These kitchen hints come from our family. Many were passed down by our great-grandmother Nellie and her friends: how to keep a cake from falling, rescue a curdled sauce, soften hard brown sugar or plump up raisins. We have written them in our own words, sorted them by topic, and brought a few up to date where food safety advice has changed.
Something gone wrong right now? See kitchen troubleshooting for quick answers, from gray steak to lumpy gravy.
Cakes and cookies
Heat the oven for at least 10 minutes before the cake goes in, so it starts at the right temperature.
Keep the oven door closed for the first half of the baking time. A rush of cool air can make a rising cake fall.
Bake cakes on the center rack. With more than one pan, leave space between the pans and the oven walls so heat can circulate, and keep the pans from touching.
Every oven runs a little differently, so start checking cakes 10 minutes early and cookies 5 minutes early.
Baking in glass or ceramic? Lower the oven by 25°F; those pans hold more heat than metal.
Dust the serving platter with confectioners' sugar before setting a cake on it, or with cocoa for a chocolate cake, and it will not stick.
No strong coffee on hand? Dissolve 1 tablespoon of instant coffee in 1 cup of hot water. It is especially good in honey cake, and hot coffee in place of the hot water deepens a date nut bread.
Toast plain rolled oats in a dry skillet, stirring, until golden, and add them to batter for a nutty flavor.
To split a layer cake evenly, push toothpicks into the side all the way around at the halfway mark and let them guide a long serrated knife.
Toss nuts and raisins with a spoonful of the recipe's flour before adding them, and they will not sink to the bottom.
Plump hard raisins by steaming them in a strainer over boiling water, covered, for about 10 minutes. They taste better and chop more easily.
Frost cupcakes in seconds: dip the top into soft frosting and give it a little twist as you lift it out.
Brush a little butter on waxed paper before wrapping a frosted cake, and the frosting will not stick to it.
Swap a liqueur for part of the milk or water in a frosting, filling or glaze for a grown-up flavor.
If a muffin tin will not be full, put a little water in the empty cups. The pan bakes more evenly and is easier to wash.
Never grease the pan for angel food, sponge or chiffon cake; the batter needs to cling to the sides to rise. For an angel food or Passover sponge cake, rinse the tube pan with cold water and drain it instead. See our Passover orange sponge cake.
For cut-out cookies that keep their shape, roll and cut the dough right on the cookie sheet, then peel away the scraps between the shapes.
Melt butter or chocolate in a sealed plastic bag set in hot water. Snip a corner to drizzle it, and keep any extra in the refrigerator.
Sprinkle a little flavored gelatin powder over white icing for a quick, pretty color.
Honey keeps cakes moist longer, which makes them good for mailing. To use honey in place of sugar, use 3/4 cup honey for each cup of sugar, use 1/4 cup less liquid, and lower the oven 25°F so the top does not brown too fast.
For bigger muffins or cupcakes, bake the batter in greased 8-ounce ovenproof coffee cups. Children love them.
Marshmallows or maraschino cherries make handy holders for birthday candles.
A cup of mini marshmallows soaked overnight in a cup of heavy cream whips up to about twice the volume.
Add ingredients in the right order. When a recipe says to add the dry ingredients and liquid alternately, add about a quarter of the flour, then a third of the liquid, and keep alternating, starting and ending with flour. The batter stays smooth and even.
Bring the ingredients, especially the eggs, to room temperature before you start. Cold eggs firm up the creamed butter and sugar, and the batter can look curdled, which affects the texture of the cake. To warm eggs quickly, set them in lukewarm water for 5 minutes.
Butter creams faster and more easily in a bowl rinsed with warm water and dried.
Beat egg whites only in a perfectly clean bowl with clean beaters. The smallest trace of fat or grease keeps them from whipping.
Fold beaten egg whites into batter with a gentle down, across and up-and-over motion, turning the bowl as you go, so they keep their air.
For a marble effect, stir a few drops of food coloring into part of a white cake batter, just enough to swirl it, and tint the frosting to match.
Dress up a yellow or white cake mix with 1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest and 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground nutmeg.
If a boxed cake mix has been in the pantry a long time, blend in 1 teaspoon of baking powder to make sure it rises.
Cool an angel food or chiffon cake upside down by setting the tube pan over the neck of an empty glass bottle, so the cake hangs and keeps its height.
If a cake or loaf browns too fast before the center is done, set a pan of warm water on the rack above it, or lay a sheet of foil loosely over the top.
