Dear Heloise: How do you keep raisins in the larger containers from drying out and clumping?
Beatrice K. in Houston
Beatrice K. in Houston: Storage is the key! The best way to keep raisins from drying out and clumping is to put them in an airtight container or a large, plastic, sealable bag.
Once opened, if you don’t plan to use the raisins within a couple of months, you may want to store them in the refrigerator in order to give them a longer shelf life.
Dear Heloise: Some boxes, such as for hot cereal, direct you to open them on the side by pushing in at a designated area. Usually you need to cut on the dotted lines to get the tab opened. When you close the tab, the opening is difficult to reopen. I solve this problem in the following way:
I get the tab to stick out of the opening and add on an extended piece of tape, folded over the top and underside of the tab, to create an extended tab. That’s my solution to the “stuck in the box” tab.
Pamella S., Springfield, N.J.
Pamella S.: I'm with you! Same on cereal boxes! I just opened one, and it ripped the top.
Or I have to use a knife to slit open the top part. Why is it glued so tightly and almost impossible to open?
Dear Heloise: I have found a great way to have hot dog rolls when I don’t want to buy a whole package. I usually have frozen roll dough in my freezer, so I just take out a number of “dough balls” to equal the number of hot dogs that we expect to eat.
You do have to plan ahead a bit, as the dough balls should be removed from the freezer in the morning. Let them thaw (but not start rising — usually takes about an hour), then roll the dough into “snakes” about 4 to 5 inches long. Let them rise, and bake as you would regular rolls. They are much better than store hot dog rolls, and with no waste.
Advertisem*nt
Sherrill M., Forest, Va.
Dear Heloise: When I made a banana pudding the other day and was in a hurry, instead of layering the pudding, the bananas and the wafers, I just made the pudding, cut up lots of bananas on top and poured the wafers on top. I gave it a good stir, and it turned out great! No one knew the difference!
Joan S., Hagerstown, Md.
Dear Heloise: When buying new jars of spices, open and remove the inner seal before putting them away. Nothing more frustrating than having to stop and tend to the opening of a new bottle. I know from experience.
Blanche D., Whiting, N.J.
Blanche D.: Got you! Also, I cut the inner seal in half with a knife so it's easy to measure out the spice.
Heloise’s column appears six days a week at
. Send a hint to
, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or email it to
Heloise@Heloise.com
.
