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Catching Up With The Coach
January 2022
Tips for the Kitchen

Original Release: 1/1/2022

To The Rescue / When Something Goes Wrong

1) Too Salty:

➜ The ideal solution is to make a separate batch, and omit the salt, then combine the two batches and freeze half for later use.

➜ For soup or stew, add cut raw potatoes and discard once they have cooked and absorbed the salt.

➜ Add a bit of sugar.

2) Too Sweet?

➜ Add salt.

➜ If it is a main dish or a vegetable, add a teaspoon of vinegar.

3) The Meat Is Still In The Freezer?

➜ Place meat in a sealed plastic bag and drop into a pan of very warm water.

➜ Put your dish drainer upside down in the sink. Run hot water to about an inch from the top of the drainer. Place meat on drainer and cover with a pan.

➜ Put your dish drainer upside down in the sink. Run hot water to about an inch from the top of the drainer. Place meat on drainer and cover with a pan.

4) The Salt Won't Pour?

➜ Wrap a small piece of aluminum foil tightly around the shaker. The foil is moisture proof and it will keep dampness out of the salt.

➜ To prevent clogging, keep 5 to 10 grains of rice inside your shaker.

5) Chopping Onions Without Tears

➜ Refrigerate before chopping.

➜ Peel under cold running water.

➜ Periodically rinse hands under cold water while chopping.

6) Peeling Thin Skinned Fruits

➜ Refrigerate tomatoes. Hold tomato firmly and scrape with a paring knife from the bottom to the top several times. Prick the skin with the point of a knife. The peeling will remove easily.

➜ Place thin-skinned fruits into a bowl, cover with boiling water and let set for 1 minute. Peel with a paring knife.

➜ Spear the fruit on a fork and hold over a gas flame until the skin cracks. Then peel.

7) Cutting Sticky Foods

➜ Before chopping, flour the pieces in a paper bag.

➜ Dip your sheers or knife in hot water while cutting.

8) Removing Excess Fat

➜ If time allows, the best method is refrigeration until the fat hardens on the top.

➜ Eliminate fat from soup and stew by dropping ice cubes into the pot. As you stir, the fat will cling to the cubes. Discard the cubes before they melt.

➜ Lettuce leaves absorb fat also. Place a few into the pot and watch the fat cling to them.

➜ If you prop up one leg of your electric frying pan, (set it on a knife handle) you can make relatively grease free hamburgers or bacon for frying on the elevated side of the pan.

➜ When broiling meats on a rack, place a piece of bread in the broiler pan to soak up the dripping fat. This not only eliminates smoking of the fat, but reduces the chances of the fat catching fire.

➜ Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the fat in which you are going to deep fry. It will keep the food from absorbing too much fat and eliminate the greasy taste.

9) Eliminating The Spattering And Sticking

➜ When pan frying or sautéing, always heat the pan before adding the butter or oil. Not even eggs stick with this method.

➜ Sprinkle a little salt into the frying pan to prevent spattering.

➜ Vinegar brought to a boil in a new frying pan will prevent foods from sticking.

➜ If your muffins are sticking to the tin pan, place the hot pan on a wet towel. They will slide right out.

10) Preventing Boil Overs

➜ Add a lump of butter or a few teaspoons of cooking oil to the water and rice, noodles or spaghetti will not boil over or stick together.

11) Preparing Cut Fruit Ahead Of Time

➜ Toss the freshly cut fruit in lemon juice and it will not darken. The juice of half a lemon is enough for a quart or two of cut fruits.

➜ Cover with 1 cup syrup made of equal parts of water and sugar cooked until syrupy.

12) Softening Butter

➜ Soften butter for spreading by inverting a small heated pan over the butter dish for a minute or so.

➜ Grating a stick of butter softens it quickly.

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