Test Kitchen tips: When you burn the stew ...

You turn your back for one second in the kitchen and your soup, stew or chili burns. It's frustrating, and I think it's happened to all of us.

Before you throw it out or -- even worse -- try to stir or scrape the burned bits back into whatever it is you're cooking, stop. There may be a way to save your dish.

Carefully pour your dish into a new pot, leaving the burnt stuff stuck to the old pot. If you move fast enough, you may be able to keep the burnt bottom of the pot from adversely flavoring the rest of your dish.

If you have any kitchen tips or questions you'd like me to explore, leave a comment below or shoot me an email at noelle.carter@latimes.com.

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-- Noelle Carter
twitter/noellecarter

Photo: Bowl of red chili. Credit: Ricardo De Aratanha / Los Angeles Times