.................................................... MERINGUES ....................................................
When making meringues, add the sugar in one tablespoon at a time so that the meringues don’t weep when you bake them.
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When whisking the egg whites (or cream) start a mixer on slow, then switch to a faster speed – you’ll avoid getting splattered and the foam will be more stable this way.
.................................................... CREAM ....................................................
The higher the fat content of cream, the more stable it is and the easier it is to whip up.
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To make a quick and easy version of crème fraiche, combine equal amounts of heavy cream with sour cream in a bowl. Leave covered overnight on the kitchen counter. In the morning you’ll have a delicious crème fraiche mixture. Refrigerate it at this point. It is delicious with smoked salmon.
.................................................... LEMONS ....................................................
To extract the most juice out of a lemon: First gently roll the lemon backwards and forwards on a counter top exerting a little pressure. Then slice the lemon in half. Holding the lemon over a small bowl, insert a fork into the one half. Using your left hand, squeeze and rotate the lemon away from you, whilst turning your right hand which is holding the fork towards you. As you rotate the two, the fork will extract loads of lemon juice. Repeat with the second half.
.................................................... FOOD PREP ....................................................
Thaw frozen foods in the fridge or in ice water – it sounds counter intuitive I know – but if the items thaw at room temperature, microbes can grow on the surface as that will thaw faster than the interior of item.
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To sanitize cutting boards, use a solution of 1 part distilled vinegar to 2 parts water. Mix together and scrub the boards. Dry the boards with a clean cloth and then leave to air dry.
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To get rid of hard water marks in a kettle or water jug, mix boiling water with vinegar (50/50) and let it sit for 5 minutes. The hard water marks and white scaling will then easily come off. The same goes for a dishwasher. If you have hard water, add ½ cup vinegar to the dishwasher each time you run it and your glasses will be clean – no more white film!
