Kitchen Tricks You Should Know

I have some kitchen tricks you may or may not know. It’s funny how we take what we do daily in the kitchen or elsewhere in the house for granted. You see, we take shortcuts when making breakfast or stocking the pantry. We don’t even think about it because we’ve been doing it forever. Here are a few of my kitchen tricks, or as some people would call them, kitchen hacks. Please share your ideas with me. Let’s make this list super long.

Kitchen Tricks

1. Scramble eggs in the microwave in a bowl with the cracked yolk, add a little milk or water, and stir with a fork.
2. Bake 12 single eggs in a greased muffin tin at 350 degrees until done.
3. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, bake hard-boiled eggs in a muffin tin at 350 degrees in your oven for 25-30 minutes. They peel so easily!!! Or use a pressure cooker (High 5 minutes) and quick release.
4. Purchase onions in bulk, chop, and freeze them.
5. Look for frozen chopped onions (ready to use anytime).
6. Watch for sales on frozen chopped bell peppers.
7. When in season, buy bell peppers in bulk, chop or slice, and freeze.
8. Store bananas attached with foil or plastic wrap on the stem to slow ripening.
9. Freeze leftover coffee in ice trays. My grandmother used to do this. Put a few cubes in a glass and cover it with ice water.
10. If you have leftover pickle juice, here’s an idea: Boil the brine, grab a Mason jar, fill it with sliced onions or sliced carrots, and pour the brine over them. Please put it in the refrigerator and wait a couple of days. It’s fabulous!
11. When making pancakes, flick water on the griddle to test if it’s HOT and ready to cook them; it will sizzle when ready.
12. Pour pancake batter onto a hot skillet for each one, using 1/4 cup. Turn when you see bubbles. The bubbles mean the first side is now cooked and ready to flip to continue cooking.
13. Use a strawberry slicer to make the slices even sized for strawberry shortcakes, dehydrating, or salads. Strawberry Slicer

Strawberry Slicer/Cookie Scoop/Banana Slicer/Spatula

1. Use an egg slicer to make hard-boiled eggs evenly sliced for salads. This is the one I have: Egg Slicer.
2. Use a nifty Microplane for zesting citrus. I have two sizes, but I use this one more than the other. They are great for nutmeg as well. Microplane
3. Keep your knives sharp, or you may cut yourself when a knife slips off what you’re cutting and slices your fingers.
4. Buy smaller bread pans when making bread. This is the size I use for my one-pound bread loaves. My Favorite Bread Pans

Bread Pans

1. Invest in an Inversion Mixer. We all try to ensure our gravy has zero lumps, but I occasionally get lumps and need this baby. Braun Hand Blender
2. When slicing fresh tomatoes, use a serrated knife. 
3. Freeze your Bundt cake before you frost it to make it super moist. Linda’s Chocolate Cake Tip (it works for every cake)
4. Make some buttermilk with one cup of milk and one tablespoon of vinegar. Bam, you have buttermilk.
5. Invest in a good serrated bread knife to make perfect sandwich slices if you make bread.
6. When working in the kitchen, clean as you go. Life is so extraordinary when you wash the prep dishes as you go.
7. Use a blender for your scrambled eggs to make them smooth before cooking them.
8. Think about using little or no paper towels. Yes, I still use them when reheating bacon. Try using reusable towels like these: Cloth Paper Towels.

