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Kitchen Helps

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Kitchen Helps

The Right Pan for the Right Job--The type of pan you use to cook in may make a difference in the quality of the finished product. It is best to bake in a dull finish aluminum pan. A dark pan may cool too quickly and a shiny pan reflects heat to such a degree that you may not get even cooking.

Curdling--Always cook recipes that contain eggs, sour cream, or cream at a lower setting to avoid curdling.

Pan Alert!--Non-stick pans, including all of the best brands may be dangerous if you allow them to boil dry. At 400 degrees F. the pans may release toxic fumes after about 20 minutes, long enough to make a person sick. This could be even more serious for birds and other small pets.

Cooking Facts--When deep frying, use a pure vegetable oil, preferably one with a high smoke point such as corn or safflower or Canola. Butter, margarine or lard will burn before reaching the temperature needed for frying.
Fat should only be heated to 400 degrees. Any higher will cause the fat to deteriorate.

Cook all vegetables at the highest power setting in a microwave. The faster they cook, the more nutrients are retained.

Baking soda should never be added to foods that are cooking. It may destroy certain B vitamins.

If fat is too hot, the food is apt to be too brown and dry on the outside and uncooked on the inside.

After cooking in a wok, wipe the inner surface with vegetable oil to retard any rust forming.

If you use glass or Corning Ware dishes in the oven, you can reduce the heat by 25 degrees.

If you add 1 ½ teaspoons of butter to a cooking pasta or soup it will not boil over.

Always use a shallow pot for cooking a roast. It allows air to circulate better than deep ones.

When cooking custard, place a piece of waxed paper over it while it is still hot to avoid a skin from forming. This also works for any kind of pudding.

To glaze the tops of rolls before baking or browning, beat one egg white lightly with one tablespoon of milk and brush on.

To glaze cakes, try using one tablespoon of milk with a small amount of brown sugar dissolved in it.

In order to keep boiled icing from hardening, add 1/3 teaspoon vinegar while it is cooking.

A quick frosting can be made by mashing a small boiled potato, then beating in confectioner's sugar and a small amount of vanilla.

To prevent icing from running over the tops of cakes, try sprinkling a small amount of corn starch or flour on the top before you ice.

When making meringue, add no more than 2 tablespoons of sugar for each egg white. The meringue should be spread to the pastry rim, then cool the baked pie slowly and keep it away from drafts. Before placing meringue on pie filling, be sure the filling is cool.

Lumpy Gravy? Use your blender to smooth the lumps away!!
Add a teaspoon of peanut butter to cover up the burnt flavor of gravy. This will not alter the taste.

When using butter for sautéing, always use unsalted butter since the salt separates from salted butter when heated and may leave a bitter taste. If you add a pinch of salt to flour before mixing it with a liquid, it will help the gravy from being lumpy. To get a rich, brown color to your gravy, spread the flour on a cookie pan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until brown before using the flour or add a small amount of coffee to the gravy. You won't taste the coffee flavor. Another trick to brown gravy is to add onion skins to the gravy while it is cooking, but only for a few minutes, then discard the skins.

When making a white sauce, add a dash of nutmeg for a great taste.

If your Hollandaise sauce has curdled, try beating a tablespoon of cold water into it and it will bring it back to smooth texture.

A high-fat gravy will have a better consistency if you add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to it.