The Frugal Gourmet: how to use, re-use, recycle and recondition your ktchen staples...

[femmennoir]

So this is coming out of people asking questions such as: How do I turn my hardened cache of honey into a silky smooth delight once again? (Put it in a bain-marie - hot water bath - and it will return to its primal state) or....My vinegar is cloudy, should I throw it away? (no, just filter and keep the mother of vinegar and you will never need buy another bottle!).
Do you have a kitchen dilemma? have you invented a nifty solution to a kitchen problem that was plaguing you? This thread is for you!
Are you the keeper of some incredible "old wife's" remedy or down to earth bit of folklore which you have experienced works like a charm? This thread is for you!
My name is not Heloïse, just Elle*, but I want to compile the all-time wise femme/butch kitchen almanach!
So, to start: did you know that a profusely bleeding cut (happens a lot in a kitchen) can be treated by plunging the offended finger in a quantity of ground black pepper? It is instant, the bleeding stops and the pepper and the blood combine into a scab: efficient and safe, not to say probably tasty, but I digress..! It is used in restaurant kitchens in Europe and really really works, although I have freaked out chefs in American kitchens with that!
Your frugal gourmet queen, Elle*

[femmennoir]

Originally Posted by femmennoir

...did you know that a profusely bleeding cut (happens a lot in a kitchen) can be treated by plunging the offended finger in a quantity of ground black pepper? It is instant, the bleeding stops and the pepper and the blood combine into a scab: efficient and safe, not to say probably tasty, but I digress..! Elle*

...and no, Chancy, no outchie! It does not hurt, sting or give any discomfort of any kind!

Elle*

[weatherboi]

Great thread!!!

When stuffing poultry...use a cheesecloth bag that has been greased to put the stuffing into and place it into the bird...you won't lose any stuffing that way and the bird still gets the juice and stuffing interaction!!! Nice and clean!!!

[diamondrose]

A friend at work told me that if you put honey on a small cut, it seals the cut and promotes healing and can even help reduce the scaring.

[Nightshade]

Originally Posted by femmennoir

did you know that a profusely bleeding cut (happens a lot in a kitchen) can be treated by plunging the offended finger in a quantity of ground black pepper? It is instant, the bleeding stops and the pepper and the blood combine into a scab: efficient and safe, not to say probably tasty, but I digress..! It is used in restaurant kitchens in Europe and really really works, although I have freaked out chefs in American kitchens with that!
Your frugal gourmet queen, Elle*

What?? I'm amazed. And intrigued. And going to go buy a container of pre-ground black pepper for first aid purposes.

Thank you for my 'learn something new everyday' moment!

[Nightshade]

Not having had nearly enough coffee to be able to brain properly yet, the only one I can think of right now is if your brown sugar has hardened, put a slice of bread (I hear an apple slice works too) in with it and by the next day it will be as good as new.

[femmennoir]

Originally Posted by Nightshade

Not having had nearly enough coffee to be able to brain properly yet, the only one I can think of right now is if your brown sugar has hardened, put a slice of bread (I hear an apple slice works too) in with it and by the next day it will be as good as new.

An apple slice does work well too, and gives a lovely aroma to the sugar! And my mother always kept vanilla beans in the crystallized sugar bin, where it left its pungent aroma, so all the sugar had a vanilla flavour....

Elle*

[Bit]

I love vanilla sugar!

A friend gave me homemade vanilla for the holidays... really cheap vodka and some vanilla beans--no corn syrup!

Y'all might already know this one, but if you buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, you can use it twice--save the bones, skin, and liquid, put them in a pot with 2 to 4 cups of water, and boil them thoroughly (most rotisserie chickens around here don't seem like they're done all the way to the bone when you buy them, so they do need boiled). Let it cool for a while, then strain the broth into a clean peanut butter jar or a bowl. Refrigerate for several hours, skim off the hardened fat, and voila! Fat free chicken broth! If you like, you can throw in onions, carrots, celery and spices while you're cooking it, but I've found that most of the seasoned chickens don't need it.

Elle, I'm curious; what do you add to the mother of vinegar to make more?

[lipstixgal]

Originally Posted by Bit

I love vanilla sugar!

A friend gave me homemade vanilla for the holidays... really cheap vodka and some vanilla beans--no corn syrup!

Y'all might already know this one, but if you buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, you can use it twice--save the bones, skin, and liquid, put them in a pot with 2 to 4 cups of water, and boil them thoroughly (most rotisserie chickens around here don't seem like they're done all the way to the bone when you buy them, so they do need boiled). Let it cool for a while, then strain the broth into a clean peanut butter jar or a bowl. Refrigerate for several hours, skim off the hardened fat, and voila! Fat free chicken broth! If you like, you can throw in onions, carrots, celery and spices while you're cooking it, but I've found that most of the seasoned chickens don't need it.

Elle, I'm curious; what do you add to the mother of vinegar to make more?

Yes that is a good question what do you add to the mother of the vinegar to make more...

