To makes a lovely apple chip snack fry thin slices of apple in oil mixed with brown sugar and cinnamon.
Get some really fruity surprises in your cakes and puddings by adding dry puried fruits, or fruit leathers as they are called in North Africa. I use Fruit Purist from Butterfly Meadow. (Whilst you are on the site check out the hand-made sausages, yum!)
To add crunch to burgers dip them in sesame seeds before cooking
Reduce leftover tinned fruit syrup over a low heat, and drizzle over fresh fruit salad, ice-cream or meringues
Use apple juice instead of water to make full flavoured jellies
Cooking rice with a piece of lemon rind to add fragrance and a subtle citrus taste
Wash unpeeled ginger and freeze. Grate it frozen, skin and all, straight into your dish.
To reduce cooking time on jacket potatoes and save on gas or electricity, bake them with a metal skewer through the middle. If you are in a real rush prick with a fork then give them 10 minutes in the microwave until they are just soft through (you may need to turn them over half way through). Then simply pop them in a hot oven (about 220 C fan) for 20 minutes to crisp up. That's really energy efficient.
