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Fruit
& Vegetable Tips
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- Pasta, rice and vegetable salads
should chill for a few hours to allow flavors to blend.
- Adding too much dressing will
make a green salad soggy.
- To prevent wilting and flavor
change, rinse green, leafy vegetables under cool water, and drain
thoroughly. Wrap in paper towels, place in plastic bags, and
store the vegetable bin of the refrigerator.
- Before chopping onions in the
food processor, peel and quarter them and freeze for 30 minutes.
This will minimize both mushiness and tears.
- If you add a little vinegar
to the water when boiling peeled potatoes, it causes them to
form a light crust that helps hold their shape when combined
with other foods - an added plus when making potato salad.
- Tomatoes shouldn't be cooked
at a rolling boil because they can turn acidic. For sweet and
mellow tomatoes or sauce, simmer slowly...no additional sugar
is needed.
- To test the freshness of corn
at the market, pop a kernel with your fingernail. If the milk
is watery, then the corn is immature. If it is thick and starchy,
the corn is old.
- Always use canned, not fresh,
pineapple in gelatin salads. A natural enzyme in the fresh fruit
will prevent the gelatin from setting.
- Sharon Valentino of Indio, California,
shares this great tip: A teaspoon or so of baking powder will
make your mashed potatoes light and fluffy.
- To pit a mango, stand the fruit
on its butt end, then with a sharp knife cut from top to bottom
skirting the big central pit. Score the flesh in a crisscross
pattern, cutting to but not through the skin. Partially turn
each piece inside out so the skin domes upward, exposing the
cubes of flesh.
- Slightly green mangoes and papayas
will ripen quickly at room temperature, especially if placed
in a paper bag. Refrigerate completely ripe fruit in a plastic
bag and use as soon as possible.
- Allow salad greens to stand
no longer than 15 minutes before serving.
- Red potatoes are great for salads
because they don't absorb excess salad dressing or break apart
as easily as other varieties...and because their skin is so thin,
you don't have to peel them!
- To cook potatoes for a salad:
wash and place whole, unpeeled potatoes in a large cooking pot.
Cover with cold water and add about 2 teaspoons salt per quart
of water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until fork-tender,
yet firm, about 15 to 30 minutes depending on the size of potatoes.
Drain and allow to cool. Peel if desired. Slice or cut into chunks
for salad.
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