"More of a cleaning tip. Cooked with an older guy at a local bar & grill. We were cleaning up for the night and one of the kid mac&chz exploded in the microwave when I forgot it. So I was scraping and scrubbing this hard burnt cheese and pasta out by hand. The old cook saw me struggling and grabbed a soapy wet rag and nuked it for 2 minutes. Presto! He wiped the inside of the microwave with a paper towel in seconds. Brilliant! It’s how I clean microwaves now."
I agree. A mushroom reacts as a sponge. Taste becomes terrible. I'm picking my own mushrooms in the season (here, Belgium, from end of August till October, I go everyday and have a dryer)) and just brush away the dirt (if any). Be careful though, one has to know what he picks (my wife, a doctor, doesn't trust me and doesn't eat it :-) ) Other question, why does she let me to eat it :-)?
#2 I was always told that but watched Alton Brown from Good Eats disprove it. Soaked the mushrooms and compared the weights before and after. Minimal change.
The one about reverse taring isn't bad (although it's more about baking, don't see myself weighing things when cooking :D)
#18 I have always been told to freeze fresh herbs in water.
#19 Nuke a bowl of water or vinegar for a minute does the same thing.