10 Kitchen Hacks Everyone Should Know

Kitchen and cooking tips or hacks as they say are always helpful espeially if it saves the meal. For example, if I’m making stew and I put in too much salt, what do I do? Or is there ANY way to revive a brown banana? Maybe.

Keep reading and keep these tips nearby…you never know if your brown sugar has hardened up and you need a quick fix.

Hack #1: KEEPING BROWN SUGAR SOFT

To prevent brown sugar from hardening into an unusable lump, place a ribbon of orange peel in with the sugar and seal in a plastic bag. A wedge of apple or slice of bread will soften up sugar that’s already hardened.

Hack #2: REUSE COFFEE GROUNDS

Don’t throw away your coffee grounds after using if you have houseplants. Plants like roses, tomato, strawberry and blueberry love the nutrients found in coffee and will thank you for the extra boost.

Hack #3: FOOD STUCK ON PANS

An easy fix to remove stubborn burnt-on foods is to dribble a bit of dishwashing liquid into the pan, add hot water and then bring to a boil on the stovetop. This also works great with cast iron pots and pans but just make sure to leave out the dishwashing liquid for these and use plain water instead.

Hack #4: QUICKLY RIPEN BANANAS

You can ripen a banana faster by placing it in a brown paper bag, but if you simply can’t wait pop the bananas in a 300 degree oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. The peel will be black but the insides will be soft and sweet.

Hack #5: TOO MUCH SALT

To fix soup that’s over salted, place a couple of slices of potato for the last 10 minutes of cook time. The potato will absorb any excess salt. Discard the potatoes after cooking.

Hack #6: KEEP CUT APPLES FROM TURNING BROWN

Apples begin to brown once the fleshy insides are exposed to air. To prevent this from happening drop the fruit into a bowl of acidic liquid such as lemon or vinegar.

Hack #7: STUBBORN TOMATO PEELS

Core the tomatoes then pop them into boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove and plunge them into cold water. The peel will slide right off.

Hack #8: TESTING EGGS FOR FRESHNESS

Place the whole egg in a shallow glass of water. Fresh eggs will sink to the bottom and lie flat. An egg that’s about a week old will bob slightly in the water. A three week old egg will stand on its end and a rotten egg will float right at the top.

Hack #9: JUICY LEMONS AND LIMES

To get the most juice out of lemons and limes, keep them at room temperature. Or you can pop them in the microwave for 10 to 20 seconds before juicing. A warm fruit will release more juice.

Hack #10: NO BROWN AVOCADOS

To prevent that browning that occurs with avocados, brush the exposed flesh with olive or lemon juice. You can also chop a red onion and place in a container with the avocado, peel side down on top of the onion to store.

For some more hacks, click here!

HT oola