table of food ingredients for cooking
Cooking Tricks,  General

Kitchen Tricks and Hacks

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Let’s explore some kitchen tricks! Okay, or “hacks” if you insist. I always thought the DIY world was a little carried away. I mean, aren’t most hacks or DIY things most a matter of just “doing things”? Okay, silly soapbox aside, here are a few fun tricks I REALLY wish someone had told me sooner. But try these out – you’ll look like a master chef in no time!

table of food ingredients for cooking

1. Use the larger egg shell to get egg shell pieces out of your eggs.

  • This one is fun, and I can’t tell you how many years I’ve spent chasing little bits of shell around in a bowl, especially with farm fresh eggs which often have a softer shell. You can also wet your fingers, but the shell keeps everything fast and clean. Just dip it in – it’s almost like a magnet!

2. Place bread in with your cookies to keep them soft and moist.

  • Maybe this is a southwest thing? I was astounded on a trip to Florida to see people leave bread out on a counter, and it didn’t, you know, dry out instantly! But for those of us living in a dry climate, throw a piece of bread into your cookie container – and it works with raisins too! It’ll keep everything soft. As an added bonus – pour a little boiling water in your raisins and drain, and you’ll have a nice plump dish to serve, especially if they’re older or hard.

3. For proofing bread in cold weather – put the bread in the oven

  • BUT leave the oven off! Instead, put a large pan full of boiling water in the oven, and shut the door. The heat and steam will help the bread rise. If you need to preheat the oven, any other large container will also work, like an oversized ice chest.
garlic on a plate

4. Easy peel garlic

  • I love garlic. I hate cleaning a garlic press. Drop the chunk of garlic on a cutting board, lay the flat of a chef’s knife on top, and give it a whack – the skin will break, and you can peel it right off. If you’re cooking with noisy children around or after a long day of work, consider it therapy.
spoon of honey

5. Soften honey

  • How we have honey that’s old enough to crystalize, I’ll never understand, but somehow it happens. You can microwave it, but that runs the risk of overheating and burning yourself. To rehabilitate your honey, just put the jar or bottle into a pan of hot water, and the heat will do the work for you.

Have fun, and happy cooking!

Have a favorite trick? Share it below!