Bread is too soft to slice: Freeze and slice frozen.
Stale Bread: Spray it with a small amount of water, put it in aluminum foil and bake in an oven at a moderate temperature for about ten minutes.
Cake Stuck to Pan: Let sit until slightly cooler, then try again. If it’s already cold, reheat for a minute or two.
Hard or rubbery cheese after cooking: Blend in a blender or food processor on low speed for one to two minutes, then cook slowly.
Cloudy coffee or broth: add eggshells.
Overcooked coffee: Add a pinch of salt
The dough is lumpy: Add more liquid and mash the dough well.
Dough doesn’t rise: Place the bowl of dough somewhere warmer, in an oven, for example, with a pilot light (don’t turn the oven on). You can also mix a little more yeast into ΒΌ cup warm water and knead into a dough.
The dough does not take shape: let it rest for 15 minutes.
Eggs break when cooked: Put 1 teaspoon of salt and a little lemon or vinegar in the water to prevent the egg whites from coming out of the shell.
Egg whites are not beaten – add a little baking soda or salt.
Hard Fudge: Add a tablespoon of milk and 2-3 tablespoons of corn syrup and whisk, then pour. Put in an airtight container for 24 hours.
Gelatin stuck in the mold: Submerge the mold in hot water, but without the gelatin touching the water, just a few seconds. Put the mold on a plate, turn it over and shake.
Gray Sauce: Add red currant jelly, soy sauce, a little sherry, meat extract, or 1 teaspoon of instant coffee.
Lumpy Gravy: Beat with an egg beater or wire whisk. Strain it.
Savory sauce: do more. Sometimes adding a bit of brown sugar helps. Cook small pieces of potato in the sauce.
Salted ham: Soak the slices in the milk for 15 minutes to half an hour. Take off.
Glaze: Add a little vinegar and continue cooking.
Hard Lemon: Heat 5 minutes in boiling water or 15 seconds in microwave on HIGH, then try squeezing.
Burnt meat: Cut the burnt parts, chop and sauce the rest. Serve over pasta.
Stuck Pasta: Return to boiling water with a tablespoon of oil.
Pie Crust Burning on the Edge: Cover the edge with aluminum foil.
Popcorn won’t pop: Soak corn in water for 5 minutes, pat dry, and try again. For very recalcitrant corn, freeze overnight and pop while frozen.
Burnt rice: Remove from heat, then put a piece of bread on top, cover for 5 minutes.
Sparkling broth: Add the leek tips and tomato rinds, which absorb the dross.
Too Salty Soup: Slice potato, simmer until potato turns translucent, then remove.
Tough meat stew: If you haven’t had time to let the stew continue to cook over low heat, add a few tomatoes or a teaspoon of sugar to soften it up.
Old vegetables: To liven them up, add a pinch or two of sugar and a little salt to the cooking water.
Overcooked Vegetables: Puree them. Either make a cream soup out of them OR put them in an oven-safe dish, top with breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese, and roast for a couple of minutes.
Vegetables that are too salty: Drain the water, rinse them and return them to the stove with fresh water. If you’re done, wash with hot water.
Whipping cream is not whipped – chill everything (bowl, cream, beaters) and try again. If that fails, add an unbeaten egg white or 3-4 drops of lemon juice and beat as hard as you can.
