Hi everyone, When I was going through Mano's Kitchen I saw that varloo had placed a query . "Dear Mano, I am a vegetarian. But I make cakes with eggs. I want some tips on eggs. How to know if they are fresh, how to store and how long they can be stored etc. And also how to know if they are stale after breaking them. Please start a tips section as in veg. Thanks a lot in advance, Varloo" So I thought I'll start one here. Eggs cannot be stored for long maybe maximum a week or ten days. In winter eggs stay on for a longer time but in summer they get rotten very fast. When you buy eggs , immerse them in water and see. It should sit there and not float. Whenever you store eggs, keep the pointed end downwards, Then it'll stay for a longer time. If they are stale, it'll stink, the rotten egg smell will be there and also that the white will be cloudy. The best bet is to buy farm produced eggs and not the country bred ones. They get rotten soon. Latha :wave
Hai Latha, thanks for clearing my doubt. I buy eggs when I make cakes. I always am confused about their freshness. Now I know how to store them. Thanks.
General Tips For Cooking Non-Vegetarian: When you cook chicken or meat, you should first cook over high heat to seal juices and then lower the heat and cook till tender If you want to store fish for more than a day, first clean it, rub it with salt, turmeric and maybe, a dash of vinegar, and then freeze. It will stay fresh. Don't salt meat before you cook it. The salt forces the juices out and impedes browning. Instead, salt meat halfway through cooking, then taste when the meat is done and adjust the salt as needed. Meat that is partially frozen is much easier to cut or slice. Cooking of hamburgers may take hell of a long time. To cook them a little faster, you could poke a hole in the middle of the hamburger patties while shaping them. This helps them cook faster and the holes disappear once the burgers are done. Allow meat to stand at room temperature 1 hour before cooking: It will cook more quickly, brown more evenly, and stick less when pan-fried. To help keep meats moist during a long grill or barbecue, add a pan of water close to the fire, but away from the meat. To coat chicken evenly, you can place the seasonings or crumbs in a plastic bag, and then add a few pieces at a time and shake them well. For golden-brown fried chicken, roll in powdered milk instead of flour before frying. To prevent bacon from curling, dip the strips in cold water before cooking. Sprinkle a little amount of salt in the frying pan before adding bacon to fry. That way it will not splatter all over. To ensure that sausages keep their shape, put them into cold water, bring to a boil and then drain immediately and grill or fry in a saucepan. When you cook chicken or meat, you should first cook over high heat to seal juices and then lower the heat and cook till tender. To avoid kebabs from becoming hard and chewy, marinate them for a longer time and avoid over cooking them. To get rid of the smell of prawns, apply salt and lemon juice to the prawns before cooking. Leave for 15-20 minutes, then wash off and proceed with the recipe. This is usually done with prawns, fish and al kinds of seafood. For better results, mutton should be of a younger animal. It looks pink and not red and texture should be firm. If it is red and looks 'wrinkled', it will be tough. Softening chicken for salads and sandwiches Chicken in salads and sandwhiches is usually poached. What poaching does is surrounds the chicken with liquid, so no moisture is lost and cooks the chicken gently, as opposed to grilling or pan frying. How can you tell that steaks are done? Color can be a good indicator of doneness. This is because myoglobin which gives meat its color, changes from red to pink to brown as meat cooks. A rare steak is bright red. A medium-rare steak is dark pink with some red present; a medium steak is very light pink in color and of course, well-done is brown.
Thank you very much lekha for your feedback. Welcome to Indus Ladies and you will enjoy yourself here very much.
Re: New Thread - Chitvish Recipes - Post your Comments here Hello friends, I just joined this forum. I need some suggestions regarding cooking for my sons first B'day party. I am expecting around 80 - 100 people. I think i need to cook atleast 10kg mutton and 12 kg chicken and some veg curries.(correct me the quantity if u think its more.) so how many days before do i need to cook and how should i store. his b'day is on sunday in the evening , this month end. As it is summer(95F - temp). i am worried if the food gets spoiled b'coz of heat. please help me out. waiting for ur reply.....
