Archive Category: 'Food Tips'

• Fancy & Garnished Ice Cubes: How To: Garnished & Colored Ice Cubes Maraschino cherries, one to each cube, are very appropriate for garnishing. They can be frozen in plain or appropriately tinted cubes. Lemon juice and lemon slices are also desirable additions. When fruits are to be frozen in the cubes, fill the tray one-third full with water, then partially freeze. Add the fruit [...]
• Watermelon Carving Tips: Today’s feature is from the National Watermelon Promotion Board with these Easy Watermelon Carving Tips: Carvings & Fun Ideas Following These Tips Will Make Carving Easier, Safer and Give You More Professional Results The tips include: Have the watermelon at room temperature before you start carving since the cuts will be easier to make. Refrigerate after carving is [...]
• How To Freeze Fruit: Buying fruits in bulk when they are in season and then freezing them is a great way to save money on groceries (when they’re at their lowest price), this also lets you enjoy your favorite fruits year round. Freezing fruits is a method of food preservation that is much quicker than canning and no fancy [...]
• Homemade Jelly Making: Troubleshooting Tips: What makes jelly cloudy? One or more of the following may cause cloudy jelly: Pouring jelly mixture into glasses too slowly. Allowing jelly mixture to stand before it is poured. Juice was not properly strained and so contained pulp. Jelly set too fast–usually the result of using too-green fruit. Why do crystals form in jelly? Crystals [...]
• Vintage Jelly & Jam Making Tips: Timeless Wisdom: Most of these tips come from a vintage booklet published in the 1940’s giving advice to homemakers on a variety of topics, others I’ve snipped from vintage articles. The Timeless Wisdom collection is a regular feature on Tipnut where we take a look back at the techniques and advice given to homemakers decades ago–many are [...]
• Can Eggs Be Frozen? You Betcha!: Freeze Eggs For Home Use: They are easily frozen and can be used in many ways. We in our home think it is as sensible and thrifty to buy eggs as it is to store away pork, poultry, vegetables, fruits and other foods when they are at the low point on the price scale. We have [...]
• Baking Soda In The Kitchen: Timeless Wisdom Collection: Here’s an assortment of vintage tips advising how to use baking soda in food preparation and cooking. Many are pretty original, I haven’t come across them before and usually I have to sort through these old tips carefully since many times they’re mentioned frequently in a variety of sources. These come from a recipe booklet [...]
• Smart Tip: Bulk Freezing With An Empty Can Funnel: Do you find funnels awkward to work with, especially when filling freezer bags with sauces and soups? Here’s a smart tip sent in by Maria: I make big batches of spaghetti sauce, chili and soups to freeze and store them in plastic freezer bags that seal shut since I can stack them flat and they take [...]
• Homemade Vegetable Wash: Recipes: Homemade Produce Wash Recipe: 1 cup water 1 cup vinegar 2 TBS baking soda 2 TBS lemon juice Directions: Mix ingredients then pour in clean spray bottle. Spray fresh vegetables & fruit generously. Sit for 5 minutes then rinse off well. Note: Make sure to first mix ingredients in deep container since there will be some fizzing from the baking soda & [...]
• Recipe Term Definitions: Beaten Eggs: Eggs, Slightly Beaten: beat eggs with fork just enough to blend whites and yolks. Eggs, Well Beaten: beat eggs (yolks and whites) until light and frothy. Egg Yolks, Well Beaten: beat yolks until thick and light colored. Egg Whites, Beaten Stiff: beat egg whites until they stand in peaks when beater is lifted out. Points of peaks droop [...]
• Cooking Timesaver: Make Ahead Herb Seasoning Salt: How nice would it be to have a ready supply of crushed garlic, onions, herbs & seasonings at your fingertips, whipping up batches only once a year? Today’s feature is from Pink Bites with usage tips & a bulk recipe for Herb Seasoning Salt (Tempero Mineiro): Helpful Notes: Use the seasoning in soups, stews, rice, beans, meats, [...]
• 25 Vintage Food Prep Tips: Timeless Wisdom: This collection of vintage tips was gathered from books and magazines that were published in the 1940’s, most are still quite useful for today’s kitchen. The Timeless Wisdom Collection has evolved into a regular weekly feature here on Tipnut, I’m glad so many of you enjoy them like I do . I choose them for [...]
