Kitchen Hacks That Should Be Habits

Who doesn’t love a good kitchen hack? Whether you’re starting to learn how to cook or a seasoned home cook, there are always some new tips and tricks to adopt and improve your cooking skills and possibly even turn them into good kitchen habits! 

Here, we’ll go over some kitchen hacks that could be part of your kitchen routine, and make your cooking experience hassle-free!

 

Good Tips for Ingredients

Every good dish starts with its ingredients! If you’re looking to up your cooking game, here are some ideas on how to store and take care of your ingredients to ensure your food always stays in tip-top condition. 

Thaw Your Ingredients Overnight

Make it a habit to thaw your ingredients beforehand overnight! It’s a hassle when you’re trying to prepare a dish and realise your ingredients are still too frozen to use, especially when you want to make a nice dinner after a long day.

It also helps to plan for the week, so you know beforehand whether your meals need ingredients thawing out. 

A good tip for thawing ingredients is to prepare the frozen ingredients on a metal plate and place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.

The Singapore Food Agency recommends separating them into smaller portions and not opening your refrigerator doors more than necessary to minimise temperature fluctuation. Smaller portions take a shorter time to thaw and keeping them in a stable temperature environment will not disrupt the thawing process.

Another good tip is to save scraps from ingredients after you’ve thawed them, such as saving chicken bones to use for stock, for example. You’ll be able to fully enjoy your ingredients and make it worth your money.

 

 

Store Your Ingredients Smartly

Did you know the way you store your ingredients can affect their freshness? Maximise your ingredient’s freshness to get the most out of them and stretch your dollar!

Wrapping your veggies in kitchen towels will help keep them fresh for longer as the towels help to absorb the moisture surrounding the veggies, as exposure to moisture will speed up the decomposition process of vegetables.

You can freeze chilis too as their skin protects them from being frozen. If you want to keep them longer, you can try flash-freezing them by spreading chilis on a baking sheet in the freezer, and transferring frozen chilis to an airtight bag for storage.  

Root vegetables such as spring onions and coriander can be stored in a jar of water to prevent dehydration. This helps keep them fresh for a longer time! If you have some space in your garden, you can even plant them to always have them readily available whenever you need them.

 

Utensils Hack

If you’re in a pinch, try being resourceful with some of the appliances or utensils lying around in your kitchen or home! You’ll be surprised what a little ingenuity can achieve.

 

Use Dental Floss to Slice Food

Achieving clean slices can be tricky, especially for things like cake, but a secret hack to doing this is using dental floss. It’s important to remember that this trick should be used for softer ingredients or foods.

To do this, slide some dental floss underneath and then cross the ends over the top to slice it. The trick is to do it in a swift motion for precision.

This technique ensures clean slices without squishing the cake, making it ideal for layer cakes and other delicate desserts.

 

Using a Cooling Rack to Dice Ingredients

Using a cooling rack to dice things such as avocados and boiled eggs will speed up any chopping process, making it easy to make salads for parties or gatherings. 

Put the cooling rack over a large bowl, and use a large and flat metal spatula to push the food through. Voila, perfect, uniformly diced pieces will fall through!

This nifty trick is great because it takes minimum effort and causes almost no mess for you to clean after.

 

 

Use Cookie Cutters as Pancake Moulds

Here’s a trick that will surely put a smile on your family’s faces. Make super cute pancakes to brighten your mornings with metal or silicon (not plastic) cookie cutters to turn your pancakes into super cute shapes.

First, spray the inside of your cookie cutter with a nonstick cooking spray. Place the cookie cutter inside your pan and add a bit of butter on the inside. Fill it up with about ¼ inch layer of pancake batter, making sure they stay in shape with the cookie cutter.

Cook until the batter starts to bubble, then use tongs to remove the cookie cutter. Flip and cook until the pancake is done. Finally, you can plate, decorate, and enjoy it as desired.

 

Good Kitchen Habits

The kitchen is one of the most used rooms in most households, so it would make sense to have everything run smoothly. Here are some good kitchen habits to practice that will make your cooking easier! 

 

Sharpen Your Knives Regularly

Sharpening your knife is a crucial step before you start slicing, dicing, or chopping your ingredients. A well-sharpened knife ensures all your ingredients are consistently sized and not bruised, especially for delicate items such as herbs. 

Sharp knives also make preparing your ingredients faster and more efficient. To ensure you’re getting the most out of your tools, make sure all your knives are sharpened and ready to go.

 

Have a Bowl Beside You for Food Waste

To keep your space clean and tidy, and so you don’t have to keep running to your dustbin every 5 minutes, have a bowl near you where you can place all your food waste! 

Be sure you save things that might be useful later on– such as stale bread, which can be turned into breadcrumbs.

 

Wipe Your Surfaces Daily

This is quick and easy to do but makes a difference to how you feel when you walk into your kitchen.

Having a clean workspace provides a clear visual of your next steps when cooking and allows you to have a clearer mind to make the process flow smoothly. It’s also a good practice to keep your counters as clear as possible when they’re not in use.

Potential contamination is a real problem, especially in kitchens, and it’s important to keep your work surfaces clean and sterile. You can then rest easy knowing the foods you prepare are safe to consume.

 

 

The kitchen doesn’t have to be an overwhelming place to be in! With these tips and hacks, you’ll be able to navigate cooking and other kitchen duties easily, be it whipping up a special extravagant dinner or preparing a nice cosy meal.