| How to Keep Food Warm at a Party Posted: 03 Feb 2019 04:00 PM PST When you're hosting a party, keeping your eye on the food is a challenging but important task. Food left to cool not only tastes unpleasant but becomes unsafe to eat due to bacterial growth. Fortunately, keeping food warm is easy thanks to a variety of tools, from conventional slow cookers to heating elements like chafing dishes. Choose what you need to make your party a success and, when in doubt, put the food back in the oven for a quick fix. EditUsing Food-Warming Tools - Use a slow cooker if you need to keep a soup, stew, or liquid warm. Plug the slow cooker into a nearby electrical outlet and let it run. Keep the slow cooker at a low heat setting to avoid overcooking the food. It's a hands-free way to keep food warm while guests help themselves. Slow cookers are the best choice for simmering soups and stews, but they work well for most food.[1]
- Most slow cookers have a low heat or "warm" setting. Choose the lowest setting possible on your model. Slow cookers will continue to cook your food if you set them at the wrong temperature.
- The downside of using a slow cooker is that you need to have an electrical outlet handy. Make sure you have an open outlet in an out of the way spot.
- A rice cooker is another option for heating rice-based dishes and other sides.
- Try a portable oven if you need to keep solid food warm. Portable ovens and roaster ovens are an efficient way to heat up foods from meats to pizzas. You need an electrical outlet available. Plug the oven in, then set it to a low temperature, around , to keep food warm.[2]
- Small ovens are similar to slow cookers in that they keep food warm at a low temperature. Setting the oven at a higher temperature by mistake will overcook the food.
- Toaster ovens are a good option even if you have a regular oven available. Use them to efficiently reheat or maintain food instead of dealing with a bigger, hotter oven.
- Use indirect heat from a grill if you need to preserve larger dishes. Using a grill is a great way to keep meat like hamburgers and hot dogs warm, although it works for side dishes like potatoes or casseroles too. Heat up 1 side of the grill to a low temperature. Seal the food in foil to help it retain heat and moisture, then set it on the colder side of the grill so it stays warm without overcooking.[3]
- Use a thermometer to monitor the grill's temperature. Heating up the grill too much is an easy mistake to make.
- When setting food on the grill, make sure you use heat-resistant pans and containers.
- Store foods in chafing dishes to preserve them buffet-style. Chafing dishes come in a variety of sizes, so there are models suited for meat like sliced ham, mixed dishes like paprikash, and even soups. You pour hot water into the bottom part of the dish. Then, you activate the gas canister or electrical heating unit underneath the dish to keep the food at a steady temperature.[4]
- If you serve food at lots of parties, chafing dishes are a worthy investment. They are available online or at some party supply stores. An alternative option is to rent them from catering companies.
- Choose dishes based on what you're serving. For example, rectangular and oval-shaped dishes are often best for meats or other main courses. Use a round dish or soup dish for liquids.
- For gas units, you will need a small canister of fuel, available at most party supply stores and general stores. Light the canister with a match or the switch on some chafing dish models.
- Use a warming tray if you need to keep multiple small dishes hot. Warming trays are very similar to chafing dishes. They are often smaller in size but have separate compartments to store multiple foods side-by-side. Gas and electric trays are both available to suit your party's needs.[5]
- Some warming trays are completely flat. Instead of putting the food in a compartment, you set the food in a dish on top of the tray.
- Warming trays are often smaller than chafing dishes, so unless you serve smaller quantities of food, they're a better option for sides and appetizers like small portions of meat, potatoes, and vegetables than entrees and liquid dishes.
- Plug in a hot plate if you have a single dish to keep warm. Hot plates, like you may have used in science class, are useful for heating food in batches. Hot plates are relatively small and most of them are electric. Place something like a bowl of potatoes on the burner, then turn its dial to a low temperature to preserve it.[6]
- Some heating plates have 2 burners, allowing you to heat up multiple dishes at once. They still don't offer a lot of space for each dish, so keep that in mind when planning your party.
