How To Clean Your Oven With Heat

Here’s the trick. Turn your oven on the hottest it will get for 1 hour. Most ovens will go up to 550. Some ovens, including mine will go higher on the self cleaning function. I don’t know exactly how high mine goes but some sources say the self cleaning functions can go up to 900 degrees!

The idea is to burn everything that has spilled till they turn to charcoal and our easily wiped or swept out of the oven. Depending on how high your oven goes it may or may not burn everything and some scrubbing may have to take place.

Smoke or Fire?

While you are heating and burning the mess in your oven you will have a little smoke and odor coming from your oven. This is normal. You can open the window and turn on a fan to avoid setting off the smoke alarm. Try not to open the oven door while it is cleaning.

If there is a concerning amount of smoke then first turn the oven off and then open cautiously. If you have a fire extinguisher or a emergency fire blanket and you suspect a fire, get those ready before you open the oven.

Cleaning With Baking Soda

I like to clean with baking soda and vinegar, hot water. Cleaning with natural products is important to me. To be honest the easiest way to clean an oven is to buy the foamy chemical spray but I just can’t get myself to spend money on chemicals that I don’t want in my house simply for connivance.

To make cleaning your oven easy, without compromising my principles, I heat my oven on the highest degree for an hour, let it cool, then scrub any needed areas with baking soda. After a good scrub I spray it down with my lemon vinegar cleaner and wipe down with a rag.

Benefits of Cleaning with Baking Soda

Baking Soda is a natural chemical called sodium bicarbonate. It is a white powder or soft crystal that gently scratches off grime and dirt without scratching the surface of what ever you are cleaning. Baking soda is alkaline and reacts to acidic greases and grime braking them up and making it easier to clean.

Wipe Your Oven Down

Once you have scrubbed down the oven simply wipe everything down with a wet rag. Sometimes it take a while to get all the baking soda off. Use some vinegar or a vinegar cleaner to help remove all the baking soda.

Clean, But Not Perfect

When cleaning anything you might have an unrealistic expectation to clean everything till it looks brand new. This is a dangerous way to think. My oven is used often, even daily. My stove top is used even more. If I expect them to look new all the time I am going to be greatly disappointed and anxious.

It is important to me to keep things clean. I feel more comfortable and less stressed in a clean environment. With four kids and cooking everything we eat from scratch I can let the untidiness and used look of our house overwhelm and stress me out. But that is no way to live.

I want to embrace my home as it without being irresponsible with what I have. When my oven is full of drippings and splatters and smells like its burning every time I turn it on… I clean it with realistic exceptions of the outcome. When I can’t easily clean off stains I leave them. I embrace the used looked remember how delicious the cobbler was that make the mess in the first place.

My motto is progress over perfection. If my home is cleaner in the evening they it was in the morning I have had great success. It may still need a lot of work but progress has been made. If my oven is cleaner after I work on it then I have succeeded, even if I didn’t get it back to looking like new.

How To Clean Your Oven

Print

Materials

• Baking Soda
• Scrub Brush
• Vinegar Cleaner
• Wet Rag

Instructions

1. Turn your oven on the highest it goes (500, 550 degrees) Or use your self cleaning function for 1 hour.
2. Let cool completely. Sweep or wipe out any ash or charcoal.
3. Scrub, if needed with baking soda and a scrub brush, I like to dip my brush in a little water so the baking soda becomes like a paste.
4. Spray the oven with your vinegar cleaner and wipe down with your wet rag. You may need to rinse your rag a few times.
5. You can wipe down with a dry rag if needed and enjoy the sparkle!

The post How To Easily Clean Your Oven appeared first on Embracing The Home.

How To Puree a Pumpkin

Step One: Pick Your Pumpkin

Pick out a nice baking pumpkin, one that is one that seems heavy for its size. At the store they may be marked as sugar pumpkins or pie pumpkins. I do not recommend using a carving pumpkin. Read above to learn more about the differences.

Step Two: Cut and Gut Your Pumpkin

Cut the top off you pumpkin then proceed to cutting the pumpkin in half using a large chefs knife. Watch out for fingers! Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds.

This pumpkin had a bruise and was a little moldy on the bottom. I simple cut the bottom off and threw it in the compost. The top was full of good pumpkin I made sure to double check and make sure there was not more mold and there wasn’t all was good.

Step Three: Cut and Boil Pumpkin

Cut you pumpkin into medium sized pieces and place in a pot. Fill your pot with water and boil for 1 hour.

Step Four: Blend the Pumpkin

Once cooled, peel the pumpkin and place in your vitamix, blender or food processor. Blend on high until very smooth.

