BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Southern Cooking Some Cooking Tips (add your own to this thread)

**Add a little lemon juice to water when boiling fish to make fish firm and white.

**Adding cold water to the bottom of the broiling pan before broiling meat helps absorb smoke and grease and makes clean up easier.

**For a juicer burger, rub both sides with ice water before grilling.

**Gravy too greasy tasting? Add a bit of baking soda to take that greasiness away and it won't affect the taste!

**It is best to freeze meat pies and/or turnovers unbaked.

**When food is too salty, add a cut raw potato, then discard the potato once it is boiled. The potato absorbs the extra salt.

Sharon

Guess I'll add some more of my own tips. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

**Storing celery, green onion, lettuce, other fresh greens, etc..wrapped in wet paper towels and enclosed in air-tight containers makes them last longer.

**Too much grease on top of the homemade stew or soup? Lay large lettuce leaves on top for a few moments and the grease will cling to the leaves. Then simply remove the leaves and discard.

**When baking pies, pop your pie crust into the oven for 1 minute at 350 degrees F....then brush with a beaten egg white, cool and fill. This will keep the filling from making the crust soggy.

**Don't throw the heels of the bread away. Freeze it and use it for fresh bread crumbs. Easy to make in a food processor.

Sharon

**When baking pies, fold a strip of aluminum foil around the edges to keep the crust from browning to much

**Sprinkle a little lemon juice over freshly cut fruit (apples, peaches, etc.) to keep it from browning if not serving right away

**Add a little salt and olive oil to the water when cooking pasta or high starch rice