Making Things Easier In The Kitchen
Sometimes it's the little things. These simple, yet helpful, food hacks will make cooking a far more enjoyable experience, and might make you think, "I wish I'd known this sooner!"
Marshmallows Will Soften Brown Sugar
There's nothing worse than a bag of brown sugar that has gone hard. The solution? Marshmallows. Take your container of brown sugar and place a couple of marshmallows in it. Make sure the vessel is properly sealed. Wait 24 hours and your sugar should be soft once again.
Using A Microwave To Peel Your Garlic
Peeling garlic can be one of the most annoying prep tasks. Simply slice the tops off of your garlic cloves and place them in the microwave. After 20 seconds, the skin should easily come off.
Bubble Wrap Will Keep Your Ice Cream Cold
If you have to transport your expensive ice cream a fair distance, try insulating the tub in bubble wrap to prevent it from melting.
A Chopstick Can Pit Cherries
Have you heard about this quick way of pitting cherries? First, grab a beer bottle. Place your cherry on the opening of the bottle and grab one chopstick. Push the chopstick through the middle of the cherry. The pit will fall into the bottle.
Easily Shuck Corn
Shucking corn can be a tedious task, especially if you're in a rush. Try microwaving your corn cobs for no longer than a minute on high. The husks should easily fall away.
Use Cold Salt Water To Quickly Chill Wine
Is it already dinner time, but you forgot to put the wine in the fridge? To speed up the cooling process, fill a pitcher with ice water and a decent amount of salt. Then let your wine bottle take a cold bath. It should be ready to serve in less than 20 minutes.
Add A Carrot To Your Tomato Sauce To Reduce Acidity
Making tomato sauce from scratch can be a balancing act, but adding a carrot can make all the difference. To mellow an acidic sauce, add a carrot to the mixture. This way, your sauce will imbued with an unexpected sweetness. (Of course, make sure to remove the carrot before using the sauce).
Use A Cooling Rack To Dice Soft Foods
Are you making guacamole or an egg salad sandwich? Well, to make your life easier, you could try using a cooling a rack to dice your avocados or eggs. Simply push your egg through the holes, and voila!
A Slice Of Bread Will Help Soften Hard Cookies
There's nothing like a fresh-baked cookie. However, after a day or two, your batch of cookies will get a little hard. To prevent this, add a slice of white bread to your cookie container. Make sure it's airtight, and your baked goods will taste fresh for longer.
Soften Your Butter Faster
Baking can be so therapeutic... until the moment you realize you forgot to take your butter out of the fridge. But don't fret. To soften the butter, slice it into cubes so that it warms up faster. This should only take 20 minutes.
Use Your Apple Slicer To Make Thick-Cut Fries
Your niche kitchen gadgets can be multipurposed—especially the apple slicer. If you have a craving for fries, the apple slicer can be used on your potatoes. It really produces the perfect fry shape.
Coffee Ice Cubes
If you aren't a fan of watery iced coffee then this hack is for you: coffee ice cubes. After brewing a fresh pot of coffee, pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze. Perfect iced coffee guaranteed.
Make Meatballs With An Ice Cream Scoop
Is touching raw meat your least favorite part of making meatballs? Well, have no fear. If you want a mess-free solution, just grab an ice cream scoop. And the cherry on top? All your meatballs will be the same size for once.
Elevate Frozen Rolls With An Egg Wash
Do you want to fool your guests into thinking your frozen rolls are homemade? Whip up a simple egg wash and brush it on top of them. To make things even fancier, you can add cheese or sesame seeds on top.
Spray Your Cheese Grater
Grated cheese is delicious, but cleaning the cheese grater is a whole different story. Cheese sticks. To remedy this, simply coat your grater with a thin layer of cooking spray. Problem solved. The cheese won't stick.
Multiple Uses For An Immersion Blender
If you only need a small amount of whipped cream—perhaps for a couple slices of pie or a hot chocolate—you can use your immersion blender. No need to make a large batch in a massive bowl.
Baking Soda Makes Storage Containers Look Brand New
There's nothing nastier than a food container that is completely stained orange. But wait. Don't throw it out just yet. Baking soda is the answer. Mix up a paste by combining warm water and baking soda, and coat your tupperware with it. Let it sit for a couple hours and the stains should lift after washing.
Cut Your Cheesecake With A Warm Knife
Do you want a perfect slice of cheesecake every time? Warm your knife up by running it under hot water. After drying it off, the blade will be able to cleanly cut through the cheesecake. This will help prevent the cheese from sticking to the knife.
