Whether it is adding too much salt, making a dish too sweet, or one of the many other things that can go wrong, it is safe to say that many cooks have experienced a kitchen blunder. For some of these instances, there is a way to save the day. The following contains fixes for some common kitchen mishaps, as well as general kitchen tips.

Salty Soups and Stews

• Add cut, raw potatoes and discard once they have cooked.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vinegar. Taste and keep adding the same measurements of sugar and vinegar until the dish tastes right.

Too Salty or Tart

Salt counteracts the tartness of vinegar or citrus and vice versa. If the food is too tart, add 1/2 teaspoon salt. If the food is too salty, add more vinegar or lemon juice.

Too Sweet

If your main dish or vegetable is too sweet, add 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. If it is a different dish, add salt.

Gravy Troubles

• Pale gravy. Add a few drops of a browning and seasoning sauce. Next time, avoid this problem by browning the flour well before adding any liquid.
• Greasy gravy. Add a small amount of baking soda.
• Salty gravy. Try adding a little brown sugar. It will overcome the saltiness without sweetening the gravy.
• Burnt gravy. A spoonful of creamy peanut butter stirred into burnt gravy will remove the scorched taste.

Soggy Vegetables

• Sprinkle the vegetable with cool water, wrap it in a towel, and refrigerate for approximately 1 hour.
• Douse the vegetable quickly in hot water and then ice water with a little apple cider vinegar added.
• Perk up soggy lettuce by adding lemon juice to a bowl of chilled water and soak the lettuce for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Also, both lettuce and celery will crisp up fast if you place them in a pan of water and add a few raw, sliced potatoes.

Cream That Will Not Whip

• Chill the cream, bowl, and beaters well.
• Set the bowl of cream into a bowl of ice while you are whipping.
• Add ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar and then whip.

Burnt Rice

First, lay a slice of bread on top of the rice, cover with the lid, and leave it to stand for about 10 minutes. The bread should soak up and remove the burnt taste. Then, remove the rice carefully, leaving the burnt rice on the bottom of the pot.

Soggy Mashed Potatoes

Overcooked potatoes can become soggy when milk is added. Sprinkle with dry powdered milk for fluffy mashed potatoes.

Stale Potato Chips, Cereal, and Crackers

If potato chips lose their freshness, place them under the broiler for a few minutes. Care must be taken not to brown them. You can crisp up stale cereal and crackers by putting them on a cookie sheet and heating them in the oven.

Frozen Bread and Rolls

Forget to take the frozen bread out of the freezer? Place it in a brown paper bag and put in a 325-degree F oven for 5 minutes to thaw completely.

Too Much Mayonnaise

If you use too much mayonnaise in a tuna or chicken salad, do not add more chicken or tuna. Instead, add fresh breadcrumbs.

Baking Tips

• Honey maintains more moisture than sugar does when added to baked goods.
• To prevent fruits, nuts, and raisins from sinking in a batter, lightly dust them with flour before adding to the batter.
• For an extra-moist chocolate cake, add a spoonful of vinegar to the baking soda.
• If you need to cut a hot cake, use dental floss instead of a knife.
• Old egg whites make higher and better meringues than fresh eggs.

Miscellaneous Meats

• A garnish of orange or lemon rind adds a special flavor to poultry or meat dishes.
• If you do not like stuffing inside your turkey, add 1 cup of water and ¼ cup of pineapple juice to make turkey moist and flavorful.
• Dropping a few tomatoes in a pot with a pot roast will help to tenderize it.
• To remove excess grease from breaded meat chops, bake them on a wire rack inside a baking pan, so the grease will drip onto pan.
• Make chicken and other meats tender by soaking them in raw egg whites, fruit juices, and crushed kiwi for several hours before cooking.
• Chicken livers will not splatter if you prick them with a fork before cooking.

Other Fruit and Vegetable Tips

• Freeze fruit juices in ice trays to use in punches. This will keep it cold and add flavor.
• Citrus zest chops easier in the food processor.
• If you need only a small amount of lemon juice, puncture a small hole in the lemon. Squeeze out the juice you need and refrigerate the lemon for later use.
• Make your own fruit-ripening bowl by using a small plastic bag and piercing it. This allows air movement while retaining fruit gases.
• The sweetest navel oranges have the largest naval holes. Do not let color fool you. Sometimes they are artificially colored.
• All canned fruit juices freeze well. Save them for punches or gelatin desserts.
• If you do not have lemon juice or vinegar to prevent fruit from browning, use two crushed vitamin C tablets in cold water.
• Thin-skinned grapefruits and oranges are juicer.
• Cut fresh lettuce with a plastic knife instead of stainless steel. This will prevent discoloration.

Did You Know?

• Dabbing talcum powder over grease stains on clothes helps remove the stains.
• If red wine is spilled on a tablecloth, immediately pour white wine on top of stain and wash with warm soapy water.
• Wine and whiskey should not be stored in lead crystal. The lead crystal can break down and leak into the beverage.
• You can use ice buckets as insulators for serving foods hot or cold.
• You can add 5 to 10 grains of uncooked rice in a saltshaker to prevent moisture from building up and clogging it.