Your pots won’t boil over with the Spill
Stopper silicone pot lid. Photo courtesy
Kuhn Rikon.

Kuhn Rikon has solved the problem with its silicone Spill Stopper. Use it instead of the regular pot lid. Any liquid that boils up sits in the shallow bowl of the Spill Stopper, waiting for you to turn down the heat.

Microwave and dishwasher safe, the Spill Stopper comes in a choice of three colors—green, red and purple—and two sizes, 10-inches and 12-inches.

You can pick one up wherever Kuhn Rikon products are sold (try Sur La Table), or online at Amazon. The 10-inch Spill Stopper is $24.95, the 12-inch version is $29.95.

If that sounds like more than you want to spend, think of this: No more messy, boiled-over clean-ups.

That’s why we’re delighted that Lipton has launched its Tea & Honey To Go packets. This new line of iced tea mixes contains natural honey, real tea leaves and real fruit flavors.

Wherever you can find a glass of water—or fill your water bottle—you can have a refreshing glass of iced tea for just 5 calories per eight ounces. The packets themselves weigh nothing and can be carried in a pocket. So today’s tip is: Consider the convenience of to-go packets to make instant drinks from water.

These Lipton Tea & Honey iced green tea drink mixes include:

 
The mixes also come in pitcher-size packets.

And the except for sucralose, the mixes are all natural.* The ingredients include honey granules,† citric acid, green tea powder, maltodextrin,‡ natural flavor and color.

The products are hitting stores now nationwide. You can get a free samples when you like Lipton on Facebook, while supplies last.

*Although sucralose is made from sugar, the sugar molecule is chemically modified, which classifies it as an artificial sweetener.

†Honey granules are pure honey, dried and cut, with no additives, into pinhead-size pieces. You can buy them online.

‡Maltodextrin is a starch filler made from natural corn, rice or potato starch. It is a white powder used as a thickener or a filler without altering flavor. It’s in artificial sweetener packets, for example, because the very few grains of aspartame or sucralose required as a sweetener wouldn’t fill a packet.

1. 5 Calorie Fruit Flavor. The added honey neutralizes the sucralose flavor. The drinks are sweet and fruity, for just 5 calories per eight-ounce cup/10 calories per bottle.

2. Instant Drink. Open the packet, add to water and stir or shake. How easy is that?

3. Sustainability. Keep reusing the same water bottle, save the landfill from empties.

4. Price . At $3.29 for 10 packets (prices will vary), you can enjoy fruity ice tea for 32¢ a bottle instead of buying a ready-made drink for $1.79.

We see many products launched that aren’t really needed. We do need

Honey, Tea & Lady Antebellum

You can also enter the brand’s Drink Positive Sweepstakes with Lady Antebellum on Facebook, for the chance to win a visit with the band in Nashville and exclusive live music downloads. There’s also a series of Lady Antebellum’s behind-the-tour webisodes.

We were Lipton’s guest at the Lady Antebellum concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Great group, great evening and lots of great Lipton Tea & Honey.

Here are some tips from Lauren Chattman, author of one of our favorite baking books, The Baking Answer Book (for $9.73 on Amazon.com, a great small gift or stocking stuffer).

1. DON’T OVERWHIP. Because of the protein structure of egg whites, it’s crucial, says Chattman, not to overwhip the whites. Overwhipping separates the water molecules from the egg whites, rendering them less capable of expanding (rising).

2. USE AN ABSOLUTELY CLEAN BOWL AND BEATERS. Even a speck of grease or oil in the bowl or on the beaters can spell disaster. It will prevent the strands of egg white protein from linking up with each other to create the foam that traps the air bubbles needed for the recipe to rise.

3. SEPARATE THE WHITES INTO SEPARATE BOWLS. When cracking the egg, don’t use the one handed technique. A speck of egg yolk that sneaks in with the whites creates the same problem as oil. Instead, first separate the egg whites into a small bowl or cup. If some yolk ends up with the whites, don’t fish it out; use that egg for another purpose (scrambled, perhaps?). Wash and dry the bowl thoroughly, and start again.

4. ADD THE EGG WHITES ONE AT A TIME. Avoid the problem above by separating each egg into a small bowl or cup; then add it to the mixing bowl before separating the next egg. This way, if you end up with some yolk with your white, only one egg is impacted.

5. USE ROOM TEMPERATURE EGGS. The coiled proteins in egg whites are more relaxed at room temperature. You can whip cold eggs from the fridge, but it will take more time to achieve the volume.

6. DON’T USE VERY FRESH, EGGS. Most of us don’t have access to freshly-laid eggs. But contrary to what you might think, just-laid eggs are not the best for whipping whites. Eggs need to be 3-4 days old so their coiled proteins will relax for optimal whipping.

Now that you’ve got the technique, make this delicious key lime meringue pie.

Need an egg separator? Here’s a very spiffy one.