As with any skill, cooking and maintaining a healthy kitchen need tips and tricks that will make us kitchen masters. Cooking is more than just following a recipe, it also means learning the basics of food storage as well as the right cleaning methods. Find out below some kitchen tricks and hacks that will make you a pro.
Store Your Veggies Correctly
Storing fruits or veggies is a skill set that we have yet to master; you’d be surprised at how many ways we store our fresh produce wrong. For starters, not everything can be refrigerated or stocked in the crisper drawer or even stored together. Keep your tomatoes and cucumbers separate as well as your potatoes, apples, and onions. Keep potatoes alone in a dark, cool place but not refrigerated. Instead, opt for a breathable bag. Likewise, Apples release ethylene gas so they should be stored alone either on your fridge shelf or counter.
Some fruits need to ripen first before you store them like peaches, avocados, or tomatoes. Tomatoes should be refrigerated with the stem upside-down on a plate in your fridge. Cut the stems off carrots as they draw out moisture and cause them to limp fast, but keep them unpeeled. They should be able to last for two weeks in the crisper drawer or longer if you submerge them in water inside an air-tight container. Moisture speeds up the welting of fruits and veggies. To make them last longer, you can wrap them in paper towels, use breathable brown bags, or even put a stainless steel spoon with them in the drawer.
Air Fryer Hacks
An Air Fryer has been a popular cooking device for those looking for healthy alternatives to deep-frying their foods. However, you need to not overcrowd your food in the cooking dish so they will remain crispy. Also, cleaning it frequently is often necessary to keep its quality. You might ask yourself often: can you put aluminum foil in an air fryer? Seeing as it’s an age-old trick for stoves, it can work if you want to keep your air fryer clean; but it depends on your type of device. An Air Fryer can be used for so many things, you would be surprised at the number of recipes you can cook in this device; it wasn’t made for fries and fried chicken only. Did you know that you can use it for baking too? You can make cakes, cookies, and cupcakes.
Get Rid of Nasty Smells
There are times when you’re unable to get rid of cooking or rotten smells no matter how many times you’ve cleaned. Try cleaning with baking soda, lemons, or vinegar; they all have the power to mask the smell and keep your kitchen and fridge very clean. If your fridge is smelling a little funky, leave some charcoal on each corner; due to its chemicals, it can completely absorb any smells. Unable to get charcoal? Try cutting up an uncooked potato in quarters does the same trick too.
Save Your Herbs
Keeping herbs fresh is no easy feat; you can remove the rubber band around the stems, put them in a breathable bag in the fridge or an air-tight container, or even a small bottle of water, and they can last for a few days. This is when you start drying them out to use as spices; however, you’ll find that they don’t taste as good. Another trick is to remove the stems, chop the leaves thoroughly, and place them in an ice tray. Fill it up halfway along with some olive oil. Cover them up and freeze. When frozen, remove and add in containers or zip-lock bags; they’re perfect for cooking on-the-go. This trick works best with thyme and rosemary.
Different Ways to Use Plastic Wrap
Plastic wrap can be used for more than just storing your leftovers; you can actually help slow down some of your fruits from ripening like avocados, the stem of bananas, or apples. On the other hand, wrapping hard peaches, for example, can speed up its ripening so you can be able to eat it faster. You can also banish freezer burns when it comes to ice cream by spreading plastic wrap across its surface and then adding the lid. This will help prevent it from crystallizing, keep it soft, and it will taste better.
Hacks to Master
We all want to be the best at everything, mastering a few kitchen hacks will definitely up your cooking game. Whether you learn how to store your food to keep them fresh or you master your cooking devices, try these hacks or look up others that will benefit your cooking experience.
