Before giving some useful tips for preserving vegetables, I want to tell you a little about what you mean by preserving vegetables and why we preserve vegetables and other foods?

Preserving vegetables means the process of storing vegetables for a longer period of time using different methods to prevent the vegetables from going to waste. Here are some commonly used methods of preserving vegetables:

Freezing Vegetables – This is the method of freezing vegetables in a refrigerator or cold storage

Dehydrating Vegetables – This is the second most popular method of storing vegetables and involves different drying methods such as dehydrating the foods or vegetables in sunlight or in the microwave oven.

Storing Cooked or Boiled Vegetables – The third method of preserving vegetables is a little professional and is used mostly by the food industries to store vegetables in metal cans with tight lids. Usually, the process involves boiling the vegetables in water with temperatures up to 140 degrees, before sealing them in cans. The vegetables can also be blanched, boiled, cooked, soaked in brine or other fluids for preserving them.

Why do we preserve vegetables?

In old times, people used to preserve vegetables and other edibles so that they could use them in time when there was no food available like in winters. But today, we usually preserve vegetables for two reasons:

Firstly to enjoy those vegetables in the season when they are not available like green peas are cultivated in winter and if you preserve them properly, you can enjoy them in June and July as well.

Secondly we preserve vegetables when large quantity is available and there are chances that they may spoil.

How to preserve vegetables

Here are some basic tips for preserving vegetables and by following them, preserving will become more easy and safe for a long time:

1. To preserve vegetables, the most important thing is keeping every thing hygienic during preservation of vegetables.
2. Remove a thin layer of vegetable’s skin before preserving it.
3. Wash vegetables properly with lots of water.
4. Cut vegetables into bite size pieces for freezing or canning.
5. For dehydrating, cut vegetables into small pieces.
6. Use plastic bags for freezing vegetables.
7. Bags should be properly washed before adding vegetables to them.
8. Mouth of the bags should be tightly closed.
9. Put a small quantity of vegetables in each bag, so that whenever you need to utilize them, you use the whole bag.
10. Once defrosted; if frozen again there are chances that vegetables may get contaminated.
11. Vegetables can be easily defrosted by simply running luke warm water over them.
12. The place where you are dehydrating vegetables should be clean and free from germs.
13. If you are dehydrating vegetables under the sun, always cover them with a thin muslin cloth.
14. Dehydrating in micro wave oven is hygienic but it takes more time.
15. Using some salt on vegetables will make dehydrating faster and proper.
16. Dehydrated food must be stored in a proper hygienic place covered with a tight lid to prevent air and moisture from entering the pot.
17. Vegetables with a high acid level like tomatoes are recommended for freezing or canning rather than dehydrating.
18. Vegetables with a low acid level should not be canned as they require a high temperature of more than 140 degree which is difficult to attain at home.
19. Vegetables should be either cooked or boiled properly before canning.
20. Tightly close the lids of cans once you have added the vegetables to them.
21. A conscious check on preserved vegetables should be kept to make sure that they are not in contact with anything contaminated.
22. For large number of vegetables, dehydrating under the sun is most convenient.
23. Prefer using home preserved vegetables than market preserved one.
24. For preserving, it is best to use young and tender vegetables.
25. If you blanch or boil the vegetables, cool them immediately in the same amount of water, preferably ice water to preserve their nutrients.
26. Make sure you use the best quality freezer bags or air tight containers to prevent freezer burn.
27. Before freezing the bags, squeeze as much air out as possible.
28. Label each bag with the name of the vegetable and the date of preservation, so you can use the old ones before using any newly preserved vegetables.
29. Once packed, freeze them immediately.
30. Make sure your freezer is already ready to take the preserved vegetables. You should clean it a day early and also set the freezer control at -10 a day before freezing to speed up.

There are other methods of preserving vegetables and fruits too, and include pickling and preparing jams and jellies.

Baking is usually related to the sweet items in the food menu. The smell of freshly baked items makes it irresistible to stay away from them. Baked goods can be decorated in a way that they become extremely appetizing. Fresh cream, fruit mixtures and delicious sauces are used to make them look attractive. Here are a few tips to make baking easier and interesting for you.

