Clever Kitchen Hacks That Will Save You Time And Effort

If you’re grilling fish on the BBQ, nothing is worse than going to flip or serve it only to have it crumble and fall apart because it sticks to the grill. Prevent this fiasco by brushing the fillet with a bit of mayo prior to putting on the grill – no sticking! And – it stays super moist.

Sometimes the kitchen is just too cold to get a good proof on homemade bread. If that’s the case, pop the dough in the oven—don’t turn it on. Instead, place a pan of simmering water below your dough and shut the door. The warmth and humidity from the hot water will help you get the lift you need.

Become an upcycling master! Egg cartons are ideal for freezing small portions of homemade sauce. (Especially when you need to use your ice trays for, well, ice—or one of these other genius uses.) Cover and freeze leftover Basil & Parsley Pesto and transfer cubes to a resealable freezer bag. To use, thaw cubes in your fridge for 2 hours.

Fact: No one likes lukewarm bubbly. Find a tall pitcher about the height of your wine bottle and get cooling. Immerse the bottle in ice water with a small handful of salt and turn every few minutes or so. Your booze will chill in 20 minutes (or less!).

In a pinch for labels? Just reach for the rubber bands. Wrap ’em around your mason jars and you’ll never mistake salt for sugar again. As an added benefit, they help make jars easy to open

This is great for fast pulled pork, beef or chicken. If you have ever stood at the counter pulling pork with forks for any period of time, you'll appreciate this food hack!

Then place them in a Ziplock freezer bag. They are so much easier to deal with; just defrost, mash and bake!

Never let extra whipping cream go bad again! To use: defrost it overnight and whip it up again or use it in recipes that call for heavy cream.

Microplane graters are great for taking zest off of citrus fruit. They're also great for grating ginger. They're great for grating garlic (I haven't owned a garlic press in years). They're great for creating a blanket of grated cheese over your pasta or pizza. They're great for grating whole nutmeg. They're just great. You can be great too, but you'll need a microplane to get there.

Smash your garlic cloves with a bowl, then place them in a Tupperware container and shake until you’re a little bit dizzy. This separates the cloves. All you have to do now is dump everything on the counter and take what you need.

Adding enough water just to cover the bottom of the pan not only renders the fat, preventing popping and splattering, it also cooks a better slice of bacon! This is how you get that tender-yet-crispy bacon strip that you didn’t burn but it still crunches.

If you haven’t heard about this ice cube hack while grilling – you’re totally missing out. A trick for making deliciously moist burgers in an ice cube. Before you grill, press a small ice cube into the center of the patty, form the beef around it so it ‘seals’ the cube – then grill. Best. Burgers. Ever. We promise.

When baking, it’s important to use room temperature ingredients (unless otherwise specified). If you forget to take your eggs out of the fridge in time, don’t worry. Just place them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes.

This will make them easier to peel and you won't end up with little nicks and dings all over them. This is ideal for recipes like Devilled eggs, where you want the eggs to peel nicely.

Unless you have a really good egg poacher (which I have yet to find), you'll love this trick. It's also great for making quick, single poached eggs!

Repurpose your apple slicer to create potato logs. Peel the potato and then slice for southwestern steak fries!

To truly caramelize onions, it takes FOREVER. That’s why using a slow cooker is a natural remedy to our impatience for caramelized onions on our burgers and steaks. Just plan ahead and you’ll give them plenty of time to infuse the sugar in the slow cooker.

Having boiling water spill over your pot can make quite a mess. But there is a way to prevent this from happening. Just place a wooden spoon across the top of your pot.

Fill a jar with a little milk (no more than halfway). Close your jar and shake it well. Microwave your milk for about 30 seconds. It should come out frothy.

Have you ever roasted white chocolate before? Because it’s pure magic and your life will never be the same after trying it. Lots of people prefer roasting chocolate in the oven, but the microwave is much faster. Simply micro the white chocolate for 30-seconds, stir, and put in for another 30 seconds. Repeat until you get the desired taste.