'New' tip keeps plastic wrap roll secure

(The unassuming push tabs on the ends of kitchen wraps lock the rolls into place)

Sometimes you learn a new trick in the kitchen that leaves you shaking your head and going — DUH!

Am I the only one who never knew about those little tabs at each end of a roll of plastic wrap or aluminum foil?

Yeesssh ... I've been using them for decades, and the other week my brother said to me, "Did you know about these tabs that keep the roll from falling out of the box?"

Uh, no, apparently not.

There has been more than one time when I've pulled a length of plastic wrap and went to cut it and the whole roll fell out of the box and onto the floor.

(I guess I never looked closely enough to find those end tab locks)

Enter those little push tabs.

I was so excited about this new discovery, I went through the whole cabinet of wraps and papers in search of the "secure" push tabs, setting them into place. (Sadly, there were none on the wax paper roll!)

Never again will my plastic wrap tumble to the floor.

Who said you can't teach an old cook new tricks?

I'm sure there are plenty more discoveries out there for me to find in the kitchen.

Here's another one:



Run a piece of day-old baguette under running water for a second, drain and then pop it into the toaster oven for about a minute or two. The loaf comes back beautifully — crusty on the outside and warm and moist on the inside. This works much better than warming it up in the oven for a few minutes or putting it into a paper bag and sprinkling it with water to reheat in the oven for a minute or so.

Thanks to my friend Nadine for that one!

Another recent "trick" I learned is substituting a cup of regular milk with 2 teaspoons of vinegar in it for buttermilk in recipes. After it sits for about an hour, you have a very good substitute for buttermilk, which is not something I always keep on hand in the fridge.

And when I'm in the mood to make that killer chocolate cake recipe of mine, I'll need a quick cup of buttermilk to do so.

So there, I admit I've been in the dark all these years about the push tabs? Has anyone else?

Or do you have a really neat kitchen "trick" you'd like to share?

Thanks, big brother, for yours!