Kitchen Hacks And Cooking Tips To Make Life Easier

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This Category Is All About Kitchen Hacks, Food Tips, And Tricks To Save You Time, and Money And Make Life Easier.

Here you can find helpful guides, food how-tos, techniques, and more…

Check out some helpful tips, hacks, and latest posts below:

43 Clever But Simple Food Tips And Hacks That You Can Start Using Right Now

1. How To Check If Eggs Are Fresh

Simply place an egg in question in a cup of water: rotten eggs float, and fresh ones sink! Read more…

2. How To Cut Food Without A Knife

Don’t have a suitable knife handy, but cake cutting cannot wait? Worry not – simply grab some dental floss and cut away. Also suitable for cheese, Swiss rolls, and other soft foods.

3. How to Keep Champagne Bubbly

If your champagne has gone flat in the bottle, try this: drop in a couple of raisins, and the natural sugars will restore the fizz.

4. How To Preserve Lemons

No need to cut a lemon in half if all you need is a few drops of juice. A better approach is to puncture the lemon with a metal skewer and squeeze out as much as needed whilst preserving the fruit.

5. How to Keep Herbs Fresh

A great way to preserve the freshness of herbs is storing them in the freezer in entire bunches, rinsed, and sealed in plastic. They defrost quickly in a pan, and frozen herbs are also very easy to chop.

6. How To Repel Bugs In The Kitchen

Bugs hate bay leaves, so slip a couple into your storage containers! Great for pasta, flour, rice, and more.

7. How to Make Mushrooms Slime-Free

Simply wrap your mushrooms in paper towels before refrigerating them to prevent the formation of yucky slime. Read more…

8. How To Keep Muffins Soft

If otherwise fresh muffins have started to go a bit stale, try this: sprinkle with water, place in a paper bag and revive in the hot oven for up to 10 seconds. Moisture and softness are restored!

9. How To Prevent Cheese From Drying Out

Hate dry cheese? Who doesn’t? Fortunately, it’s an easy fix: just spread some butter or margarine on the cut sides to preserve moisture. This hack is ideal for hard wax-sealed cheeses.

10. How To Keep Veggies Crunchy

Veggies such as carrots, celery, and radishes can lose their crunch over time, but it’s easy to tackle: just place them in a bowl of icy water and add a slice of raw potato. Magic!

11. How To Prevent Bananas From Browning

Don’t separate a bunch of bananas until you plan to consume them, as they spoil much slower as a bunch.

12. How To Keep Cookies Crunchy

Never combine crispy and chewy cookies in the same container – otherwise, the moisture from the chewy ones will kill the crunch.

13. How To Prevent Salt Hardening

A few grains of rice in your salt shaker will prevent the salt from hardening, as the rice will absorb any condensation.

14. How To Keep Butter Flavourful

Butter can be stored in the freezer for up to six months – just pop it in an airtight container to avoid flavor absorbance from other foods. Read more about freezing butter the right way

15. How To Suppress Bacteria Growth In Dairy

To prolong your cottage cheese or sour cream life, store the containers upside down in the fridge. This way, the created vacuum suppresses bacterial growth.

16. How To Keep Honey Clear

Honey doesn’t spoil, so there is no need to get rid of your crystallized jar! Simply revive the honey by microwaving it on medium heat, and checking on it every 30 seconds until the product is clear.

17. How To Retain Moisture in Pasta

Stop leftover pasta from getting dry by refrigerating it in a sealed plastic bag. Before serving, revive it by placing the pasta in boiling water for a few seconds. Nice and soft!

18. How To Save Your Cheese

Did you know you can freeze cheese to preserve it? Wrap the original packaging tightly in cling wrap and freeze. Before serving, cheese can be defrosted in the fridge – this can take up to a day. The trick is ideal for high-fat, soft cheese varieties.

19. How To Protect Brown Sugar From Hardening

To stop brown sugar from hardening, simply keep it in the freezer! If your sugar has hardened already, seal it in a bag with a slice of fresh bread or an apple. Alternatively, microwave on high for up to 30 seconds.

20. How To Make Soup Less Salty

Over-salting a soup accidentally can be extremely frustrating – however, you don’t need to discard the hard work. Instead, add wedges of an apple of raw potato and simmer for 10 minutes to absorb the salt, then discard the pieces. Still a bit salty? A spoonful of sugar and/or a dash of apple cider vinegar can help. If nothing else works, the last resort can be diluting your creation with low-salt broth or just water.

21. How To Get Rid of Soup Fat

Is soup a bit too fatty? Fret not and pop it right in the fridge for about 30 mins, then skim the excess fat off and reheat. If you’re a bit pressed in time, simply add a few ice cubes and discard them when the grease sticks to them. Another option is tossing in a big lettuce leaf that absorbs excess oil – discard it when it goes limp.

22. How To Stop Milk From Burning And Sticking To The Pan

Rinse the inside of the pan with cold water, leaving about a tablespoon of water in the pan. This forms a protective layer between milk and pan – voila. More milk boiling tips here…

23. How To Make Juicing More Efficient

Roll the citrus fruits back and forth on a cutting board before juicing – this mobilizes extra fluid, making juicing more efficient.

24. How To Make A Perfect Soft-Boiled Egg

After bringing the water to a boil, lower the heat to a rapid simmer. Add the eggs and start the timer – for one or two eggs, 5 minutes is just right for a runny yolk, and 7 minutes will give you a firmer yet spoonable yolk.

