pinch of corn flour to omelettes to make them light and fluffy.
-
To
test eggs for freshness place in a bowl of water. If it rises to the surface
it is stale. A fresh egg will sink.
-
Do
not add eggs straight to a hot sauce, first add a couple of tablespoons of
the hot liquid to the eggs and mix.
-
Sprinkle a little flour in the pan before adding oil when
you fry eggs and they will not stick.
-
If you have eggs outside the fridge sray and cook the
shells and they will last longer
- Apples will soften hard sugar, Just place one in the container with the
sugar. If placed in a potato bag they will stop them from budding.
- Add a pinch of cloves to an apple pie for instant lift.
-
To prevent bananas from turning black when making fruit salad, leave a
little cold water in -the dish when rinsing it before use. The bananas will then
remain white and solid.
Sherry also prevents bananas from discoloring and adds a different flavor
-
To prevent beans or peas from losing their green colour, cook without a
lid.
Peapods, boiled make a good stock.
-
Celery
wrapped in aluminum foil will keep longer in the fridge.
-
Cabbage
flavour is improved by adding a sprig of mint.
-
Red
cabbage keeps it's colour if you add a spoonful of vinegar or lemon juice.
An apple cooked with it make a lovely dish.
-
Cauliflower
will keep it's colour if you add lemon juice or milk to the cooking water.
You can do the same thing to potatoes
-
For
yummy vegetables a little sugar can bring out the full flavour of peas,
corn, pumpkin etc.,
-
A
quick vegetable sauce is a carton of plain yogurt warmed, beat in two egg
yolks and cook stirring for three minutes, season to taste. Pour over the
vegetables.
-
Roast potatoes will look good if rolled into flour before roasting.
-
Rub
the skin of baked potatoes with a little oil before baking to make them
crisp.
-
For
crispy fried potatoes steam or boil them first and allow to cool. Keep a
stock of these potatoes in the fridge for frying as necessary. to keep fried
food warm and crisp place on a plate lined with waxed paper.
-
Mashed
potatoes are nice with a beef or chicken stock cube dissolved in milk added.
-
Too much salt- a potato will do the trick, they absorb
salt
-
Potato will remove food stains from your fingers and
refresh that oil painting. Just rub a cut potato over it.
-
Cook whole pumpkin by placing it in a bag unpeeled, cook
in the microwave and when cooked the skin peels off.
-
Need to seed raisins- put them on a baking tray and pop
into a hot oven.
-
To peel grapes plunge into hot then cold water.
-
Crispy lettuce-: separate the leaves and soak for 15
minutes in cold salted water. Dry and place into a plastic bag and chill in
the fridge for 10 minutes. For a special salad dressing use fruit juice, mayonnaise
and curry powder
-
Use carrot tops instead of parsley.
-
Dried fruit that has become hard needs to either be
steeped in fruit juice or water overnight or placed on a wire rack over boiling
water.
-
Lemons need to be warm to give the most juice so plunge
them in boiling water before juicing. Keep extra juice and freeze it in
ice trays.
-
Mushrooms will stay white if you add a splash of lemon
juice to the butter before frying.
-
Sray and cook bananas to keep the
-
m yellow longer
-
Never
freeze foil with salted foods. It will react badly and cause freezer burn.
-
Cook
2.5kg of maize meal in the microwave for 20 minutes. this will turn it into a
quick cooking porridge.
-
Use a
warm knife to cut fudge
-
Want
to tenderize meat- use sour milk. Lactic acid is a preservative and will keep
your meat fresh while making it tender and juicy. lemon juice or vinegar also
tenderizes meat.
-
Ham
must be cooled in the water it is boiled in or it will become dry. If that
has happened soak it in milk for a few minutes.
-
Burnt
meat- cut off the burnt edges and cover with apricot jam or soak the meat
briefly in milk for a no burnt aftertaste.
-
Curry
too hot? Add 5ml of sugar and juice of 1/2 a lemon.
-
when
braising meat add 5-10ml of sugar to improve the flavour.
-
A
stew too salty? Use a potato or a spoonful of sugar to counteract this.
-
Lemon
juice sprinkled over liver or chicken, before cooking improves the flavour.
-
Skin the chicken before cooking as then the seasoning is
not lost.
-
Meatballs can be bound with grated apple or potato
instead of egg.
-
A dessertspoon of peanut butter added to chicken
casseroles adds flavour.
-
Should you have problems with butcheries or other meat
industries Samic is the place to contact 012 428 7911 Rudi Van Der
Westhuizen helped me with a weight issue and can be contacted at 082 900
3005