Step Five: Store Your Fresh Pumpkin Puree

When its all blended smooth and the perfect pumpkin puree, pour it into mason jars, zip-lock bags or any airtight container you plan to store it in. You can leave it in the fridge for 7-10 days or in the freezer for up to a year. I like to freeze mine and use it through out the fall season in all my pies, breads and soups.

Is it better to Boil, Bake or Steam your Pumpkin?

When you boil your pumpkin, the pumpkin absorbs a little bit of water. When you bake it some of the water evaporates. You’ll notice the difference when you go to blend it. If you bake it you will most likely have to add water in the blender to get the pumpkin smooth. When you boil your pumpkin you will not need to add any water.

When I bake my pumpkin I also add a little bit of water to may baking sheet with my pumpkin and so that my pumpkin doesn’t dry out. It works great and I never have to add water when blending.

When steaming my pumpkin I still didn’t need to add water but the pumpkin puree was defiantly thicker then when I boiled it.

I don’t think if makes a big difference on whether you boil, bake or steam. The process is very similar and so are the results.

FAQs

What is the difference between a carving pumpkin and a baking pumpkin?

A baking pumpkin (or pie pumpkin) will be a little smaller and heavy for its size. The heavier the pumpkin typically the better for baking. Baking pumpkins have thicker walls and are sweeter then the carving pumpkins.

A carving pumpkin is typically large and light. The inside walls are thinner and stringy. Carving pumpkins are not as sweet and once cooked can have a little bit of a bitter taste to them. The taste is not always noticeable in your recipes but the baking pumpkins make your desserts and soups and breads so much better.

Can I make pumpkin puree from a carving pumpkin?

If you have already carved the pumpkin and you had it as decoration for Halloween then NO. Once its been cut open the pumpkin it will start to slowly rot. So do not use your carved pumpkins to for eating. You can however bake our boil the scraps and pieces you cut out of your pumpkin and make them into pumpkin puree rather then throwing them in the trash.

If you are just asking if the carving type of pumpkin is good for eating and making puree, the answer is… they are not the best. Carving pumpkins are edible and taste fine. They are not as sweet as baking pumpkins and they are stringy. They also often have thinner walls not giving you as much meat to work with.

Can I make pumpkin puree from pumpkin guts?

Pumpkin guts are the stringy insides that we pull out of our carving pumpkins. They are not ideal for making pumpkin puree but you absolutely can. I would add them to a pot of boiling water for 30 minutes then drain the water and put them in the blender. You will then have a little pumpkin puree to eat.

What is the best pumpkin to use for puree?

The best pumpkins are the baking pumpkins. There are lots of different verities of baking pumpkins and they are all a little different but will still work great for cooking and baking with. There are some verities that are considered carving pumpkins because of there thin walls and light weight.

Pumpkin Puree (Boiling)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1 Pumpkin

Instructions

1. Cut your pumpkin in half and clean out the seeds.
2. Cut pumpkin into medium-large pieces.
3. Place your pumpkin pieces in a large pot and fill it with water.
4. Boil the pumpkins for 1 hour, then turn off the heat.
5. Peal the pumpkin pieces and place the pumpkin in a blender or food processor and blend till smooth.
6. Store in a mason jar, air tight container or zip-lock bag for 7-10 days in the refrigerator or the freezer for up to a year.

The post How to Make Pumpkin Puree by Boiling appeared first on Embracing The Home.

What Does It Mean To “Season” A Cast Iron Pan?

Seasoning a cast iron pan is the process of heating oil into the pan to create a layer of protection making the pan non-stick and easy to clean.

Without a good seasoning on your pots and pans your food will stick to the pan and it will be very difficult to clean and cook with. You might also experience your cast iron rusting if it doesn’t have the protective layer of oil seasoning you pots and pans.

What Oil Should I Use To Season My Cast Iron?

You can technique use any oil but there are some that work better than other. Linseed/flax seed oil is the best for seasoning and cleaning cast iron pans. I use avocado oil to cook with so instead of buying multiple oils for different reasons I just use my avocado oil to season and it works just fine. Olive oil, grape seed oil are also good for season your cast iron pans.

Do not use butter or margarine, lard or meat fats. Those oils and fats are too saturated and don’t give the nice clean thin layer that we are looking for. Some might say that coconut oil is not a good oil to use because its a saturated fat but others say its a wonderful oil to season your cast iron with. I have used it and had not issues, coconut oil has worked great for me.

Why Does My Pan Get Rusty?

You might notice you cast iron pan has a little or a lot of rust on it, this is due to excess moisture. Your oil coating is supposed to repel any extra moisture on your pan but if you are not oiling and drying it properly you will not repel the water and you pan will rust. Make sure, after you cook with your pan to oil the inside and outside, handle and all and dry with heat on the stove top.

