Fruit and veggies are all well and good, but all that chopping, prepping, and squeezing often turns out to be a real pain, or at the very least, a challenge. All of that is about to change forever, though, because we’re sharing the food hacks that will save you some serious time and spare your nerves!
1.Real Iced Coffee
Over the last couple of years, iced coffee has really been giving its hot counterpart a run for its money. You could easily be fooled into thinking that adding a few ice cubes to your regular cup of joe would do the trick, but not so: regular ice cubes are only going to water down your coffee! To avoid this mishap, brew some coffee as you normally would, and once it has cooled completely, pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze for a couple of hours. Now you can make iced coffee with ice cubes that are going to boost the flavor of your coffee, not water it down!
2. Even Tomato Slices
The ability to cut tomatoes into even slices is a skill most people simply are not blessed with, and that’s okay, because we have the ultimate tomato slicing technique for you. Grab 2 forks, stick them in a tomato, and then cut into between the prongs with a sharp knife.
3. Cutting Mangoes
Cutting mangoes can turn into quite the sticky affair if you don’t use the right technique, and you end up wasting a lot of precious flesh. But if you cut the fruit horizontally all the way to the pit, you can just twist the 2 halves apart and spoon or cut out the flesh, all without making any mess!
4. Unclogging Spice Shakers
If you ever have a clogged salt or pepper shaker on your hands, a little rubbing action will do the trick and ensure that your shaker distributes an even amount of spice. All you need to do is take a second spice shaker and rub the bottom of the clogged shaker to the bottom of the other one, and that’s it!
5. Cutting Bell Peppers
When confronted with bell peppers, most people will probably choose to cut them from top to bottom, but that actually isn’t the fastest or easiest technique you can use. If you do it the other way around, it’s much easier and less of a mess.
6. Peeling Shrimp
Removing the head, tail, and shell from shrimp sounds way more complicated than it actually is. If you stick the crustacean on a wooden skewer, you can use chopsticks to remove the head, the tail, and the hard shell in mere seconds.
7. Making Eggs Last Longer
To make eggs last longer, just put them in the freezer. Crack one egg into each mold in a muffin pan and put the pan in the freezer. Once the eggs are completely frozen, remove them from the muffin pan and put them in a ziplock bag. The eggs will keep for up to 10 months.
8. Chocolate Strings
Melt chocolate in a water bath, then pour thin strands of the melted chocolate into ice-cold water. The cold instantly solidifies the chocolate. Now carefully remove the strings from the water, let them drain for a second, and use them to decorate desserts – pretty cute, right?
9. Freeze leftover wine or broth in an ice cube tray
Don’t dump the rest of that Pinot or allow it to oxidize in the fridge for weeks on end. Pour leftover wine into an ice cube tray, top with plastic wrap to keep ice crystals at bay, and freeze. Tomorrow, you’ll have one-ounce portions that you can pop out and add to sauces, soups, risottos, and stews for nearly-instant depth of flavor.
10. Peel ginger with a spoon
No need for a special tool to de-skin this oddly-shaped root. Because the peel is fairly thin, simply scrape a metal spoon down the side and around the tricky rounded edges of the ginger to flake the skin away.
11. Test avocado readiness at the stem
Test your toast topping before you slice inside the fruit. Peel back the stem. If it pulls away easily and you see green, you’re good to go and can expect creamy, green flesh inside. If it resists, allow it to ripen longer, and if you see brown, the avocado is likely past its prime.
12. Preheat the pan
For the crispiest vegetables, a more even and quicker cooking time, and the best meat sear, follow this restaurant chef trick: Preheat your sheet pan, oven-safe skillet, or pizza stone for three minutes or so before adding the other ingredient
