Do you want tasty, healthy meals without spending hours in the kitchen? Sometimes, it’s the little short cuts and clever tricks that can save you time and improve your cooking. Here are some tips for savvy home chefs:
Get more juice from your lemons. To save time and get more juice from a lemon, simply roll the whole lemon across your worktop a few times before cutting and squeezing. This causes cells inside the lemon to burst and release their juice – giving you up to three times more juice. Works with limes and oranges, too.
Rescue salty soup. If you’ve been heavy handed with the salt, just pop a peeled and quartered potato into the soup. The potato draws away the excess salt leaving you with a tasty soup. Just remember to remove the potato before serving.
Say goodbye to garlic odour. Although it may be delicious when cooked, the smell of raw garlic can remain on your skin, even after you’ve washed your hands. To remove the garlicky smell, rub a stainless steel spoon over your hands while rinsing.
No more onion tears. Fed up of crying when you’re preparing onions? Prevent irritated eyes by placing the onions in a large bowl of water while preparing. This way the fumes from the onions won’t be released into the air. Other tricks include rubbing your knife with lime juice as the acid reacts with the onion, causing it to release less gas.
Don’t cry over spilt milk. A simple way to prevent milk from boiling over is to put a long wooden spoon across the top of the pan while heating. The spoon breaks the surface tension caused by milk proteins and allows the steam to escape.
Help cream stay fresh. Store unopened packs of dairy products such as cream or cottage cheese upside down. This creates a vacuum within the tub, helping to prevent the growth of bacteria.
Keep bread fresh. Increase the lifespan of bread by storing it inside a plastic bag alongside a stick of celery. The bread takes in moisture from the celery, helping it stay fresher for longer. And because celery has a mild taste, the flavour of the bread is not impaired.
Smart peeler. With its knobbly lumps and bumps, ginger is a pain to peel. Rather than using a traditional peeler, try using the back of a teaspoon instead. Simple rub the spoon along the contours of the ginger and the delicate skin easily comes away.
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