If you have rust on your cast iron pots and pans clean with the salt scrub and re-season in the oven.

How To Wash Cast Iron

Rinse With Hot Water

Wash like you would wash any other dish. Use hot water and soup if needed. Use a rag or sponge to get food off you pots and pan until its perfectly clean. The important part of cast iron is not how you wash it but how you dry you it.

Avoid scraping the surface with rough sponges or steel wool. This often chips the seasoned layers already on our cast iron.

Do not wash in dishwasher.

Can I Use Soap On Cast Iron?

Yes, you can use soap. Although we want to get the old dirty grease and food out we don’t want to remove the embedded oil seasoning. It is not recommended to use a lot of soap on cast iron because soap is a de-greaser and we want to keep our pots and pan well oiled.

How To Dry Cast Iron

Wipe Down With a Towel

Just like any other dish, wipe it down with a towel or paper towel to get till dry.

Oil Your Cast Iron

Pour a little bit of oil on you pan and wipe with a paper towel the whole pan, inside & outside, the handle and all with a little bit of oil. Repeat with new paper towel until it comes back clean.

Heat on Stove Top to Dry Completely

Place on the stove and heat it up just until it starts to smoke. Turn off the heat and let cool before putting it away.

How To Deep Clean Cast Iron

Clean You Pan Normally

Clean your pan by rinsing it in hot water and drying it. Then apply a salt scrub.

Salt Scrub

Pour in a couple tablespoons… maybe 1/4 cup of salt into the pan with a little bit of oil and scrub the salt all around with a rag or sponge. If you pan is real dirt the salt will turn black pretty quickly. Rinse the salt out, and repeat the salt scrub with fresh salt a few times till the salt looks clean or clean enough when scrubbing. Depending on how dirty you could repeat this process multiple times. Once clean its time to season your pan.

How To Season Cast Iron

Cover your pan from top to bottom, handle and all with a thin layer of oil and place upside down in the oven at 500 (or the highest your oven goes) for 1 hour. Turn off the heat and let the pan sit there a cool down in its own time in the oven.

For a really good seasoning you can repeat this process of oiling, and baking multiple times till you have it at your desired seasoned state. Or you can just cook with your pan to create a nice seasoning over time.

For me, I season my big pot twice in one day a few times a year simply because I don’t cook with it often. I use my pan regularly and it has a nice season on it to were it doesn’t require the salt scrub or seasoning in the oven but if I’m doing my big pot I will often oil up the pan and heat in the oven too.

Cleaning Cast Iron

Prep Time: 1 minute

Active Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 minute

Print

Materials

• Cast Iron Pan or Pot
• Flax Seed Oil (or oil of your choice)
• Oven
• Salt
• Rag or Sponge

Instructions

1. Clean you cast iron with hot water.
2. Pour a few tablespoons of salt into your pan and scrub the pan down with a rag or sponge. Once the slat is all dark and dirty rinse and repeat till the slat comes out clean.
3. Rub a thin layer of flax seed oil all over your pan. Inside and outside even the handle.
4. Place your pan upside down in your oven and bake at 500 degrees (or as high as your oven goes) for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and let the cast iron cool down in the oven.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 a couple more times if desired for a better seasoning.

The post How To Clean and Season Cast Iron appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Ingredients for Vegan Irish Soda Bread

Flour

This recipe turns out best with 100% All-Purpose flour but I often use a 50/50 mixture of All-Purpose and Whole Wheat Flour. The bread still turns out wonderfully. When using just All-Purpose

Baking Soda, Baking Powered & Salt

Baking soda and powdered is a raising agents. The baking soda creates little air bubbles when activated by acidic ingredients like apple cider vinegar or buttermilk. To make this recipe vegan I use vinegar to activate. Baking powder is also activated partly by acidic ingredients but also heat. So to insure a even continually rise I use both. You can substitute them for each other if you need.

Don’t forget to enhance the flavor of everything you make some good ol’ salt.

Sugar

This bread is somewhat bland but with the right amount of sugar can easily turn into a dessert! You don’t need to much sugar to make it perfect for a dinner side or snack bread.

Chia Seeds

We will use chia seeds as an egg substitute. Chia seeds soaked in water create a gel like texture simmilar to an egg white. The chia seeds are also filled with good omega-3 fats that also help bring out bread together so it wont crumble and fall apart.

Water or Plant Based Milk

You can use water or a plant based milk for our liquid. Be sure to soak your chia seeds in some water to create our egg substitute.

Coconut Oil

Melted coconut oil will also add to our fat based ingredients to help keep our bread soft and held together. You can use olive oil or another favorite oil to bake with. My favorite is coconut.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is used to help activate the baking soda and baking powder and create a nice fluffy soft bread. Without the vinegar the baking soda will not be activated and your bread will be dense. If you don’t have apple cider vinegar you can substitute with lemon juice.

