The Dreaded Onion and the Tears that Follow! We’ve all experienced it…you start to cut an onion and before long, your eyes sting and tears are running down your face. It’s due to Amino acid sulfoxides reacting with the water in your tears to form sulfuric acid. The sulfuric acid burns, stimulating your eyes to release more tears to wash the irritant away.
It does seem to help if you don’t cut off the root end, so try to leave that part on as long as possible. Also, my mother’s trick always seems to work although it definitely looks a bit odd if someone should walk in on you. Get a slice of bread, and hold it in your mouth with as much of it sticking out as possible. Cut your onion beneath it. This seems to do a good job of blocking those gases from reaching your eyes!
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If you read my other new page, “Recipes”, you already know that I’m an avid cookbook collector and I love all kinds, but especially my older books. The recipes were so simple, with the freshest ingredients and nothing fussy about them…just great food cooked well!
The old cookbooks aren’t only filled with great recipes, but some tips and tricks that are still very useful today. I’ll be filling up these pages with lots of tips, tricks and, kichen helpers from these books and I’ll be inserting many of my own tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years. So check back here often.
Diva’s Tips for Buying Produce
If the vegetable has a cut end like asparagus or lettuce, always look at the cut. It should be white or nearly white. Steer clear of any with brown cuts as they are getting rather old.
If your brocolli is turning slightly yellow at the tips, it’s time to pass on that as well because it’s not that fresh.
And if you find a tiny sprout on your garlic or onions, that means it’s been sitting around for quite some time and wants to root.
You most likely know that when your potatoes start ”looking” at you with the “eyes” they’re sprouting, they’re getting old, but did you know about “green” potatoes? Have you ever peeled a potato and noticed it’s green just under the skin? That means it was exposed to light. Potatoes, like mushrooms like to be kept in the dark. The green is actually toxic if you ate enough of it, but as long as you peel it off, the potato will be fine to eat.
One final tip about produce. The general rule about healthy vegetables is the deeper and brighter the color…greens, beets, spinach, the more vitamins and antioxidents they contain.