Make chocolate curls by running a vegetable peeler along a slightly warm square of chocolate.
Chocolate triangles for decorating a cake: melt about 3 ounces of semisweet chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water, stirring until smooth. Scrape it onto a sheet of waxed paper on a board that fits in your refrigerator and spread it thin and even with a metal spatula; the edges do not matter. Chill a few minutes, just until set, then with the tip of a sharp knife mark diamonds about 2 inches apart, cutting through to the paper. Cut each diamond in half across its widest part to make triangles, peel them off onto fresh waxed paper, and keep them in the refrigerator, or wrap and freeze them, until needed.
Creaming butter and sugar goes faster with a spoonful of hot milk added.
For a fine, even crumb, beat 2 tablespoons of boiling water into the creamed butter and sugar.
A teaspoon of lemon juice added to the creamed butter and sugar makes a lighter, more tender cake.
Baking times by pan, for butter cakes: cupcakes at 375°F for 18 to 20 minutes, round layers at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes, and a loaf at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes. Use the pan size the recipe calls for; a different pan changes the time.
Cut a fresh, soft cake cleanly with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped between slices.
No piping bag? Cut a corner off an envelope (or a sturdy plastic bag), fill it with frosting, snip a tiny opening at the tip, and pipe.
Old-fashioned potato frosting: mash a small boiled potato until completely smooth, then beat in confectioners' sugar and a little vanilla until it is thick enough to spread.
Gumdrop roses for white frosting: slice colored gumdrops very thin and press them on; the slices curl into little petals.
Grate grapefruit, orange and lemon rinds before you juice or eat the fruit, and keep the zest in a tightly closed jar in the refrigerator for cakes, frostings and fillings.
Half an apple in the cake tin keeps a cake moist for several days.
No time to heat the oven for shortcake? Thin a sweetened biscuit dough into a batter and cook it in a waffle iron.
After baking, leave the oven door open until the oven cools so steam does not linger and rust the inside.
Bread, pies and pastry
Need a warm spot for yeast dough? Put a pan of hot water on the lowest rack of a turned-off oven and the covered bowl on the rack above. Close the door and check after about an hour; the dough should be doubled.
Brush a loaf with a little vinegar a few minutes before it is done for a crisp, shiny crust.
For quick breads (no yeast), start with ingredients at room temperature, let the batter rest in the pan about 20 minutes before baking, and cool the loaf 10 minutes in the pan. It slices better the next day, wrapped.
Use orange juice in place of water in pie crust for a richer, slightly sweet pastry. See our all-butter pie crust.
Juicy fruit pie? Brush the bottom crust with lightly beaten egg white, or sprinkle it with crushed cornflakes or a tablespoon each of flour and sugar, before adding the filling.
Bake pies on the bottom rack for a crisp, browned bottom crust.
Baking an empty pie shell? Prick it, set a slightly smaller pie pan inside, and it will not puff up.
A wet knife cuts through meringue without tearing it.
To slice soft bread very thin, slice it partly frozen with a warm knife, then let the slices thaw.
Eggs, dairy and the pantry
Baking soda loses its power over time. Keep it in an airtight container and replace it after about 18 months; old soda still makes a gentle scouring powder.
To test baking powder, drop a teaspoon into hot water. If it bubbles hard, it is good.
Not sure if an egg is raw or hard-cooked? Spin it on the counter. A cooked egg spins smoothly; a raw egg wobbles and stops.
Cook cheese gently. High heat makes it stringy and leathery. To melt cheese into a sauce, warm the liquid, take it off the heat, and stir in the cheese a little at a time.
Fold yogurt into a recipe rather than beating it, which thins it. If it will be heated, stir it into the flour or cornstarch first so it does not curdle.
Light whipped topping from nonfat dry milk: chill 1/3 cup cold water with 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk, whip until it holds soft peaks, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and whip until stiff, then beat in 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar. Keep it chilled and serve it soon.
If a custard curdles, take it off the heat and whisk it hard, or give it a quick spin in a blender.
Press tofu before using it: pat it dry, sandwich it between towels with something heavy on top for 20 minutes. Blended with a pinch of salt, a little vanilla and honey or maple syrup, it makes a dairy-free whipped topping. Tofu is high in protein and very low in carbohydrate.
Cooking fixes and tricks
Soup or stew too salty? The surest fix is more unsalted broth or water, or more of the vegetables. A cut raw potato simmered in the pot and then removed helps a little, too.
