7 handy kitchen hacks that will make your life easier
There are more kitchen hacks in the world than you can shake a stick at, and we’re happy to report which tricks really make your life in the kitchen easier (and which kitchen hacks you’d better skip). So, for everyone who enjoys trying something (possibly) new: seven kitchen hacks you really need to try!
Because if you thought your pizza cutter was only suitable for dividing pizza into slices, or that you’re practically obliged to always whip enough cream for half an orphanage – think again, and read these tips:
Mix butter evenly
If you want to make certain types of dough, it’s helpful not to have butter clumps of all different sizes to knead through it, or clumps sticking together, and ideally not to have to work with butter that’s still cold when it shouldn’t be. Enter: the grater. That’s right, the much-loved Microplane grater is perfect for grating a piece of cold butter and distributing it evenly through your dough.
Fluffy batter with fizz
In the mood for extra-light batter? Tempura lovers already know that you can mix carbonated water into the batter for a light, fluffy coating. But you can also make a pancake extra fluffy by adding some carbonated liquid to the batter. Give savory cheese pancakes a little something extra by adding a splash of beer to the batter, and you can spike brunch pancakes with, for example, a splash of hard seltzer!
Cold wine coming up
If you don’t have a wine cooler at home—or perhaps you do, but it’s one of those narrow, straight ones that can only fit a single bottle—this incredibly simple hack for quickly chilling a bottle of wine is ideal. Do you have one of those ‘old-fashioned’ glass pitchers? The kind that always stands (or stood) on hotel breakfast buffets filled with orange juice or milk? Put the wine bottle in it, add some ice cubes and fill it with cold water. That bottle of wine will be cold in no time, and in the meantime you can prepare a delicious snack board…
Pimp your bake-off bread
You can give simple bake-off rolls a fancy brunch makeover by sprucing up the top a little. Beat an egg yolk (use the egg white right away in the whiskey sour) and brush it over the tops of the rolls. Sprinkle over a fun spice blend such as za’atar, dukkah or furikake, put the rolls in the oven and just wait until you see how gorgeous they come out.
Single-serving whipped cream
Don’t feel like getting out a large bowl, whipping with a hand mixer (or beating your arm stiff), and ending up with enough whipped cream for six people? Simply pour a little whipping cream into the cup of an immersion blender or another narrow container, put the immersion blender in and whip a small amount of cream that way. Exactly enough for your single-serving apple pie, or a huge mug of rum-spiked hot chocolate.
Carrot in tomato sauce
A pinch of sugar in homemade tomato sauce can work wonders to balance the acidity. But you can also peel a carrot and let it simmer with the sauce for the entire cooking time. The carrot releases natural sugars, deepening the sauce’s intensity by adding an earthy sweetness.
Easy way to chop fresh herbs
Your pizza cutter—that thing that takes up an awkward amount of space in many kitchen drawers but is actually indispensable when you make your own pizzas (on the barbecue, for example!)—really isn’t such a single-purpose gadget. Try gliding it smoothly through a bunch of chives! It’s incredibly handy for chopping fresh herbs, which you can then use beautifully in a gorgeous bowl of tabbouleh.
Also read:
- Fast-food workers share their favorite hacks
- 6 great kitchen hacks (and 2 to forget)
- 6 top hacks with your used tea bag
Source and images of whipped cream and herbs: Reader’s Digest
