17 Kitchen Hacks and Food Tricks To Try Now!
#17 More Juice, Please
Before you cut a lemon in half to juice it, take it on a detour through the microwave.
Yes, I said microwave.
Stay with me.
Zapping the lemon for ten to thirty seconds will cause unreachable juice vessels to burst,
which usually maximizes juice output.
Just remember to practice caution and begin nuking your citrus in increments of ten.
There will be no citrus explosions on my watch.
#16 Wine+Air = Yum
This may be sacrilegious to some wine connoisseurs, but when your only goal is to make a so-so
wine more palatable, what do you have to lose?
As we all may or may not know, when we allow wine to breathe or aerate, the flavors and
aromas develop and get better.
One way to do this is to allow wine to decant for several hours.
However, this is time consuming and too much work for the average wine drinker.
So instead, pour the wine in your blender and blend it at a high speed for about 30
seconds.
The wine will froth up, but don't worry.
The bubbles will dissipate in a minute or two.
You’re welcome.
Your lousy $6 wine now carries the complexity of a $30 vintage bottle.
For added fun, do this in front of your friends.
They won’t have a clue what you’re doing, and it’s fun to watch their faces as they
see their vino frothing in the blender.
#15 Multi-Tomato Slicer
Cutting small food items such as cherry tomatoes can be a daunting task.
Without much to hold onto, the sliced-finger potential is dangerously high.
Considering that you’re probably chopping up dozens of those little, red jewels, that
potential multiplies!
Luckily, your days of one-at-a-time cherry tomato cutting are a thing of the past.
With two plates and a sharp chef’s knife, you can make fast work of cutting dozens of
tomatoes or any small foods.
All you need to do is fill one plate with a layer of tomatoes.
Next, you'll sandwich them with the other plate, holding them firmly in position.
There should be a gap between the the plates, exposing the sides of the outer tomatoes.
Apply slight pressure to the top plate, and follow the gap as a cutting guide.
Now just slide your knife right through the sandwiched tomatoes.
The end result should be a plate full of perfectly halved tomato gems.
This saves time, and your precious flesh!
#14 Crystal Clear Cubes
With this technique you can be the host with the most.
Or at the very least, the host with the great looking, clear ice cubes.
There are only two steps to achieving the suave, clear ice look that you see in nice
restaurants or in commercials.
Just boil water and let it cool before pouring it into an ice tray or ice mold.
That’s it!
Pull out the cigars and smoking jackets, and invite the gang over.
You're ready to impress the crowd as you serve up some libations on the crystal clear rocks.
#13 Corn Collection
You’ve been using your bundt cake pans wrong.
Well, maybe not wrong.
But they do have another use.
They can actually be fancy corn kernel catching receptacles.
If you don’t want to eat corn off the cob, or want fresh, loose kernels for your recipe;
there’s another way to have your corn and eat it, too.
Just place the end of the cob on the elevated center ring of the bundt pan.
Next, use a knife to slice off the kernels, and watch what happens.
The kernels have no chance of escaping onto the kitchen floor when they are falling into
a deep pan.
Now you can cut corn like a real chef.
#12 No Ugly Avocados
Avocados tend to be hit or miss.
Sometimes you open one to find a picturesque green and light yellow flesh.
Other times you open an avocado that reveals an absolute moldy trash fire.
Luckily, there is a step to minimize the potential of choosing an ugly avocado.
Listen close.
You know that dry, light brown spot on avocados where the stem used to connect to the fruit?
Right.
Well if you pick that part off, you will reveal a window to the avocado’s soul.
Look at it closely.
If you see a fresh yellow/green color, you are holding a keeper.
A great avocado.
If it’s too hard or stubborn to pick off, it’s not ripe yet.
And,if you see an unattractive dark flesh, just put that over-ripe avocado right back.
Or, hey, if your climate permits, stick it in the ground.
In a few years, you may be harvesting your own avocados.
#11 Avocado Seed Removal
The best way to remove an avocado seed without making a mess or denting the flesh is simple.
Plunk a knife blade into the seed.
Twist the knife to turn the seed a quarter turn or so.
Then simply lift the seed straight out.
Now just tap the knife edge on the side of your trash can to release the seed from the
blade.
Perfect seed removal.
#10 Straw-Berry cut strawberries
You’ll never take a knife to a strawberry again after this hack.
To efficiently remove the calyx (the green leafy stuff on top of a strawberry) don’t
reach for your sharpest paring knife.
Reach instead for your most rigid straw.
You know, the same kind your aunt drinks her white wine with.
Just kidding.
If you can’t find one in your kitchen, you can easily snag a few at your local coffee
shop or eatery.
All you need to do is insert the straw at the narrow, pointy end of the berry.
Then plunge the straw straight through until it exits the top of the berry, carrying the
calyx along with it.
This is perfect for recipes calling for large amounts of these fresh, ruby red jewels.
#9 Expedited Egg Peel
Here is a good tip that is all about taking proactive measures to avoid an annoying outcome.