- Microwavable hot plates are also available. Heat them in the microwave for 2 to 3 minute according to the manufacturer's instructions, then set food on top of them.
EditStoring Food in Heat-Preserving Containers - Cover open containers thoroughly with tin foil. No matter how you serve food, it will lose heat when exposed to open air. Wrap dishes tightly in foil until you're ready to serve the food. Put the foil back into place when nobody needs to access the food.[7]
- Thicker layers of foil keep the food warmer for longer. Cover dishes with a few layers of foil to trap in heat.
- Use heat-insulated serving dishes to preserve food for longer. Heavier dishes keep food warmer than thinner dishes. Ceramic and clay dishes are some of the best options available. Reserve your best serving dishes for any hot food you plan on serving at the party.[8]
- Heavier, thicker dishes retain more heat but also tend to cook food faster. Use dishes carefully to prevent food from overcooking.
- Store liquids in insulated bottles before serving them. Cook a soup or gravy ahead of time, then pour it into a coffee thermos. When you need to serve it, pour it out directly from the bottle. A quality bottle keeps liquids warm for long periods of time. They are easy to carry around and you can always pour the liquid into another serving container as needed.[9]
- If you leave food in a bottle, consider labeling it so guests know what they're getting.
- Put food in insulated food carrying bags for short-term storage. Insulated bags are what pizza parlors use to deliver food to customers. Get the food as hot as possible, then slide the container inside the bag. Bags keep food warm for up to a few hours and they're highly portable.[10]
- Carrying bags come in a variety of sizes. Some are as small as lunchboxes. Others are made to store casserole dishes and even have pouches that provide separate space for cold dishes.
- Use coolers to trap heat when transporting foods. Coolers are good for more than carrying drinks. Wash some towels in a hot water cycle in the dishwasher, then roll them up and set them in the cooler. Place the food inside the cooler and cover it with another layer of warm towels.[11]
- You don't need the towels to use a cooler. Well-covered food will stay warm, but the towels help trap heat in the food you need to store for up to a few hours.
- Another option is to wrap bricks in foil. Heat them for 2 hours in an oven set to . Then, set them on top of the first layer of towels to provide extra heat.
EditReheating Food and Plates - Reheat meat dishes in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Place the meat in a roasting pan and add about of warm water or stock. Cover the pan completely with foil to trap in the heat and moisture. Then, turn the oven to about and heat the food until it's warm again.[12]
- This is a good way to reheat pre-cooked meats. For example, add warm turkey stock to turkey breast and heat it for about 30 minutes.
- For fish and smaller cuts of meat, you don't need to add water or stock. Set them in the pan and heat them until fully warmed (about 15 to 20 minutes).
- Side dishes like vegetable trays and casseroles can be heated in the oven the same way. Leave them in at for about 15 minutes.
- Simmer soups and liquids on the stove if they begin to cool. Pour the food from a serving bowl into a saucepan. Turn the stove to a medium heat setting and wait for the liquid to begin to bubble slightly. Keep stirring it to prevent it from boiling and overheating.[13]
- Side dishes like mashed potatoes are a little trickier to heat up this way. Add milk or broth to bring the food to the consistency you desire, then keep stirring it until it's hot.
- Microwave smaller sides that don't need to be crisped. Smaller quantities of food and sides like vegetables, potatoes, and macaroni and cheese do well in the microwave. Move them into a microwave-safe dish. Loosely cover the dish with its lid or plastic wrap. Reheat the food for about 4 minutes, then take it out and stir it. Heat it for another 3 minutes until it reaches .[14]
- Microwaves heat food unevenly, so you need to monitor the food's temperature. Heat the food in slow bursts, stirring it each time to help it warm up evenly.
- Microwave are not a good choice for most meat. They tend to turn meat flabby and gray. They also cannot crisp up food like fries.
