Photo: Claire Lower

I’m not a big baker, so my favorite methods, “use upOne or two flat berries usually include the meal unbeaten cream or spread their juices with a whole bunch of sugar and then make them a bush (also known as “drinking vinegar”) made from this vividly coated syrup.

I usually use a ratio of 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of vinegar for every pound of fruit, but yesterday I added a pinch of salt to my Hood strawberry bush and found it instantly improved. It’s not that the shrub was displeasing in its unsalted state. It was everything it was supposed to be – very sour and very sweet, fantastic when diluted with a large glass of cold seltzer (or sparkling wine that I enjoyed yesterday afternoon).

This pinch of salt did not diminish the berry sweetness of the shrub or its sourish brightness. It just did what salt does best: it softened sugar’s stickier properties and soothed some of the vinegar’s pungent, sour bite, which brought the strawberry – which is the star, after all – to the fore.

The only thing that surprises me is that I didn’t think of doing it sooner. Adding salt to drinks– especially in the summer months – is a time-honored practice here at Lifehacker. Salt is the great flavor rounder, the powerful contrasting agent – salt brings out the best in foods by making them taste like themselves.

The amount of salt your shrub needs depends on the particular fruit and the amount of vinegar you add. I always start with a pound of berries, mix it with 2 cups of sugar (in this case 1 cup white and 1 cup brown), let it sit for a few days, then strain and measure out the syrupy juices. I then pour in about half that amount of vinegar, taste it, and add more if needed. Now, once I’ve adjusted the acidity, I add a pinch of salt, stir, taste, and repeat until the shrub tastes better, but not exactly salty. If that sounds vague, don’t fret. You will know when you hit that “better but not salty” point because you will find yourself reaching for the seltzer (or sparkling wine, depending on the time of day).

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Screenshot: Edge of Tomorrow / Warner Bros. Pictures (Fair use)

Do you remember cinemas? Do you remember cinemas in summer?

It has been a long time (463 days as of this writing) since the last time I sat in a large, darkened room with strangers for some great big-screen conversation (in this case cats). I really hope to do it again soon – but unfortunately I don’t know if that will happen this summer as I want to wait until my children can be vaccinated. And that’s a shame, because there’s nothing like taking a break from the agonizing summer heat in the icy confines of a cinema – especially when you’re seeing something big, loud and exaggerated there.

Yes, ever since Jaws scared people back into the water in 1975, summer has been considered the high season to go to the movies, at least for certain movie tastes: Usually loud, often full of thrills, and most likely overloaded with special effects. Summer blockbusters have a reputation for being silly and superficial; while it need not be, it is certainly true that the defining examples of form prefer to impress you with spectacle rather than make you think (not that there is anything wrong with that).

To celebrate the return of Hot Weather Movies after the pandemic with the upcoming release of Fast 9 in the US (which will definitely be very loud and guaranteed to be more fun the less you think while watching it), Lifehacker employees share our favorite summers -Blockbusters of the last 20 years. To be considered, a movie doesn’t have to have hit the box office (though most of them did), nor has it been released in what the calendar strictly defines as summer – I think we all agree that, as for the movies, the peak season starts in May and ends in August. What they have to offer is a ride.

Photo: ND700 (Shutterstock)

It would be pretty handy if a portable air conditioner could fit right in your window and cool your home instantly, but the size of the room is the most important consideration in your search for a satisfactory air conditioner. You don’t want to put a smaller unit in front of a large, expansive room, hoping it will recover from the heat.

The size and energy capacity must be directly related to the size of your room. That sounds logical enough, but it is imperative that you purchase the right device so that you don’t break a sweat all summer or turn your living room into an ice box.

How to Find the Right Portable Air Conditioner

The basics are simple enough. You should measure your window, or if you are lucky enough to have a slot for an AC unit, measure this. The majority of the major retailers will have options, including Amazon, Home Depot, and Best Buy. Once you have the sizing, there are more important considerations to consider: How many BTUs you will need.

There are two different types of portable AC units: those that sit in your window and two-hose portable units that don’t sit in windows or slots in a wall. You will mostly see models with two hoses that cool larger spaces – like a library, for example – that don’t have central air conditioning. For our purposes we stick with the wall / window units as it is about cooling your apartment or house.

What are BTUs?

The metric for the energy consumption of portable air conditioners is the British Thermal Unit, or BTU. More precisely than the plumbing Website BHI Service writes, “A BTU refers to the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a pound of water by 1 ° F.”

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All devices have a BTU rating, a number that explains the energy range and performance of the air conditioning system. Basically, the higher the BTU, the more energy the device consumes, but also the higher its capacity for cooling down a larger room. Or think of it this way: high BTUs are good for cooling large rooms, while lower BTUs should be enough for a smaller room.

They are Online tools to help you understand which BTU rating is correct for your square footage, but you can also calculate the numbers yourself. How Notes on consumer reports, “Air conditioning uses 20 BTU per square foot of living space.” Most AC units have ranges from 5,000 to 12,500 BTU, according to the release notes, so you can use those criteria to assess your needs.

How many BTUs do you need for your room?

Your living room or bedroom may not be the easiest place to cool off, especially if it has large windows directly under the sun or high ceilings that trap warm air.

Since certain details are likely to determine your purchasing needs, the AC manufacturer has Sylvane offers instructions:

• 7,500 BTUs cover 150 square feet x 2.40 meters of ceiling = 1,200 cubic feet
• 9,000 BTUs cover 200 square feet x 2.40 meters of ceiling = 1,600 cubic feet
• 10,000 BTUs cover 300 square feet x 2.40 meters of ceiling = 2,400 cubic feet
• 12,000 BTUs cover 400 square feet x 2.40 meters of ceiling = 3,200 cubic feet
• 13,000 BTUs cover 450 square feet x 2.40 meters of ceiling = 3,600 cubic feet
• 14,000 BTUs cover 500 square feet x 2.40 meters of ceiling = 4,000 cubic feet

When it comes to measuring your square footage, Consumer Reports says, “To measure your space, multiply length by width. Add the size of the rooms that are not separated by doors, as the air conditioning system has to cool both rooms. ”

Hopefully this will give you some thought about the right air conditioner to cool your supposedly humid home this summer.