keep fresh kitchen tips

have you always wondered how to keep all your produce fresh at home?

does all the informations you get from friends ever worked?

dig this!

Today's homemaker is hard pressed for time. Yet, dishing out quality food continues to be in her list of top priorities. Even though making it to the market everyday is almost impossible, you can still keep things fresh. Here is how:

• Paneer or cottage cheese that has been left in the fridge for a few days tends to get hard. Put the paneer in boiling water for a few minutes and its softness is restored.
• Potatoes begin to "bud" when stored for a while. So, to keep them from budding, place an apple along with the potatoes and store in a plastic bag.
• To keep bread fresh, wrap it in a plastic bag and put a sprig of celery in it before storing it in the refrigerator.
• Wrapping celery and coriander leaves in an aluminium foil before storing in the refrigerator will help keep them fresh longer.
• To keep cheese fresh a while longer, wrap it in cheesecloth that has been rinsed in vinegar.
• To prevent fruit slices from browning, soak them in pineapple or lemon juice before storing.
• Moulding of papads can be prevented by putting a piece of blotting paper in the box where it is stored.
• Soft biscuits or cookies should be stored in tightly covered tins while crisp ones should be left loosely covered. This will help to keep them fresh longer.
• Freshness test for eggs. Immerse the egg in cool salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh. If it floats it is stale.
• To preserve the fresh flavour in fish, thaw it in milk.
• Tomatoes stay fresh longer when stored with their stem pointed downwards.
• Cook vegetables without a cover. This will help retain the colour and freshness of the vegetables.
• To keep berries nice and crisp, wash them just before serving. Washing them way ahead of time will result in softening them.
• To retain the flavour and freshness of ground herbs, store them in an opaque container.
  
  
  cheers!