# Kitchen "Wives tales."



## Rocklobster (Jan 29, 2011)

So, over time we hear loads of advice, tips, remedies, etc. for kitchen issues. As we know, not all are true or effective. Just recently I have read a few on here that have never been proven to work.
 Do you have any sage advice that you have heard about that doesn't really have any proof, validity, or are uneccesary?


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## 4meandthem (Jan 29, 2011)

My MIL rubs the ends of her cucumbers hard on the counter and then cuts the ends off.she thinks it gets the "bitter" out of them. I laugh everytime


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## Rocklobster (Jan 29, 2011)

4meandthem said:


> My MIL rubs the ends of her cucumbers hard on the counter and then cuts the ends off.she thinks it gets the "bitter" out of them. I laugh everytime


 
That's a good one! I'd laugh, too.


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## jabbur (Jan 29, 2011)

This isn't an old one.  It's one my sister uses though to get her hubby and kids to eat some onion!  She puts onion in the hamburger when browning it for things like tacos and spaghetti.  She told her hubby that the meat cooks better with the onion.  Hubby's mom is just a basic cook and uses a lot of convenience mixes so he didn't know and accepts the onions.  Otherwise, he wouldn't touch them!


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## justplainbill (Jan 29, 2011)

Oleo is healthier than butter.


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## jennyema (Jan 29, 2011)

Searing meat keeps in the juices


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## jennyema (Jan 29, 2011)

Add a potato to salty soup

Or soup with too much chile pepper

Or a soup with to much [blank]


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## jennyema (Jan 29, 2011)

Dont add salt to dry beans or they won't soften


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## chopper (Jan 29, 2011)

Put a big leaf of lettuce in your soup to soak up the grease.  Remove the slimmy thing before eating!


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## cmarchibald (Jan 29, 2011)

jennyema said:


> Add a potato to salty soup


That one actually does work for me, but only if it's just a little too salty.  If it's WAY oversalted (happened once when I was making spaghetti sauce from scratch) it doesn't help much.


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## Rocklobster (Jan 30, 2011)

What side of the tinfoil do you put up? According to Reynolds, it doesn't matter.


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## AnnieDrews (Jan 30, 2011)

I think the potato in too-salty dishes works.

I also think this one works....to get the odor of onions or garlic off of your hands, rub them well on your kitchen faucet. Something in the metal seems to cancel out the smell. Of course sometimes, I don't mind the smell on my hands.......especially if I've also been chopping fresh cilantro.


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## Zhizara (Jan 30, 2011)

AnnieDrews said:


> I think the potato in too-salty dishes works.
> 
> I also think this one works....to get the odor of onions or garlic off of your hands, rub them well on your kitchen faucet. Something in the metal seems to cancel out the smell. Of course sometimes, I don't mind the smell on my hands.......especially if I've also been chopping fresh cilantro.



It's the stainless steel.  You can even buy squares of SS just for this purpose.  I have a SS sink.  It does work!  Lemon juice works too.


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## AnnieDrews (Jan 30, 2011)

Zhizara said:


> It's the stainless steel. You can even buy squares of SS just for this purpose. I have a SS sink. It does work! Lemon juice works too.


 
Yes, I've seen the little stainless steel bars you can buy. I just use the faucet. I've not had much luck with the lemon juice, but only tried it a couple of times.


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## BigAL (Jan 30, 2011)

I have found that rubber gloves work best for keep'n garlic smell off your hands. 

You could try rub'n them in your wifes hair. Guarantee your hands won't smell like garlic......cause you won't know, you'd be dead.

"watched pot won't boil"


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## BigAL (Jan 30, 2011)

Rocklobster said:


> What side of the tinfoil do you put up? According to Reynolds, it doesn't matter.


 
silver side. 

I've tried on many different things and it didn't matter.  I agree w/Rey


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## chopper (Jan 30, 2011)

BigAL said:


> I have found that rubber gloves work best for keep'n garlic smell off your hands.
> 
> You could try rub'n them in your wifes hair. Guarantee your hands won't smell like garlic......cause you won't know, you'd be dead.
> 
> "watched pot won't boil"


 At least you said "your wife" instead of "the wife."  Kind of a pet peve for me.  I think I would have to at least hurt my husband if he sad "the wife" but I could just get him back with something worse smelling if he rubbed the onion smell in my hair.  I know where he sleeps! 

