[To Skin Tomatoes Easily]—Tomatoes nearly always have to be skinned before being used. To do this easily, place them in a basin and pour boiling water over them. Let stand a minute, and then drain.
Another method is to rub the tomatoes all over with the back of a knife to loosen the skins before peeling. This is said to be better than scalding.
[To Peel Sweet Potatoes Easily]—Before putting sweet potatoes in the oven, grease the skins and they can then be peeled easily and without any waste of the potato.
[!-- Page: 5 --] [To Prevent Roasted Meat from Drying Out]—To prevent roasted meat, which is to be served cold, from drying out and losing its flavor, wrap it in cheesecloth while it is still hot.
[When Food is Too Salty]—When you have put too much salt into cooking food, stretch a clean cloth tightly over the kettle and sprinkle a table-spoonful of flour over the cloth. Then allow the contents of the kettle to steam and in a few moments the flour will absorb the surplus salt.
[To Remove Fish Odor from Hands]—A few drops of ammonia in the water in which you wash your hands will remove all fishy odor from the hands after preparing fish for cooking.
[To Remove Onion Smell from Pans]—The disagreeable smell of onions which clings to pots and pans so stubbornly can be quickly removed by washing and drying the pans, then scouring them with common salt, and placing them on the stove until the salt is brown. Shake often, then wash the pans as usual.
[To Prevent Onions from Making the Eyes Water]—Scalding water poured over onions will keep the eyes from watering.
[Hint When Baking Bread]—When baking bread or rolls, put a saucepan full of boiling water into the oven. The steam rising from it will keep the crust smooth and tender.
[To Make Meat Tender]—A tablespoonful of vinegar added to tough meat while it is boiling or roasting will make it more tender.