4 hugely popular cooking hacks (and 1 we’re not fans of)
Forums can be a source of endless entertainment, but unsurprisingly, you can also pick up incredibly useful cooking tips there. When Reddit recently asked about the strangest yet most life-changing hacks in the kitchen, no fewer than four thousand people responded!
And believe us, you can easily lose yourself in those comments for a long time. From utterly surprising to confirming more familiar tips; the list is endless. So for anyone who doesn’t have time to sift through all 4,000+, we’ve listed some of the best ones:
All-rounders
People were especially enthusiastic about reusing things, particularly when it came to cooking water. First of all, there was the tip of adding a stock cube to your pasta water (although Italians might get angry about this) for a fuller, umami flavour. You then use that pasta water in the pasta sauce, of course, or to bake bread. Water used to boil potatoes also gets a boost from a stock cube, and that cooking water is then used for gravy and to cook vegetables. And the juice left over after you’ve eaten all the pickles? Use it in a dressing, or of course to brine the juiciest chicken breast!
First aid
This thread was also hugely popular: what should you do if you’ve just chopped chillies? And therefore before you decide to take out your contact lenses? The answer: rub your hands with a little neutral oil (just the cheapest sunflower or vegetable oil) and then wash them with some washing-up liquid. The capsaicin (the substance that makes the seed membranes hot) essentially binds to the oil, and degreasing washing-up liquid removes the oil more easily than hand soap. Top tip!
Refresher course
Also fun: the tip of freshening up the batter for carrot cake and banana bread (but also boozy French toast!) with a splash of orange juice. And grated lemon zest was recommended to give the tastiest old-school garlic bread a fresh twist. Someone happily replied that they think lemon zest is a good idea in absolutely everything anyway: salads, pasta, good lunch sandwiches…
Get out the scissors
There were people among them (and fans of those people, or at least of their tip) who hardly ever use a knife when cooking anymore. Why would you, they ask, if you can use scissors for almost everything? Bunches of herbs, chicken thighs, snip-snip-snip… One concerned reader did advise using scissors that can easily be taken apart, so bacteria can’t settle between the blades or in the screw. I’ve never actually seen scissors designed to be easily disassembled, but it’s certainly well-intentioned advice!
Mayo maniacs
Mayonnaise also turned out to be a much-loved product and topic here. Using it instead of butter for the tastiest toasted sandwiches is especially popular. However, as a toasted-sandwich superconsumer, I do have a small caveat. Because believe me, I tried this a long time ago. The American toasted-sandwich population has a strong mayo movement, so if you browse American food sites, you’ll definitely come across it. So I tested it. My verdict? No, don’t. Warm mayo is not tasty. Once fried, the fat becomes a little rancid, and you miss the delicious creaminess that melted butter brings. Such a shame. And where are we definitely not going to put it, despite some Reddit commenters urging us to? In guacamole! Nope. There is a time and, thankfully, plenty of places for mayonnaise, but guacamole isn’t one of them. Just read our dos and don’ts for guacamole, then genuinely enjoy the freshest dip for your chips…
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