Food Chopper/Cheese Grater/Cookie Spatula

1. When boiling potatoes, keep the peeled potatoes white by placing them in cold water and then cooking them.
2. Store fresh tomatoes stem-down on the counter, not in the refrigerator.
3. Keep your pecans, walnuts, sliced pecans, or any nut in the freezer. If left on the counter, they go rancid very quickly.
4. Invest in a good wooden cutting board. If you wash it after every use, it will last a lifetime. Keep it oiled with good mineral oil when needed. I never cut meat on my main board—I have a separate one for meat or I use my silicone cutting boards, which I can easily wash.
5. If you have a casserole dish with baked-on “stuff,” fill it with hot water and sprinkle two tablespoons or so of dishwashing detergent. The dish must be dishwasher safe. Let it soak for an hour, and the stuff comes right out. If not, repeat. It works like magic; little scrubbing is needed. UPDATE: I love Dawn PowerWash, it works even better.
6. If your bread-cutting board smells like onions, no problem. Rub some squeeze of lemons across it, and wash with hot soapy water.
7. Freeze basil pesto in ice cube trays. Sometimes, that’s the only amount you need. Bingo! Pop it out and let it thaw in the refrigerator. Silicone Ones are awesome.
8. When cutting bread dough into shapes, use a pizza dough cutter.
9. When making bread, never pull your dough; use a dough cutter like this one: Dough Cutter.

Dough Cutter/Measuring Cups/Danish Whisk/Whisk

1. Store potatoes at room temperature, not in the refrigerator. Cold temperatures break down the starches and make them sweet and gritty.
2. Melons are best stored on the counter at room temperature until you cut them. Once you cut them, cover them and place them in the refrigerator.
3. Honey is best when stored at room temperature.
4. Onions prefer room temperature. The cold in the refrigerator makes them soft and mushy.
5. Store bread at room temperature. The refrigerator will dry out the bread.
6. Store apples at room temperature unless you can’t eat them fast enough.
7. Kathie: I freeze buttermilk in one-cup portions and always have some when needed.
8. Kathie: SOS works well on glass casserole dishes to remove baked-on stuff. SOS Scrub Pads
9. Annie: use an electric knife for cutting warm bread. Electric Knife
10. Joanne: One of my favorite tips shared with me was to wrap unwashed celery in foil until you’re ready to use. It extends its shelf life considerably. I learned this from Ray as well.
11. Becky: Don’t store potatoes and onions close together. The gas from the onions causes the potatoes to spoil faster.
12. Carol: A Chinese chef told me this: to make a sharp knife, sharpen non-serrated knives underneath the rim, e.g., a cereal/soup bowl. Run the blade’s sharp edge against the raised rim a few times every time you use it. Even the cheapest knives become ultra-sharp after doing this several times.
13. Carol: You can easily remove burnt-on gunk from glass, non-stick, or stainless steel pots/pans/dishes by sprinkling in Bicarbonate Soda ( AKA Baking Soda) and adding hot or boiling water to cover the gunk. Soak for a few hours, and the gunk will wipe off.
14. Leanne: Use a potato masher when making your strawberry shortcake. Add the sugar to the bowl of strawberries about an hour before mashing. Let the juices flow and mash the strawberries with your potato masher.
15. Leanne: A trick I learned at my mother’s knee was to “measure” the oil temperature for deep frying using a wooden spoon handle. If the oil were hot enough, bubbles would appear when inserting about an inch of the spoon handle. Nothing would happen if it wasn’t hot enough, and if it was too hot, it would spit – not to the point of hitting you with hot oil.
16. Shirley: Linda! I recommend that cut onions be stored in a tight container before freezing or put in the fridge to avoid tainting the butter. I also freeze pesto in ice cube trays and lemon juice for lemonade, then transfer them to freezer bags. Wrap a paper towel around cilantro or lettuce to keep them fresher in the plastic bags, especially if damp.
17. Shannon: I use an egg slicer to cut mushrooms uniformly for sauteing. They cook evenly and so much faster. I always have sauteed mushrooms with garlic and shallots in my refrigerator to add to scrambled eggs, cooked chicken, pasta, or whatever. I can cut a pound of mushrooms using an egg slicer.

Final Word

As I continue to teach the world to cook from scratch, I think we can always learn a few new kitchen tricks here and there. Please let me know if you have some tricks I haven’t listed, and I will add them. We are here to help one another be prepared for the unexpected. Let’s do it. May God bless this world, Linda

Linda’s Homemade Dinner Rolls

Copyright Images: Organic Fruits and Vegetables On Wooden Table Depositphotos_187701880_S Byy IgorVetushko