How To make Vegan Irish Soda Bread

Step 1: Prepare Pan and Preheat Oven

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare pan. One the baking soda and apple cider vinegar mix the bubbling and rise affect begins. We want to get the batter in the oven quickly so have your pan prepared by oiling it or parchment paper lining the pan.

Step 2: Chia Seeds Egg Substitute

Mix chia seeds in water and let soak for about 5 minutes till the water and chia seeds create a thick, gel like texture.

Step 3: Mix Dry Ingredients

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Step 4: Mix Wet Ingredients Together

Mix the apple cider vinegar, melted coconut oil and chia seeds and water/milk together.

Step 5: Combine Wet and Dry and Bake

Mix together wet and dry ingredients together. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Step 6: Cool and Enjoy!

Check if the bread is done by inserting a toothpick, if it comes out clean the bread is done. Let cool before cutting into it. Serve with a little butter, some honey and enjoy!

Vegan Irish Soda Bread

Yield: 1 loaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 3 Cups Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 Cup Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 2 Cups water or milk

Instructions

1. Prepare baking pan by greasing or lining with parchment paper or and preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix together dry ingredients then in separate bowl mix together wet ingredients (and chia seeds)
3. Combine the two when oven is preheated and the pan is prepared. Once the baking soda is activated by the apple cider vinegar you want to get in the oven quickly to ensure and nice even, fluffy raise.
4. Bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees. Let cool before cutting in. Enjoy!

The post How To Make Vegan Irish Soda Bread appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Are Chemical Cleaners Bad?

YES!!! VERY BAD! …okay, maybe I’m overreacting… Let me just say right now, I have Bleach and Comet (Natural version here) and even Windex in my house right now that I use. Now, you are not going to keel over and die from them as your spray your window to clean it. With the chemical store-bought cleaners the danger is in long term exposure. 

Lets use bleach for example. Breathing in bleach fumes irritates your lungs. Sometimes while cleaning with bleach you might cough a little, feel a burning in your noes or throat… that is the chemicals burning your lungs. The feeling might goes away with a drink of water or some fresh air but that doesn’t mean there’s no damage. Healing is needed. Breathing in bleach everyday keeps the healing from happening. The more chemical burn your experience the longer its going to take to heal. Then you get a cold… and your lungs struggle. The coughing hurts, it turns in to bronchitis and then it goes crazy and you have lung cancer. It’s the constant damage, without healing that causing tissue and cell damage. To learn more read “Is Breathing in Bleach Bad?“

Yes, I keep these bad cancer causing chemical cleaners in my house. No, I do not use them daily, or even weekly. My daily and weekly cleaning needs are met with all natural cleaning products.

Benefits of Lemon Vinegar Cleaner

Lemon Vinegar Cleaner is Natural

Both lemon and vinegar are natural products that you can literally consume. Not just are they edible but good for you! Although, I do not recommend drinking this cleaner, that would be gross. There are also different types of vinegar, and some are better to consuming over others. The best vinegar to use when cleaning is called cleaning vinegars. You could also use distilled vinegar or white vinegar. Apple cider vinegar, or cooking vinegar is not recommended for cleaning.
When you clean with lemon and vinegar you are not breathing anything harmful into your body. Nor will this citrus vinegar cleaner irritate your skin with like other store-bought cleaners can.

Lemon Vinegar Cleaner is Cheap

Another added benefit is that making your own cleaning products is so much cheaper. Like by a lot. 

Lets do some math…
1/4 gallon, Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner, Sanitizing and Disinfecting Spray, Lemon Breeze Scent, 32oz – $2.58
2.5 gallons, Homemade Lemon Vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner – Lemons free from my tree, Cleaning Vinegar 64oz – $2.62

So right there the vinegar is about 1/2 the price of the cleaner. But don’t forget, we are going to dilute the vinegar with water. The directions on the Cleaning Vinegar bottle say 1/2 cup vinegar to a gallon of water. With that math you can get 8 gallons of cleaner for lesson than $5 (depending on if you need to buy lemons or not). The Lysol cleaning is $2.28 for a quarter of a gallon.

Myself I don’t dilute the vinegar that much. I do a 2:1 ratio of water and vinegar. This gets me about 2.5 gallons of homemade vinegar cleaner for the cost of 1/2 gallon (64oz) of vinegar. That’s 10 times the amount of the Lysol bottle. To buy 2.5 gallons (320oz) of Lysol that would cost about $40.

So yeah, its cheap.