Soup too sharp or sour? Stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar. Too sweet? Add a little vinegar or lemon juice, tasting as you go.
If hollandaise separates, take it off the heat and whisk in hot water a few drops at a time, up to a teaspoon. Do not put it back on the heat; serve it warm.
Add a little vegetable oil when sauteing in butter. It keeps the butter from burning.
Brown stew meat fast: spread it on a rack in a shallow pan and broil it, or bake it at 450°F, turning once, until browned, then carry on with the recipe.
Stir cold liquid into cooked flour and fat (the roux) for gravy or cream sauce, and it will not lump.
Toast curry powder or chili powder in a little oil before adding liquid. It takes away the raw, bitter taste.
A teaspoon of lemon juice in the cooking water makes rice fluffier and whiter.
If cooked pasta has to wait, toss it with a little oil so it does not stick together.
To skim fat from soup, wrap an ice cube or two in a paper towel and skim the surface; the fat clings to the cold towel. Or chill the soup overnight and lift off the fat.
Reheat leftover rice in a sieve set over boiling water, covered. It steams back to fluffy.
Cook peeled sweet potatoes in your chicken soup and lift them out before serving. The soup is richer, and the sweet potatoes are ready to candy.
Make citrus give more juice: start with fruit at room temperature and roll it firmly on the counter before cutting.
Keep grated potatoes for latkes or kugel from darkening: grate the onion first and mix it in, toss the potatoes with 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice, or sprinkle a thin layer of flour over them.
Cook onions until golden, not brown, when a recipe calls for sauteed onions; dark onions can turn bitter.
For even onion rings, slice the onion first, then slip the peel off each slice.
A pinch of salt in very tart fruit while it cooks means you need less sugar to sweeten it.
Add a little paprika to the oil when frying chicken for a beautiful brown color, and a few sprigs of dill when roasting lamb.
To turn a roast chicken or turkey, slip a long-handled serving spoon into the cavity and lift.
Reheat sliced roast beef without drying it out: lay it between lettuce leaves in a covered pan and warm it in a 300°F oven.
For lighter chopped liver, moisten it with chicken broth, a little wine or tomato juice instead of more fat. For kosher cooking, liver must always be broiled before it is used in any recipe (see kashering at home); rub the broiler rack with a little oil first so it does not stick.
Use kitchen shears dipped in hot water to cut prunes, dates, marshmallows and candied fruit.
Grease the inside rim of a saucepan, about an inch down, to help keep milk and starchy liquids from boiling over.
Lost the spatter screen? Set a metal colander upside down over the skillet.
Shake breading or a cake's dry ingredients together in a plastic bag; it mixes them evenly with nothing to wash.
Grease a casserole dish lightly before filling it and it cleans up much more easily.
Gelatin molds: grease the mold lightly before filling, chill the mixture quickly in a metal pan in the freezer for about 15 minutes (stir now and then), and wet the serving plate before unmolding so you can slide the mold to the center.
Crushed potato chips stand in for bread crumbs or matzo meal in a coating.
To serve a souffle, break into the top with a fork, then lift portions out from underneath with a serving spoon.
Rewarm cold baked potatoes by dipping them quickly in hot water before putting them back in a warm oven; the skins stay tender.
Quick ideas from Nellie's kitchen
Roast beef sauce: stir 1 tablespoon of prepared horseradish into 1/2 cup of mayonnaise.
Beat eggs with pineapple juice instead of milk for a sweet change in French toast.
Canned mandarin oranges, drained and soaked in fresh orange juice for an hour, taste fresh again.
A quick dessert: flaked coconut stirred into applesauce.
Toss canned beans with oil and vinegar, chopped celery and onion; or sliced beets with onion, vinegar and a pinch of sugar; or grapefruit and mandarin sections with sweet red onion and ripe olives in French dressing.
Save the liquid from sweet pickles for coleslaw and salad dressings. See Sandra's cole slaw.
Warm the last spoonfuls of several jams together into a pancake syrup.
Sprinkle potato chips with grated Parmesan and toast them at 400°F for about 10 minutes.
Garlic salt on French fries just before serving.
A stick or two of cinnamon in with the coffee grounds gives brewed coffee a warm, spiced flavor.
Dry your own orange and lemon peel: peel washed fruit, dry the peels in a very low oven until brittle, grind them in a food processor and store them in small jars for cakes, cookies and breads.
