Category Home Science

Debugging the kitchen

  •  Store flour and rice with bay leaves

Tiny weevils and other small insects can enter paper or cardboard containers of flour, rice, porridge and breakfast cereal through the tiniest of cracks. Keep them at bay by putting a few dried bay leaves in the containers.

  •  Freeze them out

Some insect eggs may be in food containers before you bring your groceries home and have yet to hatch. Kill off any eggs by keeping new products in the freezer for the first day or two.

  •  Two other insect chasers

One or two whole nutmegs buried in a sack of flour or box of rice will help to keep weevils and other tiny invaders out. Some people claim to have successfully repelled insects by placing sticks of spearmint gum (unwrapped) at different points on the floor of the cupboard where susceptible foodstuffs are stored.

  •  Pop goes the weevil

If dried beans or peas are under attack by hungry weevils, add some dried hot chillies to the storage container. You’ll find that they hotfoot it out of the box or bag in a flash.

  •  Get ants on the run

Ants hate crawling over powdery or grainy substances. So if you see a line of ants on the march in your kitchen, spoon a long thin line of polenta, cornflour or another powdery foodstuff in their path and watch them beat a hasty retreat.

  •  Spicy ant repellents

If you want to stop ants from getting into the kitchen, sprinkle cayenne pepper or ground cinnamon outside the back door as an unmistakable ‘not welcome’ mat. Ants hate both the powdery texture and powerful smell of these spices.

  •  Fend off fruit flies

There’s no need to keep a fruit bowl empty just because these unwanted guests tend to help themselves to your apples and bananas. Send them packing with one of the following:

  1. Mint or basil leaves Scatter mint or basil sprigs near fresh fruit when you set it out; fruit flies hate the smell and will stay clear.
  2. Surgical spirit Rub a little surgical spirit on the benchtop next to a bunch of bananas or a ripening melon, tomato or avocado.
  3. Apple cider Pour cider into a jar or bowl and fruit flies will be drawn to the sweet-smelling liquid.
  •  Non-toxic cockroach traps

Wrap the outside of an empty jam jar with masking tape and rub the inside of the jar with petroleum jelly. Pour in 2cm beer and top it with a few small pieces of ripe fruit and 4-5 drops of almond extract. Place the open jar under the sink or anywhere else cockroaches lurk. Cockroaches will be drawn to the appetizing aroma, climb into the jar (the tape gives them traction) and drop inside to feast —but thanks to the slippery walls, they’ll be unable to escape. To dispose of the cockroaches, fill the jar with hot water, then flush the contents down the toilet.

  •  Borax on high shelves

Cockroaches like to roam any high spots they can reach, so use a stepladder to get high enough to sprinkle borax along the top of your kitchen cupboards. Cockroaches poisoned by the borax will take it back to the nest, where fellow cockroaches will start dropping like flies.

Credit : Reader’s Digest

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Wash up and wipe down

  • Add vinegar to your bucket

Add a few drops of white vinegar to your mopping bucket to remove traces of soap. If the floor is linoleum or vinyl, adds a little baby oil to the mop water to bring a soft gleam to the surface — but use a mere 1-2 capfuls at most or you’ll turn the floor into a skating rink.

  • Bleach painted walls

Mix a solution of 8 litres water and 1/2 cup (125ml) chlorine bleach to give your kitchen walls a brightening sponge-down after you’ve done a lot of cooking in a frying pan.

  • Erase pencil marks with rye bread

Remove pencil sketches from the kitchen wall with a slice of fresh rye bread (seeded or not). An artist’s eraser can also get rid of the marks.

  • Wash away wallpaper grime

If your kitchen walls are covered with water-proof wallpaper, remove excess dirt with a vacuum cleaner, then wash the walls with a solution of 1/2 cup (125ml) lemon juice, 1/2 cup (125ml) washing-up liquid and 4 cups (1 litre) water. Before starting, wash a tiny section in an inconspicuous place to make sure the paper will tolerate the mixture.

