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Since the kitchen is one of my favorite places to be, I thought I would share some tips for you guys! These are tips that have been passed down to me or that I have learned on my own through trial and error. Hope you enjoy & learn a few things today!
1. Refrigerating an onion for several hours before cutting will bring on fewer tears.
I do this every time to make sure cutting onions are a breeze. If I ever forget to put the onion in the refrigerator before I soon regret it!
2. After cooking rice, fold a clean dish towel and place it between the pan and the lid for five minutes. The towel will absorb some of the excess moisture. The rice will be fluffy and not gooey!
I don’t know about you, but I hate gooey rice! I want mine to be fluffy and fall apart. This trick takes an extra five minutes, but it will be worth it. It makes your rice turn out perfect.
3. Sticking a toothpick into a cake or brownies can help to tell if they are done. If batter sticks to the toothpick, it needs to cook a little longer. If the batter does not stick, then it is done.
I have been doing this for as long as I can remember. I remember when I was little, my mom taught me this trick when we would fix muffins for breakfast. The chocolate chip were (and still are) my favorite. We would pull them out of the oven and stick a toothpick in one of the muffins to make sure it was cooked all the way through. Then we would grab a big glass of milk and eat them up!
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4. If you stick a toothpick in a clove of garlic before adding to simmering soups and stews, it can be removed easier.
This one has saved me from frustration several times. I love to use garlic, and doing this helps to remove it from soup and stews easier than trying to grab it with a spoon or a fork after it has cooked for a while.
5. Putting aluminum foil over your pie crust can keep the edges from burning while the pie is baking.
I do this every time I am baking a pie. They make those fancy pie crust covers, but they never seem to work well for me. Using aluminum foil always works best, and it’s the cheaper option! Win-win.
6. Fresh whipped cream stays fluffy longer if you add some confectioners sugar.
To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of whipped cream… crazy, right? Since everyone else in my family loves it, I have to use it! Whipped cream tends to melt after it has set out a while (at parties, family gatherings, etc.). Adding some confectioners sugar will keep it looking fluffy much longer than without it!
7. Test eggs to see if they are fresh: put a whole egg in a shallow glass of water.
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If it sinks and stays flat, it is fresh. A week-old egg will sit near the bottom but bob slightly. A 3-week old egg will stand on its end. If it floats to the surface, throw the egg away.
Have you ever tried this? If not, you need to. We don’t eat a ton of eggs at home, and usually, I only use them frequently when I am baking a lot. Sometimes eggs will sit in our fridge for a while, and I like to test them to make sure they are still good. This trick works! You need to give it a try next time you aren’t sure if your eggs are still good or not.
8. When a recipe calls for crushed crackers- crush them in a plastic bag by hand or with a rolling pin. This means there will be less of a mess to clean up later!
I love this trick. In both my Chicken Casserole recipe and my Broccoli Cheese Casserole recipe, they called for crushed crackers on top. I love crushing the crackers inside a plastic bag instead of crushing them with my hands. It creates less of a mess and doesn’t get my hands dirty.
9. Opening the oven to check on your food will make it take longer for it to cook. When you open the oven, it lets the heat out, causing the food to take longer to cook.
I am such a sucker when it comes to wanting to open the oven. I want to open it to look at the food cooking and to smell what is going on inside. This isn’t good for the oven temperature. When the oven door is opened, it makes the temperature drop. This could cause your food to have to cook longer. It’s best to use the oven light and try to peer in to see the food cooking. You can smell all it’s wonderfulness as it cooks and when you take it out of the oven.
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These are just a few of my favorite tips that I frequently use while cooking. I hope you love them and use them as much as I do! Drop a comment or shoot me an email with your favorite kitchen tricks!
Until next time,
Catherine
Also tips some I do but there’s a few you listed that I have never thought about. Thank you so much for sharing.
You’re welcome! I hope they help 🙂