Lemon Vinegar Cleaner is a Antibacterial

Lemons and vinegar are both acidic creating a hostile environment for bacteria making them inactive but not always killing the germs… There’s a lot of different thoughts on this. We are all taught and know that there are good germ and bad germs but its not always easy to know when to kill germs and when to embrace them. This cleaner is simply a cleaner, not a disinfectant, but it still has antibacterial properties. Disinfectants kills all germs both good and bad. Cleaners remove dirt, debris, grime and germs, making some germs inactive but does not kill them. Cleaners make it so germs don’t grow. 

If you want to make your vinegar cleaner a disinfectant you can add rubbing alcohol.

How to Make Lemon Vinegar Cleaner

Step 1: Juice Your Lemons

For the cleaner we only need the lemon rind (peel). So juice your lemons and make some lemonade! If you are interested in more things to do with your lemon juice, I have more idea’s here.

Step 2: Place Lemon Peels in Jar

After you have juice you lemons, take all the lemon rinds and put them in a quart or 1/2 gallon size jar.

Step 3: Fill Jar With Vinegar

Fill the jar up with vinegar to the top. You want all the lemons rinds to be fully covered.

Step 4: Wait 2 Weeks

Seal the jar with a lid and let the lemons and vinegar sit for two week before using.

Step 5: Dilute with Water in Spray Bottle

Once all the oils have released from the lemons the vinegar is ready to use. Pour Into a spray bottle 1/3 full. Fill it the rest of the way with water. Use a strainer when pouring just in case any little lemon pieces get in and clog the spray bottle. Now you are ready to clean!

FAQ

Can I use any vinegar to clean with?

There are lots of different types of vinegar and not all of them are ideal for cleaning. Cleaning Vinegar, or distilled white vinegar are you two best vinegar for cleaning. I personally wouldn’t use Apple Cider Vinegar, or Rice Vinegar, or any other cooking vinegar for cleaning with.

What types of lemons are best?

Any type of lemon works for cleaning. I have a Meyer lemon tree and although the rinds are thinner and the lemon less acidic then most it still cleans great. Meyer, Citron, Eureka they all work the same.

Can I use other Citrus in place of lemon?

Yes! You can use any type of citrus peels, orange peel, lime peels, and even grapefruit peel for you natural cleaners. 

Can I use essential Oils in place of citrus rinds?

Yes! You can use any citrus essential oils instead of socking the rinds in the vinegar. Use 10 to 15 drops of essential oils in your 1/2 cup vinegar and 2 cups water in a reusable glass spray bottle. Here are more essential oil cleaner recipes.

Do I need a glass all purpose cleaning spray bottle or can I use plastic?

No, you don’t have to use a glass spray bottle for your lemon vinegar cleaner but I do recommend it. The vinegar and acid from the lemon will brake down the plastics over time. If you use essential oils in your cleaner be sure to use a reusable glass spray bottle, or the power of the essential oil will absorb into the plastic.

Can I add soap to a vinegar cleaner? 

Yes, Castile soap is a great way to boast the cleaning power of your homemade lemon cleaner. Just add a tablespoon of Castile soap to your spray bottle and remember to mix/shake your own cleaning spray bottle before use.

What can I NOT clean vinegar with?

Vinegar is an all purpose cleaner but there are a few things to avoid cleaning with vinegar.

• Natural Stone. The acid in the vinegar can cause pitting in natural stones like Marble or Granite.
• Grout. Vinegar can cause deterioration of grout.
• Stainless Steal. Again, the vinegar can cause pitting the the steal.
• Waxed or unfinished wood should not have full strength vinegar but diluted is fine. The vinegar can cause discoloration if full strength.
• Cast Iron. Again, the vinegar can cause pitting.
• TV’s, Computers or other screen as the vinegar will take off the anti glare coating.
• Rubber. Rubber with lots of exposure to vinegar will start to deteriorate. A little here and there wont hurt it too badly.
• Hardwood Floors. Vinegar can dissolve the finish on the hardwood. For hardwood I suggest Murphy’s Oil Soup

What is safe to clean with vinegar?

