• Place a sheet of freezer paper or waxed paper in between pieces of meat in order to easily remove only the portions to be cooked.
• Some foods do not freeze well. Those to be avoided are:
cooked egg whites
salad greens
raw tomatoes
apples
grapes
• When cooking meat, pasta, vegetables, and casseroles for freezing, slightly undercook items to prevent overcooking when the items are reheated. Add some seasonings when you reheat. Some spices, such as freshly ground pepper, tend to become bitter in the freezer.
• When thawing sauces and gravies they may appear lumpy, but thawing slowly and stirring constantly can usually remove the lumps. Frozen gravies or sauces may be a bit thicker in consistency after they are thawed. Add a bit of appropriate liquid—milk, broth, wine, or bouillon—to thin the sauce to the desired consistency.
• To preserve fresh herbs in the freezer, rinse and dry thoroughly. Wrap in aluminum foil or place in a freezer bag. Place this package inside an airtight, freezer-safe plastic container or a glass jar. Freeze immediately.
• To ripen green pears, place two or three in a paper bag. Roll the top down loosely and store at room temperature out of direct light.
• Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the water when cooking rice, dried beans, and pasta to prevent boiling over. Always run cold water over pasta to remove excess starch. Reheat over hot water.
• If a soup tastes overly salty, place a raw piece of potato in the pot to absorb the salt.
• To remove fish odor from kitchen utensils rinse in a solution of one teaspoon baking powder to one quart water. Rubbing a fresh lemon over your hands is an easy way to remove fish and onion odors.
• Never soak vegetables after slicing or you will lose many of the nutrients in the water.