Anyway...I just thought of another one my Grandma used to say;  "Roll up a ball of tin foil and throw it in the dryer instead of fabric softener to get rid of the static cling."


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## Rocklobster (Jan 30, 2011)

chopper said:


> At least you said "your wife" instead of "the wife." Kind of a pet peve for me. I think I wo7 "Roll up a ball of tin foil and throw it in the dryer instead of fabric softener to get rid of the static cling."


Hmm. Works for static cling and garlic cling

I heard a story on the radio once that I found amusing. This young lady always cut her boneless ham in half before she baked it. She had told people that you always have to cut it in half. She did it because that is the way she learned to do it from her mother. One day she asked her mother why and her mother told her that she didn't know, but that is the way she was taught to do it. So, they both went to the Grandmother and asked why did she always cut the ham in half before cooking it in the oven. The Grandmother told her it was because her first oven was so small that she couldn't fit the whole  ham in the oven  because it was too high, so she had to cut it in two.


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## AnnieDrews (Jan 30, 2011)

chopper said:


> At least you said "your wife" instead of "the wife." Kind of a pet peve for me. I think I would have to at least hurt my husband if he sad "the wife" but I could just get him back with something worse smelling if he rubbed the onion smell in my hair. I know where he sleeps!
> 
> Anyway...I just thought of another one my Grandma used to say; "Roll up a ball of tin foil and throw it in the dryer instead of fabric softener to get rid of the static cling."


 

"The wife" is much better than "ole lady" which I dare my honey to say when referencing me...

Wouldn't aluminum foil scratch the finish on the inside of the dryer?


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## Skittle68 (Jan 30, 2011)

"You can tell a pineapple is ripe if the leaves pull out easily, and the bottom of it smells very sweet."

WRONG!! 

First of all, once you pick a pineapple, it doesn't get any sweeter, ever. Not like a banana. So, you have to find one that was left on the vine long enough, and not picked to early. If you look at a pineapple as it's growing, the little round eyes at the top are much smaller than the ones at the bottom. As it matures, they even out and become all the same size. The sweetest pineapples will be the ones like this. You don't want to pick one with a noticeable sweet odor, because that means has been on the shelf for too long and is starting to turn. It is also possible that the leaves get easier to pull out the longer they sit on the shelf, or they could just be easier to pull out because other people who also don't know what they are doing pulled out leaves that were surrounding the leaf you just pulled. Either way, that is not what I would use to pick a pineapple lol

I always have to bite my tongue when I see people using these methods, but I don't want to say anything because how do they know I'm not just telling them some other wives tale? (I learned this at the dole pineapple plantation in Hawaii)


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jan 30, 2011)

You have to cook a turkey breast side down to have juicy and tender breast meat.  Ask anyone who has eaten my roasted or barbecued turkey.  I have proof, or at least witnesses.

And for the tin foil, if you are using it as a reflective tent, it is marginally better to place the shiny side away from the food.  It reflects more heat away.

Hot water freezes faster than cold water.  This myth is based on the idea that the greater the temperature differential between to substances, the faster energy will flow from the warmer to the colder, hence, cooling the warmer substance faster.

The problem with this idea is that when you first place, say, a hot liquid into the cold environment, there is indeed a greater transfer of energy.  But that energy transfer slows as the hotter liquid cools.  It will eventually reach the same transfer rate as another container of cold liquid placed into the freezer, at which point, if the volumes are the same, it will chill at the same rate as the liquid that was place in at the colder temperature.  So you get the same chill rate as with the colder liquid, which means the same time for the liquid to freeze, plus the time required for it to chill to the temperature of the other liquid.  There is no such thing as "energy inertia".

Northerners can't make proper fried chicken.  All I can say to that is /

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Barbara L (Jan 30, 2011)

chopper said:


> At least you said "your wife" instead of "the wife."  Kind of a pet peve for me.  I think I would have to at least hurt my husband if he sad "the wife" but I could just get him back with something worse smelling if he rubbed the onion smell in my hair.  I know where he sleeps!
> 
> Anyway...I just thought of another one my Grandma used to say;  "Roll up a ball of tin foil and throw it in the dryer instead of fabric softener to get rid of the static cling."


"The wife" is a big pet peeve of mine as well. My first husband (over 30 years ago, thank goodness) called me that a lot. Whenever he said that I would say, "THE wife, THE car, THE dog."


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## babetoo (Jan 30, 2011)

Zhizara said:


> It's the stainless steel. You can even buy squares of SS just for this purpose. I have a SS sink. It does work! Lemon juice works too.


