40 Clever Kitchen Hacks You Probably Don’t Know Yet

If you spend most of your waking life in the kitchen cooking up some delicious food or even when you simply want to hang-out, you most likely would want to make your life easier. The fact is there are so many amazing kitchen tricks out there that are just waiting to be discovered.

Whether you’re a long-time cooking junkie or still a kitchen newbie, of course you want cooking to be fun and easy for you. Not to mention quick and convenient too. Knowing how to handle kitchen tools, ingredients, storage, and organization is a great skill to be added in your portfolio.

Lucky for you, we scoured the web for some of the best kitchen hacks you probably are not aware of yet. With patience and practice, no doubt you’re on your way to becoming a kitchen superstar!

Here are 40 kitchen hacks you better start learning now.

1. To cut parchment paper for lining cake pans into a perfect circle, get a piece of parchment slightly bigger than your pan. Fold in half, turn the sheet lengthwise and fold again in the same way.

Fold the paper into overlapping triangles to create a flat funnel shape with pointed end. Place the point in the center of the pan then cut the edge to size using scissors.

2. To pit a cherry without a pitter, find an icing tip – a star-shaped tip is better but any shape will do. Push the tip into the top of the cherry while twisting the icing tip back and forth. Wait until the pit comes out.

3. Mince garlic by grating it through a microplane. It’s best when you want to get a very fine mince like when making guacamole, salsa, and salad dressings.

4. Broken eggshell in your batter or bowl of cracked eggs? Scoop up these bits using half of an eggshell and just let it touch the piece. Works like a magnet!

5. Scoop out seeds from vegetables like squash and pumpkin by using an ice cream scoop. The edge of the scoop is sharp and imagine how hard raw squash and pumpkin are. Using an ice cream scoop is easier than using your hand or a regular spoon.

6. Gently press and roll citrus fruits on the table first to peel them easily and to avoid mess. This quick trick loosens the skin fibers. Make sure to not pound, squeeze, or squash.

7. To improvise a lid for your mixer, simply get a disposable plate and make two holes on it. Say goodbye to kitchen mess when baking!

8. Spray your knife or chopping board with a bit of lime juice before chopping onions. This should you from tearing up. They say it’s because of the interaction between the onion and the lime.

9. Whack each clove of garlic with the side of a knife. The skin will fall right off.

10. To prevent freezer burn, place a piece of wax paper over ice cream before putting it back in the freezer.

11. To get thinly sliced chicken or beef, partially freeze the meat before cutting it.

12. Soak sponges in water then separate them in Ziploc bags. Freeze, and then pack them in lunch boxes. These make cheap ice packs!

13. Use a small amount of vinegar to remove grease from pots and pans.

14. Peel hard boiled eggs without the mess and frustration by pricking the large end with a pushpin before boiling.

15. Before measuring sticky ingredients, coat measuring cups with nonstick spray. This works best for ingredients like honey, syrups, and peanut butter.

16. Use cookie cutters to create neat cake decorations, or shaped eggs and pancakes.

17. Use a plastic bag sealer stick and never have to throw away opened bags of chips, cookies, and veggies. Just fold the top of the bag, insert the stick, pull it to the other end of the bag, and tada, it’s sealed.

18. Invest in a baking scale. Aside from being an accurate way to measure your cooking ingredients, they also streamline the entire baking process.

19. Pre-soak pasta for about a couple of hours or overnight. It will cook in about 1 minute.

20. Never overcrowd your skillet with food. The heat will not distribute evenly.

21. Keep your spices away from sources of heat like the stove or lights. Herbs and spices can lose their flavor when exposed to humidity and heat.

22. Crack eggs on a paper towel on the counter —no shells and easy cleanup!

23. Put a dish towel or damp paper towel under your cutting board to keep it from slipping and wobbling.

24. Remove tough stems on leafy greens by pinching the stem and gently pulling off the leaves with your other hand.

25. Hold a knife properly: pinch the blade instead of gripping the handle.

26. Ovens can lie. Place a second thermometer in your oven to ensure proper preheating temperatures.

27. Soften up hard brown sugar by placing a piece of dry bread in the bag overnight.

28. 28. Use an egg slicer to cut small fruits like kiwis.
29. 28. 29. Ignore cooking times. Check your dishes by using your own senses (smell, taste, touch) to decide when they are done.
    29. 30. Hold cherry tomatoes between two plastic lids to slice them all at once. Now you never have to spend so much time cutting them one by one.
    30. 31. Quickly cut potatoes into wedges by using an apple slicer.
    31. 32. Need whip cream? Whip it by shaking it in a mason jar. Not just that, you’ll get a homemade butter too when you shake it long enough.
    32. 33. Moist cookies are definitely delicious especially if it’s fresh right from the oven. To keep the cookies moist, try storing them in a food container with an apple wedge. If you plan on storing them for a couple of days, remember to replace the apple wedge with a new one.

28. 28. 34. Open tough lids off jars with a bottle opener or rubber band.

Sometimes, you can’t believe how some lids are so impossible to open. Using a bottle opener, lift the edge of the jar until you hear a pop. You can then easily unscrew the lid.

You can also try a rubber band. Just wrap it around the lid and open the lid with all your might. The rubber band serves as the friction.

28. 28. 35. Use unscented and unused dental floss to cut cakes, cheeses, and other soft solids. This is a good alternative especially when you don’t have a knife around and you still want to come up with a nice cut. The unscented one is important to retain the cake’s flavor.
    29. 36. Wrap celery in tin foil before storing in the refrigerator to avoid it from getting floppy.

28. 28. 37. Slam the head of an iceberg lettuce on a cutting board to instantly remove its core.
    29. 38. To rehydrate sun-dried tomatoes, soak them in hot water or stock for about 20 minutes.

 

28. 28. 39. Crack eggs on a paper towel on the counter —no shells and easy cleanup!

 

28. 28. 40. When poaching an egg, add a teaspoon of white vinegar to simmering water to help keep the yolk from breaking.

Aren’t you impressed yet? Some of these tricks sound really easy but sometimes you just can’t believe that it’s possible to do. Granted that these tricks are executed properly, you’re one step ahead into becoming a kitchen master!