useful cooking tips

RECIPE FORUM Cooking Tips
1

To prepare crisp, golden dosai (Dosa), add a teaspoonful of fenugreek while grinding for it.
To prepare soft dosai, add some old cooked rice while grinding for it.
Add a few drops of lemon juice and a tsp of oil while boiling rice to separate one another.
To remove the shell easy from boiled eggs, keep them in cold water for about 5 minutes.
Don’t keep stainless steel spoons permanently with pickles.
To Peel garlic easy, heat them for a while.
To store green chilies longer, remove stems from them before storing them.
To remove excessive salt in the dish being prepared, add a few pieces of potato.
To retain the green color of spinach while cooking, add a pinch of sugar.
To separate noodles immediately after boiling, put them in cold water.
To prevent foaming and spilling over of oil while deep frying, add a small piece of tamarind to the oil.

2

Herbs and Spices:
Storage Tips:
Store spices in a cool, dark place. Humidity, light and heat will cause
herbs and spices to lose their flavor more quickly. Although the most
convenient place for your spice rack may be above your stove, moving
your spices to a different location may keep them fresh longer.

As a general rule, herbs and ground spices will retain their best flavors
for a year. Whole spices may last for 3 to 5 years. Proper storage should
result in longer freshness times.

Here are my tips for storing purposes.

3

A tip I learned when taking Thai cooking classes was to soak shrimp in cold water with sea salt added for 20-30 minutes. Rinse well before proceeding with recipe. It firms up the shrimp and makes them taste fresher.

4

It is not about recipes but it is also useful.
Stainless steel cookware is one of the most hygienic surfaces for the preparation of foods and very easy to clean, as its unique surface has no pores or cracks to harbor dirt, grime or bacteria. It is also very attractive and requires minimal care, since it won’t chip or easily rust and it takes little seasoning. It will not affect flavor, as it does not react with acidic foods during food preparation or cooking. And with proper care, it has a useful life expectancy of over 100 years, and it is totally recyclable.

5

Thanks For the post, I got some beneficial information from your tips to cook food yes , I really agree with you that these small things play a big roll. Can you have any suggestion to make food Eco friendly?

6

Hi,
It is the fantastic bunch of information really very appreciable job.Use a shallow four to five-inch pot with a large opening,and cook shrimp uncovered to lessen the fishy odor.

7

Useful Kitchen & Cooking Tips

1 Use tongs for turning food, if you use a fork the food is pierced, and valuable juices escapes
2 If pan catches fire, do not pour water on it ! Turn off heat, and smother flames with pan lid, or towel wrung out in cold water.
3 If sauce go lumpy, whisk the sauce briskly in the pan, or sieve to remove lumps or put in blender.
4 If you only need a small amount of lemon juice, make a hole in a lemon with a skewer, and squeeze out amount you need.
5 Meat is easier to slice while partially frozen.
6 Dry and frozen herbs can be crumbled between finger and thumb into dish - no need to chop.

8

Almonds: To remove the skin of almonds easily, soak them in hot water for 15-20 minutes.

Ants: Putting 3-4 cloves in the sugar container will keep the ants at bay.

Biscuits: If you keep a piece of blotting paper at the bottom of the container, it will keep biscuits fresh for a longer time.

Butter: Avoid the use of butter. If it is essential to use, use a butter containing low saturated fat or with plant stanols (which avoid absorption of cholesterol by our body) or similar substitutes.

Apples: Apply some lemon juice on the cut surface of the apple to avoid browning. They will look fresh for a longer time.

9

how to avoid crying while Cutting onions -

-Drip some lemon juice on the plate where you want to cut the onion - you won’t have to shed tears.

  • keep the onion in the freezer for about 5 minutes.

  • run it under cold water before you cut/peel it

  • wear glasses/goggles

  • or give to someone else to cut!

10

If you are like me and love cooking with cast iron cookware but don’t have room to hang them for storage and have to stack them. I bought a roll of the rubbery shelf liner and cut it to fit inside each pot or pan. After cooking and seasoning the pan I place the liner in the bottom before stacking the next pan into it. I will wipe them off with hot water and a sponge while the pan is in use. I replace them with new about every 6 months or so.

