Food: Facts – Of Bacon, Fatback and Salt Pork

• -     Bacon is a cut from the side of a pig

• -          Fatback is a cut from the back of a pig and is not salted or smoked.

• -          Salt Pork is a cut from the belly and sides of the pig. It is fattier than the bacon, salt-cured but not smoked. Its saltiness varies; and in order to reduce the saltiness, parboil it before using. Salt pork if tightly wrapped and being kept in a refrigerator may have a food quality lifetime of up to 1 month.

Cooking: Tips - How to make a soup

• -          Do not put salt into a soup until it is cooked and skimmed as the salt prevent the fat from rising.

• -          Fresh parsley lessens the need for salt in soups.

• -          Soup or stew can be more flavorful when onions are sautéed first in butter or oil before adding other ingredients.

• -          When cooking milk or cream soups, cover the pan/cooking container in order to prevent caking or formation of a “skin”.

Cooking: Tips - What to do with very greasy pot of soup

-          When the pot of soup is too greasy, wrap some ice cubes in a plastic bag or use cellophane of ice by dragging it slowly through the surface of the warm soup. The oil will harden and stick to the bag. Wipe the bag and repeat the process if necessary.

Cooking: Tips - What to do with very salty (oversalted) pot of soup

-          When the pot of soup is accidentally oversalted, add 1 or two raw peeled potato/es to the soup and heat it for 5 minutes. The potato/es will absorb some saltiness and can be removed after the 5 minutes heating.

Food: Tips - What to do with hardened or dehydrated cheese in the refrigerator

-          If the cheese is dehydrated of hardened inside the refrigerator, you may grate or cut it in small pieces to be used in cooking or grate it for topping.

Food: Tricks - How to remove nut shells when it got mixed with the nuts

       If working with nuts and the nut shells were mixed with the meats, put the whole mixture into a bowl of water. The shells will float and you can scoop them out. If necessary, stir the thing so that the shells underneath will float that you can scoop out again, repeat the same process until there is no more shells to float. Drain the water and put the nuts to dry before using them.

Food: Tips - Recycling Leftovers by Seasoning, Sautéing, Spicing and Hash

• -        Ingredient can be cooked more quickly when it is diced, chopped or shredded in finer sizes.

• -        Seasoning can be tasted and adjusted only after a minute or two after adding all the ingredients or after sautéing.

• -        Leftovers are likely to be seasoned. For a change, vary the spices and herbs used for seasoning.

• -        Leftovers can be sautéed with different cooking oils to create a new dish from the same ingredients. Consider using healthy oil available from the store.

• -        Hash ingredients can be sautéed in clarified butter or fat skimmed from the used oil of a roast.

• -        Hash food can be turned into a crusty “pancake” when puréed or thickened ingredients are added. The binding ingredients may include leftover mashed potatoes, puréed squash, bread crumbs soaked in milk, gravy, leftover oatmeal, egg beaten with milk, grated hard cheese, leftover stuffing thinned with small amount of milk or cream, etc.

Cooking: Tips - Hot Greased Griddle Test

After preparing the griddle by greasing and heating, test it if it is ready for cooking your food by sprinkling a little amount of water over it. If the water sputters, the griddle is ready.

Food: Facts - Eggs

• -          An egg is approximately 1/3 yolk and 2/3 white.

• -          The yolk of a large egg is about 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon and the white is about 2 tablespoons.

• -          White and brown eggs have no difference in their nutritional value.

• -          An egg that has an odor, natural discoloration, or old crack may mean that it is destroyed and must be discarded.

Cooking: Tips & Tricks - Omelet

• -          Use omelet pan or other pan that have low and sloping sides for easy stirring and turning.

• -          For about 7 to 8 inches wide pan, use two eggs.

• -          Preheat the pan with medium-high heat. While the temperature is still low, grease the pan with about ½ tablespoon of butter or oil and then cook the omelet.

• -          Pour the mixed eggs into the heated pan, tilting it to make the eggs cover all the bottom of the pan. When the eggs begin to set lift it using a spatula to make the uncooked part runs underneath to be cooked, put back the omelet over the pan. Within about 1 minute the eggs should be cooked.

• -        When cooked, turn the heat to low and add fillings. Gently, spread them all over the half of the eggs. Fillings that couldn’t cook instantly should be precooked and warm. Cheese filling must be grated and at room temperature.

• -          When the fillings are cooked or warmed, use spatula and gently fold one-half of the omelet over the other half sandwiching the ingredients in between. Use the spatula again to lift the omelet and put it onto a plate for serving.

Food: Tricks - Of raw and hard-boiled eggs

- In order to peel hard-boiled eggs easier, add some salt to the boiling water while cooking the eggs.

- Prevent the white of the egg from seeping out from the shell during cooking by adding a teaspoon of salt or few drops of lemon juice or vinegar to the boiling water.

- To determine whether the egg is cooked/hard-boiled or not, you may spin it on its end. The cooked/hard-boiled egg will spin firmly while the fresh/uncooked egg wiggles following the force of the liquid materials within it.

-  To test the egg for freshness, put the egg in a container of cold water. The fresher the egg the faster it will get to the bottom. If it floats on the water, it suggests that the egg is destroyed or rotten.