Kitchen Tips, Tricks and more (B)

Before opening a package of meat packaged in slices, roll it. This helps separate the slices for easy removal of individual slices.


Bread will stay fresh longer if a celery rib is stored with it in the package.


Brown gravy in a hurry with a bit of instant coffee straight from the jar ... no bitter taste, either.


Buy mushrooms before they "open." When the stems and caps are attached snugly, you know the mushrooms are truly fresh.


Buy several small spray bottles to use in the kitchen, for tasks like moistening pie dough, coating oil on pans, misting salad dressing on delicate greens, or other purposes you might think of.


Brush a beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.


Buy small spray bottles at the store to use when spraying water on top of baking bread to help make it crispy, or even use it for misting salad dressings on top of salads. Also squirt bottles are a great tool to have as well for drizzling butter on top of corn on the cob, topping cakes such as a coffee cake with a glaze, and even for drizzling strawberry sauce on to a plate before presenting that delicious piece of cheesecake.


Baking bread? Do not preheat. When you light your oven, pop in the bread pans immediately and you’ll be amazed at the resulting lightness of the bread. 


Buy large lemons and  limes, they tend to be much sweeter. Make sure that the skin is thin, those are much juicer. To obtain more of the juice from lemons, limes or oranges, microwave on high for 30 seconds and then let stand for a couple of minutes before cutting and squeezing. Rolling them between your hand and the counter will also help release more juice.