Helpful tips, hints and advice from my cooking teacher

Some helpful tips and hints from my cooking teacher, Susan Holt: If a recipe calls for whole milk, make sure you don't skimp by using skimmed or fat-free -the difference in fat amounts can significantly alter your recipe. Pay attention to the size of your eggs -if a recipe calls for large eggs, don't use jumbo or extra large -again the difference in size makes a significant difference. Pay special attention with puddings such as souffles. Overwhipping egg whites can ruin a souffle -now she tells me! They need to be semi-stiff and when folded in with the rest of the ingredients, the whites shouldn't break up and resemble clouds...and there I was thinking this looked perfect!! If chunks of puffy cloudy whites are in the folded souffle mixture, they are not bonded properly, do not cook evenly, and can lead to a souffle collapsing or exploding. Whipped egg whites -when whipped with sugar, they hold their form for up to 2 hours or so. When whipped without sugar (ie for a savoury dish), they need to be put into the oven ASAP -the lack of sugar means the ingredients will fall and separate quickly. You can't overwhip eggwhites when it comes to meringues. Phew. For that perfect meringue -think crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside -use half powdered sugar and half granulated. I promise you, it makes all the difference! Separating eggs -although it looks fab and semi-professional don't separate eggs in your hands. This adds oils to the whites and/or yolks which can affect your mix. Back to using the shells then -how disappointing :-(. Oh yes -always crack the eggs on a flat surface -for no other reason than to limit the damage one can do to the yolk. I still get the urge to smack an egg on the side of a bowl and separate using my hands -nothing more satisfying than feeling the last bit of white squelching off the yolk through one's fingers in my opinion. In high school cooking classes (Home Economics) we used to be drilled in separating eggs -using 2 tumblers and under the beady eye of Miss. V or Mrs. C. I wonder what they thought when they discovered the hidden tumblers full of broken shells, yolks and whites at the end of each lesson. The key to this was to ensure you hid your tumbler in someone else's food cupboard. If you have an oven with 1200 functions -convection/regular/auto/ to bake/roast/auto or broil high low inside outside upside down, ending in serious confusion and bad mood...I am happy and relieved to report that all one needs is Convection Bake for almost everything. * Please note that I use the word "pudding" to describe any dessert. It's a British thing.