Fruits and Vegetables are coming into season and will be abundant. Here’s a few tips/tricks

• To perk up soggy lettuce, add lemon juice to a bowl of cold water and soak lettuce for an hour in the refrigerator.
• When cooking carrots, peas, beets or corn, add a small amount of sugar to the water to keep the flavor.
• To keep sweet corn yellow, add one teaspoon of lemon juice to the cooking water just about a minute before taking off the stove. Never salt the water you cook corn in. It will only toughen the corn.   To sweeten corn, rather than adding lemon, add ¼ cup milk or cream to the water.
• Sunlight doesn't ripen tomatoes, warmth does. Store tomatoes with stems pointed down and they will stay fresher, longer.
• To ripen fruits, place them in a perforated plastic bag. The holes will allow air to circulate while retaining the ethylene gas that fruits produce during ripening.
• Store celery and lettuce in paper bags, not plastic. And leave the outside leaves and stalks alone until ready to use.
• Most fruit juice begins to taste a little stale after only a few days. This applies to both fresh juice and to juice purchased in containers. Aerating the juice can help revive the taste. You can do this by simply pouring it back and forth a few times, or fill a blender and turn it on for 3 or 4 seconds. A little seltzer added to fruit juice also refreshes the taste.
• Did you know…?   Melons, citrus fruits and pineapple do not store starch that can be converted to sugar, as most fruits do. This means they will not get sweeter after they are picked, but they will improve in texture.

Barbeque/grilling season is coming.   For tips/tricks, refer to the tips/tricks archive section of the SLCC http://www.slpoa.com/SLCC/tiptricks.htm