• Glass, windows and mirrors. Mix a little rubbing alcohol for with the vinegar and you will get a quick dry, streak free cleaning.
• Toilet. For a deep clean you can put 2 cup of vinegar in your toilet and let sit for 2-3 hours. Clean with a toilet brush to help remove/prevent hard water lines and odor. Dust some baking soda on the floor around the toilet and let sit for 20 minutes or longer spray with your vinegar cleaner let it bubble and do its work then wipe up.
• Bath/Showers. Your vinegar helps prevent and remove watermarks as well as preventing mildew. Use your cleaner for weekly wiping down of your shower and bathtubs. For deeper cleaning use undiluted vinegar.
• Faucets. If you have hard water cleaning your faucets with vinegar is almost a must. The hard water build up can ruin your new faucets and daily or weekly cleaning with vinegar can prevent hard water build up to keep your
• Floor. Except hardwood floors or waxed floors. All other floors are safe for cleaning with vinegar.
• Dishwasher. Again, keep your dishwasher safe from hard water build up and crud with vinegar.
• Appliances. Microwave, stove tops, oven, refrigerator etc, vinegar is a great cleaner for these appliances. I also have such a peace of mind cleaning around my food with a safe, natural cleaner.
• Laundry. Deodorize your clothes, sheets, rags by washing your laundry with vinegar. Just be sure to not mix bleach and vinegar in the same load.
• Coffeemakers. Run equal parts of vinegar and water through your coffee maker for a good cleaning.
• Wood. If you want to clean natural wood with vinegar add an equal part of olive oil to your vinegar.
• Carpets and Upholstery. Spot clean you carpets with with vinegar. The profession carpet cleaner we use at our church told me to use vinegar for coffee spill and hot water and dish soup for sugar based spills (soda, lemonade).

Homemade Lemon Vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner

Print

Materials

• Lemon Rind/Peels
• Cleaning Vinegar

Tools

• Glass Jar with Lid
• Spray Bottle

Instructions

1. Juice your lemons and place the peel in a 2 quart or 1/2 gallon jar.
2. Fill the jar with cleaning vinegar covering the lemons.
3. Let sit for 2 weeks on the counter, top of the refrigerator, under the sink. Anywhere safe.
4. Combine a ratio of 1 part lemon vinegar to 3 parts water into a spray bottle and start cleaning!

All Purpose Cleaner

• 3:1 Water & Lemon Vinegar

Disinfectant Vinegar Cleaner

• 1:1 Ratio Water, Lemon Vinegar & Rubbing Alcohol

Wood Cleaner

• 1:1 Ratio Olive Oil & Lemon Vinegar

The post How To Make Lemon Vinegar All Purpose Cleaner appeared first on Embracing The Home.

There are many ways to clean and polish copper and to be honest I was skeptical of a few of them… Today I found 3 copper pots at a yard sale for $2! They looked pretty bad and I wasn’t sure if the natural remedies and cleaning tricks where going to work on these copper pots. I want to avoid commercial copper cleaner and see if natural acids really does work to clean copper pans. After doing a little research I decided to try three different cleaning methods and see which one was the best way. These three methods are all made out of natural solutions. By using natural acids to clean copper the acids dissolve the oxidized copper exterior making it shine like new and safer to use. Here are the results and cleaning process so you can determine which is the best methods and best results.

1. Lemon and salt
2. Vinegar, flour and salt
3. Ketchup

Lemon and Salt

The first pot I used a combination of salt and lemon. This method is simple. Cut a lemon in half and dip it in table salt or sea salt. Then rub the lemon with salt all over the pot in circular motions, dipping into the salt as needed.

My daughter loved helping with this one and as you can see in the photo it started working right away! This made me very excited because I wasn’t sure how well the natural cleaning tricks would work.

To clean the copper pot off you can wipe it down with some warm water and dry with a clean cloth.

Vinegar, Flour and Salt

The next pot I mixed together a combination of white vinegar, 1/4 cup fine sea salt and 1/4 cup flour, just enough vinegar in it to make a paste in a small bowl. I spooned the paste onto the pot and scrubbed it down with my scrub pad. You can also use a soft sponge.  

The vinegar is the true cleaning agent in this method but the flour helps keep it from just flowing off the pot. I can place more paste on the more affected area and the stubborn stains and let sit for longer. The flour and salt paste keeps the vinegar on the surface of the copper pot for a satisfying result.

Ketchup

Now to try the Ketchup. I know by now the vinegar and lemon both work well. Both vinegar and lemon are both acidic foods and that seems to be the trick. Ketchup is also an acidic food, both from the tomatoes and the vinegar in the ketchup. So in theory this should work…

And it did! I was actually very surprised with the ketchup method but it works really well.

Copper Pots Results

Now let’s look at all three natural ingredients compared them to each other.

I’m super impressed! And a little disappointed that they all work so wonderfully. I thought I would be able to compare and tell you all which one work better and which one didn’t work. So let me see if I can find fault in one of these methods…

Lemon and Salt:

The lemon and salt worked great but I felt like I couldn’t scrub it the same as the other. I still used my scrub pad and got a little cleaner. As I scrubbed I felt like I couldn’t keep the lemon juice where I wanted it like I could do with the vinegar paste and ketchup.

