Cool!

Had a friend, who used to have a catering business, tell me about shucking corn. She said to cook 4 minutes in the microwave. ??

I knew many of these. Glad to know the rest!

You can use the peach thing for tomatoes also. I cringed when I saw the corn for two reasons. I buy from growers and often they have corn earworms. I do not want steamed earworms in my corn. Secondly there was about two inches of corn being whacked off the bottom and I am too cheap to waste that much corn.

Rusty looking at the fish filet it was solidly frozen before pouring boiling water over it. Personally I like the skin and it provides much of the vitamins and minerals that are in fish as it is oilier than the flesh itself. Some vitamins need oil to be digested as they are oil soluble and not water soluble.

How long do you put the tomato in the microwave for????

I cook the corn in the microwave and it is delicious! One ear for 2 minutes. I usually do 2 at a time for 4 minutes.

For me, I don't even put butter on it. Just like it as it.

Be careful when cutting the end off as it is hot. Use a towel or kitchen gloves.

Corn is treated with a lot of chemicals, herbicides and insecticides. There is no way to properly rinse the chemicals or the dirt off the kernels if the husks are still on. Heat that chemistry experiment in a microwave and then eat it? Yuck, no thanks.

I passed this on to my daughters. Ear worms not for me, so no to microwaving. I was wondering the same thing about the pineapple. Did she just pluck the top off or was it scored first?

There are 12 other hacks for peeling! The pineapple and how about the garlic?

Thanks for mentioning the pesticide problem with corn, Elmer. All of those pesticides are on the shucks; I wouldn't even consider store bought corn edible until shucked while raw.

rhizo, this shows what a garden novice I am. As you mention it, I understand the difference between insecticide and pesticide but being such a duffer, I used the wrong word. Thanks for setting me (and readers) on the right path.

Several of the "tricks" seemed to be obviously staged, the pineapple one was one of them. If you twist the leaf stalk of a pineapple, it will usually break off at the base so the top of the fruit itself must have been prepped and cut through with a knife for it all to have come off, cut like you would do with the top of a pumpkin you're going to scoop out and carve. Same with the lobster, the neat breaks along the top of the shell appear to have been done with a knife. I didn't pay close attention to the others but perhaps others were similarly misleading, having benefited from prep work that wasn't described.

I didn't like the corn on the cob one either...but was thinking about just cleaning it before eating it, not pesticides. Some of them are interesting though, even though I eat my peaches and tomatoes with the skin on. If I ever bake a peach pie again, I'll know what to do. Thanks for posting, Glenda.

"Corn is treated with a lot of chemicals, herbicides and insecticides.
There is no way to properly rinse the chemicals or the dirt off the
kernels if the husks are still on. Heat that chemistry experiment in a
microwave and then eat it? Yuck, no thanks."

Buy organic, save the bees, save the planet, save yourself.

Even organics can have pesticides used on them. Do a search for the approved chemicals that can be used.

Olychick, believe it or not, I do try to direct my comments to the audience. Not everyone here is an organic or healthy food eating person nor necessarily even careful, as shown with those who said they microwave unwashed corn in the husk. I wouldn't do that even with organic corn.

maifleur is right, there are chemicals that are approved for use (and are used) in organic farming.

I buy organic from local farmers and I'll take my chances with the chemicals they might use vs any corporate farms, organic or not. I buy at the farmer's market where I can question them about what they use.

I don't believe washing vegetables removes the poisons that corporate farmers use.

Some local farms reserve a small acre or two to supply organic crops to the local farm market. The majority of their farm is conventional farming, and predominantly GMO crops. Just ask them.

Michael, not to mention an organic farmer living next to a conventional farm; or as you pointed out, a farmer with mixed fields, and having the wind carry chemicals while spraying.

The organic veggies in our stores don't look as nice as 'regular'. They're so much more expensive, double the cost, that few people want to pay the price. Everything from bananas to brussels sprouts.

There's no way a pineapple top can be twisted off. I have a pineapple on the counter now, and no way. One way of testing if it's ripe, when buying, is to tug on a single leaf/stalk. If it comes out with little to no resistance it's ripe.

The garlic trick is a variation of shaking the cloves in 2 stainless bowls that was all the rage a few years ago.

ETA: The top did twist off, using my hand which I was surprised, but not right to the flesh. So the video was definitely scored with a knife previously. I used a spoon to see if I could dig out a section of pineapple, as I couldn't with my fingers, but it didn't work. I then cut as usual.

My Dad, who couldn't or wouldn't eat the skins of most fruits and vegetables, taught me the scalding and ice water trick over sixty years ago! Works like a charm. Some tomatoes have extra thick skins and I'll remove the peels before slicing for fresh eating.

That was great! Thank you.

I use the boiling/ice water trick for tomatoes. I'll be doing that tomorrow for my first batch of marinara from garden tomatoes.

Tried the microwaving method for corn, but didn't care for the taste. Boiled is so much better. My dad used to grill corn. He'd partially shuck to remove the silks then rewrap before soaking in water prior to tossing on the grill.

