Tips'n'Tricks 4 Baking, about Chicken & Eggs

Baking Tips

1. For perfect shaped cakes , first grease the pan, then line it with greased waxed paper. After baking, invert pan and peel off the waxed paper. No more broken corners or edges!

2. Muffins will slide right out of tin pans if the hot pans are first placed on a wet towel.

3. Cracked Cake : Cracks and uneven surface may be caused by too much flour, or too hot an oven.

4. To prevent nuts and fruits from sinking to the bottom of a cake during baking, warm them a bit in the oven and toss them with flour. Shake off excess flour before mixing them into the batter.

5. Line baking pans with foil so that they're a easy to clean.

6. To prepare Self Rising Flour - Mix 4 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 tablespoonsof double acting Baking powder . Store in lightly covered can or jar and use soon.

7. Put the appropriate amount of baking powder or baking soda to make a bread as too much of it may give bread a crumbly, dry texture and a bitter aftertaste. Worst come worst the batter over-rise, causing the bread to fall.

8. To check if your baking powder is still active, add 1 teaspoon to 1/3 cup of hot water. If it bubbles rises it's men it is still active and will give good baking results.

9. For decorating cakes - Use a clean, squeezable mustard bottle .To work it on the cake just fill it with the desired color & then screw on the pointed tip.

10. To cool a cake that has just come out of the oven, place the pan on a wet towel. The cake won't stick to the pan if it's cooled this way.

11. Baking cakes - All the ingredients should be at room temperature and, when a choice is made between wet and dry ingredients, use the dry ones. Always use large eggs. Use Unsalted butter as it is far superior in taste and in quality. Never go according to the receipts for the Oven Temperatures as the temperatures vary.

12. Peaked cake- Because of too much gluten being developed in the mixture or due to oven temperature being too high or by overbeating

13. Sunken cake - Due to too much sugar,or due to too much of baking powder or undercooking in a low temperature oven.

14. Stale cakes or pound cakes - Don't throw it as they make a great trifle, or strawberry shortcake.The fruit juice of the pudding will moisten the stale cake.

15. Cake in Microwave - Add a little less flour and a little more liquid to the batter.

16. Line baking pans with wax paper to prevent sticking .

17. For baking keep two kinds of white flour on hand, one with high gluten content for bread and one with low gluten content for cakes and cookies.

18. Always preheat oven to the required temperature before placing the cake in the oven.

19. Never keep the batter of the cake to thick. The cake will turn out hard and dry. Always prick with a knitting needle or skewer to check if done. The needle should come out clean.

20. Add 3 tbsps. dissolved gelatin (any flavor) to your favorite plain cake mix. You'll get a fruity surprise.

21. Don't fill cake-tins more than 3/4th full with batter, leave space for the cake to rise.

22. To give a pie glossy finish just brush a beaten egg white over pie crust before baking

Chicken realted Tips

1. Chill chicken for 1 hour after coating it. The coating will stick better when cooking.

2. Sprinkle a bit of salt in the frying pan before adding chicken. It will cut down on the amount of grease splattering

3. Thaw fish in milk. The milk draws out the frozen taste and provides a fresh-caught flavor.

4. Substitute chicken broth for water when cooking rice to add delicious flavor.

5. To make scaling of a fish easier, rub vinegar on the scales first.

6. Lemon juice rubbed on fish before cooking will enhance the flavor and help maintain a good color.

7. Tomatoes added to meats will help tenderize them naturally. Tomatoes contain an acid that works well to break down meats.

8. Cook Fleshy food on slow fire till Tender. Excessive cooking destroys their food value .

9. Before roasting a chicken store in the refrigerator for 24 hours for richer flavor.

10. Absorbs chicken grease on a brown paper bag.

11. Never turn frying chicken more than once, and don't fiddle with the drumsticks.

Tips on Egg

1. To determine whether an egg is hard-boiled, spin it, if it spins, it is hard boiled, if it wobbles and will not spin it is raw.

2. Hard Boiled eggs will peel easily when cracked and placed in cold water immediately after taking out of the hot water.

3. Do not boil eggs in the microwave as pressure builds up and there are chances of the eggs exploding.

4. To store egg yolks, pour a tablespoon of water over them. The water keeps them moist.

5. Add a tsp. full of vinegar in water while boiling eggs. Even if they crack content will not come out.

6. Add a pinch of salt when beating the white of eggs. This helps them to froth up quickly.

7. Egg shells are permeable, i.e. odors and flavor pass through them.So wash them in water to avoid other flavors.

8. Store eggs in their own carton on a refrigerator shelf, not in the egg-holders set into the door itself.

9. To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh if it rises to the surface, throw it away.

10. Hard boiled eggs -While cutting hard boiled eggs,the egg yolk often tends to break so to avoid this dip the knife in cold water for a few seconds and then cut smoothly.

11. Soft fluffy omelet - . Beat the egg and stir briskly with a fork as this will allow more air in the omelet,making it light and fluffy;by the time heat butter in a non-stick pan & then fry till done and serve hot. You can even add one tablespoon of water to an egg before beating.Your omelet will turn out fluffier and larger.

12. Poached eggs - Put a few drops of white vinegar in the water as it helps to hold their shape.

13. Boiling an egg - Poke it with a small sewing needle before hard-boiling, and the egg will peel with ease! OR add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling!