7 Kitchen Hacks & Easy Ideas

Fresh chiles like jalapeños and serranos have a relatively brief shelf life in the refrigerator. To help them keep their crisp texture and fresh flavor, slice them in half and submerge them in a brine solution (1 tablespoon salt per cup of water). Chiles stored like this will retain their crispness, color, and bright heat for several weeks. After a quick rinse to remove excess brine, they are indistinguishable from fresh chiles. After a month they will begin to soften, but they are still perfectly usable in cooked applications for several more weeks.

Avocado flesh turns brown very quickly once it is exposed to air. Try this solution for preserving the color of extra avocado halves.
1. Rub 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the exposed avocado flesh.
2. Allow the excess oil to drip into a shallow bowl, then place the avocado half cut side down in the center of the oil puddle, creating a “seal.” Store the avocado in the refrigerator.

To extend the life of blueberries and strawberries, wash them in a mild distilled white vinegar solution: 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water. Then dry them and store them in a paper towel–lined airtight container. The vinegar kills bacteria without imparting flavor, and the berries stay fresher for longer.

Exposure to air can make bread quickly go from fresh to stale. Try these techniques to keep your loaves as fresh as possible.
A. Bottle-top bread bag
1. Cut off the neck of an empty plastic bottle; reserve the neck and lid.
2. Pull the top edge of the plastic bread bag through the bottle’s neck.
3. Press the air out of the bag, fold the top down, and screw on the bottle’s lid to seal.
B. No Twist Tie, No Problem
The twist ties that seal bread bags have an uncanny ability to disappear. If this happens to you, try securing the bag by twisting it shut and folding the excess back on itself, over the remaining bread. This works best after a few slices have been eaten.

You can store your condiments upside down in the fridge to get the most out of them. Unfortunately, if caps aren’t shut tight or there’s residue on the tops, they can make a mess. Using a cut-up egg carton to hold the inverted bottles helps keep the fridge clean; plus, the edges of the egg holders help the upside-down bottles stay upright.

You can use the free address labels you receive in the mail for more than just outgoing envelopes and packages. The easy-peel strips are perfect for sealing opened chip and cereal bags and they retain their sticking powers.

To free a baked tart from the ring of its pan, set a wide, stout can, such as a 28-ounce tomato can, on a flat surface and set the cooled tart and pan on top of the can. Hold the pan ring and gently pull it downward—the can will support the pan base with the tart as you remove the ring.