14 Frugal Food Rescuing Tips

[Pepper]

14 Frugal Food-Rescuing Tips from Grandma
by Irene Helen Zundel
Timeless ideas the have value today

My grandparents, and maybe yours too, lived through the
horrors of the Great Depression and two world wars. Times were
hard, money was scarce, and sometimes foods were rationed.
They simply could not afford to throw away slightly stale
groceries, or toss a recipe that wasn't turning out right.
As a result, Grandma learned how to keep things from spoiling
or how to "revive" foods that were older and losing their
freshness. The results were perfectly edible, and these simple
tricks sure helped to stretch an already strained food budget.
Why not try a few of these time-honored and tested tips
yourself?

* If you are one egg short when baking a cake, substitute one
teaspoon of cornstarch instead.

* Do you want to prevent mold from growing on cheese? Wrap it
tightly with a sugar cube and store it in the refrigerator. If
your cheese is already moldy, simply wipe it off with a
vinegar-soaked paper towel. The cheese will then be edible,
and the flavor won't be affected.

* Are you out of oil and need to grease a skillet? Rub it
with half a potato. Pans "greased" with potato don't smoke at
high temperatures like oiled pans do.

* Does your brown sugar harden like a concrete block? To keep
it soft, store it in a glass jar in your refrigerator or in a
plastic bag with a piece of bread or apple inside.

* Don't let insects ruin your dry foods! Put a bay leaf into
containers of pasta, flour, rice and dry mixes to keep them
away.

* If your mayonnaise separates or curdles, mix 1 teaspoon
mustard and 1 tablespoon curdled mayonnaise in a bowl. Beat it
with a wire whisk until it is creamy. Add the rest of the
mayonnaise slowly and blend well.

* To keep a fresh fruit salad from turning brown, sprinkle
the sliced fruit with lemon juice.

* Is your granulated sugar lumpy? Place several saltine
crackers in the container and cover it tightly.

* If you have a block of cheese that has dried out, don't
throw it away? Store it in freezer. When you need to grate it
for a recipe, slice it thinly, without thawing. Frozen cheese
crumbles easily. It is perfect for making macaroni and cheese.

* Do you need to freshen dried out coconut? Place it in a
strainer over a steaming pot of water for a few minutes.

* If you don't want to throw out a stale loaf of bread,
sprinkle it with water or milk and wrap it in aluminum foil.
Bake it at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes to soften it.
Loaves of Italian or French bread need to be baked for 3-5
minutes more, with the foil open for the last few minutes.

* Sticky rice? Rinse it thoroughly with warm water to wash
out the excess starch. This will cause the grains to easily
separate.

* Sticky pasta? Add salt or oil to noodles while the water is
boiling.

* Did you over-salt a recipe? Add a little vinegar and sugar
and then taste. If it is a recipe for stew or soup, add a raw
potato to absorb the excess salt.

* Does your recipe have too much sugar? Add a few drops of
lemon juice or vinegar.

[homesteadmamma]

Thanks.

[YankeeMom]

Great tips!

[alabamagirl]

Thanks pepper!

[pkellyc]

One more for the brown sugar which I use. Place a small peice of a broken clay pot in your brown sugar and it will never harden. If your peice seems to be to sharp sand it with some sandpaper first to smooth out the edges. It is also dishwasher safe.

[momof42003]

Thanks for the tips...

[Minner77]

Thanks! I just love this kind of stuf!
~M

[pollypurebred39]

I've been up late tonight reading deep into the pages of the tips board and I've got to say I just love this one, I've nothing to add, just wanted to share it with you all.

[Thevail]

Awesome tips! Thanks.

To use less pepper in a recipe put it early in the cooking process. Pepper matures into a recipe so it takes less the earlier you add it.

[lmbaker520]

Great tips! Thanks!

[rainbowgc]

I am always amazed at what I learn here - thanks for the tips.

[butterflygreen]

my grandma uses all of these. and i have tried a few. I will have to try the ones for cheese. thanks.

[PinkWolf]

Thanks for the tips.

[phoeny_moonstar]

Awesome tips, thanks!!

[bloodylipstick]

great tips! whenever i buy a block of cheese, i hardly ever use it before it goes bad. i didn't know you could revive it when it gets moldy or freeze it. from now on i'll just cut the block in half and freeze part of it from the very beginning!