- Warm your plates before serving food on them. If you have an electric plate warmer or an accessible oven, store serving plates in it. Heat the plates at a temperature of for about 15 minutes. Warm plates heat up food a little, causing slightly cooled food to still taste great.[15]
- Put thick, dishwasher-safe plates in the dishwasher to heat them. Leave clay plates in for up to 2 hours to ready them for the party.
- Use a heating pad if you need to keep served plates of food warm. If you are short on heating options, set an electric heating pad between towels or heat-resistant mats. Plug the heating pad into a wall outlet, then set the serving tray on top of it. It's a good way to keep plates of food warm after you serve them, including larger dishes like sliced ham or turkey.[16]
- Electric blankets work similarly to heating pads. Plug them into the wall and let them heat up to spread more warmth to your food.
- Heated gel packs are another option. Warm them up in a microwave according to the manufacturer's instructions, then place them under plates of food.
- For the best results, plan out your party in advance. Determine what you're going to serve and what you need to do to keep everything warm.
- Serve some cold and room-temperature dishes so you have less food to keep warm.
- A hot gravy or sauce often saves cooling food. Carved meat, for example, cools quickly, but hot gravy warms it up again.
- Have other party guests help you. Ask them to bring food out from the kitchen or warn you when a dish starts to cool off.
- For long-term warming, try cooking food sous vide. You seal food in a plastic pouch and cook it in a water bath. Leave the food in the water bath to keep it warm until you need to serve it.
- Food accumulates dangerous bacteria as it cools. To prevent the spread of bacteria, keep food above . Throw out any food left under for more than 2 hours.[17]
EditThings You'll Need EditUsing Food-Warming Tools - Slow cooker
- Portable oven or toasting oven
- Tin foil
- Grill or barbeque
- Chafing dishes
- Warming trays
- Hot plates
EditStoring Food in Heat-Preserving Containers - Tin foil
- Serving dishes
- Insulated beverage bottles
- Insulated carrying bags
- Cooler
- Towels
EditReheating Food and Plates - Oven
- Stove
- Microwave
- Foil
- Measuring cup
- Water
- Roasting tray or microwave-safe container
- Saucepan
- Heating pads or plate warmer
- Kitchen thermometer
EditSources and Citations
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| How to Detail Your Car Posted: 03 Feb 2019 08:00 AM PST When you detail your car, you give it a thorough cleaning that hones in on hard-to-clean spots and scrubs even the hardest-to-reach locations on the vehicle. To avoid scuffing up the freshly-cleaned exterior of your vehicle, detail the inside of your car first. Once you've finished detailing your car, the result will be a smart, clean car in showroom condition. The whole process should take between 4-8 hours to complete, so plan to set aside a full morning or afternoon to detail your car. EditDetailing the Inside of Your Car - Remove trash and personal items from the car's interior. Go through your car and pull out any fast food wrappers, soda cans, old magazines or papers, and any other junk that's piled up since the last cleaning. Look under the seats and between seat cushions for trash that may have slipped out of sight. Deposit all of these items in a trash can.[1]
- Also pull out any items in the car that, while not junk, will get in the way of the cleaning. These may include water bottles, first-aid kits, car seats, bags and clothing, and other assorted personal items.
- Vacuum the interior of the car with a wet/dry vacuum. Pull up the floor carpets and vacuum dirt and grime off of them with the vacuum cleaner. Then, use the vacuum's broad heads to clean the floor beneath the carpet. Finally, use narrow heads to vacuum up debris stuck between the seats.[2]
- A wet/dry vacuum is the best tool for the job since it exerts plenty of suction power and comes with a variety of heads that will allow you to vacuum the carpets, doors, door handles, cup holders, and other surfaces within your car. Rent or buy a wet/dry vac at a local hardware store.
