Are you like many Americans spending almost 40 minutes a day preparing, serving, and cleaning up food? Forty minutes isn’t too bad. For those identifying as their household’s main food preparer, 50 minutes is closer to the average.
No matter how much time you spend in the kitchen, wouldn’t you love some kitchen tips and tricks that make food prep and cleanup easier? We know we would!
Keep reading and we’ll share a few kitchen tips to make your time in the kitchen more efficient and easier.
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1. Prevent Potatoes from Browning
Do you like peeling your potatoes in advance of cooking them but you hate it when they turn brown? There’s an easy trick to keep the potatoes fresh looking.
Cut the potatoes and put them in a pan of cold water. You can even leave them in the fridge overnight if you want them for mashed potatoes the next day. They’ll retain a little bit of water, but it won’t affect your mashed potato recipe.
2. Removing Eggshell Fragments
Have you ever accidentally dropped some eggshell fragments into the bowl of whatever you’re making? Every time you got close to the fragments with your fingers, they magically got away from you, right?
No more. Next time you drop some eggshell into the bowl try this.
Use one of the empty halves of the eggshell to scoop up the unwanted shell. The eggshell acts as a magnet, drawing the little pieces to itself.
3. Fuss-Free Hard-Boiled Eggshell Removal
Have you ever tried peeling a hard-boiled egg only to find it’s an exercise in frustration as the shell sticks to the egg? There’s a kitchen tip for that!
The fresher your eggs the harder it is to peel them once they’re hard-boiled. What to do? Put a little vinegar or baking soda into the water when you’re boiling the eggs.
Both vinegar and baking soda permeate the egg’s shell and keep the egg white separate from the shell.
4. Easy Extra Storage Space
Who doesn’t need a little extra storage space in the kitchen? There’s unused space inside many of your kitchen cabinets on the inside of the cabinet door.
Hang some small hooks on the inside of the door and hang measuring spoons, a flat cheese grater, and your potholders. Extra points for color-coordinated kitchen utensils when you open the cabinet door!
These are the most popular kitchen colours in 2021.
5. Marinade the Easy Way
Here’s a fantastic time-saving way to marinate your meats. After returning from the grocery store, take the chicken breasts or other meat out of their packages.
Repackage the meat in freezer bags with marinade. Put the meat into the freezer. When you thaw your meat in the refrigerator overnight, it’s already in the marinade!
6. Frothed Milk Without the Frother
Sometimes it’s nice to have frothed milk with your coffee but you don’t want to spring for an expensive coffee machine or frother kitchen appliance. No problem! You can have fancy froth without the frother.
Get a small jar with a lid and fill it with a little milk. Make sure you don’t fill it more than halfway.
Shake the jar hard until the milk doubles in size. Remove the lid and put the jar in the microwave for 30 seconds. Now you’ve got warm frothy milk for your coffee!
7. The Wonders of Wax Paper
Do you love making sugar cookies but hate the way the dough sticks to your countertops and rolling pin when you’re rolling it out? Try some wax paper. Put the wax paper on the counter under the dough before rolling it out.
You can also put a layer of wax paper on top of the dough. This keeps your rolling pin from sticking. No more mess and icky clean up!
8. Save Fresh Herbs
There are a couple of kitchen tips and tricks for fresh herbs, saving yourself time and money in the kitchen. There’s nothing worse than reaching into the crisper for your fresh herbs and coming up with a bag of green slime instead!
Extend the life of your fresh herbs by rolling them in a damp paper towel. Then put them in a zipper-sealed plastic bag but leave the seal open a tiny bit. This will keep washed herbs fresh longer.
Do you see some small dark spots on the paper towels? That’s an indication to use them within a day or two because they’re decaying.
Another great trick with fresh herbs? Chop the herbs and put them in an ice cube tray.
Pour a little bit of olive oil, stock, or water in with the fresh herbs and freeze. When you need some seasoning for a cooked dish, pull out a cube and let it melt into the recipe.
9. Clean Cast Iron Pans the Rust-Free Way
Wondering how to clean your cast iron pan without causing rust? Don’t scrub your cast iron with soapy water. It ruins the “seasoning” on the pan.
Try a salt scrub instead. Pour some coarse kosher salt into a warm cast iron pan. Scour it with a kitchen towel.
Rinse with hot water and then dry it with a clean towel. You’ll have a nice clean pan without rust or ruining the nice patina of the pan.
10. Be Careful Where You Cut Your Fruit
Have you ever eaten cut fruit and wondered why it tasted like onions or garlic? It’s not appetizing.
Avoid the taste of garlic, onion, and other strange tastes by reserving a cutting board for fruit only. If you cut fruit on a cutting board that was previously used for onion, your fruit picks up the onion taste. It doesn’t matter if you cleaned the board.
So Many Kitchen Tips and Tricks for More Fun in the Kitchen
There are so many kitchen tips and tricks for more fun and an easier time in the kitchen. Don’t dread your time in the kitchen! Use these tricks instead.
Are you looking for more tips and tricks for in and around your home? Keep scrolling the blog for more!
