If you’re like many Americans, you’ve spent a good part of the past year improving your kitchen skills. You have the right to be proud if you’ve mastered sourdough, learned to flip an omelet or turned out a high-top souffle.
These nine easy hacks from professional cooks can help you up your kitchen game even more.
- Remove Eggshells – Dab your finger in water before trying to fish out an eggshell dropped into the yolk. Water acts like a magnet and the shell will stick to your finger so you don’t need to chase it around the bowl.
- Ripen Fruit Faster – Put rock-hard peaches and avocados in a paper bag and close it with a paperclip. Concentrated ethylene gas will ripen them twice as fast.
- Burnt Cookies – Shave off the evidence on the outside of the burnt cookie with your trusty microplane and no one ever needs to know you left them inside the oven a little bit too long.
- Measure Sticky Stuff – Ingredients like honey, molasses or peanut butter may seem tough to measure due to their consistency. Add a quick spritz of non-stick spray in the cup or spoon before you measure and every bit of it will slip right out.
- Makeshift Funnel – Use a regular piece of printing paper or snip off a corner of an envelope and open it to form a cone.
- Nuke Herbs to Dry Them – Congrats if you’re growing your own oregano and basil. If you can’t use the fresh herbs fast enough, nuke some in the microwave for a minute or so to dry them for future use.
- Core Berries With a Straw – Ditch the paring knife and instead push a straw through each berry from the bottom out. This will remove the core and leave the berry intact.
- Get More Lemon Juice – To get every last drop of juice from a lemon, microwave it for 7 – 10 seconds, then roll it back and forth on the kitchen counter a few times before halving and squeezing.
- Reduce Salt – Toss in a few wedges of raw potato or apple to a recipe where you used a little too much salt Simmer for 10 minutes or so, then remove before serving.
