Every person who finds themselves in a kitchen every now and then has a cooking secret. Or two, or tons, if you ask experienced chefs.
Think of a splash of OJ in banana bread, lemon zest in garlic butter, a chicken stock cube to the pasta as it cooks, the tricks are endless. And although some may sound pretty bizarre at first, we gotta remind you that cooking is an adventure. There’s no strict instruction to follow and the more you experiment, the better the outcome will be (which translates into sighs, empty plates, asking for another one and endless compliments).
So if you’re in the mood for trying some out-of-the-box cooking hacks, this illuminating thread from the Cooking subreddit is a place to start. “What’s your 'weird but life-changing' cooking hack?” someone asked and the responses came rolling in, so take your notes out and let’s see what’s cooking!
#21
People always look at me weird when I use scissors to cut things, but I’ll be dammed if they don’t cut pizza better than a pizza cutter could ever hope to
45points
#22
chopsticks: the hitchhiker’s towel of the kitchen. went on a long camping trip and needed to travel light, opted for chopsticks instead of carrying multiple utensils both for cooking and eating, discovered how versatile they are. now i continue to use them all over the kitchen even though i have plenty of other utensils handy. i have a caddy full of wooden chopsticks that i reach for constantly while cooking. (they’re easier to clean than a whisk/tongs too!)
• use in place of tongs (flip stuff, move stuff around)
• use in place of a whisk when making a thin batter/sauce
• scrambled eggs: use to whisk, and to stir while cooking
• (specifically for wooden chopsticks) testing temperature of hot oil: put chopsticks in the oil, if tiny bubbles form around the chopsticks the oil is hot enough for frying!
• use in place of a whisk when making a thin batter/sauce
• scrambled eggs: use to whisk, and to stir while cooking
• (specifically for wooden chopsticks) testing temperature of hot oil: put chopsticks in the oil, if tiny bubbles form around the chopsticks the oil is hot enough for frying!
43points
#23
Stop cutting the ends off of things before cutting them. Use the end as a handle
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41points
#24
Toss noodles in toasted sesame oil after they’ve drained. Takes them to another level.
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41points
#25
When you're cutting broccoli or cauliflower, turn it upside down. Then rotate it as you cut the stem part. SO MUCH CLEANER than cutting through the flowery part from the top, and you get really nice florets
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40points
#26
When I bake, I grease my pans, but instead of using flour to coat it, I use granulated sugar. It makes the edges sweet and crunchy, and saves me from needing to use icing or frosting.
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38points
#27
Pre-toast flour for roux. Spread flour in a thin layer on a baking sheet and bake at 400F, stirring often, until it’s toasty. Cool and store, and use it as the flour in any roux to dramatically speed up the process. If you have toasted flour on hand you’re basically halfway to gumbo at any moment, and it’s a nice flavor boost for other kinds of flour-based sauces and gravies!
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38points
#28
For easy minced garlic anytime, blend up a bunch of peeled garlic with a little olive oil. Pour into a freezer ziplock, squeeze out excess air, and freeze flat. Snap off a chunk anytime you need. I’m too lazy to actually peel and mince garlic in the middle of cooking a weeknight dinner.
Used to buy so many of those frozen garlic cubes from Trader Joe’s (seriously like 8 packs at a time) before doing this.
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38points
#29
A splash of vinegar in the water to boil potatoes for either potato salad or for roasting after boiling
35points
#30
Mixing in some soy sauce to eggs adds good flavor. Mix in some toasted sesame seed oil and a dash of smoked paprika, and they take on a faintly bacon like taste.
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32points