 

i have one of those bars. it is in a drawer and i never use it. i wait for the soapy water that my hands are in, a lot. no smell there, either. lol


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## jennyema (Jan 30, 2011)

AnnieDrews said:


> I think the potato in too-salty dishes works.
> 
> I also think this one works....to get the odor of onions or garlic off of your hands, rub them well on your kitchen faucet. Something in the metal seems to cancel out the smell. Of course sometimes, I don't mind the smell on my hands.......especially if I've also been chopping fresh cilantro.



The stainless does work but the potato myth has been proven false by food scientists as well as home cooks.  It doesn't work.


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## CraigC (Jan 31, 2011)

Tree ripened avacados.

Craig


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## luvs (Jan 31, 2011)

Barbara L said:


> "The wife" is a big pet peeve of mine as well. My first husband (over 30 years ago, thank goodness) called me that a lot. Whenever he said that I would say, "THE wife, THE car, THE dog."


 
i think that ending that was a great choice; your james luvs u so!


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## Barbara L (Jan 31, 2011)

CraigC said:


> Tree ripened avacados.
> 
> Craig


According to information I read put out by Avocado growers, they are ripe when they come off the tree--they just aren't soft enough to eat yet. 

When I lived in Vista, CA there were quite a few avocado groves around, and we often heard coyotes howling from them at night. I read that coyotes would take fallen avocados and bury them. When they were soft they would dig them up and eat them.


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## CraigC (Jan 31, 2011)

Hey BarbaraL, maybe so. I have a tree in my back yard, they are not Hass but another variety. They take 5-7 days once picked to ripen enough to eat. IMHO, if you can't pick it from the tree and eat it right away, then it really isn't ripe. Also remember that these Associations have an agenda. They want to sell avacados.

Craig


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## TheNoodleIncident (Jan 31, 2011)

Goodweed of the North said:


> Hot water freezes faster than cold water.


 
do people actually believe/debate this?


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## FrankZ (Jan 31, 2011)

Yes, people debate that.


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## TheNoodleIncident (Jan 31, 2011)

FrankZ said:


> Yes, people debate that.


 
wow 

EDIT:  ok, looks like under certain specific, rare circumstances, this actually CAN happen...though anyone heating their water with the intent of freezing it is still fooling themselves

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect


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## DaveSoMD (Jan 31, 2011)

Boy do they debate it.... 

dose hot water freeze faster than cold? - Topic Powered by Social Strata


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## Barbara L (Jan 31, 2011)

CraigC said:


> Hey BarbaraL, maybe so. I have a tree in my back yard, they are not Hass but another variety. They take 5-7 days once picked to ripen enough to eat. IMHO, if you can't pick it from the tree and eat it right away, then it really isn't ripe. Also remember that these Associations have an agenda. They want to sell avacados.
> 
> Craig


Yes, but as illustrated by the coyote story, they apparently fall off the tree before they are soft.

No matter, whenever I have a hard avocado I say it isn't ripe yet. To me soft = ripe.

Barbara


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## Zhizara (Jan 31, 2011)

Barbara L said:


> Yes, but as illustrated by the coyote story, they apparently fall off the tree before they are soft.
> 
> No matter, whenever I have a hard avocado I say it isn't ripe yet. To me soft = ripe.
> 
> Barbara



I lived next to a fertile avocado tree when they were ripe.  They weren't soft enough to eat _until_ they fell off the tree.

I'd stand right there, peel and eat the one that just fell off the tree.  Mmmmm, just ripe.


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## Barbara L (Jan 31, 2011)

Zhizara said:


> I lived next to a fertile avocado tree when they were ripe.  They weren't soft enough to eat _until_ they fell off the tree.
> 
> I'd stand right there, peel and eat the one that just fell off the tree.  Mmmmm, just ripe.


Yeah, I've never been fortunate enough to go through an avocado grove and have to wait for them in the store. Probably the hard ones that came off were blown off by a storm? It is probably a good thing I don't have an avocado grove--I'd be twice the size I am now!

Barbara


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## chopper (Jan 31, 2011)

AnnieDrews said:


> "The wife" is much better than "ole lady" which I dare my honey to say when referencing me...
> 
> Wouldn't aluminum foil scratch the finish on the inside of the dryer?


 
Yeah, DH doesn't say that one either! 

OK, I tried the foil in the dryer thing just for you.  It actually worked-no static cling.  And so far...no scratches.  I only dryed two loads though.


