The Lazy Veggie

Vegetable/Fruits Tips and Tricks

• Make leafy vegetables crunchy again- Cut the stem off and separate the stalks. Add 3/4 cup granulated sugar to a vessel filled with cold water. Now place vegetables in it. Soak for 4 to 5 hours. Drain well and refrigerate.
• Storing Onion paste- Paste of raw onions would turn bitter after a while. For longer storage life, fry onions in little oil before grinding.
• Maintain bright green color of peas- Put the peas in boiling hot water and let it boil. Drain. Pour chilled water. Drain.
• Prevent discoloration of green leafy vegetables- Add a pinch of common salt and sugar to the cooking vegetable so as to avoid discoloration of green leafy vegetables.
• Onion peeling without crying- Peel onions under water to avoid “crying”. Another option is to refrigerate onions before cutting.
• Keep green leafy vegetables fresh for longer time- Wrap green leafy vegetables in a newspaper before putting in the vegetable bag or tray. This will keep them fresh much longer.
• Keep celery fresh for longer time- Celery wrapped in aluminum foil before refrigerating will remain fresh for weeks.
• Remove bitterness from karela- Slit it from the middle and rub a mixture of salt, wheat flour and curd over it. Keep aside for 1/2 an hour and then cook.
• Stop potatoes from rotting- Potatoes rot quickly if stored near onions.To prevent potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.
• Avoid potatoes/cauliflower discoloration- While boiling potatoes and cauliflower add a few drops of vinegar to the water to keep their original white color.
• Skin whole tomatoes easily- Put tomatoes in boiling water, cover and keep aside for a few minutes. Remove and peel off the skin easily.
• Keep bananas fresh for longer time- After bananas have ripened, store in the refrigerator to help slow down ripening. The skin will turn dark brown, but this does not damage the fruit inside. 
• Keep chillies fresh for longer time- While storing green chilies, remove the stems.
• Better way to clean vegetables- Clean Vegetables & make them germ free by adding some salt or vinegar drops while washing them.
• Make ripe tomatoes firm again- Dip tomatoes in cold water, add some salt and leave overnight.
• Enhance natural flavor of vegetables- To naturally enhance the flavor of vegetables, add some salt while boiling them.
• Freshen up raw vegetables- Add a little lemon juice to cold water. Soak the vegetables in this water to “re-fresh” them.
• Juicy lemons- Soak lemons in hot water for 15 minutes before extracting juice.

Fruit and Vegetable Tricks to Help You Get the Most Out of Your Produce

Peeling Oranges

This first one is a common one that I actually learned from my maw-maw (grandmother) as a child. It never ceased to amaze me over the years how many people didn’t know this simple step before peeling most any orange to get to those juicy segments. Of course, I may have never known myself either, had it not been for her. Simply roll the orange for a minute or so before peeling it. Roll the orange back and forth, applying some pressure while doing so. After a minute or so, rolling the orange loosens it away from the rind. If the orange is really hard, find a hard surface to put it on and roll it while applying pressure. The harder the orange, the more rolling needed, but you get the same results.