Vinegar and Four:

I like this one the best. Although the results of all three turned out the same this was the easiest to scrub with. I could see the vinegar at work because of the flour and I could paste the worse areas with more and let it sit there for a while for an easier clean. I could not do that with the lemon and salt mixture.

Ketchup:

Ketchup worked just as well as the others! This one was super easy to just grab out of the fridge and clean with. Its a little sticky because of the sugar but it all washes off well with hot water. For simple cleaning/maintenance for my copper pots I will probably just use ketchup. It was quick, simple and worked great. Although, if I have another deep clean that needs to happen I will use the vinegar and flour.

In Summery – Before and After

These were all very effective ways with simple steps to cleaning the surface of copper pots. Cleaning copper items are a lot easier then I expected. The Lemon, Vinegar and Ketchup are all acidic and clean the copper equally well. So there are no needs to buy any special commercial copper cleaner or harsh chemicals to get your copper clean. You can use natural cleaner that you already have in your kitchen. 

Note: I do not advice using steel wool on your copper item. Copper is a soft metal and is easily scratched. Although you may make it shine again by de-oxidizing the copper you will most likely leave swirl marks and scratches on your copper pots, pans and cups. Use a soft sponge, soft cloth or microfiber cloth you clean copper with.  

You can try this with other copper items such as copper cups, copper pans, copper sink, really anything that is made with a copper surface.

Want a Natural All Purpose Cleaner?

Did you know that you can make your own lemon scented all purpose cleaner? Its really easy and effective. Simple take lemon peels and put them in a jar. Fill the jar with vinegar and let sit for a week or two before you use. Pour into a spray bottle and you have a natural, effective all purpose clean!

The post How To Clean Copper Pots appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Brown sugar is made of 2 ingredients. Granulated sugar and molasses. Simply mix 1 cup sugar to 1 tablespoon molasses and done. It truly is as simple as that. There’s literally nothing else to it.

Keep reading to find out more on Different Mixing Techniques, Different Types of Molasses, What is Molasses and How its Made, FAQ so you can improve your from scratch home cooking knowledge and skills.

Heads up! My post do contain affiliate links, which means I may make a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

4 Different Mixing Techniques

There are some different techniques in the way you mix the two ingredients but no right or wrong, just preference. There is also different opinions on what you what type of sugar or molasses is best. All types of sugar and molasses work.

I’m sure you can probably come up with a few more ways to mix two ingredients and if you think of another way that works for you, great! Do that.

• Bowl and spoon. This techniques works great for small amount. If you just need 1 cup or 2 cups of brown sugar you can just quickly mix them together and add them to your recipe.
• Electric Hand Mixer. If you don’t want to mix by hand or maybe you have a need little be more then just a cup or two an electric hand mixer can be just the right tool for you.
• KitchenAid Mixer. Now if you are making a lot of brown sugar like I do you may want to use a bigger mixer like a KitchenAid. It will mix a larger quantity (6-8 cups) with minimal work on your part.
• Food processor. Because I use organic sugar that has somewhat larger crystals I prefer to use my food processor. It mixes as well as granulates my sugar just a little bit more. The food processor does do as much as my KitchenAid so I just do a few batches in order to fill my container.

Different types of Molasses

As the sugar cane juices are boiled the molasses and sugar are separated.

• After the first boil you get light molasses,
• The second boil a dark molasses
• And then the third boil gets you Blackstrap molasses.

Other names you will see for molasses are,

• Old Fashioned Molasses. Old fashioned molasses hasn’t had all of the sugar removed (typically light molasses) from it so it is a little sweeter but has a lower concentrate of iron then blackstrap molasses. Molasses can be bitter so the sweeter flavor in this molasses makes it more popular for recipes and desserts and will work great for making brown sugar.
• Blackstrap Molasses. Blackstrap molasses has more of the sugar removed, which makes it less sweet or more bitter. The benefits is in its richer concentrate of iron and other nutrients. Light and dark molasses have these same nutrients but as you continue to boil it down it becomes a thicker and richer concentrate of those nutrients.
• Unsolphured Molasses. If the sugar cane is unripe when the molasses is extracted from it, sulphur dioxide is added to preserve it. Unsolphured molasses means that molasses has not been treated with sulphur dioxide.

What is molasses? How is it made?

Molasses is a by product of sugar cane or sugar beets just like granulated sugar. To make sugar and molasses you take the juice from the sugar cane or beet and boil it down. Once all the water is evaporated you are left with a syrup. This syrup is then crystalized and separated into dry sugar crystals and the remaining syrup which we call molasses!

So you might be thinking that the brown sugar in the store is processed by not separating the molasses and sugar fully, resulting in brown sugar. Close, that’s possible but not how they do. The brown sugar you find in the store is more often separated completely, so that if fully a dry crystal, granulated and processed and then they add the molasses back in so that we have that fine texture of granulated brown sugar.

