Everybody wants great cooking skills, but unfortunately, not all of us are so blessed. While your mother or partner may be an expert with wielding a kitchen knife and getting your favorite dishes just right, you might struggle with creating something as simple as an omelet. Fortunately, there are several cooking hacks that you can use to prepare your favorite foods and more! Here are 25 of the handiest cooking hacks that will change your life.
25 Cooking Hacks
1. Freeze bananas for healthy ice cream
Source: Well Plated
Craving for ice cream but don’t want the extra calories? Put a few bananas in your freezer, wait until they’re frozen, and then mash them up to form a creamy texture. It creates a delicious base for other toppings that you might want to add, such as chocolate syrup, sprinkles, or chocolate chips!
2. Make baked chicken taste like fried chicken
Before placing your baked chicken in the oven, coat it with a light layer of mayonnaise followed by a coating of egg wash before being tossed in bread crumbs. The mayo helps the individual crumbs crisp up as the chicken bakes while adding a flavor that mimics the taste of traditional fried chicken.
3. Freeze juice into flavored ice cubes
Source: The Harvest Kitchen
If you hate the cold, watery layer of melted ice that dilutes the tops of your flavored drinks, then this tip will be especially helpful! Instead of putting water in ice cube trays, mix up your favorite juice and use that instead. You’ll get cold drinks without sacrificing any of the taste.
4. Place ginger in the fridge
Does grating your ginger ever get tiring? Try putting it in the freezer so that it’s easier to grate the next time you cook!
5. Get the fudgiest brownies
Source: Cafe Delites
Nobody likes a dry and crumbly brownie! To get the fudgiest brownies without changing your favorite recipe, cut the baking time in half. If it’s still too wet for your liking, then you can always pop it back in the oven for a few more minutes.
6. Use dental floss
Unless you have a custom-made Japanese knife, then cutting through soft foods can be quite messy. Use dental floss to cut through cakes, rolls, doughs, and other softer food items for precise cuts and no mess.
7. Do basic meal prep
Source: Medical News Today
Let’s face it: cooking every day is tiring work. Even thinking of different recipes for each meal can prove to be challenging. In this case, meal prepping can help take time off your hands. Allot a few hours on the weekend to cook up some frozen vegetables, proteins of your choice, carbs, and anything else you like to eat and store them in the fridge using plastic containers.
Then, as you go throughout the week, mix up combinations of your ingredients on a plate and reheat them!
8. Break up ground meat
Breaking up ground meat using your hands can be messy; use a potato crusher instead. You can also use it to crush up other ingredients, like whole tomatoes.
9. Put salt in your coffee
Source: Medical News Today
This isn’t meant to substitute for your sugar, but a little bit of salt does help cut through the bitterness of coffee. It can also get rid of the stale taste of tank-stored water. Try it out for fresher-tasting coffee!
10. Dry out your herbs
Freshly dried herbs are great additions to any recipe. However, store-bought options can sometimes taste a little too dried up. For better-tasting dried herbs, buy many fresh ones at the market and then dry them out in the microwave.
Heat them in 20-second intervals before and turn them over until they are completely dry. Then you can use your food processor to crush then store them.
11. Use a spoon to peel your eggs
Source: Life Hack
Boiled eggs can be a pain to peel. The shells get everywhere, your eggs get nicked, and sometimes they even fall apart. To spend less time being frustrated over your breakfast, take a teaspoon and insert it between the eggshell and the egg.
You’ll find that the spoon fits the egg’s curve nicely and peels the shell away in one or two movements.
12. Coat measuring cups and spoons with oil
A lot of batter is wasted during baking because it sticks to measuring cups or spoons, even after pouring them into baking trays. To prevent this from happening, coat your cups and spoons with a light layer of vegetable oil. It makes the entire process much easier and cleaner.
13. Grill fish on lemon
Source: Pinterest
One of the most annoying things about grilling fish is how much it sticks to the grill! To avoid this, place lemon slices on the grill, then put your fish on top. You’ll get freshly cooked fish without half of it being left behind on the cooker.
14. Fix salty soup
If your soup turns out too salty, grab any vinegar you have in the pantry and add enough to counteract the excess sodium.
15. Cool beverages down faster
Source: Pop Sugar
Are your guests on the way, and your bottle of beer, wine, or juice is still lukewarm? Take wet paper towels, wrap them around the bottles, and then place them in the freezer. They will cool down much faster.
16. Use a waffle iron to make your hash browns
Making hashbrowns can be frustrating, especially since they keep falling apart in the pan. To remedy this, use a waffle iron so that your hashbrowns mix will retain its structural integrity. Voila — perfect hashbrowns!
17. Invest in a large chopping board
To avoid having multiple chopping boards that don’t fit all of your ingredients, purchase the largest one you can find. You’ll have all the room you need without fussing over the lack of space.
18. Roast lemons for lemonade
Before squeezing lemon juice out for lemonade, roast the lemons to draw out their natural sugars and lower the tartness. This way, you’ll also use less sugar for a healthier and tastier drink.
19. Renew stale bread
Source: Maangchi
Don’t throw your stale loaves out just yet. Instead, spritz some water on top and pop them into the oven for a few minutes to help it crisp up. Alternatively, you can wrap a damp towel around the loaf before placing it into the oven. It will regain its crunch and texture.
20. Crumple parchment paper
Parchment paper that keeps curling up can ruin your baked goods. To prevent it from doing so, crumple it slightly and lay it flat on your baking sheet.
21. Use apples to moisten pastries
Source: Evolving Table
Baked goods can dry out pretty quickly, and they don’t taste as fresh once they’re no longer moist. When storing your baked goods, add an apple slice into the container so that they retain their moisture and taste for much longer.
22. Dry meat before searing
To get a clean, sharp sear on your meat, pat it dry with a towel to get rid of excess moisture before placing it in a well-oiled pan.
23. Store ice cream in ziplock bags
Source: Wired
Ice cream can freeze up into a block of flavored ice in the freezer, and thawing it out can result in an undesirable texture when you’re in the mood for ice cream. To ensure that it stays at the right consistency, put your tub of ice cream in a plastic ziplock bag before placing it in the freezer.
24. Use a spritz of lemon in your pastries
Rich, fruity muffins and cupcakes can taste a bit too rich, so by adding some lemon zest or juice at different points of the baking process; you can balance out the flavors.
25. Heat oysters before opening
Source: Squarespace
Oysters are tough to crack open. By placing them in a vat of warm water or the microwave for a few minutes, they’ll be easier to open and eat.
We hope you’ll put into action at least one of these 25 awesome cooking hacks. For more hacks, tips, and tricks, check out our other articles!
