Helpful Hints

By Amanda Skinner

You'll shed fewer tears if you cut the root of the onion last, or if you place them in the freezer for 5 minutes first.
If you bite on a match stick while you are cutting up the onion. The sulfa in the match helps you not to cry.

If you've ever over-salted soup or veggies, add a cut raw potatoes and then discard once they have cooked and absorbed the salt.

If you've ever over-sweetened a dish, add salt

If you brown the flour well before adding it to the liquid when making gravy, you will avoid pale or lumpy gravy.

Lump less gravy can be your triumph if you add a pinch of salt to the flour before mixing it with water.

Drop a lettuce leaf into the pot of homemade soup to absorb excess grease from the top.

Perk up soggy lettuce by adding lemon juice to a bowl of cold water and soaking lettuce for an hour in the fridge.

Lettuce and celery keep longer if you store them in paper bags instead of plastic.

Cream will whip faster and better if you chill the cream, bowl, and the beaters as well. Sweeten with powdered sugar instead of regular sugar.

Adding an egg white, then chilling well, can save soupy whipped cream. Re-beat for a fluffy surprise.

a few drops of lemon juice added to whipping cream helps it whip faster and better.

Brown sugar will stay soft if an apple slice or slice of bread is placed in the container.

Potatoes will bake faster if they are biled in salt water for 10 minutes before being placed in the oven.

A thin slice cut from each end of a potato will speed up baking time.

A lump of butter or a few teaspoons of cooking oil added to water when boiling rice, noodles, or pasta will prevent boiling over.

A few drops of lemon juice added to simmering rice will keep the grains separate.

before measuring honey or Karo syrup, oil rinse measuring cup in hot hot water. Or spray with a cooking spray it will come out easy.

No "curly" bacon if you first dip it in cold water before frying.

I hope these hints will will help out.