Dear Heloise: I read your column in the Tribune Star in Terre Haute, Indiana. I’m 80 years old and still learn new tricks. I had a badly burned pan, and my son told me to fill the pan with hot water from the faucet and put in two dryer sheets and leave in overnight. The next morning the pan wiped clean. You can use liquid softener too! — Mary H., Terre Haute, Ind.

FLAKY CRUST

Dear Heloise: Even though I use a marble cutting board and roller, my dough always stuck to both of these. You can’t refrigerate the marble cutting board without condensation on it as soon as you start to use it, but I realized I had a couple of those handy gel ice packs in the freezer. I took them out and placed them on the counter under the cutting board. It worked like a charm. I was able to make up crusts with only minimal flour added. — Teri in Texas

TEA TIDBITS

Dear Readers: Tea has been with us for a very long time. In fact, it’s believed tea was first used in China around 2737 B.C. The oldest tea leaves were discovered in 2016 in the tomb of Emperor Jing of Han, who was buried around 141 B.C.

Globally, over 3 million tons of tea is produced every year. Here in the U.S., more than 1.42 million pounds in weight of tea is consumed in just a single day, every day. At one time tea was so valuable that pirates liked to plunder tea carrying ships in the South China Sea. The most famous of these pirates was Black Bart, who preferred tea to rum. Now that’s a surprise!

If you want some great coffee and tea recipes, you might enjoy my pamphlet “Heloise’s Flavored Coffees and Teas.” To get a copy, go to www.Heloise.com, or send $3, along with a stamped, self-addressed (75 cents) envelope to: Tea, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001.

In the 16th and 17th centuries tea was so valuable that it was sometimes used as currency. — Heloise