Raw sugar, turbinado sugar, and organic cane sugars are less refined resulting in a larger crystal (not fine and granulated) and holds on to some of the original molasses giving it a light brown coloring. Its not enough molasses to be considered brown sugar but not refined enough to be considered white granulated sugar.

FAQ:

How to keep brown sugar from getting hard?

To be honest I don’t experience this problem with brown sugar as much as I do with my organic cane sugar. This happens when the moisture from the molasses evaporates from the sugar and the crystals clump together creating a hard block of sucrose. This happens to organic cane sugars as well because the still have traces of molasses in them.

To prevent this from happening store in an airtight container capturing the moisture. If brown sugar is not filling up the container there could be too much air exposure causing the problem. You can place a layer of plastic wrap over the it to help retain moisture or keep the sugar in a Zip-lock bag. You can also purchase a nifty terracotta brown sugar keeper on Amazon. Terracotta holds on to moisture for a long time. So the idea is that you can soak the terracotta disc in water for 15 minutes and place it in your sugar. It will help keep the moisture in the container and you sugar softer for 3-6 months.

How to soften brown sugar?

If you have hard brown sugar in order to soften it quickly you can use the microwave. Measure out the amount you need in a microwave safe bowl and place a damp paper towel on the top. Microwave in 20 second increments until it is soft. Brake up any larger clumps with a fork as you go.

If you have the time and don’t want to use the microwave you can also place a slice of bread, or a few slices of apples or a terracotta brown sugar saver in your brown sugar for 24 hours. They will slowly add moisture back into your brown sugar and you will be able to break up any large clumps with a fork.

Is it cheaper to make my own or buy brown sugar?

Okay, lets do some math.
2lbs Great Value Light Brown Sugar: $2.57 – 8.0c/oz
2lbs C&H Dark Brown Sugar: $3.43 – 10.7c/oz

4lbs Great Value Pure Granulated Sugar: $3.24 – 5.1c/oz
4lbs C&H Premium Pure Cane Granulated Sugar: $3.73 – 5.8c/oz

12 fl oz Grandma’s Original Unsulphured Molasses: $3.66 – 30.5c/fl.oz

If my recipe is for every 1 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of molasses and there is 8 oz in a cup and 1/2 oz in a tablespoon. My homemade brown sugar equation comes to S(8oz X 5.1c) + M(.5oz X 30.5c) = 56.05 cents per cup (8oz) of brown sugar. Divide 56.05/8oz = 7.0cents/oz for homemade brown sugar. The answer, its CHEAPER by 1 cent per oz.
If you don’t like my math feel free to challenge it in the comments. I enjoy figuring number and seeing how other figure these types of problems out.

Can I substitute molasses with something else to make brown sugar?

You can’t actually substitute molasses with anything else by mixing it with the sugar to get brown sugar. But you can substitute, in your recipes, brown sugar with maple syrup or honey.

What type of molasses should I use?

For making brown sugar it doesn’t matter. The lighter Old Fashioned molasses will create a lighter brown sugar you will need more to make it darker. Blackstrap molasses will get you a dark brown sugar with less. The sweet flavor of the old fashioned and the bitter flavor of the blackstrap doesn’t matter when you are mixing it with sugar.

When it comes to recipe like molasses cookies, ginger bread houses or molasses banana bread, the recipe might call for a specific type of molasses. Depending on the flavor you want you should use the correct molasses. Lighter molasses will have a lighter flavor, blackstrap has a stronger flavor. There are some tricks you can use if you don’t have the right one. For example, if your recipe calls for 1 cup light molasses but all you have is blackstrap you can substitute 3/4 blackstrap and 1/4 honey or maple syrup to lighten it up. If it calls for blackstrap and all you have is light molasses… You could technically boil it down and get a blackstrap but I usually just add another 1/4 cup of the or so of molasses and take out a little oil or butter, depending on the recipe, to even out the moisture.

Should you refrigerate Molasses after opening?

It is recommended that if you molasses is unsulphured you should refrigerate after opening. Personally, I didn’t know this until doing research this post. I have never refrigerated my molasses and I have never had it go bad. In the past I have left 1/2 used jars of molasses in my pantry for almost a year and it was still good. So should you refrigerate the molasses? Yes. Can un-refrigerated molasses keep in your pantry. Yes. Can un-refrigerated molasses go bad. Yes. Refrigerated molasses will keep longer, and safer.

Comment below if you have any other questions about brown sugar or molasses. You can also read more about the health benefits of molasses here. And follow along for more recipes featuring molasses. Have a great day and happy baking!

The post How To Make Brown Sugar appeared first on Embracing The Home.