  • Keep stainless steel stainless

Stainless-steel kitchen sinks aren’t quite as immune to stains and marks as their name implies. Here are solutions to various problems:

  1. Rust marks Rub the area with a drop of lighter fluid and then clean it with non-abrasive scouring powder and water.
  2. Water marks Rub with a cloth dampened with surgical spirit.
  3. Other marks Rub marks with white vinegar or soda water, both of which are excellent stainless-steel polishers.
  • Lemon stain lifter

Getting a tomato sauce stain off a benchtop or cupboard door is easier than you think. Just wet the stain with lemon juice, let sit for 30 minutes or so and then sprinkle bicarbonate of soda onto the abrasive side of a kitchen sponge and scrub the discoloured area. Most stains will vanish and your kitchen will smell fresher, too.

  • Sterilise your sink

Germs can lurk around in a sink on microscopic food particles. To kill them off, fill a spray bottle with full-strength surgical spirit. After you have finished washing dishes, spray the sink with the surgical spirit and then rub it down with a clean tea towel or paper towel.

  • Tea thyme for porcelain

Attractive though they are, porcelain sinks can be hard to clean because abrasive cleaners dull (and often scratch) porcelain surfaces. Take the gentle route and clean your sink with fresh lemon thyme tea. Place 4-5 bunches of fresh lemon thyme in a large metal bucket and fill it with boiling water. Steep the thyme for 5-6 hours, and then strain it. Put the plug in the sink, pour in the tea and let it sit overnight. When you drain it the next morning, you will find a gleaming white sink with a delightfully fresh smell.

  • Almost-free all-purpose cleaner

Why buy an antibacterial spray cleaner if you can make one in less than 5 minutes? Combine 1 cup (250ml) surgical spirit, 1 cup (250ml) water and 1 tablespoon white vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray onto kitchen surfaces, including tiles and chrome, then wipe off and watch how quickly the germ-killing polish evaporates.

  • The dynamic grease-busting duo

The chemistry between bicarbonate of soda and vinegar is so powerful that the mix can flush grease out of kitchen drains. Pour 1/2 cup (90g) bicarbonate of soda into a blocked drain, followed by 1 cup (250 ml) white vinegar. Cover the drain for a few minutes as the chemical reaction dissolves the grease — then flush the drain with warm water. Caution: you should never use this method after using a commercial drain cleaner, which may react with the vinegar to create dangerous fumes.

  • Ice-cold degreaser for waste disposal units

Degrease a waste disposal unit by occasionally grinding five or six ice cubes along with 1/3 cup (60g) bicarbonate of soda. The ice congeals the grease, priming it for attack by the bicarb and sending it down the drain. To flush out any residue, fill the plugged-up sink with 5-8cm hot water and run the water through the unit.

Credit : Reader’s Digest

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A perfect table setting

  • Mini bouquets

When your garden is in bloom, cut small bouquets and arrange them in empty jam jars or glass water bottles. If you have a long table, line them up in the centre for a table decoration that’s colourful and cheery.

  • Colour coordinates your vases

Add another dimension to floral arrangements with a dash of colour. A few drops of food colouring in the water of a clear glass vase can add extra interest to an arrangement.

  • Can it

Many products these days come in beautifully decorated cans and containers. Once you’ve consumed the contents, use the cans to create a centrepiece. Set small, leafy green plants of different heights in three cans and arrange the colourful planters in the centre of the table.

  • The sit-down test

Before guests arrive, make sure that your centrepiece isn’t so tall that it will block their line of vision: place your centrepiece in the middle of the table, pull out a chair and take a seat. If the tallest flowers or other decorative items are taller than face height, shorten them so that guests will be able to make eye contact.

  • You’ve been framed!

Use small picture frames (matched or unmatched) as place card holders. If you have lovely handwriting, write each guest’s name on a piece of good-quality paper cut to fit the frame or simply choose an attractive computer font and print out your guests’ names. Slide each ‘card’ into its frame.

  • Mix and (mis)match?

