Posts Tagged ‘kitchen hints’

We love collecting kitchen tips. It doesn’t take much research to find hundreds of handy, interesting, space-saving and time-saving ideas. And everyone has a good tip or two or three, which we hope to collect and present the best of them here.

If you have a handy hint or a safety idea or any other kitchen innovation, share it with our readers by clicking on the Comments tag below right. We’d love to hear from you!

Cast iron
Cast iron kitchen utensils can outlive us all if treated correctly. This involves basically two things: always season them correctly, and never wash them in soap. Cast iron is interesting in that has pores, and minuscule bits of food can get trapped in those pores, making the utensil’s surface sticky. Seasoning fills the pores with tiny amounts of fat, which has the same effect as a non-stick coating. Correct seasoning of cast iron starts with a rinsing and thorough drying. Now grease the inside of the pan well with a solid shortening. Place the utensil upside down on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for an hour at 175°F (350°F). If you intend cooking with acidic foods (such as tomato sauces), it will pay to repeat this process three or four times first. Also repeat the process periodically through the pan’s life. If you do, that life will be a long one. Always wash with water, a damp cloth and, if necessary, a brush or salt (as an abrasive). Always dry thoroughly.

Broken glass
This is always a concern. What if you miss a bit and the kids run through the kitchen in bare feet? What if you miss a bit and you walk through the kitchen in bare feet! While the big bits of broken glass are easy to pick up, the rest is a problem. A dustpan and brush is obviously the next best step, but it can always move rather than gather small pieces. One thing will, with patience, get everything — a slice of bread.

Glass kettles
Talking of glass, a glass kettle comes up like new when you boil water and a teaspoon of boracic acid.

Tea and coffee cup stains
The world can never be quite right if your favourite tea cup or coffee mug is stained. But stains are inevitable and, once there, they can resist the hottest of water and hardest of scrubbing. Here’s a trick: clean with a damp toothbrush dipped in salt.

Stained steel
It is almost, at times, as if stainless steel rebels against its name. When your stainless steel gets that stained look, one thing restores it to its sparkling best better than anything — a damp cloth soaked in vinegar.

We love collecting kitchen tips. It started, oddly, with a discussion about colanders, about which alone there is a world of handy uses. If you haven’t seen our list, look here and be prepared to be surprised at how many things you can do with a colander!

Kitchen tips, however, are a much bigger world. Everyone has a good tip or two or three, and it doesn’t take much research to find hundreds of handy, interesting, space-saving and time-saving ideas.

So, starting tomorrow, we’re going to present some of the best for you. We’ll keep researching, and periodically present more tips.

Most of all, however, we’d love to hear from you. If you have a handy hint or a safety idea or any other kitchen innovation, share it with our readers by clicking on the Comment button below. We’d love to hear from you!