8 Easy Recipe Tips & Tricks
Cooking like the pros is easier than you think! Want to start cooking but don't know where to begin? With these cooking tips and tricks for beginners, you'll be on the safe side. No matter how much experience you have in the kitchen, there are always little things that can make your life easier. By brushing up on your cooking skills and learning new kitchen tips and tricks, you'll have less stress about cooking.
1. Less clutter with a pot clip for utensils.
Avoid spaghetti sauce splatters on the stove and countertop with a utensil pot clamp. This handy device allows you to direct drips into the pot and not onto your clothes.
2. Make your home smell wonderful.
This simple trick fills your home with a delicious smell without cooking. Simply add rosemary, lemon slices, dried lavender, essential oils, and a few cups of water to a pot and simmer. (Note: Never leave a saucepan unattended and check it regularly to make sure the water hasn't evaporated)
3. Save watered-down iced teas.
You don't have to be entertaining to use this trick. The next time you make a pot of iced tea, fill an ice cube tray with tea as well. Put it in the freezer, and you'll have perfectly chilled iced tea without watering it down. Try it with lemonade, sangria and all your favourite summer drinks.
4. Bake the perfect sugar cookies.
We love sugar cookies at Christmas time (or any time of year!), but rolling out the dough can be tedious. To make it easier and less messy, roll out the biscuit dough between two sheets of parchment paper before chilling. Then place it in the refrigerator for an hour before cutting. It's much easier and won't stick to your rolling pin.
5. Clean your slow stove with ease.
Cleaning your slow stove is one of our least favourite tasks in the kitchen. With this trick, you can save yourself the scrubbing. Simply fill a cold slow cooker with water and distilled white vinegar and sprinkle in some baking fizzy drink. Turn it on low for four hours, then turn it off and let it cool for an hour. You'll see that the sautéed food will come right off!
6. Keep a small colander handy for citrus fruits
I keep a small colander with a handle in my tool pot next to the stove so I can quickly cut a lemon or lime in half and squeeze it right through the colander into the pot. It's much easier than picking out the seeds afterwards! Oh, and you do have a pot of the usual tools next to the stove, right?
7. Use small strainer for eggs
The same colander can also be used for perfectly formed poached eggs. How to do it Crack the eggs into the colander over the sink and gently swirl to remove the excess, watery whites. You'll be left with a firm, egg-shaped egg that poaches cleanly. You can also use the same trick to make perfect fried eggs that will shine on any billboard. For more details, see the video above.
8. Freeze as flat as possible
Another freezer trick: freeze things flat and stack them. Whether it's soups, stews or ground beef, the flatter and wider they're, the faster they freeze and thaw. Not only is this more efficient, but it also improves the quality of the food (the longer it takes to freeze, the more cell damage it suffers).
If you're freezing raw meats, soups, and stews, use a vacuum sealer! Otherwise, place the food in heavy-duty freezer bags, squeeze out the air, lay the bag flat, and work the contents in with your hands as flat and evenly as possible.
If freezing vegetables cut them into pieces no larger than an inch and blanch green vegetables. Place them on a large plate or tray spaced apart and freeze until firm before transferring to a freezer bag and storing flat.