The following hints are things that I have learned from years of cooking. I can’t say that there is anything scientific about any of these, and I certainly can’t guarantee that these will work for you. Every cook has their own experience. But for me, these are things that have been helpful.

-- Grandma Judy
  1. Always sift flour before measuring when baking cakes.
  2. I use the water displacement method for measuring shortening. For example, if you need one cup of shortening, pour one cup of water into a two cup (or larger) glass measuring cup. Spoon in the shortening until the water reaches the two cup mark. Pour out the water and put the shortening into your recipe. This is much easier than pressing down the shortening to the one cup mark and then trying to get the shortening out of the cup! (Note: I learned this from my high school Home Economics teacher.)
  3. To bread okra before frying, pour the cut up okra pieces into a gallon zip-lock bag. Pour in the breading ingredients. Close the bag tightly and shake. The okra will be uniformly breaded and ready for frying.
  4. Spray muffin pans with cooking spray (Pam) to keep them from sticking.
  5. When scrambling eggs, use butter or margarine, not a butter substitute to keep eggs from sticking to the pan.
  6. Minute Maid Frozen Lemon Juice works great in all recipes requiring fresh lemon juice. I keep a bottle in the refrigerator and a spare in the freezer. It is much easier than squeezing lemons and I can’t tell the difference in the taste.
  7. Buttermilk makes the best biscuits and cornbread.
  8. Keep tomato sauces on low heat. They will bubble and splatter if the heat is too high.
  9. Be generous with flavorings. For example, if the recipe calls for a teaspoon, I pour the flavoring in until it just begins to run over.
  10. When using canned vegetables packed in water, such as green beans, corn, or peas, drain the liquid and rinse the vegetables under cold water. This helps to eliminate the “canned” taste.
  11. Dry potatoes with paper towel before frying. I always peel and wash the potatoes under running water as I cut them up to fry. If there is water left on the potato it will splatter and pop as soon as it hits the hot grease. Wrapping the potatoes in a paper towel to absorb the water will eliminate this.
  12. When you bring herbs or parsley home from the grocery store, cut off the bottom one inch of the stems and put in a glass of water in the refrigerator. This will keep them fresh longer.
  13. Crack an egg in a measuring cup before adding to batter. If the egg is bad, or if a piece of the shell gets in the egg, you will not ruin your batter mixture.
  14. Use a whisk for stirring gravy or condensed soup. This will help get the “lumps” out easier.
  15. Every oven cooks differently so always set the timer for the shortest time on the recipe and then adjust.
  16. When adding flour to a liquid, add a little at a time. You may put the flour in a small bowl, add about a ½ cup of the liquid, stir to mix thoroughly, then add to the rest of the recipe.
  17. A small amount of milk may be added to left over creamed potatoes if they are too stiff. As you are reheating the potatoes, just stir in as much milk as you need to make the potatoes creamy.