• Tips To Make Pretty Molded Salads: This is an article from a vintage tip sheet titled “The Art Of Salad Making” that was written by Mary Hale Martin, Libby’s Home Economist. She was a fictional persona created by Libby’s with the same purpose as Betty Crocker (another fictional character)–to provide helpful cookery hints and tips that would also promote the brand [...]
• Herb Cookery: Vintage Tip Sheet: Balm The leaves of this herb have a delightful lemon flavor, but when used fresh should be subjected to a little simmering in boiling water to bring out their true flavor. Some herb leaves used fresh do not require this, but balm leaves do. Use with hot tea, in cold fruit punches. Add a small one to milk [...]
• Make Your Own Frozen Dinners: Today’s feature is from Bohemian Revolution with Make Your Own Pre-Cooked Frozen Dinners: Even though some frozen dinners are less unhealthy than others, they’re still pricey. You pay for that convenience. There’s a better option: make your own frozen dinners. The advantages to making your own are: you can control what goes in them, there’s no need [...]
• How To Make Green Tea: Since I began enjoying green teas, I learned there’s an art to making it and it’s a bit different than brewing regular tea. Once you start dabbling with good quality loose teas, you become very particular about how your tea is made. First some tips: In general use 1 level teaspoon of green tea per cup [...]
• Tipnut’s Guide To Green Tea: Did you know that when tea was first discovered, it was mainly used for medicinal purposes? Over time tea became better known as a daily beverage (it’s second only to water). I’m a coffee lover and never had much luck finding a satisfying tea, but after hearing so much about how good tea was for [...]
• Herbs & Spices: Storage Tips Guide: How To Tell If Spices & Herbs Are Good To Use If you have no expiry date listed on the package and you’re not sure when you purchased the seasoning, here are a few tips to help figure out whether or not your herbs and spices are stale or still good to use: Look at the color, [...]
• How to Make Vinaigrette: Recipe & Tips: Here’s a grocery bill buster: Homemade vinaigrette salad dressing. It’s very easy to make, ingredients couldn’t be cheaper and it’s one of the most popular dressings to top a salad with. Luckily, it’s super easy to make with the main two ingredients being vinegar and oil. Standard Ratio: Vinegar & Oil The standard ratio is 1 part vinegar [...]
• Quick Tricks With 7-Up: Here’s a tip page from a vintage cookbook using 7-Up in a variety of ways you may not have thought of. Freeze 7-Up in ice cube trays. Use the tangy “ice” cubes to spark party drinks. A thrifty New England style dinner is smoked pork butt with tangy maple glaze. Cook the meat as usual, then glaze [...]
• Chicken: Tip Sheet: Estimating Quantity To Buy Chicken Wings: Two to Three servings per pound. Number of wings will vary according to size. Breasts & Legs (thighs and drumsticks): 1/2 to 3/4 pound depending upon how prepared and what else is served with them. Small Chickens: 3 to 3 1/2 lbs. usually halved for broiling or barbecuing. Four servings per bird. Whole [...]
• Gifts From Your Kitchen: Recipes & Gift Tags: Today’s feature is from Whole Foods Market with recipes and free printable gift tags & cards to accompany each one–Gifts from Your Kitchen: Wrap up your holiday shopping without leaving the house! From flavored sugar and spiced oils to candied nuts and herbed salts, our crafty elves have cooked up tasty gift ideas for the foodies [...]
• Mashed Potatoes Tip List: To Prepare: Cut potatoes into small even pieces so that they cook quickly & evenly. Small pieces of cooked potato mash up easier than large pieces. Cover potatoes with cold water then place on stove to cook. Add salt once the water starts boiling. Starting the potatoes in cold water will help them cook evenly (if you [...]
• 18 Dainty Party Sandwiches: How To: Fancy Shaped Simple Sandwiches: (1) Make ordinary sandwiches using thinly sliced bread, butter and fillings. Cut into small triangles, diamonds, squares and fingers. (2) Cut thin bread slices with small, shaped cutters to make circles,flowers, stars, hearts, crescents, etc. Spread with butter, then spread one half with filling and cover with matching buttered slice. Rainbow Ribbons: [...]
• Tipnut Mailbag: Crush Herbs Fast & Easy: I’m just about caught up with my email backlog (woohoo!), here’s a kitchen tip quickie Josee Meehan sent in to share with us all: This from my husband (who is a chef): Herbs, like basil and oregano, can be quickly and easily crushed when frozen. The trick is to take them out of the freezer seconds [...]