# What other kitchen tricks don't I know about? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128 "2006-06-18T01:29:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128/41 "2006-06-19T17:54:45Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > Corn, asparagus and mushrooms all cook better in the microwave than in a pot or pan. I wet the bowl (put some water in and then pour it out) add the veges and nuke. You have to work out you own timing I like corn and asparagus crisp and still a little crunchy. An article in our local paper not long ago mentioned grilling asparagus. I happened to pass a farm stand a few days later that had fresh asparagus, so I decided to try it. I worried they might come out too dry, so I cut the ends and threw them in a bowl, covered them with water and added some lemon. After a half hour or so I threw them on the grill, turning them over occasionally. They were perfect. ---
**Author:** ![MrJackboots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MrJackboots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrJackboots)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128/42 "2006-06-19T19:15:19Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > This still makes no sense to me. The firmness of my hand does not change depending on the position of my fingers. > > Why not just use a meat thermometer and take the steak’s temp? Seem like that would be simple, easy and accurate? Huh. Mine does; the muscles that move the thumb tense more as you count towards the little finger. And meat thermometers poke holes in your steak; they let the juices out. ---
**Author:** ![Locat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Locat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locat)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128/43 "2006-06-20T01:22:14Z")
\*\*Dogzilla \*\* I also feel no difference with the Okay sign. I was taught a different way. Instead of making an OK sign, make a fist. Touch the tip of your thumb (lightly) to the second knuckle of each finger (or as close as your thumb can get). Don’t stick your thumb between your fingers to do this, keep it outside the fingers. You may have to adjust slightly to what works for you and how strong your hands are, but you should get the hang of it pretty quickly. ---
**Author:** ![WishIHadACoolName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WishIHadACoolName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WishIHadACoolName)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128/44 "2006-06-20T01:44:33Z")
When chopping a large quantity of onions, I find that I don’t cry at all if I wear my contact lenses. (I rarely wear them, as I have wickedly dry eyes). Some people swear by cutting onions next to a burning candle. If you don’t already do it, always add salt to the pot when cooking pasta. I don’t know why it changes things (maybe because salted water has a lower boiling point than unsalted), but pasta cooked in salted water always tastes better, but not saltier, than pasta in “plain” water. Do not rinse pasta if it’s being served hot. Never buy that evil parmesan-like-substance in the shaker. Buy a piece of parm, and get yourself a good box grater. I like to shave it onto my salads, or sometimes shred it instead of grating it for pasta. I’m sure all the foodies here already know this one. Roasted tomatoes, sauteed onions and a bit of garlic are the perfect pasta accompaniment. Toss in some fresh mozzarella balls and enjoy. No matter what you might expect to happen, always allow the man to cook! My husband thought he was kitchen-challenged until I went back to work. He rocks! Brewing tea for iced? Sweeten it half-n-half with honey and sugar. I recently bought a Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Pot. It’s our new favorite gadget. I mix green and black tea 2:1 for perfect iced tea. To really remove food stuck to a pan (baked on, burnt on, sticky, whatever), sprinkle liberally with baking soda, let it sit for an hour. Works beautifully, little elbow grease required. Noodle soup? Keep the noodles seperate from the soup until serving. Mushy noodles are gross. Don’t use really fresh eggs for hard boiling. Fresh eggs are very hard to peel. Use the older eggs (not like, a year old of course). Add a splash of vinegar to the water before boiling, and the shells will probably not crack. My church-lady cookbook also has the index by page number. Cracks me up. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128/45 "2006-06-20T02:14:16Z")
Since it’s mostly water, celery lasts longer in the fridge if you separate the ribs and store them in a container of water (you may have to cut them in half or smaller, depending on the size container you use – ziplock bags work, too). Does anyone know _why_ cottage cheese stays good longer when stored in the container upside down? I tried looking it up, but all the sites say “no one knows why, but it works.” But I’m curious – it doesn’t seem to make any sense. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128/46 "2006-06-20T02:46:51Z")
