Cooking can be quite a chore, especially if you are new at it. And if you don’t know what you’re doing, the cooking can quickly become a big mess. Experienced chefs recommend the following 10 kitchen hacks to make cooking easier. If you follow these tips, you could be the next Rachael Ray in no time.
Peel Ginger With a Spoon
Using a spoon to peel ginger is much safer than using a sharp knife. To peel a piece of ginger using a spoon, just scrape it across the skin of the root. It’s just as effective and can save you from painful cuts you can get with a knife.
Sharpen Knives With a Mug
To get your knives the sharpest, try the following cheap and easy hack: Just run them across the bottom of a coffee mug. The hardness of the material around the bottom of the mug is often hard enough to sharpen most knives. Plus, it gives your knives a nice edge.
Freeze Steak Before Cutting It
Throwing your raw steak in the freezer 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it firms up the meat, making easier to cut. And the freezing process makes the meat firmer while cutting it, allowing the meat to keep its texture and flavor.
Measure Ingredients by Weight
When getting ingredients ready before cooking, use a scale to measure what you need by weight. While a recipe might call for a specific amount of an ingredient, often the amount of ingredient you actually measure out varies according to how it settles in the measuring cup.
Flatten Food Before Freezing
When freezing food for storage, try to flatten it as much as possible. The greater surface area allows the food to freeze and thaw faster, preserving the food’s taste. A good food to use this with is raw ground beef. Flattened ground beef thaws a lot quicker than one solid mass, defrosting in hours instead of days.
Peel Garlic Using Your Palm and a Knife Blade
To easily peel garlic, crush the clove with the flat of a knife blade. Press the heel of your hand to crush the clove and then easily remove the peel.
Use a Separate Garbage Bowl When Cooking
Another great tip to help with your cooking is to keep a garbage bowl set aside to place any peels and other food waste into while cooking. Then it’s just a matter of emptying the bowl when you’re done. This saves quite a few steps between your cooking area and the garbage can.
Use a Wood or Plastic Cutting Board
Make sure any cutting board you use is made of either plastic or wood. A glass cutting board is hard on the edges of your knives, requiring you to sharpen them more often. Also, keep a separate cutting board for cutting chicken to avoid cross contamination.
Crack Eggs on a Flat Surface
When cracking eggs, it is better to do so on a flat surface. If you use the side of a bowl to crack eggs on, the egg tends to crack more unevenly. This can lead to eggshell breaking off and getting into the egg yolk and whites.
Improve the Grip of Your Knives
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To get a better grip on your knives, wrap rubber bands around the handle. This allows you to get a better grip and have better control of sharp knives while cutting.
By following the helpful tips above, you can speed up the cooking process. Just make sure to properly clean and care for your utensils, and make sure to handle your knives safely use while in the kitchen.