[femmennoir]

Originally Posted by Bit

Elle, I'm curious; what do you add to the mother of vinegar to make more?

The mother of vinegar looks like a strange gooey textured circle (since usually it is made inside a bottle), a little like gelatin, pliable. When you filter your vinegar, you can take it out, rinse it, and put it in a clean bottle with some of the vinegar, then you keep adding little wine leftovers, also unfiltered apple cider works well. You can mix white and red wines, and apple cider, or you can decide to make white wine vinegar, or red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. Just keep adding, and let the bottle rest. It works best if it is corked with a real cork, which lets in some air. When you have a quantity, filter it, pour in a clean bottle, and start using, recycling the mother again. You can flavour your vinegar with fresh tarragon sprigs, or fresh or frozen raspberries or strawberries. Enjoy! (They make great gifts!). If you drink wine or apple cider, you will never need to buy vinegar again.
The word vinegar comes from the French words "vin aigre" which mean soured wine.

Elle*

[Sachita]

Originally Posted by diamondrose

A friend at work told me that if you put honey on a small cut, it seals the cut and promotes healing and can even help reduce the scaring.

Propolis does amazing things. This is in honey.

[Sachita]

what about apple cider vinegar? I mean this shit is amazing for humans and animals. Also I spend huge amounts of money on electric and humane mouse and rat traps for years. Little did i know that the big bottle of peppermint i use for everything also keeps them away. I put a few oz in a bottle of warm water, spray it around my house and barn and they hate that shit. It works great.

[femmennoir]

I make sachets against moths (I knit and spin and weave so my house is full of wool) with lavender blossoms, cloves, mint, lemon peel and cedar chips and leave them among the yarn and in my sweaters drawers. You can also use eucalyptus (I used to live in Northern California and had a large eucalyptus tree in my yard).
None of my herbs winter well, they stay on my deck, right now under 30 inches of snow, and in the spring I have to replant most of them. Most often my mint, tarragon, various thymes, rosemary and lavender will survive, sometimes sage too. Nothing kills mint! I have dried all my herbs at the end of fall, and I use them through the winter in cooking, vinegars, teas, and sachets.

Elle*

[Gemme]

Old wife remedies, huh?

Let's see.....if you put a few squirts of lemon juice in a bottle of water, drinking it will help decrease bloating associated with salt intake. Also, injesting a little bit of local, unprocessed honey from your region daily will help reduce allergies. And cider vinegar will bring down the glycemic index of potatoes and potato dishes if added to it, which can be helpful for those eating low carb meals and/or diabetics.

[Soft*Silver]

I have two bags of regular sugar, unopened, that are solid as a rock. Is there any way I can soften them?

[femmennoir]

Originally Posted by softness

I have two bags of regular sugar, unopened, that are solid as a rock. Is there any way I can soften them?

Yes! open the bags and put the sugar in a bin with some slices of apples and let a few days pass. If there is a lot of sugar, you may need to renew, taking out the old apple slices and putting in new, but usually a few days do the trick!
Elle*

[femmennoir]

Originally Posted by Gemme

Old wife remedies, huh?

Let's see.....if you put a few squirts of lemon juice in a bottle of water, drinking it will help decrease bloating associated with salt intake. Also, injesting a little bit of local, unprocessed honey from your region daily will help reduce allergies. And cider vinegar will bring down the glycemic index of potatoes and potato dishes if added to it, which can be helpful for those eating low carb meals and/or diabetics.

Oh! That is all so interesting! An old wife's remedy from France: drink a glass of lukewarm water every morning, with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of honey! This is a panacea, particularly good for aches and joint pains, but it clears your system and assists you in losing weight.

Elle*

[femmennoir]

Originally Posted by diamondrose

A friend at work told me that if you put honey on a small cut, it seals the cut and promotes healing and can even help reduce the scaring.

Honey is the only food which never spoils! It does not contain any water whatsoever, and does not let moisture in (which allows bacteria to breed), so it is why it has been used by many ancient cultures to heals wounds and cuts.

Elle*

[I'mOneToo]

That remedy is good for those with days to wait... one method for immediate use is break a chunk of it off (using an ordinary dinner knife, nothing fancy or too sharp in case it goes sideways against my hand) then place it in a large freezer ziploc bag. Zip it, but don't leave too much air in it. Then take a hammer and lightly break it up. Don't pulverize it. If you leave too much air it's like hammering a balloon and can have disastrous results, or may be funny depending on your sense of humor

Then just keep it zipped until it's used up. Might be too cave-man/womanish for some but works for me!

Originally Posted by femmennoir

Yes! open the bags and put the sugar in a bin with some slices of apples and let a few days pass. If there is a lot of sugar, you may need to renew, taking out the old apple slices and putting in new, but usually a few days do the trick!
Elle*

[Jesse]

Remove excess fat from stews and soups by dropping in a few ice cubes. The fat will cling to the ice cubes, which you can then remove with a slotted spoon.