In this case the annoying outcome is the amount of time it takes to peel the little protein-rich
nuggets.
First, allow your raw eggs to come to room temperature.
Next, you'll want to use a pin or tack to gently poke a hole in one end of the eggs.
Don’t worry, the eggs won't pop like a balloon.
Just don’t squeeze too hard as you poke the hole.
Bring a pot of water to a boil.
Once the water is rolling, place the eggs in, along with a pinch of salt.
Turn down the heat.
Cover the pot.
Then wait six to ten minutes, until removing the eggs and submerging them in cold water.
After allowing the eggs to cool, take them out and give them a hard roll on the counter.
With ease, the shell should peel off in a single piece or two.
Here’s another quick peeling tip, even if you don’t follow all the above steps.
Most eggs peel much easier if you can get a little water between the membrane and egg,
and squish it around a bit.
Once it’s wet, it’s super slick and the shell slips right off.
Time saved is time earned, especially if you’re making a large batch of egg salad!
#8 Basil Bouquet
What types of bouquets to do you give on a date?
Okay, probably not basil - on the first date, anyway.
But here’s how to keep your basil beautiful.
Basil is a delicious herb right up until it begins to wilt, which is typically far before
you get the opportunity to use the whole bunch.
To lengthen the life of your lovely greens, treat them as if they are a beautiful bouquet
of flowers.
Snip off the first centimeter of the stems and place them in water, the same way you
would with flowers.
Once in water, you'll want to place a clear plastic bag over the top of your basil bouquet
and store it on your counter.
The basil will last up to two weeks longer using this method.
#7 Coffee Cubed
Whether you want to add a cold caffeine kick to your favorite drink, or just want to prevent
your ice coffee from getting watered down by conventional ice cubes, this coffee cube-hack
has your back.
You can easily make perfect caffeine-spiked ice cubes in your kitchen.
First brew up some coffee and let it cool to room temperature.
Once cool, pour it into an ice tray and pop it in the freezer overnight.
You’ll wake up to the coldest, refreshing coffee experience.
Side note, especially for you ice-chewers, individual cubes make for a great summer pick
me up!
#6 Minced Garlic Solution
Many of the best recipes in the world call for garlic.
If you’re the chef type, chances are you often mince garlic.
If you’re using a knife you’ve got the process all wrong.
Next time you need to chop up a pungent clove, use the fine side of a cheese grater to quickly
and efficiently yield equal-sized bits of garlic.
It’s fast and easy.
Now you can spare your guests the shock of chomping into that one piece of garlic that
eluded the traditional chop.
#5 Your Eggs Age
Age is a touchy subject for everyone.
So don't expect your eggs to simply tell you an honest answer when you ask.
Instead, you can fish those details out with a little effort.
To determine if your eggs are young and fresh or old and stale, place the eggs in a glass
or bowl of water.
If an egg floats, then its porous shell has taken in enough air to create an air pocket.
This would indicate an old egg.
If the egg sinks to the bottom, it’s fresh and ready to serve - after cooking it, of
course.
#4 Pot Runneth Over?
For those of us who weren't blessed with Italian grandmothers, this should be a familiar issue.
You’re making your favorite pasta when two minutes into cooking the water begins to resemble
an overflowing bubblebath.
Sure enough, the water boils over and splashes with a steamy hiss onto your gas or electric
range.
You can put a stop to those out of control foaming bubbles, as long as you have a wooden
spoon.
Just lay it over top of your pasta pot, and this annoying problem can be history.
The spoon, along with a little pro-activity, will save you from time-consuming cleanups.
No-brainer side note: Use good judgment when placing wood near an open flame for a prolonged
period of time.
Save that fun for marshmallows and a bonfire.
#3 Hot Oil Rice Test
This situation is familiar to any kitchen dweller.
You’ve been heating up some oil in a pan, but are unsure if the oil is hot enough to
cook with.
Instead of waving your palm closely over the top of the pan to estimate the oil’s heat,
just use the rice test.
Drop a single grain of rice into the oil.
If the rice bubbles and shakes, then the oil is hot enough to cook with.
If nothing happens, just wait a few moments and try again.
Fish the grain of rice out, and start your pan-frying endeavors.
#2 Peel Garlic En Masse
Peeling garlic can be a sticky, time consuming task.
Especially if you need to work through large amounts.
Here is how you can shake shake shake your way to massive amounts of peeled garlic in
just seconds.
First, rip apart your head of garlic to separate the individual cloves.
Then put them in a large food storage container.
Secure the lid and shake vigorously side-to-side for ten seconds or so.
Open the lid to reveal loads of fresh, peeled garlic.
Vampires beware.
#1 Greens Sliced To Ribbons
Take your salad to the next level by easily creating long, thin ribbons out of any leafy
green.
To begin, collect and stack similar sized pieces of your leafy green of choice.
Next, roll your stack of greens into a thin tube.
Now just grab a sharp knife and slice your tube of greens into sections.
When the sections unroll, you'll be left with a pile of salad-ready ribbons.
Pretty!
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