Watson

I learned something last month that I never knew before that blew me away. How did I not know this?

If you wrap your celery in tinfoil it will last for weeks in the crisper.

Also, my friend did not know that if you put a piece of bread in with brown sugar that has gone hard, it will soften up again.

What is something you have discovered that surprised you or added to your life?

Watson

QuiltE

Have never heard the celery trick.
Do you clean/wash it first?
Or wait and do that as you use it?
How long did you manage to keep it in the celery?

Thanks Watson, for the tip!
For me, most times I have no use for a whole bunch of celery all at once.
I chop the leftovers and freeze for add-ins to cooked foods.
But then ... I want fresh celery, and don't need more frozen.
Too bad, I don't like celery soup!

b.zang

I almost always wrap celery in aluminum foil unless I get lazy. BUT - have never thought to chop and freeze it. Thanks for the tip, QuiltE.

I do buy those lovely mild onions from Costco, chop them up and freeze them for later use.

Onebyone

I save bacon grease to use for seasoning and some frying. Makes great cornbread. I learned that if you freeze solid grease it lasts almost forever. Same with coconut oil. I pour it in a small plastic ice cube tray, freeze and put the cubes in a freezer bag. The cubes are small that it doesn't take anytime for them to melt. I use as many cubes as I need at a time. It's so much better than saving the grease in a jar for the fridge and keep it fresh long enough to use all of it.

QuiltE

B.Zang ... add green/red/etc peppers to your freezer too!
Like you, I do the onions as well.
Having all ready, make for some quick meal preps, not having to clean and chop.
Just a handful of this and that and I'm on my way!!

Pam S

Never knew the celery trick. I usually end up throwing out a lot. Since I bought a bunch for Thanksgiving and have a lot left over, I'm going to try it. Thanks for the tip.
My mom used to line the bottom of her cake pans with wax paper (after greasing them) to make removal easier. I thought everybody did that until one time my MIL saw me doing it and questioned why. One time my DH finished a cake I was making for me and didn't remove the wax paper. He tends to not notice things. We had a big laugh when we cut the cake, and we've never let him forget it.

Mkotch

Thanks for the tip! I've had pumpkin and other quick breads stick to the bottom of my pans lately. Will give a piece of parchment a try next time.
Marianne

Snooze2978

Folks, I've been freezing my veggies for years to include carrots, onions, celery, green/red peppers, squash, corn and green beans. I lay them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and let them just barely freeze, then bag them up. This way when you take them out, they're not all frozen up in a ball. Also, less frost crystals on them. I also do the same with my berries from the garden.

I've frozen milk and buttermilk too. I make lots of soups for the winter time. I ordered special freezer containers 1/2 gallon size, make up to 2 gallons of each soup and freeze them for later use.

To keep eggs longer, I read but haven't tried it myself though, oil the eggshells and they're supposed to last for months. I tend to use my eggshells in my garden so I can't oil them unless I want to wash them before I use them.

Right now I have a tray of sliced carrots in the freezer on a cookie sheet and in about an hour, I'll pull them out and put them into a freezer bag, marked with the date.

Onebyone

My great grandmother told me when she was growing up with no fridge, eggs would be dipped in wax to keep them good for a long time.

toogie

My mother-in-law always put a raw Irish potato in when she got something too salty. She said it absorbs some off the salt.
I have seen her lay a piece of white sandwich bread on top of scorched rice and takes away the scorched tastes. I wouldn’t think you could eat the very bottom that scorched but the other was good.