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## cmarchibald (Feb 1, 2011)

Has anyone brought up the "salt makes water boil faster" yet?  I was always told that it helps the water boil faster because the addition of the solvent "activates" the water molecules yada yada yada..... 

I think my father the civil engineer just knew I was bad enough at math and science that I'd never question his logic. I was actually dead certain this was true until this thread came along and I decided to look it up.

Answers.com - Does adding salt to water make it boil faster

Oops....


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## Skittle68 (Feb 1, 2011)

cmarchibald said:
			
		

> Has anyone brought up the "salt makes water boil faster" yet?  I was always told that it helps the water boil faster because the addition of the solvent "activates" the water molecules yada yada yada.....
> 
> I think my father the civil engineer just knew I was bad enough at math and science that I'd never question his logic. I was actually dead certain this was true until this thread came along and I decided to look it up.
> 
> ...



I was always told the salt makes the noodles cook faster, due to the higher temperature of the water. As the website explains, this would be true if you added enough salt to choke a horse, but with the amount of salt the average person uses in a pot of pasta, it doesn't change the temperature even one degree.

Oh, and I already knew this- my chemistry teacher told us in high school!


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## chopper (Feb 1, 2011)

Skittle68 said:


> I was always told the salt makes the noodles cook faster, due to the higher temperature of the water. As the website explains, this would be true if you added enough salt to choke a horse, but with the amount of salt the average person uses in a pot of pasta, it doesn't change the temperature even one degree.
> 
> Oh, and I already knew this- my chemistry teacher told us in high school!


 
At least the salt makes the pasta taste better!


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## licia (Feb 1, 2011)

Barbara L said:


> Yeah, I've never been fortunate enough to go through an avocado grove and have to wait for them in the store. Probably the hard ones that came off were blown off by a storm? It is probably a good thing I don't have an avocado grove--I'd be twice the size I am now!
> 
> Barbara



Barbara, the fat in avocados is really good for us. It is the other kind that we need to watch. I'd rather have mine from avocados than most other ways.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 1, 2011)

Salt wouldn't increase the temperature of the water.  But one of its components will.  Table salt is sodium chloride.  if you fracture the molecule into its parent elements, sodium and chlorine, you get a poisonous gas, and a substance that reacts violently when it comes into contact with water, giving off copious amounts of heat and noise.  And yet, if you mix sodium with the fractured elements of water molecule, hydrogen, and oxygen, under the right circumstances, you get sodium hydroxide, or lye.  The world of compounds is strange indeed.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Skittle68 (Feb 1, 2011)

Goodweed of the North said:
			
		

> Salt wouldn't increase the temperature of the water.  But one of its components will.  Table salt is sodium chloride.  if you fracture the molecule into its parent elements, sodium and chlorine, you get a poisonous gas, and a substance that reacts violently when it comes into contact with water, giving off copious amounts of heat and noise.  And yet, if you mix sodium with the fractured elements of water molecule, hydrogen, and oxygen, under the right circumstances, you get sodium hydroxide, or lye.  The world of compounds is strange indeed.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North



Actually, yes, salt can lower the freezing point of water, allowing it to get below 32 F and raise the boiling point, allowing it to get higher than 212 F. 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling-point_elevation?wasRedirected=true


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## Robo410 (Feb 1, 2011)

don't wash mushrooms, they absorb a ton of water.

Well, no they don't but...  if you intend to saute them in oil or butter to get them brown, best not to get them wet first.  If you are just going to toss them into a soup or stew, no problem. If you want them nice and white for a salad...don't wash either. 

All depends on the purpose and use.


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## Josie1945 (Feb 1, 2011)

Barbara L said:


> Yes, but as illustrated by the coyote story, they apparently fall off the tree before they are soft.
> 
> No matter, whenever I have a hard avocado I say it isn't ripe yet. To me soft = ripe.
> 
> Barbara


 
Advacoda nectar of the Gods !!! To me soft = ripe

Josie


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## Barbara L (Feb 1, 2011)

licia said:


> Barbara, the fat in avocados is really good for us. It is the other kind that we need to watch. I'd rather have mine from avocados than most other ways.





Josie1945 said:


> Advacoda nectar of the Gods !!! To me soft = ripe
> 
> Josie


Yes, I know it is good, but as with all things, in moderation. I could eat avocados until I am sick! I've never bought avocado oil but plan to. 

