General Tips

Here are a few tips/tricks to make cooking easier and more successful:

• A teaspoon of cold water added to egg whites for meringue causes it to whip quickly while increasing the quantity of the egg. Also, add a teaspoon of cornstarch to your meringue to keep it from weeping.
• Cottage cheese will remain fresher longer if you store it upside down in the refrigerator. This slows the effects of oxidation.
• To keep milk past its expiration date add a pinch of salt. The salt slows the rate of bacteria growth.
• Leftover tomato paste can be spread on plastic wrap (1/8 inch thick), rolled and frozen. When needed, simply chip off a piece.
• If your recipe calls for peeled fruit, as with tomatoes, parboiling (30 seconds - 1 minute) fruit quickly will ease the removal of the skin. It literally peels off.
• When hard boiling eggs, moisten the eggs by soaking them in water before putting them in boiling water. This will ease the shock and prevent them from cracking during the cooking process. Also, you can add a little vinegar, lemon or salt to the water, so if the eggs do crack, the egg will stay in the shell.
• A tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda in a large pot of beans while soaking them, will mitigate the 'flatulence' caused by the beans is kept to a minimum
• Marinating mashed papaya on meats will help tenderize it.