10 Ways to Fix Food Disasters?

Answer 1

It's great when a dinner plan comes together, but even when it doesn't, you don't have to resort to an emergency visit to the drive through. Just employ some of these handy fix-its and cooking solutions. Whether you want to undo, redo or make-do, they'll help:

Fix Food Disasters

Just employ some of these handy fix-its and cooking solutions. Whether you want to undo, redo or make-do, they'll help:

Too much salt - Add one-inch thick potato slices to your sauces, soups or other liquids to absorb excess salt. Let potato sit for15 minutes and then discard.

If this doesn't work, try adding a little sugar and then following it up with a splash of vinegar. The amount will vary depending on how much you overdid the salt and what you're cooking. Start small (a pinch and a couple of drops). Keep adding and tasting until you can't taste the salt. The salt will still be there, but you'll be tricking everyone's taste buds into tasting less of it.

Burnt rice, pasta or potatoes - Place a few slices of bread on top of a pot of burned carbs. Let sit for 10 minutes and then remove. Salvage non burned portions and they won't have that telltale scorched aroma.

Watery mashed potatoes - Revive mashed potatoes with a sprinkle of powdered milk. It'll stiffen up those peaks and give your spuds a creamier flavor.

Lumpy gravy - Pour gravy through a sieve or length of cheesecloth, breaking up lumps (or discarding them) as you go.

Buttermilk cheat - If you don't want to buy a whole container of buttermilk for your pancakes, just add a tablespoon of vinegar to one cup of regular milk. Let the mixture sit in the fridge for ten minutes before you use it.

Baking powder cheat - If your baking powder is past its freshness date and you don't have time to run out and buy more, substitute a quarter teaspoon of baking soda and a half teaspoon cream of tartar.

Cocktail sauce cheat - When you need some emergency cocktail sauce for those peel-and-eat shrimp, just add a heaping teaspoon of prepared horseradish to a cup of your favorite tomato ketchup. If you like your food spicy, sprinkle on a half-teaspoon of garlic powder, chili powder and a few drops of lemon juice.

Exchange dried herbs for fresh - Although you'll get the most flavor from fresh herbs, if you have to substitute dry instead, the ratio is three-to-one. If the recipe calls for a tablespoon of a fresh herb, then use a teaspoon of its dried counterpart. This works for almost all herbs. Just be aware that the longer a dried herb sits in your cupboard, the more flavor goodness it'll lose. When in doubt, season to taste.

Exchange dried onion for fresh - If you're fresh onion has transformed into a houseplant, don't despair. You can substitute a tablespoon of minced-dried onion (or onion powder) for one small fresh onion.

Cornstarch as a thickener - Double the cornstarch requirement in a recipe and use flour instead.

Now that you don't have to make that trip to the market, you can sit down and have a nice cup of tea instead. Food disasters don't have to be . . . well, disastrous when you have options.

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