Checking the freshness of eggs
We have all been there, wondering if those eggs in the fridge are still any good. There is a simple test that you can do to check the freshness of the eggs. Fill a bowl with 4-5 inches of water. Drop the egg in, if it falls to the bottom, it’s fresh, if it floats, it’s not and should be discarded.
Removing bitterness from onions
When using raw onions in a salad one way to get rid of the harsh, bitter flavor is to place already chopped onions in a colander and pour boiling water over them, drain completely.
Avoiding sticky pasta and rice
The more you cook pasta or rice, the stickier they will be due to the amount of starch in the product. When cooking pasta, add a little bit of oil to the pasta when you drop it in the boiling water. If using the pasta or rice in other dishes, simply rinse the cooked pasta or rice with cold water to stop the cooking process and remove some of that starch.
Adding a shine to the tops of pies
Beat an egg with a splash of milk in a small dish and brush it on the pastry/pie. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.
Making scrambled eggs fluffy
Sometimes when making scrambled eggs they tend to look flat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of cold water to the eggs and beat them to combine.
Working with yeast dough
One tip to having yeast dough rise faster is to make sure that all of the ingredients are at room temperature. Make sure to let the ingredient sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before making your yeast dough.
Substituting Mayonnaise
If you run out of mayo and your recipe is calling for a certain amount, you can easily substitute it with sour cream. If you add an egg yolk from a hardboiled egg and a teaspoon of mustard, you won’t be able to tell the difference from real mayo.
Substituting wine in sauces
If you are not a big fan of using wine in your sauces, you can mimic the wine flavor by doing the following: dissolve a few pinches of sugar in vinegar and add to a sauce, this goes best with meat or fish dishes.
Marina's Kitchen 