7 Awesome Kitchen Tips & Tricks
Here are some of the very best small (yet super effective!) hacks, habits, and tips that can make a big difference in the kitchen. These quick and clever kitchen hacks will save you time, money and effort!
1. Recrisping chips
Microwaving stale potato or tortilla chips restores crispness beautifully. Spread 2 cups of chips on a pyrex pie plate and microwave on high for 1 minute. Place the hot chips on a double layer of paper towels and allow them to come to room temperature before serving.
2. Recovering pliable tortillas
Some tortillas have an annoying tendency to crack and break when you fold them into wraps or burritos, especially if they’re a few days old. To make them more pliable, briefly warm them in the microwave.
1. Place a stack of tortillas on a large microwave-safe plate and cover it with a damp dish towel.
2. Microwave on high power for 15 to 30 seconds. Carefully remove the towel and use the tortillas immediately.
3. Recharging celery and carrots
Over time, even the crispest celery and carrots become limp, but there’s a simple technique for refreshing lifeless veggies.
1. Trim and discard the bottom end of each celery stalk and peel the carrots.
2. Place the carrots or celery in a tall, narrow container with at least 2 inches of water (more for carrots). Refrigerate overnight, until they are crisp and sprightly. The vegetables absorb the water, which crisps them back up.
4. Recycling nutmeg nubbins
When you have grated a whole nutmeg seed to the point where you are risking your fingertips, don’t throw the little nub away. Eliminate waste by grinding the leftover nutmeg with a mortar and pestle. It is actually quite soft and pulverizes quite easily.
5. Resuscitating stale cookies
To restore the warm and chewy “just out of the oven” texture to stale, hardened cookies, place them on a microwave-safe plate and heat them in the microwave on high power for 10 seconds. Be careful if the cookies are hot, but be sure to eat them before they cool completely and lose their softness again.
6. Replenishing freshness in bread
Toasting slices is one way to revive stale bread. But what if you want to reverse the staling of an entire loaf? Here’s our method: if the bread is crusty, briefly pass it under a running faucet of cold water (for softer loaves, skip this step). Wrap the loaf tightly with aluminum foil, place it on the middle rack of a cold oven, and set the temperature to 300 degrees. After about 30 minutes (15 to 20 minutes for small or narrow loaves like baguettes), remove the foil and return the loaf to the oven for about 5 more minutes to crisp the crust. The effect lasts for only a few hours or so, so make sure to serve or use your revived bread immediately.
7. Rejuvenating dried-out marshmallows
Marshmallows have a tendency to become hard and stale over time. Try this tip to restore their freshness: place the stale marshmallows and one slice of white sandwich bread in an airtight container. After 24 hours, the marshmallows will be soft and ready for snacking or floating on hot chocolate. Discard the bread.