Barbara


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 1, 2011)

Skittle68 said:


> Actually, yes, salt can lower the freezing point of water, allowing it to get below 32 F and raise the boiling point, allowing it to get higher than 212 F.
> 
> Boiling-point elevation



That is true if the concentration of salt is sufficient.  I was speaking of a tbs. or so of salt mixed into a quart or more of water.  Sugar also affects the boiling point of water.  That's how candy is made.  As for affecting the freezing point of water, the best example is probably the old fashioned ice cream makers, where rock salt was added to the water to allow it to get cold enough to freeze the ice cream.  

My bad for not being clear.  Sorry about that.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Skittle68 (Feb 2, 2011)

Goodweed of the North said:
			
		

> That is true if the concentration of salt is sufficient.  I was speaking of a tbs. or so of salt mixed into a quart or more of water.  Sugar also affects the boiling point of water.  That's how candy is made.  As for affecting the freezing point of water, the best example is probably the old fashioned ice cream makers, where rock salt was added to the water to allow it to get cold enough to freeze the ice cream.
> 
> My bad for not being clear.  Sorry about that.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North



Lol yup, about enough salt to choke a horse, as I said in my previous post


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## CWS4322 (Feb 2, 2011)

Ice cubes made from hot water are "clearer" than those made from cold water.


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## Skittle68 (Feb 2, 2011)

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> Ice cubes made from hot water are "clearer" than those made from cold water.



This is true of boiled water, because when you boil water it loses much of the dissolved gasses, which is why you are not supposed to boil water for coffee or tea. It gives it a "flat" flavor.


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## Rocklobster (Feb 6, 2011)

Robo410 said:


> don't wash mushrooms, they absorb a ton of water.
> 
> .


 
They grow in/on dung, so its not like washing them is going to clean them much.


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## AnnieDrews (Feb 6, 2011)

Rocklobster said:


> They grow in/on dung, so its not like washing them is going to clean them much.


 
LOL! My son brought this up the other night while we were having sauteed mushrooms with our steak.


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## PattY1 (Feb 6, 2011)

Salad should be eaten before the main course. Salad should be eaten with the main course to mix with the meal aiding in digestion.


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## AnnieDrews (Feb 6, 2011)

PattY1 said:


> Salad should be eaten before the main course. Salad should be eaten with the main course to mix with the meal aiding in digestion.


 
LOL, my fiance calls salad "dessert".


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## CookLikeJulia (Feb 6, 2011)

After eating salty foods or the meal is somehow salty, then eat sweets to lessen the salt on your body?


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## chopper (Feb 8, 2011)

Eat parsley after garlic to freshen your breath.  It actually works!  At least I think it works.


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## Kayelle (Feb 8, 2011)

Barbara L said:


> According to information I read put out by Avocado growers, they are ripe when they come off the tree--they just aren't soft enough to eat yet.
> 
> When I lived in Vista, CA there were quite a few avocado groves around, and we often heard coyotes howling from them at night. I read that coyotes would take fallen avocados and bury them. When they were soft they would dig them up and eat them.



I have a friend who has an avocado ranch a mile from here. I hear the coyotes every night. Her ranch dog eats fallen avocados as an exclusive diet, and he's so fat he can hardly waddle.   He always has green and black goo around his mouth.
If there's any left for the coyotes I'm sure they don't bury them, or Levi the dog would find them.

About kitchen wives tales...
When I married my husband, he'd cut the ends off of potatoes before baking them.  I asked him why, and he said because Sally, his late wife did. He asked her why once, and she said because her mother did.
Well we still don't know why, and although I've only been married to him for three years, I cut the ends off of potatoes for baking too.  It sounds goofy, but I swear the potatoes bake better.

ps......If I was ever called "the ole lady" or "the wife", he'd be kicked to the moon.


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## chopper (Feb 8, 2011)

If you drop a knife on the floor, a man will come by for a visit!


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## AnnieDrews (Feb 8, 2011)

chopper said:


> If you drop a knife on the floor, a man will come by for a visit!


 
Now we're talkin'!!


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## Skittle68 (Feb 8, 2011)

Kayelle said:
			
		

> I have a friend who has an avocado ranch a mile from here. I hear the coyotes every night. Her ranch dog eats fallen avocados as an exclusive diet, and he's so fat he can hardly waddle.   He always has green and black goo around his mouth.
> If there's any left for the coyotes I'm sure they don't bury them, or Levi the dog would find them.
> 
> About kitchen wives tales...
> ...



