6 really great kitchen hacks (and 2 to forget)

Kitchen hacks? As you know, we absolutely love them! And if something works, we’re more than happy to share it with you. But when something doesn’t work at all, we’re also happy to let you know, so you don’t have to waste your precious time on it… take a look!

A whipped cream hack, a slow cooker tip, even more about pesto because we just can’t stop talking about it: these do’s and don’ts are well worth knowing!

Building a wall

If, like FavorFlav’s Wieke, you’ve entered the slow cooker universe and, thanks to your wild enthusiasm, now only want to eat slow-cooked meals (this will pass, and you’ll return to using it every now and then), this hack will really amaze you: you can build a wall out of aluminum foil and heat or keep multiple things warm in roasting bags in your cooker at the same time! The dishes don’t even have to have been prepared in the slow cooker, although of course they can be. Use extra-sturdy aluminum foil and fashion the wall described above in the pot. Spoon the leftovers from 2 dishes you fancy into roasting bags, place them on either side of the aluminum divider, and set the cooker to keep warm. Handy before you have someone over for dinner, so you don’t have to spend the whole evening in the kitchen. Onion soup to start and then on to pulled chicken? Great idea!

Whipped cream in a jam jar

Need whipped cream but don’t have a whisk? And no mixer? No problem! In a clean jam jar, you can shake up a generous portion of light, creamy whipped cream using just your own two hands. Make sure the cream (200 ml) is well chilled, add a teaspoon of powdered sugar if you like, make sure the jar is tightly sealed (!) and start shaking. The harder you shake, the faster it’s ready, and after just one minute you can be on your way to apple pie heaven.

Micron lemon

For optimal juice extraction, I always roll a lemon (or lime) firmly back and forth across the countertop before cutting it in half and squeezing it, but do you know what else works? 20 seconds in the microwave! The heat softens the membranes inside, making it easier to squeeze the juice from the citrus fruit.

Ripe bananas NOW

Okay, not quite ‘now’, because honestly, you do need to set aside about forty minutes for this. But suppose you have a serious craving for banana bread, you have everything at home, but your bananas are still just too beautiful, yellow and perfect – then this is a brilliant trick. Preheat the oven to 150° C. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking tray (because the bananas may burst and leak), put the unpeeled bananas on it and bake them for about 30 minutes. Once they’re black and soft, take them out, let them cool, and you can get started today on this wonderful banana bread recipe!

Soaking brown rice

Said yes to brown rice? Especially the non-quick-cook variety (the regular kind) has an earthy, slightly nutty flavor that’s incredibly delicious in, for example, a lukewarm salad with courgette ribbons, smashed cucumber, grilled halloumi and chili oil. And you can genuinely have this salad on the table in no time, if it weren’t for the fact that good-quality brown rice can require up to 40 minutes of cooking time. Suddenly it’s not such a quickie meal anymore. But it is if you plan ahead and soak the rice in a pan of water overnight, just as you would chickpeas, for example. Then the cooking time (depending on which brand you chose) is suddenly only about twenty minutes, and during that time you can calmly prepare and set out the other ingredients.

Filleting chicken breast even further

Seen this one yet? American Mandy Klentz practically broke the internet with her hack showing how to remove that white tendon from a chicken breast. Watch it—it’s amazing!

And if, like us, you love trying out kitchen hacks, you’ll inevitably come across a few that don’t work at all. We tried baking meatballs in an egg carton so you wouldn’t have to (and seriously, never do this), and we also strongly urge you not to open cans with a spoon. Do you know what other tips belong in the ‘don’t do it’ category?

You can learn (and unlearn) how to blanch

We thought we already knew the best tips for the ultimate homemade pesto (crumbled stock cube, always in a mortar). Then we came across this tip for the greenest pesto imaginable. Because yes, crushing those delicate basil leaves does cause a large part of their bright green color to disappear. However, blanching the leaves for 15 seconds preserves the green color. You do need to put the blanched leaves straight into ice water after fishing them out of the boiling water with a slotted spoon, then let them drain, squeeze out all the moisture and dry them once more in paper towels. And what do you get? Bright green pesto, yes, but also pesto whose wonderful, robust basil flavor has been completely watered down by two baths. So don’t do it. Flavor comes first!

A potato is not a salt sponge

Also well-intentioned is the advice that if your soup is too salty, for example, adding half a potato and then removing it after simmering will save the day by absorbing the excess salt like a sponge. It doesn’t work, unfortunately. What does work is adding more of the other ingredients (including potato, but not as a sponge), or using one of our other tips for saving an overly salty dish.

Read also:

• Veggie & fruit hacks
• So handy: people share their favorite quickest, simplest comfort food hacks
• 6 top hacks with your used tea bag