Never refrigerate your potatoes. Starches in potatoes convert into sugars during winter time, preparing the potato for shooting in spring. The cold temperature in the fridge “fools” the potato into thinking that it’s winter time and does convert the starch into sugars, changing the nature and taste of the potato and making it less desirable for deep frying, baking or as a thickening agent in chowders.
13 October 2010:
2 ways to keep you green vegetables looking green after cooking:-
a. Blanch the vegetables briefly and shock them in ice cold water before using them in the intended final cooking process
b. Do not cover the pan when stir-frying green vegetables. The cover intensifies the amount of acid emitted by the vegetable itself during the cooking process and turns the green color into a dull olive green. This same chemical process however has the opposite effect on red, orange and yellow vegetables.
20 October 2010:
Use an oil mister to control and minimize the amount of oil you use in your cooking. Plus, unlike having only choices of commercially available cooking sprays, you get to choose the kind of oil you want to use. Use grapeseed oil or avocado oil; they have very high smoking points, well beyond the typical stir-frying and pan-frying temperatures.
15 December 2010:
Store eggs with the blunt side up to keep the yolk centered for a perfect sunny-side up!
22 December 2010:
Frozen fruits can contain more nutrients than their fresh counterparts because they are picked and frozen at the time of harvest. The freezing temperatures significantly slows the loss of nutrients during the transportation to market.
29 December 2010:
Refrain from adding cheese to make your risotto more creamy. Instead...don't be lazy and stir more! The stirring motion encourages the release of more starches from the short grain rice.
19 January 2011:
Do you know that gelatin is actually made from cow's ears? It's an animal-based product. Substitute gelatin with natural fruit pectin such as bananas, prunes or apple sauce, or commercially available fruit pectin powder in your baking. Agar agar, which is made from seaweed is another good option.
26 January 2011:
Brown rice is richer in natural oils than white rice, which is stripped of all the nutrients in the bran and germ. Brown rice is therefore more susceptible to rancidity. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
2 February 2011:
Chilling onions in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before chopping can help reduce the release of the sulfur compounds that make you cry.
23 February 2011:
To get more juice out of your lemons and limes, roll them between your palm and the chopping block before juicing them.
2 March 2011:
When reheating left-over rice in the microwave, cover the microwave-safe bowl/container (avoid plastics) with a paper towel to avoid excessive moisture loss to keep the rice moist and palatable.
9 March 2011:
Egg shells are porous and take in odors around them. Therefore, avoid storing foods with pungent flavors such as blue cheese (if you eat them) beside eggs.
23 March 2011:
Add an acid such as lemon or lime to cut apples and avocadoes to prevent them from turning brown as a result of oxidation.
30 March 2011:
When cooking beans from their raw state, add salt and other seasonings only after beans have soften. Adding salt too early on hardens the skin around the beans which means it will take a lot longer for them to soften.
10 April 2011:
Lightly coat your fish fillet with oat flour before searing them for a more crispy result.
23 April 2011:
Do not season your fish or seafood with salt until you are ready to cook them. Salt draws out moisture from your seafood so you don't want them hanging out with your seafood while you get the rest of the stuff ready.
8 May 2011:
Keep your vegetable blanching liquid and use it to cook your rice, giving it a boost both in flavor and nutritional value.
22 May 2011:
Do not throw away the left-over fiber and fragments of your orange after you are done with your supreme cuts. Squeeze out the juices for a quick and easy salad dressing or just straight up healthy homemade orange juice.
