Gordon B asked:


Boggie. Here’s a thing, you have at you finger tips, the ability to find out anything. http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4TSHB_enGB213GB213&q=google

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Andrew Chin asked:



There are some basic cooking tips that anyone could learn and use to help out in the kitchen. With today’s busy lifestyles becoming more prevalent, learning and using these basic cooking tips will save you time and headache.

The following fifteen is just a tiny handful of the many basic cooking tips that you could integrate into your everyday life to save time and money.

• Bacon: Reduce shrinkage by running cold water over it before frying.

• Beans: Stop gas attacks by adding a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda in a big pot of beans while they are soaking.

• Boiled Eggs: Add some vinegar or a little salt to the boiling water when boiling eggs. This basic cooking tips will keep the egg in the shell if it cracks.

• Ripening Fruits and Vegetables: Put your unripe fruit and vegetables in a brown paper bag and place the bag in a dark cupboard for few day. Using this basic cooking tips is an excellent way to save money on fruits and vegetables that has to be ripened.

• Salads: Cut your iceberg lettuce into wedges instead of tearing salad greens to save some time making a salad.

• Spaghetti Sauce: Add a small pinch of bicarbonate of soda to your spaghetti sauce to lower the acid taste from the tomatoes.

• Corn: Place the corn directly into boiling water, and do not add salt. Do not boil corn for more than three minutes. Overcooking reduces the taste level.

• Frozen Vegetables: When they are stuck together, simply run boiling water over them.

• Grating Cheese: Freeze for twenty five minutes before grating. It will shred so much easier.

• Pancakes: Use a small amount of sugar in the batter and they will brown more quickly.

• Pie Pastry: Substitute one teaspoon of vinegar for one teaspoon of the cold water called for in the recipe and the pastry will be much flakier.

• Quick Sauces: Use condensed cream soups such as cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, cream of tomato, cream of celery, to make fast and easy sauces.

• Quick Tenderizer: Use vinegar as a meat tenderizer. Add a tablespoon to water when boiling meat or ribs for stews. This basic cooking tips will help tenderizer even the toughest meat.

• Wilted vegetables: Soak wilted veggies in two cups water, one tablespoon vinegar to help bring them back to life.

• Wooden Skewers: Soak all your wooden skewers in cold water for twenty minutes to prevent them from burning.

Inspiration could be considered to be one of the key ingredients to writing. Only if one is inspired, can one get to writing on any subject especially like cooking.

Use some of these basic cooking tips to make your life in the kitchen more enjoyable.

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Denny Phillips asked:


Have you been frustrated by cracks in the top of your cheesecakes? Would you like tips to make flaky biscuits? Or would you just like to know a bit more about sweet potatoes? Try these cooking tips from the Good Cooking Central website today for better results in your kitchen endeavours:

• BISCUIT TIPS:

If you want biscuits that are crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside, you roll the dough thinly and fold it over once before cutting out the biscuits. They will then split open easily when you’re ready to butter them.

To re- heat biscuits, put them in a well-dampened paper bag. Twist the bag closed and put in a 300º oven for several minutes or until warm.

For soft-sided biscuits, bake them in a pan with sides and put the biscuits close together. For crusty biscuits, bake them on a cookie sheet and separate them from each other.

• PREVENTING CHEESECAKE CRACKS:

Grease the sides of the pan before adding batter. The surface will not stick to the sides of the pan and crack when the cheesecake starts shrinking as it cools.

Run a knife or a metal spatula around the edges of the pan immediately after removing the cheesecake from the oven.

Drastic temperature changes can also cause a cheesecake to crack. Avoid putting a warm cheesecake from the oven into the refrigerator.

To disguise cracks, top the cheesecake with fruit or some other topping.

• SOUR MILK:

Since sour milk is not really sold in the grocery stores, when a recipe calls for sour milk, simply add 1 TBSP. of vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk. You can also use buttermilk to replace the sour milk called for in a recipes.

• BAKING POWDER:

If you use too much baking powder in a recipe it will produce a product with a coarse grain, and will cause the product to eventually fall. If you use too little baking powder, the product will not rise enough and be heavy.

Baking powder tends to lose its strength over time and should be kept in a tightly covered container. Moisture will cause the baking powder to deteriorate faster.

When increasing the amount of eggs in a recipe, decrease the baking powder by 1/2 teaspoon for each extra egg added.

• CUTTING FAT WITH APPLESAUCE:

To reduce the fat content in your baking recipes, substitute applesauce for half of the amount of vegetable oil called for in the recipe. Using all applesauce produces a low-calorie, moist product.

