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HOW TO - KITCHEN HINTS AND TIPS WHAT WOULD MUM DO? Then, of course, there are those tricky jobs or minor mishaps, what would Mum do? TIP Sally Davies contacted us to for a remedy to prevent mincemeat boiling out and spoiling her mincepies. In the end, however, she came up with her own solution and has sent it in to benefit others. She simply added a little cornflour to the mincemeat mixture before use and it worked! Mincepies are not meat pies but pastry tarts filled with a mixture of currants, raisins, sugar, apples, candied peel, spices and often suet. A treat at Christmas in the U.K. If you are browning meat (or anything else in oil) and it sticks to the pan when you try to turn it. Take the pan off the burner and allow it to sit for a minute or two. The moisture in the food will loosen it from the pan and you can then turn it easily. Unless it is burnt to a crisp, this will work every time. Thanks to Randi Gifford for this gem. When baking cookies it is less taxing to use an air-flow sheet. If you do not have one, it is quite simple to improvise. Take two cookie sheets and place four coins on the bottom sheet. This will cause the top sheet to sit slightly above the other creating an "air chamber".
Our thanks to "Heatherdale" (sorry - this is the only contact name we have) for this new tip:- To prevent chillies impregnating your skin, before chopping rub a little vegetable oil into your hands and wash immediately afterwards. To prevent pastry cases from rising during cooking prick the base with a fork before putting in the filling. To prevent fillings penetrating the pastry case and making it soggy, partly cook the case, then brush over the bottom of the pastry case with warm apricot jam before adding the filling. Not suitable for savoury dishes.
To cut new bread with a bread knife, let the knife stand in boiling water for a few minutes before cutting. To prevent icing from sticking to your knife whilst spreading on the cake, occasionally dip the knife into hot water, shaking off the excess. To remove excess fat/grease from soup or gravy, dip a slice of fresh bread gently into the liquid and this will absorb the fat. Alternatively, use a clean piece of kitchen towel, however, great care should be taken to avoid leaving any of the paper behind. To fill a piping bag with icing, place the bag into which the nozzle has been inserted, into a jug of a suitable size and fold back the collar over the outside of the jug. This will hold the bag steady and leave both hands free.
Cake has burnt a little on the top, or risen unevenly - don't panic. Slice the top off* which removes the burnt piece and levels the surface, turn the cake over using the bottom of the cake as the top. Coat with icing as usual. *Use dental floss to slice the top off. From Siren - USA To separate egg yolks from whites. Carefully break egg in half and tip yolk carefully from one half shell to the other, letting the egg white fall into a bowl underneath as you do this. Alternatively, gently break the egg onto a saucer, place an egg-cup carefully over the yolk and whilst holding this firmly in place tip the egg white into a bowl, leaving the egg yolk under the egg cup. How fresh are your eggs? Put egg in to 4ins. of water, if it stays on the bottom it's fresh. If one end tips up it is less fresh and if it floats to the top it is either bad or at the stage where it will be impossible to fry without breaking. Hard boiled eggs - To prevent the outside of the yolk turning black, immediately after cooking plunge the egg into cold water and allow to cool down. To prevent them crumbling when sliced, wet the knife first. Smelly pans. If previous dinner smells remain in the saucepan, fill with water, add vinegar and boil up. The pan should be fine but the kitchen smells of boiled vinegar! Smelly fridge or plastic containers. It is said that to prevent smells in the first place, leave a piece of charcoal on one of the shelves and this will absorb any odours. However, if there was no charcoal to hand and the fridge smells, dissolve 2 - 3 teaspoons of Bicarbonate of Soda in a pint of water and wipe out the inside of the fridge. Fill any offending plastic containers with the same mixture and leave to soak overnight - all should be odour free in the morning. Can't get the ketchup out of the narrow necked bottle - try this.
Can't get the lid off - place a wide rubber band around the lid, then twist. The rubber band allows your hand to get a purchase on the lid. Items slip on tray - Many people use melamine trays for carrying tea-cups, teapots etc., however, the items can slip. To overcome this, get a roll of anti-slip rubber. This is available from many DIY shops, and I have seen it not only in the usual black (usually used for car boots), but also in Yellow, red and white. It is easily cut to the shape of your tray with scissors, and is washable in soapy water (dry on a radiator). A company called Rolson makes the coloured sort, and is also available in the AA shop online. Tony Davis of http://etsfixit.co.uk/ Salt cellar clogged up
- put a few grains of rice in with the salt, this will absorb the moisture. Cake stuck to tin - loosen sides with knife, whilst still hot, place tin on a wet cloth and try again in a few minutes. If it is still stuck try to loosen it with a fish slice or flexible spatula.
More kitchen gems. Kitchen and food tips. How to rescue those kitchen disasters. How to cook eggs to perfection.
I am sure you all know a little nugget of wisdom which can be shared with the rest of us, if so, contact me on june@hintsandthings.co.uk - don't forget this is only a hobby and my original intention was to pass on information to future generations - now is your chance!
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