What cooking tips do you have that most people probably don't know

[Anonymous]

If you are filling a ziploc baggie with liquid (to freeze):

Grab a large jar or lemonade glass. Put the baggie so the edges are hanging over the edges of the glass--just like you'd like a trash can with a trash bag. Rubber-band it on if the glass is deeper than the bag.

Now pour your liquid in. You don't get mess on the lip of the bag, and you can just ziploc it up and freeze it.

I freeze leftover tomato sauce, chicken stocks, soups, stews like this.

[Anonymous]

To cut an avocado:
Run a knife around the edges to cut in half, then whack the pit with the knife so it sticks, rotate slightly and easily pop the pit out. Then you can slice or cut in small squares and easily scoop the pieces out with a spoon.

To dice an onion:
Cut in half from top to bottom, then in strips perpendicular to the base, leaving the base intact to hold everything together. Rotate and cut perpendicular to your strips to get fine dice.

[Anonymous]

Love the "boil potato before peeling" one.
We call putting boiling eggs into ice cold water "scaring the eggs" (scaring their peel off I guess).
Peel you cucumbers from the lighter end in case the other end is bitter, so that the bitterness doesn't spread.

[Anonymous]

Grapefruit spoons with the serrated edge are great for removing avocados from their skin.

[Anonymous]

I used to deseed pomegranates underwater, as previously suggested, but a friend showed me this tip (whacking it with a wooden spoon) and it is so much easier (and fun!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQaIWM3uHTk

[Anonymous]

To deseed a pomegranate, hit it with a wooden spoon (google it).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Put a clove of garlic on a cutting board. Lay the FLAT side of a knife blade on the garlic. Smack the other flat side with your hand to smash the garlic clove. Remove paper easy peasy. Then chop. I used to hate peeling the paper off
!

Yes - bang or crush and and then peel. I sometimes use the bottom of a mug and press (non glass).

I also never cry from onions because I keep them in the fridge. tear free when I chop.

I use a mug or vinegar bottle to smash/peel garlic too. I find this much more effective than using the flat of the knife.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use dry white vermouth when a recipe calls for white wine - it's like $6 a bottle, lasts forever in the fridge, and leaves the good stuff for drinking, not cooking

Never cook with a wine (even a cheap wine) that you wouldn't drink. Those 'cooking' wines at the grocery are gross.

Who said anything about cooking wine? Not me. What I use is white vermouth (Martini & Rossi or similar, I get it at Trader Joe's) that you put in martinis. I like it because I can use a bit without having to open a bottle of white wine (which my husband won't drink). If we are going to serve white wine with dinner anyway, I will use that. But for 1/4 - 1/2 cup in a recipe? White vermouth is your friend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Put a clove of garlic on a cutting board. Lay the FLAT side of a knife blade on the garlic. Smack the other flat side with your hand to smash the garlic clove. Remove paper easy peasy. Then chop. I used to hate peeling the paper off
!

Yes - bang or crush and and then peel. I sometimes use the bottom of a mug and press (non glass).

I also never cry from onions because I keep them in the fridge. tear free when I chop.

I must be so sensitive to onions. I tear up like crazy whether they were in the fridge or not! Even scallions make my eyes water.

[Anonymous]

Rinse berries off with vinegar and water, then with water. Let them dry on a paper towel and then put them back in the refrigerator. They last much longer without molding.

[Anonymous]

When ladling soup, fill the ladle, then lower it back into the soup before pulling out to pour- no drips

Place a damp paper towel under your cutting board to keep it in place - no sliding around

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I use dry white vermouth when a recipe calls for white wine - it's like $6 a bottle, lasts forever in the fridge, and leaves the good stuff for drinking, not cooking
Couple more:
- I use instant mashed potatoes (the flakes in a box) to thicken soups and stews. I don't use them for anything else.
-Frozen diced hash browns are your friend. They are just potatoes (and sometimes salt) and are a time-saver when you need to add to a soup/stew/stirfry/breakfast tacos filling/etc.
- Microwave a sponge for 1 minute to kill bacteria, or run it through the dishwasher with your dishes.

Thanks for the great tips! I'd heard 2 minutes for microwaving a sponge. Are you sure that one's enough?