- Clean the interior windows with a window-cleaner spray. Open the doors to your car and spray each of the interior windows with 5-6 generous sprays of a commercial window-cleaning solution. Also, spray the interior of the rear window and windshield with the cleaner. Use a clean cotton rag to wipe the solution across the window surfaces to clean them.[3]
- Then, use a second clean, dry rag to dry the interior windows. Be sure to thoroughly dry the windows to prevent streaks from forming.
- Wipe inner door sections and the trunk with a rag. Spray an all-purpose cleaning solution onto a clean rag and clean off the interior plastic and metal surfaces of your vehicle. This includes the dashboard, steering wheel and column, and center console.[4] Avoid spraying the cleaning solution directly onto the car. Instead, whenever the cloth starts to dry out, spray 4–5 more squirts of cleaning solution directly onto the cloth.
- Once you've scrubbed the interior surfaces of the car's cabin, pop the trunk and scrub out its interior surfaces with a clean rag or sponge.
- Clean dust out of interior corners with cotton swabs. Many areas within your car's interior will be too small for your vacuum cleaner and rags to reach. Rather than leaving them dirty, grab a handful of cotton swabs and start cleaning out the nooks and crannies. Dry cotton swabs should easily pick up most of the dust and dirt that's worked its way into small crevasses in the vehicle's dashboard and seats.[5]
- Try using wooden skewers or chopsticks to pry out objects that have become wedged in extremely hard-to-reach places.
- Clean the vehicle's seats with a leather cleaner or shampoo. If your vehicle has leather seats, purchase a leather cleaning spray at an auto supply store. Follow the directions on the package and apply the leather cleaner to the seats. Let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe the leather seats clean with a clean, dry cotton rag.[6]
- If you have cloth seats, spray them with a foaming aerosol cleaner. Let the spray sit for about 30 minutes and vacuum the fabric seats clean to remove dust and dirt.
- You can also purchase leather cleaning wipes or spray at a large supermarket. Auto supply stores should also sell foaming aerosol cleaners for cloth seats.
- Never use a cleaning product not intended for leather on leather seats.
EditDetailing the Outside of Your Car - Choose a cloudy or partly cloudy day to detail your car. Washing and waxing your car on a hot, sunny day isn't ideal, since the sun's heat may dry the soap and wax on the vehicle before you've rinsed or polished it sufficiently.[7] So, if you'll be working outside, check the forecast to make sure you'll detail your car on a partly or fully overcast day.
- If the weather forecast shows that the day will be rainy, clean the car in your garage.
- Park your car on a flat outdoor surface. While it's possible to detail your car while it's parked in a garage, you'll find that there's more room to move around the vehicle if it's parked outside. Situate the car on a level area so you'll have easy access to all sides of the vehicle. To avoid full sun, park under a tree or in another shady location.[8]
- For example, park the car in your driveway or in an infrequently used cul-de-sac.
- Fill a plastic bucket with water and automotive soap. It's important that you use a soap specifically designed for vehicles and not, for example, dishwashing detergent.[9] Pour automotive soap into a large plastic bucket as directed on the label. Then, using an outdoor hose, add water to the bucket until it's roughly 3/4 full.
- Carefully carry the bucket to your vehicle's location, taking care not to spill any of the soap solution.
- Purchase automotive shampoo at any car-supply shop. Some large supermarkets may also carry the product.
- Scrub your car thoroughly with a soft, clean sponge. Take a large vehicle sponge and submerge it in the soapy water. Scrub it across surfaces of your car in long, lengthwise strokes, making sure to remove all of the caked-on dirt and grime.[10]
- If you're working outdoors on a hot day, spray your car down with a hose before applying soap. This will keep the paint wet and prevent the suds from drying in the sun's heat.
- Work section by section from the top of your car downward, so that you don't end up cleaning any of the same sections twice. Wash the windows, doors, roof, hood, fenders, and rear of the vehicle.