25. How To Ripen Fruit Quickly

Almost any fruit can be ripened overnight by spending a few hours in a paper bag with an apple. The secret is the ethylene gas apple release, boosting the ripening of other fruits.

26. How To Get The Smell Out Of Plastic Containers

Plastic food containers are porous, which results in retaining odors even after washing. To absorb the smells, store them with newspaper balls inside – don’t forget to rinse them before using them again.

27. How To Easily Break Down Poultry

The correct process is the following: separate the legs, then the drumsticks from the thighs; separate the wings; place the body backside up and cut along each side of the spine to rid of the backbone; and finally, cut the breast in half.

28. How To Turn Leftover Mashed Potatoes Into Croquettes

Roll cold mash into balls, dip in beaten eggs, cover in bread crumbs, and cook in your preferred way.

29. How To Put Extra Rice To Good Use

Made more rice than could possibly be eaten? The situation calls for a pudding: add butter, cinnamon, sugar, and milk and boil. Alternatively, make fried rice with egg, soy sauce, and veggies. Finally, why not make some pilaf by tossing the rice with shaved almonds and raisins? Yum.

30. How To Make A Iced Coffee Stronger

If you have brewed strong leftover coffee, simply freeze it into ice cubes and add these to iced coffees to make a strong beverage!

31. How To Save A Scorched Pan

Sprinkle the burned bottom with some baking soda, add 5-6 tablespoons of salt and enough water to cover, and then let it stand overnight. In the morning, the charred remains will be easy to remove with a spatula.

32. How To Keep Stake From Drying Out

To prevent the cooked steak from drying out, put it on top of tin foil immediately after cooking, wrap it in foil and let sit for about 5 minutes to let the juices settle. Keep in mind the steak is still cooking when wrapped, so take it off the pan a dash earlier.

33. How To Preserve Vegetables For Longer

No need to throw out produce prematurely! Simply wrap your vegetables in dry paper towels and pack them into resealable plastic bags. This prevents oxygen from getting in, prolonging the shelf life. Also, don’t wash the veggies before you are planning to use them. Finally, avoid overstocking your drawers with veggies, as this can cause restricted airflow and uneven temperature pockets.

34. How To Make Delicious Mashed Potatoes

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil and add potatoes. Boil until tender but still quite firm. Drain and return dry on the stove over low for 1 to 2 minutes. Add butter, cheese (Parmesan works best), spring onions, cream cheese, and garlic; season to taste. Mash until smooth, serve and enjoy.

35. How To Avoid Garlic Breath

Simply mix raw garlic with any form of fat, such as oil or butter. Alternatively, enjoy it in guacamole. After eating, consume natural breath fresheners such as parsley, mint, or raw coffee beans. Other ways of getting rid of garlic breath include eating an apple, drinking some milk, or enjoying a cup of green or cinnamon tea. Here are more useful tips to get rid of the garlic smell here…

36. How To Easily Peel An Egg

Boil eggs in salted water. When cooked, drain and run cold water over the eggs until cooled down. Crack a little and let sit in cold water for about 10 minutes. Enjoy easy peeling! Check out this other cool egg-peeling hack here…

37. How To Eat Pomegranate And Avoid Mess

First, cut the fruit in half. After that, simply spoon out the tiny red jewels and enjoy – that’s all! Eat them raw or add them as a condiment to any sweet or savory dishes.

38. How To Use Fresh Turmeric

All you need to do is wash off any dirt and give the root a good scrub – no need to peel, although some people do prefer it. Simply grate the turmeric or smash it (the latter is easy with a pestle, mortar, or even a garlic press).

39. How To Make Matcha

Sift 1-2 tsp matcha into a cup with a small sifter. Add 2oz hot water, ideally just under the boil. Whisk vigorously until the beverage is nice and frothy – and enjoy straight from the bowl!

40. How To Cut A Mango

Peel the fruit from top to bottom. Using the Y-shaped peeler, work your way around the mango, getting rid of the peel. Find the tallest line of the fruit, slice it in half, avoiding the pit, and cut around it. Slice the cut halves and enjoy the refreshing mango!

41. How To Defrost A Chicken

The best tip is to use a cold-water bath – submerge the tightly sealed frozen chicken in a container of cold water, place it in the sink and slowly run cold water over the bowl so it never goes empty.

42. Keep Homemade Cookies Soft

Homemade cookies get stale much faster than store-bought ones sans the additives and preservatives, but there is a hack to prevent it: just throw a slice of fresh bread into your cookie container.

43. How To Revive Stale Bread

Left with a loaf of stale bread and no time to get a new one? Simply run it through some water and put in the hot oven for 5-10 minutes. Alternatively, wrap it in a damp towel and pop it in the oven. So fresh and crunchy! Find out what happens to you if you accidentally eat moldy bread.

Jen Evansy

About FoodHow.com

Hi, I am Jen!

I am really excited you found your way to this kitchen hacks, food tips, and tricks category page. Let me introduce myself. I am a researcher, nutritionist, writer, and editor here at Food How and I also love cooking. I started this blog to inform, encourage, inspire and engage all readers to make healthy and informed choices when it comes to cooking, food, diet, and nutrition. Thanks for stopping by, and I do hope you will find some interesting cooking tips and useful food hacks here to improve your cooking, nutrition, diet, and well-being.