BUTTER. BUTTER.
• To dot a casserole or pie with butter, use a coarse grater to shred cold butter over the dish.

• To cream cold butter more easily, put it in the microwave on low to medium power for 10 to 15 seconds.

• Fill a measuring cup half full of water and add enough butter to make a cup. Pour off the water and you will have exactly 1/2 cup of butter and no messy cup to wash.

• To soften ice cold or frozen butter quickly, grate it coarse and leave it briefly at room temperature. It will be just right for creaming in just a few minutes.

CHEESE.
• If cheese dries out, grate it, melt it in a white sauce, and use it on top of vegetables, etc.

• Prevent moulds from growing on cheese. Store the cheese in the refrigerator in an airtight container in which you have put a folded-up paper towel that has been saturated with white vinegar. The vinegar provides an acidic atmosphere that the moulds don't like.

• Use a potato peeler to slice cheese into strips for salads.

• To keep fresh and mould-free, wrap cheese in a cloth that's been dipped in lightly salted vinegar and wrung out, then add a layer of plastic wrap.

• Put cheese in a small plastic bag with a couple cubes of sugar and keep the bag sealed. The cheese won't grow mould.

• Microwave-melted cheese makes a delicious topping for vegetables, fish, leftovers, and apple pie. Top cooked food with sliced or grated cheese. Cook on HIGH until melted. Watch carefully as the cheese softens in just seconds. For 4 ounces, cook on HIGH for 20 to 30 seconds. For 8 ounces, cook on HIGH for 30 to 45 seconds. Let stand for 3 minutes.

• Brush a little oil on your grater before using and cheese will wash right off.

• Cottage cheese will keep twice as long if you keep the container upside down in your refrigerator.

Egg Whites
do not beat egg whites for cakes or meringue until ready to use. If allowed to stand, some of the white will return to liquid. Beat egg whites in a copper bowl. It will result in more volume, because the copper stabilizes the whites. Less fresh egg whites whip higher and hold the air better than new egg whites. Keep separated egg whites in a loosely covered container in the freezer as this will allow some of the fluid to evaporate and they will become stiffer when beaten. Freeze extra egg whites in ice cube trays and store in airtight plastic bags until you need them. To stabilize beaten egg whites (for soufflés, for example), add about 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar for each two egg whites. For greater volume when beating egg whites, start with eggs at room temperature. If you forget to take the eggs out of the refrigerator ahead of time, let them stand in a bowl of warm water a short while
before using. Freeze defrosted egg whites.

Egg Yolks
When you have saved a lot of egg yolks from previous recipes, use them in place of whole eggs for baking or thickening. Just add 2 yolks for every whole egg. To make devilled eggs with no mess, put eggs yolks from hard boiled
eggs into a plastic sandwich bag. Put in remaining deviled egg ingredients and close bag and mix. When finished, cut a small tip off corner of bag and squeeze into egg white. When finished, throw bag
away. You won't have a messy bowl to clean To keep egg yolks fresh for several days, cover them with cold water and store in the refrigerator.
Freeze egg yolks by stirring in 1/2 teaspoon of honey to every 6 yolks. Freeze in a small container. The yolks can be thawed and used as you would fresh yolks and they will not be sticky. When adding egg yolks to a hot mixture, always warm the yolks a bit
with some of the hot mixture before pouring them in. If you just add the cold egg yolk to the hot mixture, you will "scramble" the egg and cause the dish to curdle.

Eggs
when taking deviled eggs to a picnic fill them when you get there. Put the hardboiled egg whites in a container and put the filling in a small zip-type bag. When you arrive, snip one of the ends of the bag and squeeze the filling into the egg whites and garnish. No messed-up filling! If you are baking a cake and are an egg short, blend in a couple tablespoons of mayonnaise. If you should drop an egg, clean up the mess easily by covering it
with a light layer of salt and letting it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. The mess will wipe up beautifully. Eggs will separate most successfully when they are cold. For best results you should use Grade AA eggs. Bring them to room temperature before using; however, it's easier to separate eggs when they're cold, so if a recipe calls for separating the whites from the yolks do that first then bring them to room temperature. A great trick for peeling eggs the easy way! When they are finished boiling, turn off the heat and just let them sit in the pan with the lid on for about five minutes. Steam will build up under the shell and
they will just fall away. You can centre the yolks of hard cooked eggs by stirring gently for 1 minute when the water begins to simmer. For baking, it's best to use medium to large eggs. Extra large eggs
may cause cakes to fall when cooled. Fresh eggs are rough and chalky in appearance. Old eggs are smooth and shiny. To determine whether an egg is hardboiled, spin it. If it spins round and round, it is hardboiled. If it wobbles and will not spin, it is
raw.

Omelettes
Use leftover shrimp, tomatoes, green vegetables, red meat, and cheese in omelettes or scrambled eggs. For a tenderer omelette, add a small amount of water instead of milk or cream.
For fluffier omelettes, add a pinch of cornstarch before beating. For a tender omelette, use a small amount of water instead of milk or cream. The water will retard the coagulation of the egg yolk where
milk or cream tends to harden them.

Sour Cream
Make fake sour cream, with fewer calories, by running cottage cheese
through the blender, then flavour it with chives, extracts, etc.

Yogurt
when using yogurt in a heated sauce, first whisk 2 teaspoons flour into each cup of yogurt to keep it from separating. Make your own flavoured yogurt by buying it plain, and then adding crushed, drained fruit.
Add any flavour dry gelatine powder to plain yogurt to flavour it.

Whipped Cream
Whipped cream made ahead of time will not separate if you add a 1/4 teaspoon of dissolved unflavoured gelatine per each cup of cream. For low-cal "whipped cream," whip an egg white until its stiff, and
then whip in a ripe banana, one slice at a time. Add a dash of vanilla extract for a truly thick and delicious topping.

Whipping Cream
Chill the bowl in the freezer before whipping cream. Leftover whipped cream will retain its lightness, height and texture a day or more (refrigerated) if when whipping you add 1 teaspoon light corn syrup to each 1/2 pint cream. This adds almost no perceptible sweetness.

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Ammarah
Radio Islam
+27118547022
ammarah@radioislam.co.za
www.radioislam.co.za