Kitchen Tricks for Quick Cleanup

What We Can't Do Without

While sleuthing around various magazines, web-sites, and newspaper articles, we always find interesting little facts that we feel all of us could benefit from.

For instance, below are what many consider to be the 10 most important tools for your kitchen. Quite frankly, we couldn’t agree more. How about you? What would you add or delete? E-mail us at patty@dvo.com, or alice@dvo.com We’d love to hear from you.

A sieve with a fine mesh, for straining sauces

A colander, the bigger the better and with a sturdy base

Box grater with four grating surfaces, for shredding everything

A good peppermill

Pyrex measuring cups

Jelly roll pans — the biggest ones that will fit in your oven

A kitchen timer

A two-quart saucepan

A saute pan

An 8-quart stock pot

Kitchen Tricks for Quick Clean Ups
1. Drop an egg on the floor? Sprinkle table salt on it and it will be easy to clean up.

2. If cookie dough sticks to the counter, add some sugar to the stuck dough and rub gently. The dough and sugar will come right up.

3. Stains and spills in the oven? Heat the oven to 250° F and turn it off. Place a small dish of ammonia on the upper rack and a pan of water on the lower rack of the warm oven. Leave overnight and wipe clean.

4. If a glass item breaks and tiny pieces are lying all over the floor, it's safest to pick them up with a handful of wet cotton — even the tiniest shards will stick on the cotton wool.

5. To refresh your wooden cutting board, rub it vigorously with half a lemon or lime. Then rinse. Not only will it be clean, it will smell great!

6. Use a small amount of vegetable oil to lubricate the beaters of your mixer — it will keep batter from sticking.