Okay, so the best restaurant in the city isn’t exactly knocking on your door and asking you to be head chef.
But, that doesn’t mean you can’t impress your friends and family with a few cooking hacks. Check out these tips and tricks that will come in handy in the kitchen.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”1. Chill an onion in the freezer to stop the tears. “] Chill the onion for 15 minutes before cutting it. This reduces the evaporation of the cry-causing chemical compounds.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”2. Use citrus fruits to grill fish”]Â Why? A layer of lemons (or oranges or any other citrus fruit) protects your fish fillet from the direct heat. Not only will this add a fresh flavour to your fish, but it keeps it from sticking to the grill.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”3. Separate egg whites and their yolks using a water bottle”] Crack an egg into a bowl, wash out a plastic water bottle and you’re ready to go! Turn the bottle so that the opening is on top of the yolk (in the bowl). Start squeezing. Now you can suck up the yolk, leaving the white behind.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”4. Use the stove top to reheat slices of pizza”] The kids left behind a few pieces, and microwaving them just gets you a soggy mess. You could use the oven to reheat them, but that takes so very long. Pop a piece into a frying pan and heat it on the stove – just like you’d crisp a toasted cheese sandwich.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”5. Quickly cut a kiwi”]Â Simply slice off the ends, and then scoop out the fruit with a spoon. It should come out in one piece!
[mc_block_title custom_title=”6. Perk up your lettuce”] Your lettuce is wilted and no one wants to eat your sad little salad. Don’t let soggy greens get you down. Squeeze a lemon into ice water and soak the greens until they perk up.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”7. Reduce the calories in your rice by adding a teaspoon of coconut oil to the water (after it’s boiling)”] . Let the cooking rice simmer for 20 to 40 minutes and then refrigerate it for 12 hours. According to research presented at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, this method actually lowers the calorie count in the cooked rice.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”8. Make a steak marinade – with yoghurt!”] That’s right. The acidity of the yoghurt tenderises the steak, while making it even more flavourful.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”9. Roast veggies on a pizza stone”] Put your pizza (baking) stone in the oven and preheat at 190c. Toss your sliced vegetables in olive oil, spread them (carefully) on the pizza stone and roast until they’re tender.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”10. Make quesadillas with your pizza stone too!”] Veggies (and obviously pizza) aren’t the only foods you can cook on a baking stone. Layer tortillas, cheese and whatever else you want to fill them with and bake the quesadillas
[mc_block_title custom_title=”11. Ripen avocados – quickly!”] You want to use your avocados, but they are far from ready. Speed up the process by putting them into a paper bag with a few bananas. Close the bag tightly and let the gas that the bananas produce work its magic.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”12. Slice onions into super-thin slivers”]Â Use a vegetable peeler to quickly get a perfect slice.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”13. Cook bacon easily”]Â Use a waffle iron to cook up a batch of perfectly crispy bacon.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”14. Use that waffle iron to keep cooking!”]Â Make eggs, French toast, pizza or paninis.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”15. Freeze fancy ice”] Add berries, mint or other herbs to your ice cube tray, fill the rest of the way up with water and freeze. Use the tasty cubes to chill wine or just add them to sparkling water.
