7 Kitchen Hacks & Simple Solutions

Discover 7 different ideas and tips to make your cooking time a little bit more pleasant!

When it comes to cooking, daily hacks and simple solutions are amazing because they make our lives easier, save time, and minimize effort.

1. Om in the kitchen

Specially designed chefs’ floor mats offer cooks comfort when standing in the kitchen—but at a steep price. For a creative solution, try using a yoga mat instead. Its surface prevents slips and offers a surprising amount of cushioning; plus, it easily rolls up for storage when not in use.

2. Cinnamon stir stick

To add honey to your cup of tea—and a hint of cinnamon at the same time—try this trick: twirl a cinnamon stick in a jar of honey to pick up the desired amount, then transfer to the cup of tea. Use the stick to stir and dissolve the honey. To get more than one use out of each cinnamon stick, rinse, dry well, and store in an airtight container.

3. No match for spaghetti

Flambéing alcohol in a skillet can be dangerous if you don’t have a long, chimney-style match. Luckily, there’s an easy, inexpensive solution that you probably already have on hand: a single strand of dry spaghetti.

1. Light the spaghetti on the flame of a gas burner.

2. Use the spaghetti to safely ignite the alcohol.

4. Using your noodle

If you don’t have the special scalloped-edge square cookie cutter called for in a recipe, try using the wavy edge of a dry lasagna noodle to cut your rolled-out cookie dough. In some ways, this trick is actually better than a cookie cutter because the long noodle can cut more dough at once, and without the wasted in-between scraps left by a stamp-style cutter.

5. Impromptu basting brushes

Not many households stock extra pastry brushes to use just for basting, especially for foods on the grill. If you find yourself short a brush to apply marinades and sauces, you can get the job done with a large lettuce leaf. Or try a juiced lemon half: spear a fork into the pointed end of the spent half-lemon, and use the cut side to apply the sauce to the food. Of course, this is best when you have a lemony sauce.

6. Alternative biscuit cutter

If you’re unable to find a biscuit cutter while in the midst of baking one day, reach for a canning jar ring. While its edge is slightly duller than that of the traditional tool, it easily stamps through dough and creates a perfect circle every time.

7. Shaping patties

Crab cakes must be uniformly shaped if they are to cook evenly. Here’s a way to shape them, as well as hamburgers and other patties, with a simple item you probably already have on hand.

1. Line a small two-piece mason jar lid with plastic wrap.

2. Press enough of your mixture into the lid to fill it completely and evenly.

3. Remove the patty by gently pushing the lid up from the bottom.