11 Rarely Heard Tips & Tricks

1. Keep exposed side of cheese from drying out, rub a lil' bit of butter on it before storing.  
2. Milk or cream will stay fresh longer, if you add a pinch of salt to the carton.  Never knew!
3. Store raisins in a jar with an air tight lid to keep them from getting hard.  It's too late and they have already hardened.  Put raisins into a saucepan and add enough water too cover them. Bring water to a boil then turn off burner.  Let raisins steep in water for about 10
   minutes.  Set colander into sink and pour your now soft raisins in to drain.  Awesome!
4. When bananas get too ripe to be eaten whole.  And they're not presentable as slices.  They are still fine for shakes or banana bread. (yum!) But you can't use them immediately.  Just peel and freeze them individually in plastic wrap.  Thaw before using.  This I can use!
5. Make a portable root cellar. Try storing roots in a pot filled with clean sand, like carrots or ginger.  A flower pot that has not been glazed will work well.  Cover the roots, and pick them out as you need them.  Store the pot in a cool dark place. Cool huh?!?
   
6. When you just need a tablespoon or two of tomato paste.  Don't let the rest of the can go to waste.  Drop remainder by spoonfuls onto wax paper. (like cookies)  Put these dollops, wax paper and all into the freezer.  Once frozen, peel off the paper and drop the paste pieces into a Ziploc bag and store in freezer.  Next time you need a lil' bit of tomato paste, just add a "cookie" or two to your sauce or soup.  No need to thaw.  I love this! 
7. Save the salt & peppering to hamburgers until they are off the grill.  Salt draws out moisture. Pepper can take on a bitter taste.  That explains a lot.
   
8. If you thaw fish in milk you will draw out the freezer taste and provide a fresh caught flavor.
9. A dampened paper towel or terry cloth brushed downward on a cob of corn will remove every strand of corn silk.  Who knew! 
10. Use a shoe horn to remove kernels of sweet corn from the cob.  Well, there you go!
11. Look for a watermelon whose dark bands are wider than its light bands.  The higher the ratio of dark to light on the outside means the darker the color inside and the sweeter the meat.