Cooking is a favorite past time for many, but for a lot of people, there are too many obstacles in the kitchen for them to enjoy it. Everyone should be able to enjoy the experience of cooking, though, which is exactly why we’ve rounded up 17 kitchen hacks that will make your time in the kitchen more efficient and enjoyable!
1. Quickly remove seeds from veggies.
Using an ice-cream scoop is the perfect way to get seeds out of vegetables like zucchini or other summer squashes. The sharp edges easily remove the seeds without wasting any of the meat.
2. Make cupcakes with parchment paper.
No cupcake pan? No problem! Parchment paper is a non-stick way to make cupcakes with unique shapes.
3. How to warm up baked leftovers.
If your warming up baked leftovers, like pizza, put it in the microwave alongside a cup of water. The moisture will keep it from drying out.
4. The correct way to clean a cast iron pan.
You should never wash a cast iron plan with regular dish liquid soap. The correct way to clean it is by using table salt. It keeps it from rusting and from clinging on to the flavors of other spices.
5. Extend the lifetime of your cooking herbs.
Unlike drying herbs, freezing them will preserve the nutritional content. Instead of freezing them in water, you can freeze them in olive oil so that they’re ready to be added to your dish even before they defrost.
6. The best way to get smelly ingredients off your hands.
Fish, garlic, and onions are all delicious cooking ingredients, but the smell they leave on your hands during prep is just too much. To remove the smell, rub lemon on your hands and then run them under water. It’s like nature’s perfume!
7. You can remove excess fat with ice.
That’s right! Ice acts like a magnet that will remove excess fat from particularly rich dishes. Just wraps a few cubes in a paper towel and rub it on the top of the dish.
8. Use cling wrap like a pro.
Ever wonder how the professionals perfectly use plastic wrap so perfectly? Well, we have the answer! Storing plastic wrap in the fridge keeps it from sticking and tearing unevenly.
9. The easiest way to peel citrus fruits.
Sticking your citrus in the microwave 20 seconds softens the firm rinds and makes it easier to peel into.
10. The easiest way to peel hard boiled eggs.
Peeling eggs will no longer be a hassle if you add a little bit of soda or vinegar to the water they’re boiling in. The shells will practically slide off!
11. Get the most juice out of your citrus.
This is along the same lines of making citrus easier to peel. In order to get the most juice out of them, store them in the fridge but then microwave them for about 15-20 seconds before juicing them.
12. The best way to grate soft cheese.
Grating soft cheeses can be messy and just leave you with crumbles. To avoid this mushy mess, store the cheese for about a half an hour in the freezer before grating it.
13. Avoid crying when you cut onions.
It’s another freezer hack! Store your onions in the freezer for 30 minutes before chopping them. Just keep in mind that you should only do this if you plan on cooking the onions. They’ll lose their crispiness if left raw.
14. Keep your pasta water from boiling over.
This is an old trick, but it’s one of the best! Place a wooden spoon over your boiling pasta and you can keep it from boiling over without watching it like a hawk.
15. The right way to clean a wooden cutting board.
These are kind of like cast iron pans. To clean them and keep them from absorbing flavors, rub them down with coarse grain salt and then let them sit for 10-15 minutes. Then, wipe them with half a lemon and let them dry.
16. Give your wooden spoons a new life.
Wooden spoons, like wooden cutting boards, can start to absorb unpleasant odors over time. There’s no need to throw them out, though. Boiling them in water and then drying them in the sun will give them a new, odorless life.
17. The right way to store shelled nuts.
Shelled nuts that are stored at room temperature tend to taste bitter after a short amount of time. To keep this from happening, put your unused, unshelled nuts into an airtight container and freeze them. This will keep them fresh and will preserve the nutritional properties.
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[Source: Bright Side ]
