10 Kitchen Tricks and Tips You'll Want To Try

July 24, 2017

10 Kitchen Tricks and Tips You'll Want To Try

Hi, Sweet Friends!
Here are a few of my favorite Kitchen Tricks and Tips. Let's start off with spreading the knowledge!

Opening a difficult jar with a rubber band. So, this one does sound a bit corny, but it really works. Take one of those thick rubber bands off the broccoli, and just place it around the lid. The rubber band acts as a grip to help open the jar!

Remove the spout and pour in the detergent.

Oil Decanter Soap Dispenser
Use an oil decanter for the dish soap. It works great and saves on the amount of soap used/wasted when washing dishes!
Peel an egg in a plastic lidded box. I found this one on a youtube video. It works great for our white & colored eggs, but the brown eggs seem to have a thinner membrane between the egg and the shell, though it still saves you tons of time peeling. We make deviled eggs for Sunday Pot Lucks!
Place a wooden spoon over a pot to keep it from boiling over. This one has worked well for me since I started cooking over 45 years ago. It was something my Grandmother had taught me. It is simple. Before the liquid starts to boil, place the wooden spoon over the pot. The bubbles pop on the spoon, releasing air and decreasing the boiling liquid.
Use clear shoe boxes for Jellies & Condiments. This one was a no brainer. I was getting all these goopie jars and sticky rings in my fridge. I would put the Jellies or Condiments in the fridge to later play "hide and seek" trying to find them! This keeps everything in one place. Pull out the shoebox when you need to choose an item or just place it on the table for everyone to choose from. Works great!
Use a dishwasher utensil box to dry hand washed silverware and utensils. I started doing this when my children were babies and we had all those bottle lids and nipples. It was a hassle to keep them on the dish rack and they got all linty on the towels drying. The utensil box also has a handle, which makes it great to store under the sink and pull out when you need it. Great Idea even now when we have company and need to wash more utensils.
Make a meat mallet from a hammer, fork, and tape. This was another YouTube find. It works great and if you don't have tape, put a rubber band on it. I found that I could wind the rubber band on the end of both the fork and the hammer end, then just roll up the rubber band to the middle of the fork and hammer. I use cling type wrap over the meat then use the makeshift mallet. I don't usually know what hubby has been hammering with the hammer, but I don't want it on the meat!
Slice a cake in half with dental floss. This one I learned when I took a Willson Baking Class. It is a neat trick for a regular cake as well as cheese cake. And it leaves your cake looking very pretty after being cut. However, clean up is a wiz! Just run the floss under warm water after each slice and it works terrifically!
Roll citrus fruit first before cutting to release the juices. This one I learned from my Grandma. She grew huge grapefruit trees in her back yard and we have grapefruit each morning for breakfast when we would visit her. This really does make the juices release. It also works for lemons & limes. Give it a try next time you are going to use a citrus fruit!
Put pancake batter in a squirt bottle for ease in making. Another YouTube find! But wow! What a great way to make pancakes! After making the batter, you just put it in a squirt bottle and then squeeze it onto the hot pan in a circle formation. It's easy to clean up, easy to keep the left over batter for the next day, and a money saver!
Cut grapes using two plates and a knife. This one I finally tried last week, while making a yogurt parfait. It worked brilliantly! I used two small salad plate and a long bread knife. I put the clean washed grapes onto one of the plates, placed the second plate on top(face down), and use the knife to cut between the plates. Press down firmly on the top plate as you cut thru the grapes. It did the work in seconds that use to take me minutes! And the grapes aren't bruised or mashed in any way!