If you like rice that's snowy white, add some lemon juice to the cooking water. If the rice you're cooking has burned slightly, you can remove the burned flavor by adding a heel from a loaf of fresh white bread and covering the pot for a few minutes. When cooking dry beans, a little baking soda will keep them from getting mushy. When cooking potatoes or rice, add a pinch of rosemary to the water instead of salt; it adds a special flavor.
You can make chocolate flavored oatmeal without buying the more expensive packaged kind by adding cocoa mix to regular oatmeal as you cook it. Mix in enough cocoa to please your taste. If your hot cereal has lumps in it, next time make sure the water is boiling before adding the cereal a little at a time. When buying pasta, make sure it's made from semolina rather than ordinary flour. Pasta made from semolina holds its shape better and doesn't become mushy
A large strainer or a French fry basket can make it easy to drain pasta. Sit either device inside the cooking pot before you add the pasta; after cooking you can simply lift the pasta from the pot.
When boiling water for spaghetti or macaroni, add a teaspoon or so of cooking oil. Then the pasta won't stick together (or to the pot), and you needn't stir it constantly. For perfect al dente pasta every time, use the old Italian method of testing for doneness. Remove a strand of pasta from the boiling water and throw it against the wall or refrigerator. If it sticks, the pasta is cooked al dente and should be drained and served right away.
Homemade egg pastas can be rolled, cut, and partially dried (until still pliable but not sticky), then laid on cloth or heavy paper dusted with semolina flour or cornmeal. Cover the pasta with another towel and store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When cooked, the pasta will have the same flavor as freshly made. There are several ways to prevent the pot boiling over when cooking pasta. You can lay a large metal spatula across the top of the pot; or rub shortening around the rim before cooking; or add several teaspoons of cooking oil or a dab of butter to the cooking water.
For superior pasta, let salted water come to a boil, stir the pasta into the water, cover the pot, and turn off the heat. After the pasta sits for 15 minutes it will be ready to eat. To prevent cooked spaghetti strands from becoming sticky, run fresh, hot water into the spaghetti pot before draining. If you've made a pot of spaghetti but can't serve it at once, leave it in water, but make it cool enough to stop the cooking process. To reheat the spaghetti, put it in a strainer and shake it thoroughly as you run it under hot tap water.
If you're going to use pasta in a dish that requires further cooking reduce the pasta cooking time by one-third. It is possible to remove ravioli from a can without damaging the "pillows." Open the can; place it in a pan, open-end down; puncture the other end of the can with a can opener, and lift the can straight off the ravioli. Every pillow will be intact. Hang homemade pasta over a clothes hanger to dry. You can cut a thin-crust pizza more easily with kitchen scissors than with a knife.
You can make chocolate flavored oatmeal without buying the more expensive packaged kind by adding cocoa mix to regular oatmeal as you cook it. Mix in enough cocoa to please your taste. If your hot cereal has lumps in it, next time make sure the water is boiling before adding the cereal a little at a time. When buying pasta, make sure it's made from semolina rather than ordinary flour. Pasta made from semolina holds its shape better and doesn't become mushy
A large strainer or a French fry basket can make it easy to drain pasta. Sit either device inside the cooking pot before you add the pasta; after cooking you can simply lift the pasta from the pot.
When boiling water for spaghetti or macaroni, add a teaspoon or so of cooking oil. Then the pasta won't stick together (or to the pot), and you needn't stir it constantly. For perfect al dente pasta every time, use the old Italian method of testing for doneness. Remove a strand of pasta from the boiling water and throw it against the wall or refrigerator. If it sticks, the pasta is cooked al dente and should be drained and served right away.
Homemade egg pastas can be rolled, cut, and partially dried (until still pliable but not sticky), then laid on cloth or heavy paper dusted with semolina flour or cornmeal. Cover the pasta with another towel and store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When cooked, the pasta will have the same flavor as freshly made. There are several ways to prevent the pot boiling over when cooking pasta. You can lay a large metal spatula across the top of the pot; or rub shortening around the rim before cooking; or add several teaspoons of cooking oil or a dab of butter to the cooking water.
For superior pasta, let salted water come to a boil, stir the pasta into the water, cover the pot, and turn off the heat. After the pasta sits for 15 minutes it will be ready to eat. To prevent cooked spaghetti strands from becoming sticky, run fresh, hot water into the spaghetti pot before draining. If you've made a pot of spaghetti but can't serve it at once, leave it in water, but make it cool enough to stop the cooking process. To reheat the spaghetti, put it in a strainer and shake it thoroughly as you run it under hot tap water.
If you're going to use pasta in a dish that requires further cooking reduce the pasta cooking time by one-third. It is possible to remove ravioli from a can without damaging the "pillows." Open the can; place it in a pan, open-end down; puncture the other end of the can with a can opener, and lift the can straight off the ravioli. Every pillow will be intact. Hang homemade pasta over a clothes hanger to dry. You can cut a thin-crust pizza more easily with kitchen scissors than with a knife.
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