1. Start making the mixture by combining butter and sugar. This creaming method makes the mixture fluffier.
2. All ingredients should be at room temperature and make sure you know your oven well, Gas Mark, F and C.
3. Always pre-heat oven to the desired temperature of the recipe.
4. Always add the eggs one by one in the main container to avoid the addition of any rotten egg.
5. Make sure that you beat the mixture in a single direction; clockwise or anticlockwise. Never reverse the direction for beating because it affects the inner consistency.
6. Adding a pinch of salt to the mixture makes it soft and helps in baking it properly.
7. Adding 2 to 3 teaspoons of milk also smooths the baking mixture.
8. When adding any specific taste to the mixture, the flavored powder must be mixed in 1 or 2 teaspoons of milk and then added to the main mixture.
9. The baking powder and flour should be confirmed to be fresh before adding.
10. After the addition of flour in the mixture, do not beat it just mix or fold in with a wooden spoon properly.
11. When adding the mixture to the baking pan, always grease the pan with some oil before pouring the mixture, especially if they are non-stick. Placing butter paper all over the pan is also a good technique.
12. After pouring the mixture in the pan, tap the pan several times to make it spread equally to all the sides. It also takes out the air that is trapped in the mixture.
13. After you place the baking pan in the oven, do not open it until the mixture gets a proper shape. Reopening the oven affects the heating process of the oven which is not good for baking.
14. When the baking is complete, switch off the oven but do not bring the pan out immediately. Always give it 5 to 10 minutes to avoid the effects of change in temperature.
15. Cool cakes and breads on wire racks for 10 minutes before unmolding to avoid the soaking of moisture produced by heat at the bottom. Do not put it on an enclosed surface.
16. Finally, when you cut the slices, make sure that they have already reached the room temperature.
17. While baking cakes, scones and pastries do not over handle the ingredients as that may result in air exposure.
18. Use quality ingredients and utensils. Check for expires on all ingredients be it yeast, baking powder or milk. Similarly use clean baking trays, bowls and measuring cups.
19. Use non stick baking trays. In case of non-availability, line the tray with baking parchments. Use pie dishes, gratin for baking pies or removable base baking dishes if required by the recipe.
20. Measure ingredients using proper measuring scales, cups and spoons. Measuring cup for liquids and scale for solids.
21. Use rubber spatulas or wooden spoons for folding. Do not use steel spoons.
22. Make sure your baking tray fits in your oven well. Large baking trays will hinder oven heat circulation leading to over burning the middle of the dish. Similarly do not put 2 baking trays one over the other rack.
23. In baking cakes your mixture should not be more than 3/4th of the baking tin. In case of more, there are chances the cake will spill out of the tin.
24. Insert a toothpick in the centre of your cake to check if thoroughly baked or not.
25. Always operate an oven with mittens and be careful to avoid any oven heat when you open the door.

We hope these tips make baking easier for you. Always try to follow these baking tips to make baking easy and convenient for you.

Be sure to check out our cooking tips too!

Continuing the previous post, here are some more simple and valuable cooking tips that will save your time, ingredients and money and will help you become a perfect chef. These will not only make cooking easy for you but will also allow you to handle the kitchen properly.

1. Before slicing onions, put them into cold water for 10 minutes. This process will not make you “weep”.
2. If you are cooking a dish which includes oil, tomatoes, green chili, onion and garlic, mix all the ingredients first and add garlic in last. It prevents the material from sticking with the pan and taste bitter.
3. If you are boiling rice, add a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar to it. The rice will smell richer and look whiter.
4. If you have roasted something, save the sauce for the purpose of gravy.
5. To make sauces sweeter, use carrots or fruits instead of sugar. It is healthier.
6. Never wash mushrooms under running tap water. They soak water which affects the recipe. Always wipe them with clean cloth before using them.
7. If you want to grill something, oil the grill slightly to prevent sticking.
8. If you are using a grill with a top, cover it with it. This will allow smoke to enhance the flavour and make food yummier.
9. When you are mixing something in a bowl at high speed, put the bowl on a damp kitchen towel. This will prevent your bowl from sliding away.
10. Placing a toothpick between a pot and lid will prevent the pot from boiling over.
11. When cooking a dish which requires you to cut ingredients, make sure you cut them in the same size. This helps to make the recipe more presentable.
12. Cook meat at low temperature to keep it tender and retain its nutrients and juices.
13. Prefer light soy sauce over dark soy sauce.
14. If you dust a cup with flour before adding honey to it, honey will not stick with the cup surface.
15. Never store potatoes along with onion and never store potatoes more than one month. They usually turn sweet.
16. While removing skin from vegetables, always remove a thin layer to retain all nutritional values.
17. Always keep all spices away from your cooking range since heat takes away their flavour in a very short time. Never store spices and baking soda for more than 6 months since they lose their primary flavor if remained open for a long time due to humidity and heat.
18. It is good and convenient to use wood, glass or china ware plates and bowls rather than metal.
19. If you are going to cook a dish for the very first time, prepare in a small amount so that if you do not achieve your target, a lot of material does not go waste.
20. Always decorate/garnish your dishes before serving. It will enhance the value of both, the dish and your efforts.

Follow these cooking tips in your day to day cooking routine and you will be on your way to becoming a good cook in no time!