Charcoal Know-How

From an unidentified magazine article.

For carefree barbecuing, you'll want to brush up on how to build and control a charcoal fire. Here are some hints that will help your outdoor cooking keep pace with your indoor culinary sills.

• Before you heap charcoal into the firebox, read the directions that come with the barbecue unit. It may need a base of pea gravel, coarse grit, or special insulating pellets.

• A lining of heavy-duty foil under the gravel base or in the ashpit will aid in protecting the barbecue unit.

• Use only the amount of charcoal needed for the cooking job at hand--a small quantity of coals if you're barbecuing just a few chops; more charcoal for large steaks.

• Pile charcoal in a pyramid in firebox. Sprinkle liquid lighter or jelly fire starter over charcoal. Wait a minute, then light. Don't use gasoline or kerosene.

• Allow about 45 minutes before cooking on lighted coals. For faster starting, use an electric fire starter--it does the job in 15 minutes. Some barbecue units now come equipped with a built-in starter.

Ripening Tomatoes

From an unidentified newspaper clipping.

Use fully ripe tomatoes quickly. Tomatoes ripen at room temperature, not in the refrigerator. To hasten ripening, put them in a paper bag with a banana or an apple; the fruit gives off ethylene gas, which speeds ripening. If you must refrigerate tomatoes, bring them back to room temperature before eating, to restore flavor.

It makes sense to add tomatoes to sandwiches made with nitrate-cured meats, such as hot dogs, ham, bacon, and cold cuts. Tomatoes' vitamin C as well as chlorogenic acid and p-coumaric acid, may block formation of carcinogens for the nitrate, according to Cornell University tests.