I would think cutting the ends off would dry the potato out, but what do I know? I always wrap potatoes/sweet potatoes in tinfoil and put a splash of water inside to steam them. They are always soft and moist. 

And I guess I don't really see what the big deal is about someone saying, "the wife". I say, "the boyfriend" all the time lol.  I choose to belong to him, so it wouldn't offend me at all


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## justplainbill (Feb 8, 2011)

In some cultures or societies terms like 'u be da man', and 'the old man' are or  were  not considered pejorative.


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## chopper (Feb 12, 2011)

Skittle68 said:


> I would think cutting the ends off would dry the potato out, but what do I know? I always wrap potatoes/sweet potatoes in tinfoil and put a splash of water inside to steam them. They are always soft and moist.
> 
> And I guess I don't really see what the big deal is about someone saying, "the wife". I say, "the boyfriend" all the time lol. I choose to belong to him, so it wouldn't offend me at all


 
I just think of those terms as too generic.  I am his and he is mine, however, we became one after we married, so we don't belong to each other...we are each other.    OH my gosh...do we look alike after being married for 30 years!?


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## babetoo (Feb 12, 2011)

when ever my mom put out new candles, she lit them and then blew out. supposed to be bad luck if you don't. i have the same habit. lol


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## vitauta (Sep 25, 2011)

today i baked some browned butter sour cream cookies, and they are awesome!  thing is, they stuck to the pan so bad, i'm having to chip and pry them away piecemeal.  what a sad (but yummy) pile of cookie bits!  my old wive's tale is that if your cookie dough has a lot of shortening in it, you do not need to grease your pan, nothing will stick to it.  this rule has worked for me my entire life--until today, that is.  cookie dough had a whole stick of butter in it--i still don't understand why that old wive's tale didn't work for me this time--live and learn, i guess....


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## Dawgluver (Sep 25, 2011)

vitauta said:
			
		

> today i baked some browned butter sour cream cookies, and they are awesome!  thing is, they stuck to the pan so bad, i'm having to chip and pry them away piecemeal.  what a sad (but yummy) pile of cookie bits!  my old wive's tale is that if your cookie dough has a lot of shortening in it, you do not need to grease your pan, nothing will stick to it.  this rule has worked for me my entire life--until today, that is.  cookie dough had a whole stick of butter in it--i still don't understand why that old wive's tale didn't work for me this time--live and learn, i guess....



I'm no baker, but would a Silpat mat or piece of parchment paper help, Vit?  Wonder if it was the sour cream that caused the stickage.  You'll have to post the recipe!


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## vitauta (Sep 25, 2011)

Dawgluver said:


> I'm no baker, but would a Silpat mat or piece of parchment paper help, Vit?  Wonder if it was the sour cream that caused the stickage.  You'll have to post the recipe!



sour cream is my guess too--that or the fact that the butter was browned in a pan before being incorporated....i probably shouldn't tell on myself like this, but truth is the recipe actually called for parchment paper to be used, and i blew it off....


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## Claire (Sep 25, 2011)

I'm trying to read this line, but my husband saw the garlic/stainless steel bar in W-S or some such, and just tried a big stainless serving spoon.  Yes, it works.  He'd show it to friends when we'd have cooking parties and they'd be astonished.


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## Claire (Sep 25, 2011)

Mom used to slice off the end of the cucumber, then rub the ends together until they sort of foamed, then rinse.  But I really cannot remember the last time I've gotten a bitter cucumber, or for that matter, _ever_ remember getting a bitter eggplant.  I think stuff like that has been bred out (probably along with other, more acceptable flavors).  For bitter cukes, what really worked for Mom was bleeding with salt, rinsing, drying, then dressing.


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## vitauta (Sep 25, 2011)

Dawgluver said:


> I'm no baker, but would a Silpat mat or piece of parchment paper help, Vit?  Wonder if it was the sour cream that caused the stickage.  You'll have to post the recipe!




brown butter sour cream cookies

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup browned butter, cooled a bit
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups ap flour (sifted)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup sour cream

mix together sugar, butter, sour cream, vanilla and egg--will be very wet.  incorporate dry ingredients which you have sifted into another bowl.  mix well to blend, but not overly.  drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets or use parchment paper.  bake for 10-12 mins. in 350 oven.  cookies should be brown only on the very edges. these cookies look like snickerdoodles, taste like christmas!!


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