TIPS AND TRICKS

TIPS AND TRICKS

• Place cut up potatoes in boiling water for few minutes. This way, they would require less oil while frying and will not stick to each other.

• Add a little sugar to the vegetables (especially green vegetables) as soon as you add them to the pan. They will retain their colour well.

• Limes will remain fresh for at least a couple of weeks if run some cooking oil on them before storing.

• Place peeled onions in the refrigerator at least an hour before slicing or cutting. Or peel and halve and place in a container filled with chilled water - for at least 30 minutes. No tearing after that! Best to peel onions and place in airtight container and place in refrigerator overnight.

• Remove stems from fresh green chillies before you store them in refrigerator. They well stay fresh longer.

• To avoid odour from developing in the refrigerator: Place a small bowl with a tablespoonful of soda-bi-carbonate added to it, inside your refrigerator. 

• To get rid of the smell of garlic off your hands, rub your hands with a stainless steel spoon or rub your hands over a stainless steel washing sink. The smell will instantly disappear.

• Add a little vinegar or lime juice to rice while boiling. The rice will be whiter and fluffier and grains will not stick together.

• Never overcrowd your pan when deep frying or even shallow frying anything. Overcrowding will take the food longer to cook and will either be soggy or just not the right texture

• To get the maximum juice out of Lime or Lemon, before cutting it, rub it hard between your palms or place on flat surface and roll with some pressure. If Lime or Lemon is not too fresh, place in a bowl of water for about 30 minutes. It will freshen up.

• For best result when you are baking, make sure the eggs and butter are at room temperature.

• Always measure ingredients while baking. There are no shortcuts with pastry or cakes.

• Know your potatoes. There are generally 2 categories. Mealy and Waxy. Brown skinned russets are the mealy type and white, red and new potatoes are waxy. Mealy potatoes are good for mashing, baking and frying, as they cook up light and fluffy. Waxy potatoes are better suited for slicing, dicing or boiled whole as they hold their shape during cooking.

• To check whether the fish you are about to buy is fresh: It should not have a 'fishy smell' if it is fresh.  Press a finger on its flesh. If flesh springs back...fish is fresh...and if the indentation remains...well...of course, the fish isn't fresh!

• Adding a few grains of rice to you salt cellar makes salt easier to flow out.

• An egg drops on the floor or the worktop or any other surface.  Trying to clean it up will create more of a mess before it can be truly cleaned up.  To avoid all the messy cleaning, sprinkle salt liberally all over the broken egg. Wait a few minutes and then just swipe away the the clump of egg and salt that will have formed.

• When frying fish in a non-stick pan, sprinkle fine salt in your frying pan (stir it around for a couple of minutes and discard) before you add the oil. Fish will not stick to the pan.

• When storing packets or containers in the freezer, stick a piece of tape on each and label everything. This way you are not left guessing about contents when you need them.

• For browning onions to perfection: Slice onions thinly and evenly. Make sure they are even. Use a mandolin if possible. Fry them in oil that is not too hot. Take the pan off the heat as soon as they are lightly browned let them continue to cook until they reach a golden brown colour. Remove with slotted spoon. As soon they are cool they will turn crisp. Use as required.

• Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes before using them so they won't burn during cooking. If you prefer metal skewers, which have a long life, use square or twisted types, which will hold the food better than round ones.
• To keep food from slipping off during cooking and turning, use two parallel skewers rather than a single skewer.
• If you're using a wooden skewer, as you thread the food move the pieces close together, with no space showing. If the skewer is metal, you can leave small spaces between the pieces.