Monika Grabkowska on Unsplash
No matter how much experience you have in the kitchen, add these simple tips and tricks to your culinary arsenal.
1. Lettuce storage
Place layers of paper towel gently over the top of a lettuce before covering it in your fridge. It will soak up excess moisture and extend the life of your lettuce by up to a week.
2. Yogurt pops
Pierce the lid of your yogurt containers with a spoon or paddle pop stick and freeze to create a healthy iced treat. Choose tubs with straight or flared sides for easy removal of your pop.
3. Speed peel garlic
Separate cloves from a whole head of garlic and discard outer layers. Place cloves in a sealed container and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. The skins will come away, leaving your garlic peeled, ready to use.
4. Easy peel an orange
With a small knife, take a thin slice from the top and bottom of the orange to remove the peel. Cut a slit down the side of the orange from top to bottom, gently open the orange out and pull away from the skin in pieces.
5. Keep basil fresh
Trim the ends of your fresh basil bunch and place into a glass of water. Cover loosely with a plastic bag and store in your fridge. Like a cut flower, the herb will take up water through the stems and last up to a week longer.
6. Fresh egg check
Give eggs a gentle shake next to your ear if in doubt of their age and listen for swishing sound. In an old egg, the albumen will have broken down and the protective air pocket collapsed, causing the egg to go runny. Discard.
7. Cheeky cherry pitter
Sit a cherry stem down in the top of a bottle with a mouth slighter smaller than the cherry itself. Use a skewer or chopstick to push the pit down through the flesh, to be collected in the bottle below.
8. Super juice
Get more juice from your citrus by popping them in the microwave for 10-30 seconds (depending on size) before use.
9. Frozen grapes
Wash grapes and remove from stems. Place on a plate lined with non-stick paper in the freezer for at least 3 hours to enjoy as a cool and healthy snack. Great for lunchboxes!
10. Soften butter in seconds
Grate frozen butter into a bowl for immediate use –it comes out the consistency of grated cheese and melts faster, so is easy to mix into baking mixtures or spread straight onto bread.
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