- Rinse the car with a hose once you've finished washing it. As soon as all of the sections of the car are clean, use your hose to spray a generous amount of water over the car's body. Be sure not to let the soap dry on the car before you rinse it off, or it will leave unsightly residue marks across the vehicle.[11]
- If you're working on a warm day and are worried that the soap may dry on washed sections before you've had a chance to finish washing the whole car, rinse the car section by section.
- Scrub the mirrors and door handles clean with a stiff-bristle brush. Dip the brush into the bucket of soapy water and then set to work cleaning out hard-to-reach nooks in the exterior of your car. Scrub inside of the insets around your headlights and taillights, under door handles, and inside the side mirrors. Rinse off the brush as necessary to keep it from getting filled up with grime.[12]
- While a toothbrush would suffice in a pinch, its bristles won't be tough enough to scrub out caked-on grime.
- Wash the wheels and wheel arches with a wheel cleaning spray. Purchase a wheel and tire cleaning spray from your local auto supply store. As directed on the packaging, apply the shine spray to the wheel surfaces and let it sit and soak in as directed on the spray container. While the spray is soaking on 1 wheel, walk around your car and spray wheel cleaner on the other 3 wheels.[13]
- Then, use a clean sponge to scrub the wheels until all traces of dirt, mud, and grime are gone. Rinse the sponge out with water as needed between wheels.
- If there are hard-to-reach spots in the wheel arches that you can't quite clean out with a sponge, use an old toothbrush instead.
- Once the wheels and arches are clean, dry off the wheels and wheel arches with a damp sponge and buff with a dry cloth.
- Dry off the car with a clean chamois cloth. Once you've finished washing the entire surface of your car, dry it by hand before the water evaporates on its own. Use a microfiber cloth to dry off the windows, doors, hood, trunk, and all other surfaces of the vehicle. An efficient hand-drying will leave the car free of smears.[14]
- If any of the car's surfaces have dried on their own, give them a quick blast with the hose, then hand dry the area. This will prevent the dried car from having any unsightly patches.
- Clean the car's windows with auto window cleaner. Start by spraying a generous coating of the window-cleaner spray onto all of the vehicle's external glass surfaces. Then, take a new sponge and wash the exterior of the car's windows until all traces of dirt are gone. Be sure to also wash the windshield and rear window.[15]
- Then, roll down the door windows about and use the sponge to wash the tops of the glass.
- Apply a generous coating of car cleaner wax to the outside surfaces. Cleaner waxes will both wax and polish your vehicle. Once your car has been washed, a cleaner wax product will both polish and wax the outer surfaces. Follow the instructions on the bottle and apply the product with a clean rag.[16]
- Car polish keeps a good sheen on the car, even in dry, dusty and wet weather. The wax component of the product will guard the car's paint from UV rays and small stones.
- Using a cleaner wax product saves you from having to polish and wax your car separately. Purchase a cleaner wax product at any automotive supply store.
- Buff the entire car with a clean, dry cloth or chamois. Don't buff the car while it's dry, as you might end up scratching the paint. So, make sure there's still some wet polish on the car before you begin buffing. Rub the metal surfaces with small, circular strokes to smear the cleaner wax across the vehicle. Work over the entire car's body with a dry, clean cloth.[17]
- This should buff out any smears and leave the bodywork looking shiny and fresh. At this point, your car should appear as if it's ready for a showroom floor.
- For a professional level-buff you can rent or purchase a rotary buffing tool from a hardware store and use it to buff the car and smooth out its paint.
