Little secrets to ease your kitchen life

Marinate the meat
Use red wine or lemon juice. Red wine penetrates the meat faster and enables it to develop a deep, rich colour and flavour. Lemon juice tenderises and flavours the meat.

Peeling boiled eggs
Adding a dash of vinegar to the water when boiling eggs, helps the shell to come off more easily.

Honey sticking
Lightly grease the cups or spoons with a little butter or oil before pouring in the honey. The honey will slide off easily without sticking. Do not dip any oiled object into a pot of honey as this will contaminate it. Just pour it out.

Hot pepper flavour
If you love the flavour of hot pepper without subjecting it too much heat, remove the seeds and reduce the heat.

Freshness of egg
If you are not sure of the freshness of an egg, just put it in a glass of water. A fresh egg will sink and the stale one will float.

Fat in soups
Put the soup in the fridge for half an hour and skim off the grease, before re-heating it for use.

Lumpy brown sugarBrown sugar has a tendency to form lumps in the packet. To remedy this, add a piece of soft white bread. The sugar will break down into crystals, within a short time.

Dry breadcrumbs
Make your own breadcrumbs and save money. Grate some soft, white bread on the coarse side of a grater. Spread a thin layer on a baking sheet and bake at 140C/275F/gas mark 1, for 30 minutes, stirring through occasionally. Cool completely before use.

Drops of lemon juice
You do not have to cut a whole lemon if you only need a few drops. Pierce it with a skewer, squeeze out the amount you need and store it in the fridge.