7 Cooking Tips

Whether you regularly whip up Michelin-worthy meals at the drop of a hat or your cooking skills are best described as “fine,” you can always benefit from the helpful little tricks of others. A wise French chef from a Pixar movie once said, “Anyone can cook.” And he’s right. With some thoroughly tested recipes and a few crucial pieces of kitchen advice, any home cook can succeed in the kitchen. Discover some simple and awesome tips for cooking.

1. Undiluted fruit punch

Chilling fruit punch or sangria with ice cubes can water it down. Here’s a clever and delicious alternative.

1. Freeze assorted chunks of fruit, such as apple, orange, pineapple, pear, peach, and grapes, on a baking sheet for 1 to 2 hours (depending on the size of the fruit).

2. Add the frozen fruit to the drink. Not only does the fruit help keep the drink cold, it can also be eaten at the end.

2. DIY instant wine bucket

For a way to quickly chill a bottle of white wine at a picnic, try cutting the top off an empty plastic 2-liter soda bottle, filling it about one-third of the way with ice and water, and placing the wine bottle inside. The wine will be crisp and cool in minutes.

3. Emergency bbq bottle opener

During backyard barbecues, it’s all too easy to misplace one of the most important tools: the bottle opener. To quench your thirst during grillside endeavors, you can use grill tongs as a substitute church key. They have an opening inside the handles just large enough to catch the edge of a bottle cap. Sandwich the top of the bottle inside the handle and you can gently pop the cap off.

4. No-drip ice cream cones

When you eat ice cream in a cone, the melting ice cream often drips through the bottom of the cone and onto your hands or clothing. Here are two tasty solutions to this tragic problem.

A. Dip the bottom of the cone (at least ½ inch) into the melted chocolate of your choice (dark, milk, or white). Place the cone upside down on a cooling rack until the chocolate sets, fill it with ice cream, and serve. (grasp the cone above the chocolate so it won’t melt.)

B. Place a mini marshmallow or upside-down hershey’s kiss in the cone before loading it up with ice cream, creating a barrier between the melting ice cream and the cone tip.

5. Easy, fancy ice cream sandwiches

Though homemade ice cream sandwiches are a wonderful treat even with no embellishment at all, it is fun and easy to dress them up a little. Spread sprinkles, toasted shredded coconut, toasted chopped nuts, or mini chocolate chips on a plate and dip the edges of the ice cream sandwiches into them. Press down firmly yet gently to make sure the decorations adhere to the ice cream.

6. Frostbite-free ice cream scooping

Instead of freezing your fingers off while clutching tubs of ice cream to serve up at the next picnic or birthday party, use this tip: wrap a dish towel around the middle of the ice cream carton and twist the ends together. To scoop, grasp the twisted section of the towel firmly; this will give you a good grip—without the frostbite.

7. Keeping maple syrup warm

There’s nothing like pouring warm maple syrup over hot french toast or pancakes. To keep the syrup from getting cold during breakfast, pour the freshly warmed syrup into an insulated coffee carafe or thermos before bringing it to the table.