Cooking Tips



  • Household Tips: 
Stubborn stains can be removed from non-stick 
 cookware by boiling, 2 tablespoons of baking soda, 1/2 cup vinegar, 
 and 1 cup of water for ten minutes. Before using the pan again, 
 season it with salad oil.
  Burnt food can be removed from a glass baking 
 dish by spraying it with oven cleaner and letting it soak for 
 30 minutes. The burnt-on residue will be easier to wipe off.
  Whenever you empty a jar of dill pickles, 
 use the left-over juice to clean the copper bottoms of your pans. 
 Just pour the juice in a large bowl, set the pan in the juice 
 for about 15 minutes. Comes out looking like new.
  To restore color and shine to an aluminum pan, boil some apple peels 
 in it for a few minutes, then rinse and dry.
  Instead of using expensive silver cleaners, put a dab of toothpaste 
 on a clean rag and rub it on your precious possession. After you've 
 rubbed it in, just clean it with another clean rag. 
 Your silver will look like new.
  To clean copper bottoms on pots and pans, simply open a can of tomato 
 soup paste, rub it on and scrub then rinse. If you do this weekly, 
 your pots and pans stay shiny clean. This is a very inexpensive 
 way to clean copper and brass items!
  Stains and sediment in cut glass or hobnob bowls or vases respond 
 to olive oil. Pour some in and let stand until the stains or 
 sediment disappear. 
  Clean eyeglasses; Wipe each lens with a drop of vinegar.
   When preparing lunches for your children (or anyone), try "drinkable" ice packs: Fill a 12-ounce plastic bottle about halfway with drinking water and freeze it 
overnight, tilting the bottle so the water will freeze at an angle (if you freeze it straight up, the expanded water will make the bottle bulge). Next morning pack the lunch, add more drinking water to the bottle, and stick it in the lunch box to keep the food cool and be melted enough to drink by lunchtime. 

  • Make Your Own Spice: 
FIVE SPICE POWDER 
    1 tsp. Ground cinnamon 
    1 tsp. Ground cloves 
    1 tsp. Fennel seed 
    1 tsp. Star anise 
    1 tsp. Szechwan peppercorns 
  ITALIAN HERB SEASONING 
    1 tsp. Oregano 
    1 tsp. Marjoram 
    1 tsp. Thyme 
    1 tsp. Basil 
    1 tsp. Rosemary 
    1 tsp. Sage 
  CINNAMON SUGAR 
    7/8 cup Granulated sugar 
    2 Tbsp. Ground cinnamon 
  TAMARIND PASTE 
    1 tsp. Dates 
    1 tsp. Prunes 
    1 tsp. Dried apricots 
    1 tsp. Lemon juice 
  CHILI POWDER 
    3 Tbsp. paprika 
    1 Tbsp. ground cumin 
    2 Tbsp. oregano 
    1 tsp. red or cayenne pepper 
    1/2 tsp. garlic powder 

 
  • Deep-Frying: 
   The oil must reach a good temperature to brown the exterior of 
   the food quickly while cooking it. That temperature is almost 
   always between 350F and 375F degrees. To be sure the oil is 
   right use a frying thermometer.
   Use canola oil for frying. It is low in saturated fat, has a 
   high burning point, and does not detract from the flavor of 
   the food you are frying.
   Avoid crowding food that is deep-fat-fried. The food must be 
   surrounded by bubbling oil, and you must keep the temperature 
   from falling too much. If you add too much food to a small 
   amount of oil, the temperature will plummet, and the food will 
   wind up greasy and soggy.
   Never fill the pot more than halfway with oil; this will 
   prevent bubbling over when the food is added.
   Dry food well with paper towels before adding to the pot; 
   it helps reduce splattering.