Kitchen Tips, Tricks and more (F)

For a juicier hamburger add cold water to the beef before grilling (1/2 cup to 1 pound of meat).


For fluffier, whiter rice, add one teaspoon of lemon juice per quart of water. To add extra flavor and nutrition to rice, cook it in liquid reserved from cooking vegetables.


For fresh flavor in orange juice add the juice of one lemon.


For fresh-tasting lemon or lime juice year-round, freeze lemons and limes whole; thaw in microwave before squeezing.


For the perfect boiled egg, cover eggs with cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a full boil. Remove the pan from the heat and cover. Let the eggs sit for 8-9 minutes. Drain the water and place the eggs in ice water to cool and stop the cooking process.


Freeze tomato paste in the can. Open both ends and punch out the paste. Wrap the frozen paste in foil and freeze, then slice off what you need as you need it.


Fresh fish freeze (cute alliteration, and tongue twister) well in a milk carton filled with water.


French toast is made crisper by adding a tablespoon of flour to the egg and milk mixture.


For a variation in meat balls, add chopped apple to ground meat along with other seasoning, roll into small balls and simmer in tomato puree, seasoned with sage.


Fluff Up Mashed Potatoes: Try adding a healthy pinch of baking powder to the potatoes when mashing them. For fluffier mashed potatoes, use an electric mixer to whip air into them. 


Fresh Fruit & Veggies Washing Tip: Sprinkle wet fruit and veggies with baking soda then gently scrub and rinse. This cleaning method safely removes dirt and residue off produce. 


For a super fast fish dish, add some fresh ginger or garlic to some oil in a saute pan. Heat and stir over a medium fire for about 3 minutes. Remove the ginger or garlic and cook the fish in the flavored oil.


Flour Bugs ~~~ Keep a couple bay leaves in the flour canister to help deter the bugs (flour Weevils) congregating in their favorite hangout. You can toss the leaves loose in the flour or make a rough pouch out of one layer of cheesecloth to keep the leaves separated from the flour. Another tip is to tape the bay leaves to the inside of the lid. Always try to keep flour and other grains in air tight containers, this will help keep pantry pests out.


Fill Empty Muffin Tins With Water ~~~ If your muffin or cupcake recipe doesn’t fill all the spots in your muffin pan, fill the empty places 3/4 full with water. This will help protect those slots from darkening or getting scorched.


Fat can be removed from hot soup by straining broth through a cloth wrung from cold water. All the fat will remain in cloth except just enough to enrich soup. Heat soup again before serving.


Fish or onion odor can be removed from utensils and dishes by adding a teaspoonful of baking soda to the dish water.


Fish scales can be removed quickly and easily by first dipping the fish in boiling water.


First rinse raisins, dates and figs in very cold water before putting them through the food chopper. They will not form such a gummy mass.


Frosting that 2 layer cake ~~~ Hate it when you try to frost your cake and it slides off to one side. I found sticking a few broken pieces of spaghetti through the top holds it firmly together.


For crisper salads: Place a saucer upside down in the bottom of the salad bowl before filling with salad. Excess moisture will run underneath the saucer and this will help keep the salad crisp and fresh.


For fried foods that require flouring, try pancake flour for a change, it’s quite nice.


For bananas that are ripe and ready to eat but you have too many, peel the bananas and freeze them then dip in melted chocolate and freeze again, these make a nice treat!


Fill a large hole or sugar shaker with flour and use that when needing to dust surfaces with flour or just pour out a tablespoon as you need it, this is handy way to keep a bit of flour on hand instead of digging in the flour bin.


Food Processor clean-up tip ~~~ Covering food processor bowl with plastic wrap before placing on the lid, saves cleaning up the lid.


Finding Broken Glass Under Soapy Water ~~~ 
If you break glass in soapy water while doing dishes, to prevent cutting yourself while looking for it you can use a tall clear drinking glass or a wide clear glass bowl–keeping the top part above the bubbles, push the glass into the water and use it as a lens to look around and find the broken pieces.


For a lint-less dustcloth, soak the cloth in hot soap suds with a few drops of turpentine for several hours. Wring out and let dry. These dustcloths give furniture a brilliant polish and hold dust. Repeat this process every two weeks.


For removing rust from refrigerator shelves, wash them in mild scouring powder and hot water. Dry well with soft cloth. Apply a thin coating of hot melted paraffin.