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Surely you have in your archive plenty of good and time-tested household tips from all your grandmothers and aunts. If you have a weakness for the wisdom of older ladies, youʼre in the right place. We bring interesting tips from a Southern cookbook published in 1922 by cook and exemplary housewife E. F. Warren, who shared in it not only great recipes but also some timeless household tricks in the field of home care.
Secret tips for perfect meal preparation
Mrs. Warren was not a fan of the meat mallet. Instead of blindly pounding a steak, she preferred to marinate it in a mixture of three tablespoons of vinegar and one tablespoon of olive oil. She poured the marinade over the prepared steaks and let them rest for several hours, turning the meat every half hour. This method turns dense and heavy meat into a tender and juicy steak. If you love cabbage but not the smell that lingers in the room after cooking it, place a piece of dry bread or a couple of crackers in a dish towel and toss them into the pot. Do you like boiled eggs but they always crack no matter how hard you try? Before boiling, immerse the eggs in cold water; they will then stay as they are. A great solution for rescuing bitter vegetables is to simply slice them and rinse them with hot water through a sieve — this procedure gently removes the bitter taste of peppers, sprouts, or cabbage.
Bake cakes and pies like a professional
Mrs. E. F. Warren also had great ideas when it came to baking: she recommended using pastry lattices on fruit pies to prevent drying out and the leakage of fruit juices. Other tricks of the perfect baker included brushing the edges of pies with sweet milk or thoroughly tapping the pan filled with batter to avoid unsightly bubbles in the sponge. Instead of stabilizers for whipped cream and delicate creams, Mrs. Warren used cream of tartar. It has no taste, so it does not affect the result other than giving a fluffy texture. If you are afraid that a cake, pastry, cookies, or pie will dry out, place a peeled apple next to them — it will help retain moisture.
Sage against kitchen pests and other household tricks
Maybe year after year you fight invasions of ants that occupy your pantry every summer despite your attempts to keep them at bay. Mrs. Warren recommends placing small bundles of torn sage around the kitchen counter and pantry shelves as a natural solution, which deters them thanks to its natural and strong aroma. Another tip helps solve the problem of cut lemons or oranges — every cook knows it: you need one or two slices of lemon, a bit of juice, and a week later you throw away a yellow shriveled something that was once a lemon. If you don’t want to waste, the opened citrus can be sliced and placed in cold water in the refrigerator. If you change the water every day, the lemon will stay in great condition for up to a week.