Use Boiling Water To Peel Your Tomatoes
Sometimes a recipe calls for peeled tomatoes. This is the easiest way to get the job done. Slice a small X where tomato's stem grows from. Boil a pot of water and submerge your tomatoes in for just 15 to 20 seconds. Cool them off in ice water, and afterward, the skins should peel off easily.
SHARKY PHOTOGRAPHY, Shutterstock
Turn Baking Fails Into Baking Wins
Maybe you've made a cake that's a little wonky and not good enough for serving. However, don't be too quick to throw it out. The cake can be repurposed as another dessert. For instance, you can make a trifle, replacing the ladyfingers with the cake. But that's not all.
Have you ever tried crumbling cake on top of ice cream? Game changer.
If You Don't Have A Rolling Pin, Use A Wine Bottle
When I first started baking, there was one tool I totally forgot to purchase—a rolling pin. Thankfully, I had a wine bottle on hand and it was perfect for rolling out my galette pastry.
Flavor Your Butter
If you're a butter lover like I am, then you know that the perfect snack is a piece of good bread slathered in butter. However, using flavored butter is even better, and very easy to make.
You can flavor your soften butter by incorporating ingredients like lemon juice, garlic, and herbs. Reshape the butter using parchment paper and you're off to the races.
How To Fix Soup When It's Too Salty
Perhaps you were a little heavy-handed with the salt while making your soup. Thankfully, simmering some apple or potato slices in the soup will help diminish the saltiness.
Use Lentils To Make Your Soup Heartier
Lentils are the budget-friendly superheroes of my kitchen. They're so filling—an excellent source of protein and fibre—and can be used in all kinds of dishes like pasta sauces, salads, and stews. They're the perfect addition to soup to make it thicker and heartier.
Juice Your Lemon Without Cutting It
Sometimes juicing a lemon can be a messy business, with the seeds falling everywhere. But this skewer hack changed everything. Pierce a hole in the bottom of the lemon (opposite of the stem side)—and start squeezing. It's that easy.
No Frother? No Problem.
Not everyone can afford a $5 dollar latte every day of the week—but that shouldn't stop you from adding some silky foam to your morning coffee.
Try filling a lidded container halfway with milk. Screw on the top and shake until the milk turns foamy. Make sure the lid is off and then place it in the microwave on high. 30 seconds later, your milk froth should be ready.
Don't Forget To Massage Your Kale
This might be the hack to help you fall back in love with kale. Kale can be quite rough to eat. That's why it's important to massage the leaves with olive oil before adding it to a salad or eating it raw. It will make them a lot more delicious and easier to consume.
Orange Juice Works Wonderfully In Marinades
Try adding orange juice to your marinades, which pairs delightfully with chicken and pork. Not only will you be infusing your meat with a bright, zesty flavor, but the orange juice will also help tenderize it.
Place Your Veggies In A Preheating Oven
No need to wait for your oven to preheat before sliding in your tray of veggies in to roast. In fact, putting them in a preheating oven will help evenly cook them.
Masterclass, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Potatoes And Onions Are Not Friends In The Pantry
I could never understand why my potatoes kept going mushy so fast. Turns out, you're not supposed to store your potatoes close to your onions. Keep them separate, and both vegetable will last longer.
Turn That Peanut Butter Jar Upside Down
Natural peanut butters can be such a pain to mix together once the oil begins to separate. However, storing your peanut butter upside down is the easy fix. This way, the oils will already be at the base of the jar.
Why Your Coffee Isn't Living Up To Its Potential
Believe it or not, using boiling water to brew your coffee might make it taste worse. For a better flavor, try letting your boiling water sit for five minutes before making your pour-over coffee.
How To Cut Cherry Tomatoes Faster
Slicing up cherry tomatoes can take a long time if you're going through them one at a time. To slice up a large batch, sandwich them between two plates. Then take a blade and cut through them horizontally in one go.
Give Stale Bread A Second Life
If you have a stale loaf of bread, there's a silver lining. Evenly pour a few tablespoons of water over top of it and place it in a heated oven. Just wait two to three minutes and your bread should be warm and soft all over again
Keep in mind that this method is best suited for baguettes or loaves that haven't been sliced yet.
A Microplane Will Mince Garlic An Ginger Faster
Mincing ginger and garlic can often feel tedious, but not if you own a microplane. If this is a kitchen tool you don't own, this is your sign to invest in one.
