Comments on: 18 Everyday Hacks For Cooking From Scratch

By: Michael Bennett

Michael Bennett — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:29:46 +0000

Some decent tips here! Here’s some more:

1. When you finish roasting peppers put them in a bowl while they’re still hot and cover it with plastic wrap, later on the skin will be easier to peel.
2. Leaf lettuces can be revived from even moderate wilting by soaking them in cool water for twenty minutes, then drain/dry them.
3. Broken emulsifications can generally be fixed by making a new small amount of base liquid and rewhisking/blending in the broken emulsification.
4. Almost never grill meat that has not bean lightly coated in fat and seasoned. Make sure your grill is brushed and lightly oiled as well, hot enough to smoke, but not to ignite. This way your food will not stick and you’ll get gorgeous grill marks.
5. Baking powder is fundamentally baking soda and an acid, to replicate baking powder mix together equal parts of corn starch and baking soda, then mix the cornstarch/baking soda with an equal amount of cream of tartar, or powdered citric acid and you’ll have home made baking powder, though it will only activate once, so once you mix it into a recipe, you better bake it.
Michael Bennett´s last blog ..Fenugreek (Seed)

By: Chrisile from Electric Knife Sharpener

Chrisile from Electric Knife Sharpener — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:19:31 +0000

Totally agree. I really get irritated when I’m so excited to cook a favorite recipe or dish only to find out I can’t even slice the onion properly and the cut of the meat gets ruined coz of the dull knife.

By: Cee

Cee — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 05:11:08 +0000

Excellent ideas! I especially liked #'s 8,10, and 17. Also, for sticky things in measuring cups, if you put a thin coat of cooking oil in it first, the ingredient will come out much easier. I use this method for measuring honey and it slips out so easily. Cee´s last blog post...Tweaked Tips Day

By: 10 Top Posts For February | Planning With Kids

10 Top Posts For February | Planning With Kids — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:00:56 +0000

[...] 3. 18 Everyday Hacks For Cooking From Scratch [...]

By: Paige

Paige — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:04:26 +0000

No more stale cookies…place a slice of bread in with overbaked or stale cookies overnight. Its like magic! The bread will be crouton stiff, and the cookies will be fall apart soft.

By: Cooking Tips, Hints & Shortcuts « Le Dolce Vita (the good life)

Cooking Tips, Hints & Shortcuts « Le Dolce Vita (the good life) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:47:06 +0000

[...] here are a few tips for around the kitchen that I learned from Simple Mom along with her readers additions. I read through them all and pulled out any bits of added info. [...]

By: Alissa

Alissa — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:04:37 +0000

These are fantastic. I love to cook, so use many of these ideas, but I didn't know about the self-raising flour or a quality roast chicken recipe. Also, the idea to freeze tablespoons of tomato paste is awesome. I always end up throwing the rest away... Here's two: -Store fresh tomatoes on the counter. They get mealy faster in the fridge. -If you buy bulk ground beef at costco, it's the same price for the stuff that has been portioned into 1/2 pound "burger" size. I just drop 1 or 2 in a ziplock to freeze pre-measured portions. Alissa´s last blog post...Travel Stories

By: tm

tm — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:08:20 +0000

Not a specific tip, but remember that a sharp knife is safer and is more useful than a dull one. We use one of those electric sharpeners, which gets the job done. Not as good as sending them out, but a lot cheaper.
Knife skills are always in demand for those doing things from scratch, and the more you know, the easier cooking will be and you’ll save more money by producing less waste.
Peter Hertzmann’s book, Knife Skills Illustrated looks to be a good guide on picking up those skills (I’ve not read it myself). Jacques Pepin’s books are also another good source for classic techniques.

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:22:28 +0000

DANGIT, all mine were taken. Thanks for the list though. I will definitely use these! I agree, a lot of people freak out if they don't have a box that says "just add..." We could all use a little more hackability in the kitchen. That's what our grandmas did, right? Heather´s last blog post...Our Retrouvaille Weekend

By: Andrea

Andrea — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:01:20 +0000

For #13 - giving your measuring utensil a quick squirt of cooking spray also helps sticky stuff slide out. I do this when measuring mayo, peanut butter, etc. Saves time and way easier clean-up. I love these tips! Andrea´s last blog post...Fab Finds Friday - "Farewell to Bush"