EditThings You'll Need - Plastic bucket
- Car shampoo wash
- Chamois
- Stiff-bristle brush
- 2 sponges
- 5 micro fiber cloths
- Several rags
- Cotton swabs
- Vacuum cleaner
- Tire shine spray
- Bumper shine spray
- Car cleaner wax spray
- Interior spray cleaner
- Interior shine spray
- Car polish
- Leather cleaner (optional)
- Plan to detail your car every 1–2 months. Although this may seem like a lot, it'll keep your car looking sharp all the time.[18]
- If you'd like to truly polish your vehicle, you'd need to purchase an oscillating dual-action car polisher at a hardware store or an auto supply store.[19]
EditSources and Citations EditQuick Summary
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| How to Size Rings Posted: 03 Feb 2019 12:00 AM PST Whether you're shopping for a ring for yourself or someone else, it's important to buy the right size. If the ring is the correct size, it will feel more comfortable and be less likely to fall off. Finding the right size for a ring at home is useful for ordering rings online or shopping for a ring for someone else! It's simple to use a printable ring sizer or paper and a ruler to find the right ring size. EditReading a Printable Ring Sizer - Find a printable ring sizer and make sure your printer settings are correct. Search online for a printable ring sizer, which will have circles of various sizes across the page. To print the page, select "print" and open the settings in the print dialogue box. Make sure the print scaling option is set to "none."[1]
- If you're having trouble getting the page to print, press "control" and "P" at the same time to bring up the print dialogue box.
- Measure the test bars to ensure accuracy. Once you've printed the paper, take a ruler and measure the test bars. To proceed with the process, the ruler must read the exact measurement specified on the page, since ring measurements are very precise.[2]
- If the test bar is not the right length, try checking your print settings and print the page again.
- For example, most printable sizers use a general scale of , which roughly converts to a size 6 for USA and U.K. sizing.
- Choose a ring that you already own that fits well on your finger. Try on a few rings that you already have, and find one that fits well on the finger for which you're buying the ring. It should be snug, but not too tight, and you should be able to put it on and remove it easily. Try moving your arm around with the ring on to make sure it isn't too loose.[3]
- If you don't have a ring that fits well, try a different method for measuring your ring size.
- Place the ring that you have over the circles to match the inside edge. Shift the ring around until you find a circle the matches the inside of the ring exactly. This measurement refers to the diameter of the ring, and can translate to different sizes depending on which brand you're purchasing the ring from.[4]
- If your ring is in between 2 sizes, it's best to opt for the larger size to avoid a ring that's too tight to remove.
EditUsing Paper and a Ruler - Cut a long, thin strip out of a piece of paper. Use a piece of printer paper or cardstock for this, since they won't tear easily. Carefully cut the paper to make a strip that is as long as possible. Make sure the strip is about the same width as the band of the ring that you want or slightly larger.[5]
- It's important to use sturdy paper, since other materials, like ribbon and string, can stretch and give you an inaccurate measurement.
- Wrap the paper around the widest part of your finger. Look at your finger to see where the widest part is, and wrap the paper once around that area. If your knuckle is the widest section of your finger, measure there so you can ensure that the ring will fit over it. Make sure the paper is snug, but don't pull so tightly that it tears.[6]
- If the paper does tear, simply cut a new strip and start over.
- Mark where the piece of paper overlaps on your finger. Using a pen or pencil, draw a line on each part of the paper where it overlaps on your finger. You should have 2 lines that mark the circumference of your finger on the piece of paper.[7]
- Flatten out the paper and measure the distance between the 2 lines. Unwrap the paper from your finger and flatten it as much as possible. Then, use a ruler to measure the length between the 2 lines that you marked on the paper.[8]
- Depending on where you live and the company that you're purchasing from, you may need to measure in inches or millimeters.
- Consult a sizing chart to convert the measurement to a ring size. Look at a sizing chart online to see what size your measurement translate to. If possible, use the size chart that's specific to the company that you're purchasing from, since there can be slight variations in sizing between countries.[9]
- If the site doesn't have a size chart, use a standard size chart to find your size. Keep in mind that rings can usually be resized to about 2 sizes smaller or larger if needed.
- If you're measuring your finger, try to do so toward the end of the day, since your fingers tend to be more swollen at that time.
EditRelated wikiHows EditSources and Citations
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