When good friends are coming over for a dinner party, make things more interesting and unexpected by varying the place settings — a brightly coloured plate here, a rose-patterned fine china plate there. The result is not only eclectic, but also a great conversation starter.

  • Use the family silver

Gone are the days when silver was taken out only on special occasions; use it for everyday casual dinner parties as a reminder of life’s small luxuries. Don’t worry if it’s tarnished … it will lend the table a bit of retro character!

Credit : Reader’s Digest

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Ready to serve

  • No time to dust?

Let low mood lighting help out: make a beeline for all the candles you can find and place them (carefully and not near curtains) around the living room and dining room — votive candles on windowsills, candelabras on the mantelpiece, pillar and jar candles here and there. If the lights in both rooms have dimmers, set the lights to low and bask in the complexion-enhancing, dirt-hiding glow.

  • No-stick serviettes

Keep serviettes from sticking to the bottom of your drinking glasses by pressing the bottom of each glass in a plateful of salt, then shaking off the excess. However scant the coating, the salt should break the bond and keep serviette and glass separated.

  • Chill wine in a hurry

Here’s a foolproof way to chill champagne and other white wines quickly. Place the bottle in an ice bucket or other tall plastic container and add just enough ice cubes to make a 5-cm layer on the bottom. Sprinkle the ice with a few tablespoons of salt and continue to layer ice and salt up to the neck of the bottle. Now add cold water until it reaches the top of the ice. After only 15 minutes (about half the time it would take in a freezer), you will be able to uncork the bottle and pour properly chilled bubbly for your guests.

  • Wine bottle cork won’t budge?

Run hot water over a towel and wrap the towel around the neck of a stubborn wine bottle. This easy treatment will help the glass neck of the bottle expand just enough to make the cork easier to pull out.

  • A stylish salad

Dress up simple salads by lining wide shallow glasses with lettuce leaves and adding a scoop of chicken, tuna or egg salad. Pierce an olive with a toothpick and set at an angle, to garnish.

  • Dine alfresco

Don’t stay inside on a balmy evening. Cover a patio table with a cloth, bring chairs outside, light some candles and create a movable feast.

Credit : Reader’s Digest

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Breathe life into leftovers

  • Surplus grilled tuna or salmon

If you have leftover salmon or tuna from a dinner party, use it as the basis for a tasty salad. In a large bowl, combine 350g cooked tuna or salmon, a 420-g can cannellini beans, 3 thinly sliced spring onions, 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, 1 crushed garlic clove and 1/4 cup (60ml) Italian dressing. Toss thoroughly and enjoy!

  • A long life for extra veg

Save all leftover vegetables for up to a week. Dice them; lightly sauté the mixture in olive oil with savoury seasonings such as oregano, basil and black pepper. Add some leftover rice or other grains. Use as filling for a quiche or to fortify a mince-based dish.

  • Get a head start on gravy

Did you know that you can whirl almost any kind of leftover soup that has no bones, in a blender or food processor to make a quick sauce or gravy for vegetables or meat?

  • Liven up salsa

Add leftover corn kernels to a jar of spicy salsa or pickle. Stirring in corn will not only make it look more colourful but will also tone down an accompaniment that is too hot for your taste.

  • Oat-based muffins

Don’t throw out unused porridge left in the pan when breakfast is finished. Instead, add it to batter when making muffins. Add the baking powder, eggs and other ingredients as the recipe directs and you may find you like the result.

  • Overripe fruit = great smoothies

Don’t relegate overripe fruit to the compost or bin. Freeze it and use the frozen bananas, strawberries and peaches to make a delicious smoothie with yogurt or your liquid of choice. These smoothies may even taste better, thanks to the concentrated sugars in overripe fruit.

  • Leftover wine makes great salad dressings

Don’t pour leftover red or white wine down the sink. Put it in an airtight jar and store it in the fridge. When it’s time to make vinaigrette, you can combine the wine in equal quantities with vinegar for a dressing with extra punch.