> [@Dijon Warlock](#): > > Vegetables grown underground should be cooked in cold water, while vegetables grown above ground should be cooked in boiling water… Specifically, if you plunge green vegetables - broccoll, green beans, etc. - into boiling water (blanching), they stay bright green insted of turning all gray. That’s one of my favorite tips of all. Don’t know about the root vegetable thing, other than you can’t really over-cook them. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128/47 "2006-06-20T03:06:45Z")
> [@WishIHadACoolName](#): > > Never buy that evil parmesan-like-substance in the shaker. Buy a piece of parm, and get yourself a good box grater. I like to shave it onto my salads, or sometimes shred it instead of grating it for pasta. I’m sure all the foodies here already know this one. Another ringing endorsement for good parmesan! The taste is so much better it’s incredible. Since I’m a klutz and usually scrape my knuckles on box graters I much prefer a [microplane grater](http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=148189). Those things purely rock. They work great on fresh ginger, lemon/lime rind, etc. too. It’s my favorite kitchen tool. > [@](#): > > Brewing tea for iced? Sweeten it half-n-half with honey and sugar. I recently bought a Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Pot. It’s our new favorite gadget. I mix green and black tea 2:1 for perfect iced tea. Oh Lordy, yes! I love, love, love mine. It’s a great convenience since I go through a pitcher of iced tea per day. ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128/48 "2006-06-20T05:13:40Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Me, too! I have two treasures in my collection. [The Margaret Mary McBride Encyclopedia of Cooking](http://www.collectorsbookmarket.com/Mart/CPUserImages/ImgThumbU354F1JEYEMUIY.JPG) and [America Cooks](http://www.oldcookbooks.com/s=oldcookbooks.com/product/414639) I say “collection” tongue-in-cheek. I really do use them as cookbooks. > > The McBride one was my great-grandmother’s. I belive it was a collect-a-section each week or month at the A&P or something like that. It’s hilarious. Whole sections devoted to the different ways to set tables for dinner parties (I’m probably the only Doper besides \*\*Eve \*\*who knows where a desert fork is supposed to go for a formal dinner party circa 1959.) My mother has one of these — it’s all dog-eared and takes up a whole drawer in her kitchen. It’s enormous! But it’s a great source of entertainment. I believe she started collecting them shortly after she married in 1953. Yup, one section a week from the local grocery. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128/49 "2006-06-20T05:49:59Z")
> [@Dijon Warlock](#): > > The “stuck on bits” are called the _FOND!_ In French cooking, they realize that a good part of the flavor is in the “stuck on bits” (or “brown bits” as we call them in the USA), but the correct name for those bits is the FOND!!! (I hate that most cooking shows won’t tell you that) What you should do is _deglaze the pan_ with water, stock, or wine while the pan is hot, and scrape the FOND into the liquid and use it in your sauce or whatever. Don’t (fer Og’s sake) put soap in it, USE it. It’s FLAVOR. Are you telling me that Toaster-leavin’s are a delicacy in France? ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128/50 "2006-06-20T06:16:56Z")
I find if I chill onions before chopping them, they don’t make my eyes water so much. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128/51 "2006-06-20T07:05:24Z")
> [@riker1384](#): > > Are you telling me that Toaster-leavin’s are a delicacy in France? You’ve never deglazed a pan, have you? **Dijon Warlock** knows what she’s talking about. You clearly don’t. Give up, or learn. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128/52 "2006-06-20T11:26:09Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > Does anyone know _why_ cottage cheese stays good longer when stored in the container upside down? I tried looking it up, but all the sites say “no one knows why, but it works.” But I’m curious – it doesn’t seem to make any sense. The explanation that I’ve heard is that if you store it “right side up”, it allows air (and thus spores, bacteria, etc.) into the container. If you store it upside down, the liquid seals the opening, and thus nothing can get in…or at least _much less_ can get in. On onions: yes, chilling them keeps the eye-irritation down when you chop them, as does cutting them under running water. > [@dnooman](#): > > **Dijon Warlock** knows what she’s talking about. You clearly don’t. I take it that you’ve never seen me naked. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128/53 "2006-06-20T13:25:22Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > **Dijon Warlock** knows what she’s talking about. You clearly don’t. I know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about a _joke_ from Married With Children. The Bundy’s were so poor that somtimes they had to scrape the “FONNNNND” and ashes out of the toaster and eat it for dinner. They called it toaster-leavin’s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-kitchen-tricks-dont-i-know-about/361128.md?page=2)