Mike
In the realm of cooking, innovation knows no bounds, and even the most novice chefs have the potential to stumble upon game-changing food hacks that elevate their culinary prowess. In this post, we venture into the kitchens of amateur chefs who, armed with creativity and a touch of ingenuity, stumbled upon simple yet brilliant food hacks that transformed their cooking journey.
In the subreddit r/foodhacks amateur chefs share tips and tricks that changed the game for them. Here are 20+ of the best.
1. “Crinkle your foil before making chicken nuggets, frozen potatoes, etc. It makes for easy flipping and helps the food to not get stuck. I discovered this by accident/being cheap. Hope it helps somebody out there!”
2. “Storing an avocado with onion in the refrigerator keeps the avocado fresh for days. I learned this by accident and found out it’s actually a thing*.”
3. “Canned tomato paste hack. Open both ends of the can, then push the contents out. Voilà.”
4. For a nearly endless green onion hack, save the white ends (with the roots attached) of your green onions and place them in a jar of water somewhere that gets sunlight. “Spring onions in water work almost too well. Infinite greens!”
5. If you’ve got instant coffee on hand, “Silicone coffee lids are a perfect fit for many tinned products!”
6. “Wrap a piece of lettuce around one side of your sandwich or burger to keep the goods from falling out the other side when you take a bite.”
7. “A loose leaf tea steeper is the best way to evenly sprinkle flour on a surface, cornstarch on proteins, and icing sugar on desserts.”
8. To extend the shelf life of herbs like cilantro, “We put a paper towel on the bottom of a container, rinsed and untied our cilantro, put another paper towel on top, then sealed it in the container. Wow! This cilantro is 2 weeks old. We went on vacation and came back to it looking as if it was picked today. An absolute revolution for herbs.”
9. “I think I discovered the best way to mince garlic — with a meat tenderizer! I put a ziplock bag on top of the garlic and hit it four to five times, and presto!”
10. “If you want to keep a salad fresh days after making it, put a paper towel on top of it, right under the lid. It’ll absorb moisture. The picture on the right is on day four.”
11. “Cook grilled cheese in a waffle iron. It gets crispy, and the holes hold extra soup.”
12. “Use a cheese grater when you need to spread cold butter on cold things or in pie dough.”
13. “Cut celery and place it in water for storage. Lasts longer and stays crispier.”
14. To keep your sandwich from getting soggy and the toppings from sliding over the place, put the slippery ones (like pickles, tomatoes, onions, etc.) inside the deli meat like a little envelope:
15. “Don’t have a cake dome? Use a plastic container upside down to store it.”
16. “Use Mason jar lids to get the perfect patty shape when making black bean burgers, eggs, or anything similar.”
17. When making stocks, stews, or sauces, use a tea infuser for your herbs. “It’s super useful for getting the most out of the broken bits of bay leaf at the bottom of the bag.”
18. For more control when using oil in recipes or to grease a pan, “Reuse empty sriracha containers as twist-top cooking-oil dispensers.”
19. “Use a lemon juicer to make the perfect smashed potatoes that get extra crispy.”
20. “Hear me out: A ramen packet makes awesome popcorn seasoning! Mix the powder with some melted butter or margarine and then toss with the popcorn. Add chili powder for an extra kick.”
21. “You can use the bottom of some wine bottles as a homemade ravioli press. The bottom of this J. Lohr wine bottle (as well as any similar-shaped bottle) makes a great press.”
22. And finally, when trying to get sauce out of a pouch (such as with this mac ‘n’ cheese), use the lid of your pot to easily squeeze out every last bit of it.