Whitefish for company: take the meat off the bones, mash it with finely chopped celery, green pepper and enough mayonnaise to hold it together, then pack it back into the skin and serve it on lettuce with tomatoes and radishes.
Fresh tongue: roast it on a bed of vegetables with beef broth and 1/4 cup of wine in place of water.
Put a large onion in a sunny window in winter and let it sprout. Snip the green shoots like chives; they grow back.
For a punch bowl ice ring, freeze an inch of water in a ring mold, then keep adding an inch at a time, tucking in cherries and orange slices as you go. It freezes clear. See our party punches.
Freezer and storage
Freeze fresh cranberries right in their bag and use them all year; rinse and cook or chop them still frozen.
Chill an onion in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes before chopping and it will sting your eyes less.
Opened potato chips and marshmallows keep for months in a sealed bag in the freezer.
Freeze a head of cabbage for a day or two, then thaw it, and the leaves come off easily for stuffed cabbage.
Thaw sealed packages quickly in cold water, still wrapped, changing the water every 30 minutes; cook right after thawing.
Meat can go into the pan partly frozen, and poultry can be cooked straight from frozen. Either takes about half again as long, so check the temperature with a thermometer.
Frozen baked fruit pies can thaw in their wrapping at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, then warm in a 375°F oven for a few minutes. Keep cream and custard pies in the refrigerator.
If honey or syrup crystallizes, set the jar in a pan of warm water until it turns clear again.
Raisins keep for a long time in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and even longer in the freezer. If they turn sugary, rinse them in hot water.
Keep milk on a shelf, not in the refrigerator door, which is the warmest spot.
Store grapes and berries unwashed and rinse them just before eating.
Keep nuts tightly covered in a cool, dark place, or in the freezer; air, light, warmth and moisture make them go rancid.
Do not refrigerate whole potatoes, sweet potatoes or winter squash. The cold turns some of their starch to sugar.
Store brown sugar airtight. If it hardens, lay plastic wrap on the sugar, set a damp paper towel on top, close the container overnight and remove the towel. In a hurry, warm it briefly in a low oven and measure it right away; it hardens again as it cools.
Hard cheese with a spot of mold is fine once you cut away at least an inch around and below the spot. Throw out soft cheeses like cream cheese, ricotta or brie that grow mold.
Frozen fruit packed with sugar can replace the same amount of fresh fruit in a recipe; cut back on the recipe's sugar to allow for it.
Thaw frozen fruit in its unopened package; air dulls its color and flavor. For pies and cobblers, thaw it only until you can spread it, and serve fruit as a chilled dessert while it still has a few ice crystals.
Cook frozen vegetables straight from the freezer, quickly, in about a half to a third of the time fresh ones take.
Frozen fish can be cooked thawed or straight from frozen; from frozen, allow about half again the cooking time.
Bake a frozen unbaked pie without thawing: put it straight into a 400°F oven and add 10 to 15 minutes to the baking time.
Around the house
Dental floss makes strong thread for sewing on buttons.
Use cotton swabs as tiny paintbrushes for touch-ups.
A little olive oil works gum out of hair.
Brighten cloudy glass baking dishes by boiling them in 1 quart of water with 2 tablespoons of vinegar; vinegar helps with burnt pans too. See how to clean a burnt pan.
A splash of vinegar in the dishwater takes away fish smells.
A puff of hair spray loosens stubborn stickers on glass and metal.
Leftover club soda cleans and shines counters, refrigerators and laminate tables.
A piece of charcoal in a bookcase absorbs dampness and helps keep books from mildew.
Wrap a cloth around a rubber spatula to clean the narrow slats of louvered doors and blinds.
Spray drawer runners with furniture polish so drawers slide easily.
A little petroleum jelly on the threads of nail polish, glue or paste bottles keeps the caps from sticking.
Tie a bright ribbon on your suitcase handle to spot it quickly.
A dab of butter under the spout keeps a pitcher from dripping.
Two glasses stuck together: fill the inner glass with cold water and stand the outer one in warm water, and they will come apart.
A soft cloth dampened with vinegar cleans patent leather.
Mark your favorite recipes with a small gold star so you can find them fast. (On this site, tap the star to save a recipe to your recipe box.)
Nellie was our great-grandmother. Many of these hints came from her and her friends, and we have kept them, in our own words, alongside the recipes our family still cooks.
Are old kitchen hints still safe to follow?
Most are as useful as ever. Where food safety advice has changed, for thawing meat, moldy cheese and storing pies, we have updated the hint to current USDA guidance.