Thank you, Glenda.

New to me:

Shaking the garlic in a jar (smashing is well known).

Peeling the shellfish with a fork tine.

Using a spoon to peel an orange (might have to score the skin to get the spoon started). Wouldn't a spoon work for the mango, too?

Corn gets tough and the sugar turns to starch fast. Easy enough to shuck sweet corn, then boil for a minute. Would it shuck more easily from the bottom end, skipping the M/W?

I think a pineapple would have to be 'beyond ripe' to open like that.

Use a spoon for avocado and kiwi, too.

Catticus, my Dad would grill corn that way, too. Yum.

Spoon with the orange only works on those oranges that have a thick skin and lots of white colored tissue between the outside and the actual fruit. Since I only buy that kind when I want to make candied rind using a spoon would compact the rind too much.

If you cut a garlic clove in half, the peeling falls off (and you don't have to smash it), especially if you have hardneck garlic. I'm sure everyone knew to peel ginger with a spoon, but you can also save ginger peelings in a plastic bag in the freezer and then put them in a bouquet garni bag (I use tea balls) to flavor soups or broth.

I would never remove skin from a fish before cooking it. The fat in the skin helps to keep the fish from drying out while cooking, but then I most grill fish - skin side up to start. Once the fish is cooked, the skin comes right off, if you do not want to eat it, but if it is crispy, it is usually good to eat.

Five years ago we toured the last pineapple plantation in Hawaii. (Dole has moved to Thailand.) The stalk of the pineapple for sure twists off. It is recommended one does this upon getting it home and set it upside down so the juices redistribute after you remove the stalk. We were told pineapples do not "ripen" any farther after picking. I was recently surprised at the sweetness of an early grocery store pineapple. BIG SALE and of course they were all green as green. Yellow=sweet!! We cut into it a few days after sitting on my cupboard and it was very delish! Oh and I agree no way does the pineapple come apart like in the video w/o extensive scoring!!

I grow pineapples in my back yard and let them ripen before I harvest them. The sweetest fruit I grow is cherimoya, but I have some white sapote that are about to get ripe. These have to ripen on the tree, and then they have to be eaten with one or two days, but I am thinking I may freeze some of them, if I get too many at once. This is the first year that this tree has made fruit, and I've had it eight years.

The figs I grew in Venice were the sweetest fruit I have ever had, and the trees came from Texas - a gift from my brother who had a friend with a nursery. I generally did not peel figs. You have to peel cherimoya because the peeling is poisonous, but this prevents it from being eaten by pests, such as squirrels or birds.

Arcy, I buy my pineapples a little on the green side and let them sit for a couple of days on the counter. When they smell sweet and like a pineapple I then cut it open. People have said they don't ripen after picking but I definitely disagree. I've actually waited too long (got lazy) and it was a little over-ripe for my tastes.

I wish the colander trick would work for thyme, as that is one my most labor intensive ingredients. For things such as curing pork belly for bacon, I just cut it up stems and all, then scrape it off after the curing period. But when it is an integrated ingredient needed in a large amount, it is a pain stripping leaves from multiple stems. Does anyone have a tip to share for thyme?

I don't strip thyme leaves, I put the whole stem(s) in the dish (usually a braise of some kind) and then just pick the stems out before serving.

gyr I do not know how you have been stripping them but the few times I want leaves for decoration I hold it by the tip with the newest growth, pinch the stem below that then slide the pinching fingers down the stem. Sometimes the tip will break off and then I select another place on the stem to hold. If you hold the stem from the cut end you are applying pressure with the growth pattern of the leaves which can remove a few but not very many.

I did have a friend that used a very sharp knife and more patience than I have who would lay the stem on the cutting board and slice them off of the stem.

Sorry for the delay. For some reason I didn't get notified of replies on this thread.

When I have to strip thyme leaves, I do it in the manner that you describe, maifleur. Or I just cut up the soft parts, and remove the firmer stems after cooking as seagrass does. Unfortunately, some recipes are of a chunk type that it is difficult to find the stems after cooking a large pot's worth. When I'm making certain bulk recipes, that can mean 30-50 sprigs of thyme to strip.

If you need 30-50 sprigs just put them in a cloth bag or three. You can find them at cooking stores or even some hobby places. I would use the cotton ones rather than the bride gift type that is some type of polyester.

Edited to add that you can tie the bags together using cooking thread and either tie it to the handle of the pot or if no handle a heavy weighted object to dangle over the side. If you are cooking in that large of a batch unless it is a clear broth you would seldom see the leaves so no need to do more than toss in a bag and tie it up.

I bought one of these for a friend (always looking for a fun little gift for him and he's the cook in their family) - he loves it. They eat a lot of kale and he likes it for that, as well as herbs. I suppose you could just look in your kitchen drawer to find something that has a hole the thyme stem would pass through.

maifleur, you are right, I should! Long ago, I used to tie them up in cheesecloth, but just got out of the habit. Don't know why I stopped using the technique, and kind of forgot about it. Thanks.