For getting rid of the Onion or Garlic smell from your hands.
I keep a bar of “Scent-a-way” soap by my kitchen sink. You can find it in the sporting goods aisle at stores like Wal-mart…etc. Hunter’s use it before going hunting to take away their scent. It really works.

11
  1. When cooking pasta bring a large pot of water to a boil. Make sure you have plenty of water. Also, salt the water but do not add oil. The oil will prevent your sauce from sticking to it.
  2. To minimize the amounts of tears shed while chopping onions keep your onions cold. I always refrigerate my onions and that seems to keep the crying gasses at bay.
  3. In order to peel garlic, simply place the garlic on the cutting board and place a thick, flat knife on the cloves. Press down on the blade and the peel will slide off easily.
  4. In order to remove the delicious smell of onions and garlic from your hands you can a) rub the inside of a lemon on your hands or b) rub a stainless steel table knife on your skin. Both methods will get rid of the smell.
  5. When boiling cauliflower or cabbage put a piece of bread into the pot to minimize the smell. Fish the bread pieces out with a sieve and discard. If they are stuck to the veggies simply rinse them off after removing them from the pot.
  6. When making a base for stews, peel the tomatoes before adding them to the browned chopped onions. Otherwise you will end up with pieces of skin in your sauce.
  7. In order to easily peel your tomatoes, make a small cut at one of the ends. Then, place them into a bowl of boiling water for 3 to 4 seconds. Remove them and place them in a bowl of ice water. Start removing the skin from the cut edge. If the skin is not loose put the tomatoes back in the boiling water for another few seconds and back into the ice water promptly.
  8. In order for an avocado not to oxidize and turn brown after mashing you can a) leave the pit in the bowl until ready to serve or b) drizzle the avocado with lemon juice.
  9. When making fruit salad, in order to prevent apples and bananas from oxidizing, add an acidic liquid. You can use lemon juice, canned pineapple juice or orange juice.
  10. If you want to cook crispy veggies such as asparagus, green beans, broccoli or cauliflower bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Once it is boiling add the vegetables and cook them for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl with ice water. They will be cooked and crispy.
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This is something i am searching about glad to found out over here.Almost brilliant tips given out by almost all forum user and these would really helps me lots out in the cooking because man are alwys week out in cooking…

13

Why would you say men are weak at cooking? Most of the top chefs of the world are men.

14

While working in a restaurant I learned never to leave olive oil near to the oven or stove for long periods, (apart from it not being very safe) apparently the heat will ruin the flavour. Thats a bit of a catering tip I suppose.

15

First of all you can do after peeling onions cut in half and soak in water for about 10 minutes before cutting to avoid crying. Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes before using them so they won’t burn during cooking.

16

If soup turns salty, rectify it by immersing potato quarters which will absorb a proportion of salt then discard the potatoes.Pick your three favorite cheeses and create a cheese lovers baked ziti. Be creative and consider your family’s favorite foods.

17

Can someone please translate this to English.

19

Hi
Dip nuts in milk before placing them on top of the cakes or biscuits to prevent them from falling off while baking.

· Dip Overripe Tomato in cold water, add some salt and leave overnight. They will be fresh and firm to touch the next day.

· Do not add saffron directly to a dish, infuse threads in a little hot water for at least 5 minutes before blending in a dish to bring out flavour and ensure even colouring.

· For maintaining the bright color of any vegetable, don’t forget to put it in ice cold water as soon as you blanch them.

thanks

20

LOVE THIS THREAD…SOME GREAT POSTS.
Cin(\0/)

21

To make cabbage rolls easier, instead of coring the head of cabbage and placing it in boiling water and removing the leaves one at a time, I core the head of cabbage and then place it in a zip lock bag and freeze it. When ready to make the stuffed cabbage rolls, thaw the cabbage and the leaves come right off and are wilted and easy to use. You can also place the cored raw cabbage in a bowl with a little water and microwave it removing the outer leaves as they are softened.