Baking Apples

When baking apples, remove a horizontal slice of peel from around the middle. The apples won't shrink while baking. Also remember to use top quality bakeware for best results.

Cutting Kiwi

Use an egg slicer to cut your kiwi.

Coring Strawberries

Cooking Tips from grannie mae...

To remove the hard white core in strawberries, just take a plastic straw and push though center of berry all the way from top to bottom and the core will stick in the straw.

Chopping Dried Fruit

Dried fruit will chop much easier if you place it in the freezer one hour before you plan to start chopping.

Choosing a ripe melon

Use this smart cooking tip! To choose a ripe watermelon, hold it up to your ear and knock on it. Select the melon with the most hollow sounding knock. For cantaloupe, choose one with small, tight, netting on the skin. It should smell sweet, and the seeds should not make a rattling sound.

Lemon or Orange Zest

Helpful cooking tips: When a recipe calls for a fruit zest - usually lemon or orange, just grate the out peel off of the fruit. Not the white pith underneath though. You can also use a potato peeler.

Opening a Coconut

To open a coconut, pierce the eyes of the coconut with an ice pick or large nail, and drain the liquid from the coconut into a bowl. To remove the shell easily, bake the drained coconut at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes, or put it in the freezer for an hour. Next, place the coconut on a firm surface, and tap the shell lightly with a hammer in several places until it cracks. Separate the meat from the shell.

Refreshing your raisins

If you've stored raisins for too long and they've become hard, you can refresh them by putting them in a pan; cover them with cold water, and then bring the water to a boil. Remove pan from heat as soon as the water boils, and let stand for 5 minutes. Drain well before using.

Jucier Lemons

To get more juice out of your lemons, submerge the lemon in hot water for about 15 minutes, or warm it in the microwave for 45 seconds before squeezing.

Sauteing apples

When sauteing apples, add brown sugar to them for added flavor. Good cookware is essential to successful sauteeing.

Coring a Strawberry

Easy basic cooking tips: Core your strawberries the easy way...with a straw! Place the end of the straw at the center of the bottom of the strawberry. Push upward firmly, and you will remove the core and the leaves as well.

Coring Apples

Core apples easily by cutting them in half, then scooping out the core with a melon baller.

Fresh Citrus

When buying fresh citrus fruits, the heavier the better. Brown marks on the skin won't affect the flavor, but don't buy if the skin has any wrinkled or soft areas.

Fresh Fruit

Dissolve lemon jello in a little water and pour it over fresh fruit to prevent it from turning brown, it gives your fruit salad a great taste too!

Toasted Coconut

To toast coconut, bake it at 375 degree for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden brown. Good bakeware makes this much easier!

Fruit from Cans

Sometimes fruit picks up a "tinny" flavor when they are in cans. To help remove this flavor, soak the fruit in water for about 30 minutes.

Over Ripe Fruit

If you fruit gets too ripe, make it into a fruit sauce. Clean the berries well. Mash them with sugar to taste, and serve with ice cream or shortcakes.

Sour berries?

Stir them with sugar and allow to stand at room temperature for at least an hour. Use about 1 tablespoon per cup of berries.