It's Not About Nutrition

Boiling potatoes in beer does change them, but subtly. You won’t get potatoes that taste like they came straight from a pub menu; you’ll get a mild malty, bready flavor that makes mashed potatoes and hearty side dishes taste a little deeper. The best approach is to use beer as part of the cooking liquid, not all of it. A mild lager plus water gives you that extra flavor without turning the potatoes bitter or wasting a perfectly good dinner. Use a Mild Beer, Not the Bitter One in the Back of the Fridge Potatoes have a gentle flavor, so …

That bag of flour in the back of the pantry may still be usable long after its best-by date—but not always. White all-purpose flour keeps longer than whole-grain or nut flours, and smell, appearance, and storage matter more than the date alone. A three-year-old bag is worth inspecting carefully. If it smells sour, musty, or like old oil, or if you see bugs, webbing, discoloration, or damp clumps, toss it. Cookies aren’t worth a rancid aftertaste. The Type of Flour Makes a Big Difference All-purpose flour lasts the longest because it has had most of its natural oils removed. Those …

Closing a crisper drawer vent can help vegetables stay crisp, but only if you control the extra moisture. I lined the drawer with paper towels, kept the vent fully closed for two weeks in July, and found that greens, herbs, cucumbers, and zucchini held up noticeably better. It didn’t turn my refrigerator into a produce-preserving miracle box. Broccoli, green beans, and bell peppers were more mixed, and anything put away wet still spoiled faster. But the paper towels prevented the humid drawer from becoming a little vegetable swamp. Why I Closed the Vent in the First Place Crisper drawer vents …

Sliced ham that has been in the refrigerator for three weeks should not be served. Even if it looks mostly normal and has been kept cold, that is far beyond the usual safe storage window for opened ham. For opened, cooked sliced ham, plan on 3 to 5 days in a refrigerator kept at 40°F or below. A sealed package of fully cooked, vacuum-packed ham may last up to two weeks unopened, but once you break that seal, the clock moves much faster. Why Three-Week Ham Is a Bad Bet Ham is cured and cooked, but it is still meat …

My dishwasher had started leaving behind a musty smell, cloudy glasses, and the occasional bit of residue on supposedly clean dishes. After nine years without cleaning the machine itself, I ran an empty hot cycle with a bowl of white vinegar on the top rack. The difference was obvious when I opened the door: the interior looked brighter, the smell was gone, and the next load of dishes came out cleaner. But the vinegar cycle also revealed a problem I’d been ignoring: there was old debris in the filter and mineral buildup in the spray arms that needed hands-on cleaning. …