A Sticky Wicket

Whoever invented cooking spray, I would like to kiss you on the mouth. I find it to be one of the most useful items in the kitchen. Cooking, baking, candy making, whatever, a quick little spritz is all that's needed to give a dish a little a nonstick insurance and you don't have to mess with getting butter all over your hands and what not. When I discover I've run out, I hear that little sound of a needle coming off a record. So I was giddy when I heard of another way to use cooking spray that makes prep work involving sticky ingredients a little easier.

A little spritz on the inside of your measuring cup or spoon before measuring makes notoriously tricky ingredients like molasses, corn syrup and honey slip right out. This was a revelation in the POC kitchen, where I have been found more than once trying to scrape every last bit of sticky stuff into my mixing bowl whilst simultaneously trying to keep it from traveling onto my hands and into my hair. Maybe I'm just spectacularly uncoordinated, but this slippery little tip is one of my favorites.