20 Household Tips…or Myths?

Laura says on January 24th, 2007 at 7:58 pm

The tip about putting dishsoap and boiling water in a skillet to unstick burned-on gunk works extremely well! However I caution you to watch it very closely and keep it on the lowest possible temperature that will maintain a simmer, because the soap causes the water to boil over very easily.

I’ve never tried the one about the egg, but I’ve heard it before so I’d give it a shot.

Mary says on January 24th, 2007 at 8:52 pm

Yup, they all look good.

I’ve tried desalting soup with a potato and it does effectively cut down unwanted saltiness.

Also, I keep a few chickens in a backyard coop, and I’ve tested the egg float method to determine freshness with eggs I’d marked by date laid. It’s extremely accurate.

The only one I question is the lime-on-forehead method of ending a headache. That one just sounds odd, but who knows?

Laura’s right about the soap simmer technique to remove tricky residue — it works great! Another method is to soak your crusty cookware with a dryer sheet in some water. Sounds wierd but it works.

Dan Ridley says on January 24th, 2007 at 9:23 pm

The egg one is absolutely true. As eggs spoil, they build up gas under pressure; this makes them more bouyant. I’ve used this to check eggs, and yes, I’ve double-checked the floaters by cracking them open. They were indeed yucky. No need to salt the water, though.

The potato-in-an-oversalted-dish one works too, as long as it’s a pasta or a brothy soup or something. Doesn’t work with, say, tomato sauce or chili.

The soap-boiling trick for burnt-on gunk works too.

Based on his record, I’m going to have to try the apple in the potato bag :-)

Michael Langford says on January 24th, 2007 at 9:32 pm

* To easily remove burnt-on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stovetop-skillet will be much easier to clean.

–This works with almost any solvent, or none at all. Use Vinegar, or Soap: Things like bleach can be overwhelming and cause fainting. For cast iron or aluminum, even salt works. To get even more off, take a wooden spoon and rub it over the fond (what the French call these stuff).
If you have stuff on the bottom of the pan from cooking meat, and add a little liquid like broth or stock, and scrub the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon while boiling the liquid, it makes a tasty broth while also cleaning your pan.

* To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh-if it rises to the surface, throw it away.

–If the egg is ROTTEN it floats up. Throw it away. However, the egg that doesn’t float, well it still may be bad.

Kaycee says on January 25th, 2007 at 12:22 am

… potato peel works because of equalibriums and the likes of that…
…the apple in the bag works because of a gas apples release (works also for ripening other fruit).
… no idea about the egg, seems like it would have to do with gas developing inside the egg shell, so makes semi-sense.
… hot water makes things nice and soggy and soft, right? (your hands sometimes?)… so there ya go with that one.

Barbara says on January 25th, 2007 at 9:04 am

They all work. The ethelene(sic) gas released by the apple will keep potatoes and other tubers from sprouting. If you are trying to force bulbs in your refrigerator make sure there is no fruit. The same gas ,however, ripens bananas. Put an apple in with them and close the bag.If you have stale Christmas cookies, put some white bread in the container. The cookies will absorb the moisture. Not that we ever have left over cookies at my house.