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Add a tablespoon of butter or margarine to the cooking water when boiling potatoes to prevent the water from boiling over.

When adding dairy products, such as sour cream, yogurt, or whipping cream, stir into heated soup and then turn heat to low. Do Not Boil! Boiling will cause the soup to curdle. Cook only until heated.

To prevent soft, mushy pasta, make sure the cooking water is at a full boil before adding the pasta. Also, make sure to keep it at a steady boil throughout the cooking time.

Do not expose raspberries to water or use only a minimal amount to prevent them from absorbing too much and becoming mushy.

Avoid using oil when boiling pasta if serving with sauce because the oil will prevent the sauce from sticking to the pasta properly.

To prevent ice crystals from forming on ice cream, cover the surface of the ice cream with a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper before closing the container.

Sprinkle a little salt on garlic when mincing or chopping the cloves to prevent the pieces from sticking to your knife or working surface.

Place a drip pan under the rotisserie spit directly under the food. This will catch the dripping grease and fat, preventing flare-ups as the food cooks.

When baking a pie with a moist filling, coat the bottom crust with egg white to help prevent the crust from becoming soggy.

Placing an apple in the bag of potatoes when storing them will prevent the potatoes from sprouting.

When storing carrots, remove the tops first because they will draw water from the carrots and cause them to wilt. If carrots wilt, cut one end off and stand them up in a glass of cold water to crisp them up again.

Chill and age ice cream mixture properly before beginning the freezing process. If it is not cool enough it can cause larger ice crystals to form during the freezing process.

To keep pork chops flat while grilling so that they cook evenly, clip the fat and rind around the edges at 1 to 1 ½ inch intervals.

Do not use aluminum, iron, or copper pans when cooking rhubarb because its high acidity reacts with these metals, discoloring the pans and the rhubarb.

When washing greens, do not let them soak. Swish them in cold water several times, allow water to drain off, and then gently dry them thoroughly with paper towels before storing.