• ADJUST TEMPERATURE FOR DIFFERENT PANS:

Keep in mind that the type of pan you use when baking can determine the outcome of your finished product. For glass pans, turn down baking temperature by 25?. If you substitute a shallow pan, reduce the overall baking time by one quarter. If you use a deeper pan than suggested in the recipe, increase the overall baking time by one quarter.

• ALTERNATIVES TO COOKING WITH BUTTER:

When browning or sautéing onions, hamburger, etc., replace the butter by spraying your skillet with non-stick spray or use chicken or beef broth instead.

When baking, use reduced-calorie margarine instead of butter (but note that the texture may not always come out the same). Non-fat margarines currently on the market do not tend bake well.

Cutting butter in some of your recipes can cut a lot of the calories making it a diet-friendly option.

• SWEET POTATOES:

Due to rapid spoilage, keep sweet potatoes fresh, by storing them in a dry, cool (55-60°) place at a temperature of about 55-60°. If stored in the refrigerator, they may develop a hard core and an “off” taste. Sweet potatoes will keep for a month or longer if stored at the proper temperature. At normal room temperature, they should be used within a week of purchase. Brush off any excess dirt before storing, but do not wash them until you are ready to cook them.

When preparing, wash sweet potatoes well. It is best to cook them whole whenever possible as most of the nutrients are next to the skin. Also, the skins are easier to remove after they have been cooked. Pierce the sweet potato skins with fork. Place potatoes in a pan and cook in an oven heated to 375° F for about 45 minutes or until tender. Cool potatoes slightly before removing skins. To cook sweet potatoes in a microwave, wash and pierce potatoes. Place them on a paper towel. For 2 medium sweet potatoes, cook on high for 5–9 minutes, or for 4 potatoes cook for 10–13 minutes.

Sweet potatoes are high in vitamins A and C, and are a good source of fiber.

• SUGAR SUBSTITUTES:

To substitute for 1 cup of sugar use any of the following:

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 ½ cups molasses

2 cups corn syrup

3/4 cups honey

1 ½ cups maple syrup

Note: If you use molasses, corn syrup, honey, or maple syrup you need to reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe.

• BROWN SUGAR SUBSTITUTE:

If you need to substitute brown sugar in a recipe, for each 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar use 1 ½ Tablespoons molasses plus 1 cup granulated sugar.

To make 1 cup light brown sugar from dark brown sugar, use ½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar and ½ cup granulated sugar.

To make 1 cup dark brown sugar, use 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar plus 1 tablespoon molasses; or 1 cup granulated sugar plus 1/4 cup molasses.

If you would like to see more hints to help you in the kitchen, and get great recipes too, visit the Good Cooking Central website.

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PeterRussellClarke02 asked:

1980s celebrity chef Peter Russell-Clarke visits the Triple J Breakfast Show for thier segment Breakfast Come And Get It, to dispense cooking tips and recipes.
This week’s recipe: lettuce.

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Adrian Lawrence asked:


The 21st Century has seen an explosion in the popularity of cooking and creative catering on both sides of the Atlantic. Although cooking and preparing food is an age old skill that has been passed down through generations of people, the recent fashion for celebrity chefs has led to an increase in the amount of people who cook and prepare food. Traditionally, cooking and preparing recipes has been the domain of the housewife or matriarch in a household but due to the emergence of celebrity chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and Aldo Zilli more and more people have developed a flair and passion for creating culinary masterpieces.

As well as many cook books and recipe books being published and available in retail outlets and television programmes and dvds being shown, the internet is a very valuable resources for chefs of any standard and also the casual and occasional cook. Many celebrity chefs have put their names and signatures to recipes and too products used in cooking.

Recipes for almost any type of food, from Indian to Mexican through to traditional English meals can be found online. For example, typing in the phrase “recipes” into Google provides 122,000,000 results.

As well as the recipes published on websites, it is also possible to purchase the cook books and recipe books mentioned in the previous paragraph from online retailers such as Amazon. Purchasing using this method allows the consumer to read reviews of the books and compare them online very easily. These sites also allow people to buy new books and also second hand books for cheaper than the new version. These books can be ordered, dispatched and received within 24 hours from some sites and this has helped see a huge surge in online book sales. E-Bay is another very useful resource for picking up recipe books, cookery books and items needed for cookery. Often very good condition, second hand and new items can be found on EBay for very good and affordable prices.

