Kitchen Wisdom

Happy Thursday All!  I have been on a mission to de-clutter my life.  So of course this includes cleaning of shelves and closets and ugh I guess, spring cleaning lol.  Anyway, I was going through my cookbooks (of which I have many lol) and found this awesome book that had inadvertently been pushed to the back.  I loved reading this book when I got it.  I figured today I would just share some of it's great info on things you wouldn't think of!

The book I'm referring to is Grandmother's Kitchen Wisdom by Dr. Myles H. Bader, which you will probably all want to go buy after you read some of the great information lol.  It's a great read to have handy when you need it.  Hope the information helps.  Have a great day, the weekend is on the horizon!

Kitchen Wisdom

Frisbee Anyone?

French toast, waffles and pancakes may be made and frozen.  They can then be placed in the toaster for an easy breakfast.

An easy solution to a crusty problem

If you are worried about your bread crusts becoming too hard, just place a small container of water in the oven while the bread is baking.  This will provide just enough moisture and steam to keep the bread soft.

The Blind Oreo Test

Tufts University conducted a "blind" test on 36 consumers who agreed to taste Oreo cookies to see if they were able to tell the difference in the regular Oreo and the new reduced-fat version.  The reduced-fat version barely won the test with 19 tasters favoring the reduced-fat and 17 preferring the regular Oreo.  The reduced-fat Oreo has 47 calories and 1.67 grams of fat per cookie, compared to 53 calories and 2.23 grams of fat in the regular Oreo cookie.  The difference is so minor that people will not easily be able to tell the difference.

**Spicy, this one is NOT for you!!!**

How do you sharpen a knife?

The one method that should never be used on a good kitchen knife is that of allowing a coarse grinding wheel to be used.  The blade will only last a few years if you do and will become thinner and thinner.  Rotating steel disks are not recommended either.  The preferred method is the "butcher's steel"  This is just a rough-surfaced, hard metal rod with a protective handle.  If the bucther's steel is used frequently it will keep the edge on the knife.

If you have a problem keeping the edge it may mean that you are not using the sharpener as frequently as you should and you may have to use a "whetstone" to return the edge.  The whetstone is made of silicon carbide (carborundum).

Why does Ivory Soap float?

Excess air is mixed in with the ingredients which allows it to float.  The floating soap was produced by accident when in 1930 an employee who was supposed to be watching the soap mixture fell asleep and the mixture accidentally filled with air.  The company didn't want to discard the batch and found that the public liked the floating soap.

Salt shake?

Most thick shakes contain so many additives that are derived from sodium that they contain more sodium than an order of french fries!   (Chew on that lol)