Baking soda is cool way to end hot pepper sting

Dear Heloise: Could you tell me what is the best way to neutralize the stinging sensation on your hands when you have been chopping hot peppers? Gayla Day from Sandpoint, Idaho

Dear Gayla: This can be quite painful, especially if you accidentally touch your eyes. Ouch! Here’s how to keep this from happening: Soak your hands in a mixture of baking soda and water — the baking soda helps neutralize the hotness of the peppers.

Baking soda can save you lots of money instead of buying carpet freshener or a scouring powder for pots and pans. To receive a copy of my six-page pamphlet filled with baking-soda hints, some you probably don’t know, please send $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (59 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Baking Soda, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. Baking soda can be used to clean the kitchen or bathroom sink. Just sprinkle a little on your damp sponge and scrub away.

Also, another idea when preparing peppers is to wear a pair of disposable gloves or coat your hands with a little vegetable oil. Heloise

Dear Heloise: The perfect “pitcher” for making drink mixes is an empty orange-juice container. Fill it halfway with cold water. Carefully pour the dry, powdered crystals into the water. Fill the little scoop with water to completely remove all the mix. Put the cap on the bottle and shake well. Gerry Mack, Chatham, Ill.

Dear Heloise: My dear mother taught me this little trick: Instead of struggling to clean the last vestiges of jams and jellies out of jars, add milk and shake. A tasty treat for kids of all ages. Virginia Stanton, Oceanside, Calif.

Dear Heloise: I have read your column for many years! Now, I have something to offer. I had a roll of plastic wrap nearing its end. The plastic had stuck to the roll, and it was impossible to find the edge.

My husband wrapped a strip of tape around the very top of the roll and then unwound it. The edge of the plastic stuck to the tape and came away very easily. Mrs. Ray Moore, Delaware, Ohio

Dear Heloise: I can’t drink really hot coffee. I used to put an ice cube in it, but it tasted watered down. Now I freeze my individual creamers and use them instead. Callie, via e-mail

Dear Readers: When cooking pasta as a hot dish (e.g., spaghetti), do you add oil to the water? Should you spray vegetable oil or pour olive oil on the cooked pasta?

Guess what? The answer is no. If you add oil to the pasta before or after it is cooked, the red sauce won’t stick as well. Heloise

Dear Heloise: A quick-and-easy way to cut kernels off corncobs is to use a curved grapefruit knife. Nan S. from New Jersey

X Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate