Susanville Supermarket IGA Community Cookbook

If a soup or stew is too salty, add raw cut potatoes. Discard them after they have cooked – they will have absorbed the salt.

If a soup or stew is too sweet, add salt. If a main dish or vegetable is too sweet, add a teaspoon of cider vinegar.

A fresh egg will sink in water, a stale one will float. An egg white is easiest to beat at room temperature. Take the egg out of the refrigerator about 1/2 hour before using. For light, fluffy scrambled eggs, add a little water while beating the eggs. Add vinegar to the water when boiling eggs. The vinegar helps seal the egg.

To avoid ‘onion eyes’ peel under cold water or refrigerate (or freeze) before chopping.

To perk up soggy lettuce, add lemon juice to a bowl of cold water and soak lettuce for an hour in the refrigerator. When cooking carrots, peas, beets or corn, add a small amount of sugar to the water to keep the flavour. To keep sweet corn yellow, add one teaspoon of lemon juice to the cooking water just about a minute before taking off the stove. Never salt the water you cook corn in. It will only toughen the corn.

Store celery and lettuce in paper bags, not plastic. And leave the outside leaves and stalks alone until ready to use.

Sunlight doesn’t ripen tomatoes, warmth does. Store tomatoes with stems pointed down and they will stay fresher, longer.

To soften rock-hard brown sugar, simply add a slice of soft bread to the package and close the bag tightly. In a few hours the sugar will be soft again.

Place green fruits in a perforated plastic bag. The holes will allow air to circulate while retaining the ethylene gas that fruits produce during ripening.

Poke a hole in the middle of the hamburger patties while shaping them. The burgers will cook faster and the holes will disappear when done.

Marshmallows won’t dry out when frozen.

If your stew is slightly burnt, milk will take the burnt taste out.

The best way to thaw fish is in milk. The milk draws out the frozen taste and gives the fish a fresh flavour.

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Be sure your grill is hot enough before starting.
Grill meat and veggies about 4 inches from heat source and chicken about 6-8 inches away.

To add more flavor, try adding pre soaked chunks of natural hardwoods like Hickory.

Make sure grill is clean before cooking.

To prevent sticking, brush or spray a light coating of oil on grid.
If your grill has a top, close it to allow smoke to add its flavor.

To keep poultry from drying out, grill with bone in and baste continuously.
Poultry dark meat takes longer than white meat so start it sooner.
Sear chicken on the skin side first.

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