Hints from Heloise: Scalding milk helps in baking

ERIE, Pa. -- Dear Heloise: Why do some instructions call for scalded milk? What is the purpose? -- Pat W., Harrisonburg, Va.


Dear Pat: Very good question, and one I had to think about. Older recipes said to scald milk to kill bacteria and an enzyme that prevented thickening in recipes. Today, most milk is pasteurized, so the bacteria and enzyme are already gone.

However, scalding milk also raises the temperature, which helps dissolve yeast and melt butter when added to bread recipes.

Heat the liquid until just below the boiling point, or 180 degrees. After scalding, a recipe typically will state that you let the milk cool to 110 degrees before adding it to the other ingredients. Scalded milk helps make cakes spongy and breads light. -- Heloise

Dear Heloise: Being from the South, we like to serve iced tea and have lemon available, but how do you get rid of the seeds?

I tried those little mesh-covered things you can put over a lemon, but it was way too messy. I now take one of those battery lights that you can buy for a couple of dollars. I place it on my counter, turn on the light and, while holding the lemon, shine the light through the rind.

Voilà! I can see the lemon seeds and pluck them out for seedless lemons. -- David S. in Houston

Dear David: This is one way, or if you cut the lemon into slices, use a vegetable peeler and remove the seeds. -- Heloise


Dear Heloise: I use cooking oil to remove the residue that is left after you take the labels off plastic containers. I put the oil on the containers at night and then wash them in hot, sudsy water the next morning. -- Anne N. in Ohio
