7 Cooking Tips & Tricks

When it comes to cooking, we all know the struggle of getting the right amount of measurements, getting that perfect taste and, of course, the ways through which we can make our work easy in the kitchen. While many may think that cooking is all about adding masalas to the vegetables or gravies, we forget how much practice it takes to master that. Sometimes our rotis may get too hard, or other times the salt in the food is a little too much; as we make our way through all the challenges to cooking a decent meal, we wish we had some tricks up our sleeves to make the work easy in the kitchen.

1. Breadcrumbs In A Snap

Freeze stale bread to grind in a food processor later. It's a quick and easy way to make breadcrumbs when needed.

2. Quick Recipe Book Holder

Need your hands free for cooking? Use the clip from a pants hanger to keep the pages open.

3. Perfect Rice

If you want perfect rice that's not sticky, use lemon juice. Just 2 tablespoons added to the water will keep the grains from sticking together.

4. Quick Ice Packs

Need an easy, no-mess ice pack for your child's lunch? Soak a new kitchen sponge in water, place in zipper plastic bag and freeze.

5. Expanding Ice

Be careful when freezing foods with high water contents such as soft cheeses, food emulsions, and eggs in the shell. Freezing will change the textures of high-moisture foods; eggshells will crack.

6. Texture Tip

Try to add texture to soft foods for contrast. Mashed potatoes? Add some crunchy bacon bits. Creamy guacamole? Top it with lightly salted pumpkin or sunflower seeds.

7. Pumpkin Scooping

For quicker and easier seeding of pumpkins and squash, use an ice cream scoop.