Vinegar in the kitchen

Preppers need to stock items that have multiple uses.  It only makes sense.  I don't know of anything as versitle in our stockpile as vinegar.  Do you use vinegar to its fullest potential? Vinegar kills the flu virus and seasons salads... did you know you can use vinegar in Cleaning, Gardening, Health, Laundry, Kitchen, Pet Care, and Car Care? We'll look at each over the next couple of days, today let's look at it's value in the kitchen. Enjoying a salad with a tangy vinaigrette dressing is one of the most popular ways to use vinegar in the kitchen. But that’s just the beginning! Regular and flavored vinegars are versatile recipe ingredients that add flavor and distinction, and can also contribute to good health.

1. To make basic vinaigrette salad dressing use 1 part white distilled vinegar to 4 parts oil.
2. Make creamy vinaigrette by adding some plain or whipped cream to a mixture of 1 part white distilled vinegar to 3 parts oil.
3. Tenderize meat with white distilled vinegar. Use it in marinades or when slow cooking any tough, inexpensive cuts of meat.
4. When poaching eggs, add a little white distilled vinegar to the water. The whites stay better formed.
5. For extra tenderness with boiling ribs or stew meat add a tablespoon of white distilled vinegar.
6. To add a zesty new taste to fresh fruits such as pears, cantaloupe, honeydew, or others, add a splash of rice or balsamic vinegar. Serve immediately to prevent the fruit from becoming mushy.
7. Freshen wilted vegetables by soaking them in cold water containing a spoonful or two of white distilled vinegar.
8. When boiling or steaming cauliflower, beets or other vegetables, add a teaspoon or two of white distilled vinegar to the water to help them keep their color. This will also improve their taste, and reduce gassy elements. This also works when cooking beans and bean dishes.
9. Make pasta less sticky and reduce some of its starch. Add just a dash of white distilled vinegar to the water as it cooks.
10. Give some extra zest to your white sauce by adding 1/2 teaspoon of white distilled vinegar.
11. Try cider or malt white distilled vinegar instead of ketchup with french fries—that’s how the British like to eat them. Either one is also great on fish or any fried or broiled meat.
12. Remove kitchen odors that come from burnt pots or when cooking certain foods by boiling a small amount of water with 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar so that the steam circulates throughout the room.
13. Make onion odors disappear from your hands by rubbing with white distilled vinegar.
14. Add moistness and taste to any chocolate cake—homemade or from a box—with a spoonful of white distilled vinegar.
15. To keep frosting from sugaring add a drop of white distilled vinegar. It will also help keep white frosting white and shiny.
16. Make perfect, fluffy meringue by adding a teaspoon of white distilled vinegar for every 3 to 4 egg whites used.
17. Perk up any can of soup or sauce with a teaspoon of red or white wine vinegar.
18. Eliminate the greasy taste in food cooked in a deep fryer by adding a dash of white distilled vinegar.
19. If you’ve added too much salt to a recipe, add a spoonful of white distilled vinegar and sugar to try correcting the taste.
20. Keep molded gelatin desserts and salads from sagging or melting in the summer heat by adding a teaspoon of white distilled vinegar for each box of gelatin used.
21. When making tuna salad add a dash of any herb-flavored white distilled vinegar.
22. Turn out great rice by adding a teaspoon of white distilled vinegar to the boiling water.
23. To make the perfect picnic potato salad dressing combine 1 cup mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons white distilled vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
24. Olives or pimentos covered with white distilled vinegar can be kept almost indefinitely if refrigerated.
25. To keep eggs from cracking when boiling add a tablespoon or two of vinegar to water.