After stewing a chicken (that means just boiling it and placing maybe a few herbs, spices, and onion) for diced meat for casseroles, etc, let cook in broth before cutting into chunks; it will have twice the flavor.
To slice meat into thin strips, as for Chinese dishes, partially freeze and it will slice more easily.
A roast with the bone in will cook faster than a boneless roast. The bone carries the heat to the inside of the roast quicker.
Never cook a roast cold. Let stand for at least an hour at room temperature. Brush with oil before and during roasting; the oil will seal in the juices.
For a juicier hamburger, add cold water to the beef before grilling (1/2 cup to 1 pound of meat).
To freeze meatballs, place them on a cookie sheet until frozen. Place in plastic bags and they will stay separated so that you may remove as many as you want.
To keep cauliflower white while cooking, add a little milk to the water.
When boiling corn, add sugar to water instead of salt. Salt will toughen corn.
To ripen tomatoes, put them in a brown paper bag in a dark place and they will ripen overnight.
Do not use soda to keep vegetables green. It destroys Vitamin C.
When cooking cabbage, place a small tin cup or can half full of vinegar on the stove near the cabbage. It will absorb the odor.
Let raw potatoes stand in cold water for at least half an hour before frying to improve the crispness of French-fries. Dry potatoes thoroughly before adding to oil.
Potatoes soaked in salt water for 20 minutes before baking will bake more rapidly.
Use greased muffin tins as molds when baking stuff peppers.
A few drops of lemon juice i water will whiten boiled potatoes.
Do not use metal bowls when mixing salads. Use wooden, glass or china.
Lettuce keeps better if you store it in the refrigerator without washing it so that the leaves are dry. Wash lettuce the day you are going to use it.
To keep celery crisp, stand it up in a pitcher of cold, salted water and refrigerate.
Don't despair if you've oversalted gravy. Stir in some instant mashed potatoes and you'll repair the damage. Just add a little more liquid to offset the thickening.
Hints for Baking Perfect Desserts
For perfect cookies:
Cookie dough that is to be rolled is much easier to handle after it has been refrigerated for 10 to 30 minutes. This keeps the dough from sticking, even though it may be soft.
Place dough on a floured board only as much as you can easily manage.
Flour rolling pin slightly and roll lightly to desired thickness.
Place cookie sheets in upper third of oven.
When sprinkling sugar on cookies, try putting the sugar in a salt shaker; it saves time.
For perfect pies:
A pie crust will be better and easier to make if all ingredients are cool.
The lower crust should be placed in the pan so that it covers the surface smoothly. Air pockets beneath the surface will push the crust out of shape while baking.
Folding the top crust over the lower crust before crimping will keep juices in the pie.
When making a custard pie, bake at a high temperature for about 10 minutes to prevent a soggy crust. Then finish baking at a low temperature.
For perfect cakes:
Fill cake pans about two-thirds full and spread batter well into corners and to the sides, leaving a slight hollow in the center.
The cake is done when it shrinks from the sides of pan or if it springs back when touched lightly with your finger.
After cake comes out of oven, it should be placed on a rack for about five minutes. Then the sides should be loosened and the cake turned out on a rack to finish cooling.
Cakes should not be frosted until thoroughly cooled.
When making a cream pie, sprinkle crust with powdered sugar to prevent it from becoming soggy.
Hints for Baking Perfect Bread
Knead dough for 30 seconds after mixing improves the texture of baking powder biscuits.
Instead of shortening, use cooking or salad oil in waffles and hot cakes.
When bread is baking, a small dish of water in the oven will help keep the crust from getting hard.
Dip a spoon in hot water to measure shortening, butter, etc. and the fat will slip out easier.
Small amounts of leftover corn may be added to pancake batter for variety.
To make bread crumbs, use the fine cutter of a food grinder and tie a large paper bag over the spout to prevent flying crumbs.
When you are doing any sort of baking, you get better results if you remember to preheat your cookies sheet, muffin tines or cake pans.
Hope these hints help. In the near future we will be writing about how to purchase fruits and vegetables and cooking terms.