  • Freeze leftover wine

If a little bit of pinot grigio or chardonnay remains in the bottle at the end of a party or meal, don’t let it go to waste. Pour it into an ice-cube tray and the next time you’re making a sauce, casserole, soup or risotto that calls for a splash of white or red wine, you’ll have it to hand. The cube will melt very quickly, so no defrosting is required.

  • Use red wine to tenderize meat

If you have some leftover red wine, put it to work as a meat tenderizer and marinade. Simply put the meat in a self-sealing bag or lidded container and pour the leftover wine over it. Whether grilled or fried, the meat on the plate will have a juicy, tender texture.

  • Remember the croquette

If you have lots of chicken, ham or turkey left over, there’s no need to let it go to waste; make your own tasty croquettes. Mince the leftover meat or poultry very finely to make around 450g, add a tablespoon or two of prepared white sauce and a beaten egg, shape into tightly packed, small logs and refrigerate for an hour. Remove the croquettes from the fridge, roll them in fine breadcrumbs, heat up a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a nonstick frying pan, and then lightly fry until golden brown. Perhaps the best bit comes last; if you don’t finish these leftovers, they will freeze perfectly for up to six months.

  • Leftovers from a stew?

Turn it into a homemade ragu that’s so good your family will think a professional is in the kitchen. Chop up the leftover meat into small pieces, return it to its sauce, add 2 cups (500ml) red wine and two cans of crushed tomatoes. Blend well, bring to a simmer, cover and continue to cook for 30 minutes.

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Storing bread and cakes

  • Biscuits on tissue

Keep crisp biscuits crisp by crumpling plain tissue paper (the kind used as gift-wrap) and placing it in the bottom of the biscuit jar. It will help to absorb any moisture that may seep in.

  • The birthday cake’s in the bag

If you want to bake a sponge cake for a special occasion down the road — like your daughter’s 21st birthday or your parents’ golden wedding anniversary party — you can actually bake it several months ahead of time and freeze it. The trick is to triple-wrap the layers. Here’s how:

1. After taking three layer-cake tins out of the oven, let the layers cool completely.

2. Wrap each layer separately in plastic wrap and then in aluminium foil, making each package as airtight as possible.

3. Place all three layers into a large freezer bag and seal it, squeezing out the air as you do.

When the day of the party arrives, defrost the layers before removing the plastic wrap. Then assemble the cake and ice it, secure in the knowledge that your creation will taste as fresh as if it were baked yesterday.

  • Instant cake dome

If you don’t have a fancy cake plate with a glass dome, you can keep your cake fresh and the icing intact by covering it with a large bowl turned upside down.

  • Well-bread cake

Once you cut into a scrumptious three-layer cake, the exposed part of what’s left goes stale quickly. Here’s a way to keep it moist for longer. Place a slice of bread over the cut surface of the cake and hold it in place with a couple of toothpicks. As the bread dries out, the cake will stay moist and taste better for longer.

  • A trick for keeping pies fresh

Perhaps you’ve eaten two slices of a luscious peach pie and start to wrap the remainder with plastic wrap. Stop. If you cover the pie first with an upside down paper plate or aluminium foil pie plate and then wrap it in plastic, you’ll give the pie a little more breathing room and it will stay fresh for a week or more.

  • Storing a meringue-topped pie

When storing the remains of a meringue pie in the fridge, how do you cover it without ruining the meringue? Rub a large piece of plastic wrap with a little butter, making sure that it is greased completely. Fit it over the pie plate, butter side down. The next time you want a slice of pie, the wrap will peel off without sticking.

  • A crisp bread freshener

To keep sliced bread fresh for longer, just place a small, fresh stalk of celery in the bag with the bread. Celery has high water content but stays dry on the outside, so what better moisturizer could you use?

  • An apple every two days

The moisture from an apple will keep soft biscuits or cookies soft. Just place the biscuits in an airtight tin and put an apple slice (skin side down) on top before closing it. Replace the apple slice every two days to keep the treats inside at their very best.

Credit : Reader’s Digest

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