As well as these online book stores and recipe websites which can help chefs at all levels and culinary standards to achieve great results there is another aspect to the internet which can help greatly. There are many forums online which are used by people who have great knowledge and experience in cookery and food preparation. They can provide answers to specific questions if necessary or even just help with general cooking tips and ideas. These forums allow people to compare and discuss results they have achieved when cooking as well as giving tips and advice. Forum users must be wary however when taking advice and help from other users because it is very difficult to ascertain the validity of someone’s ability or expertise in the cookery world. Sometimes an element of trial and error is needed when using forums and the advice received from members of them.

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Kenny Vanderburen asked:


We have all been there, you grow up and at some point need to start your young adult live on your own two legs. You get you own place to stay, sleep and, of course cook so you can eat. The first time was a very strange and maybe even a scary moment. People who had the biggest problem in this stage of their lives are the ones that were not given any cooking tips when they grew up. People who never got any advice on cooking when they were young could even a problem warming up some hot dogs. We need to make sure that our children learn how to cook so they won’t be surprised the moment they need to cook on their own. We don’t want to see them eating out in all kinds of, maybe fast food, restaurants.

Even if you didn’t get any cooking tips in your childhood and because of this hardly know how to cook for yourself, it is not to late. You just need to get good tips on cooking but you have to make sure that you learn from someone who has been giving lessons for a long time or who knows how to pass on this knowledge to others. Another option is to get a good book on the subject and try it that way, you could even consult the internet for good recipes and try it that way. The main thing is that you learn to do it your self so you can teach your own children then they don’t have to go down the same path that you gone. And isn’t the idea nice that maybe one day the recipes you thought your children will passed towards their children.

Trial and Error come before Success

We all would love to just learn something and then reproduce that in to a successful end result but we all know that almost never happens. The same goes for cooking tips you learn. The first time you will probably fail but by doing this and knowing what you did wrong you can perfect it for the next time you try it. When you teach your children the fine art of cooking and you them making a mistake let them make it. And after they see what went wrong they will learn from it. There is no harm in a little experimenting in the kitchen, great recipes were born from doing just that, probably it will taste less then is should but they will learn what happens if you mix certain things together and they will have fun in the kitchen. Always give some of your personal tips and secrets to the ones you teach so they will see it as a reward of their efforts. When we speak of letting them make mistakes we mean the kind that doesn’t burn the house down but only influences the taste of the recipe a bit.

It is important we know how to cook when we start living on our own, teach your children the fun of being in the kitchen. Make the kitchen a place the family likes to stay in when your cooking. That way you will interest them for cooking food and will benefit them once they become adults.

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Greg Watson asked:


Before an individual gets started, there are a few steps that should be followed first. These cooking tips will prevent most disasters from happening. Always read through the entire recipe before beginning. This ensures that all necessary ingredients are on hand before starting. Check expiration dates on all non perishable supplies, so that running to the store happens in the middle of baking. Preheat the oven and check with an oven thermometer. Most ovens can run anywhere from twenty five degrees to cooler to twenty five degrees warmer. This ensures that the proper temperature is obtained for the recipe. Follow directions on adjusting oven racks, prepping baking sheets, and using the right baking pan. Measure ingredients accurately this means holding it up to eye level especially with liquids. To measure dry ingredients over fill then level off with flat edge of knife. Finally bake with love, if an individual is angry or rushed the recipe may not turn out right.

These next cooking tips are about ingredients. There are many different kinds of flour, and they are not all the same. Wheat flour is important for all yeast breads. Bread flour works for yeast loaves, however put it in yeast bread and it will turn into a heavy cake. Cake flour is very fine. All purpose flour can be used for most any baking. Bleached and unbleached flours can be used interchangeably. Make sure to store flour in an airtight container, in a spot that cool and dry for up to six months.

Baking powder and baking soda are not interchangeable. Baking powder is a combination of baking soda and an acid. Its leavening power works when mixed with wet ingredients and then baked into the oven. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. When it mixes with an acid ingredient like buttermilk, yogurt or molasses, it makes carbon dioxide bubbles that make baked goods light and airy.

Cooking tips for handling chocolate are important. First there are different types of chocolate. Unsweetened chocolate is chocolate liquor that has at least fifty percent cocoa butter and no added sugar. Various amounts of sugar added create bittersweet, semisweet, and dark chocolate. Milk chocolate is dried milk powder, cocoa butter and added sugar. White chocolate is made with cocoa butter instead of chocolate liquor. Unsweetened cocoa is made from chocolate liquor with seventy five percent cocoa butter removed and then dried and ground into a paste. When melting chocolate it is easy to burn, so always melt it over very low heat. Individuals can choose the double boiler method, the direct heat method, or the microwave oven method.

Using these cooking tips will make almost any baked goodie turn out great.


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jstlttllm asked:


and should I brine it?

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