COOKING HACKS

        you know there are a number of tricks or hacks that can improve your cooking?, Here they are:

1) EXTEND THE LIFE OF YOUR BANANA BY WRAPPING THE STEMS

      Pull your bananas apart, from the bunch, into single units and cover each stem in a plastic wrap or foil. Ethylene gas is produce naturally by bananas to accelerate the ripening process. Wrapping the stem contains the gas at the stem, thereby reducing the ripening rate, and thereby making your bananas stay “unspoilt” longer.

2) MIX PANCAKE BATTER IN A PLASTIC BAG TO MAKE LESS OF A MESS AND TO SAVE TIME

      Just as it’s done for cake icing, you can use a zip lock bag or pastry bag for your pancake batter. It will prevent the mess that comes with using a spoon or any other tool to serve your batter on the pan. You can also be creative with it and make some nice shapes.

3) FREEZE BANANA AND USE AS BASE FOR ICE CREAM

      When frozen and then mashed up, bananas can make a perfect base for creamy ice cream. This is far healthier for home-made ice cream.

4) SPEED UP RIPENING IN A PAPER BAG

       Ethylene gas is responsible for ripening of fruits. The ripening rates of fruits like bananas, avocados, mangoes, apples etc. can be increased by storing them in closed brown paper bag. This traps the gas in the bag, allowing the fruit sugars to mature and break down the acids.

5) CUT SOFTER FOODS OR FLOUR DOUGHS USING A DENTAL FLOSS

Instead of using knife to do your cutting of foods like doughs or prepared cakes or bread, you can simply use a dental floss, to prevent the mess that may come with using knives.

6) BAKE YOUR FRIES INSTEAD OF FRYING THEM

       Fries, no doubt, offer a great source of nutritional satiety, but despite that, their preparations may not be so prudent for your overall body health; they sometimes get soaked in the oil, which most times are high in saturated fat. 

      To prevent this unpleasantness, you should bake your fries, instead of frying them in oil. Chop your fries up in your desired shapes, and roast them in the oven with a bit of oil, salt, and maybe some spices, if you want. This ultimately curbs the problem of excess oil and calories.

7) DRY OUT HERBS IN THE MICROWAVE

      Herbs like thyme, curry, moringa or any other are best dried at controlled temperature. When dried under the sun, like most people do, there are chances the leaves will lose essential nutrients, or even lose their flavours. It is then best to dry them out in the oven, and turning them over at intervals of 20 seconds until they are completely dry, at which point you can then crush them.

8) LEAVE YOUR EGGS IN THE FRIDGE FOR SOME DAY'S FOR EASY PEELING

      Fresh eggs can be difficult to peel when boiled compared to days old ones. So buy your eggs in advance, before needing to use them, and leave them to sit in the fridge.

9) ATTRACT EGGSHELL PIECES WITH EGGSHELLS

If you are whisking your egg or you accidentally dropped some pieces of shell while breaking, getting the pieces out can be annoying, if not time-wasting. The best way through this is to attract the eggshells with another eggshell. 

      The introduced broken half acts like a magnet and easily attracts the errant shell shards.

10) CHECK A HEALTHY EGG WITH A GLASS OF WATER

        You have a crate of egg and they are all looking the same, but there is always a chance that one or some is bad. To fish out the bad “apple”, simply do a “swim-test”. Fill a glass with water, then carefully dip an egg inside. If it sinks and stays at the bottom, your egg is fresh. If it floats, it is a sign of gas build up inside the shell – that is the bad guy.

11) FREEZE MEAT BEFORE SLICING FOR EASY-TO-SEAR SLICES

       Slicing a raw piece of meat can be a pain in the neck, especially when you are trying to get a desired shape. To combat this stress, simply freeze for 15 minutes prior to get a texture that will make slicing easier.

12) GRILL YOUR FISH ON TOP OF LEMON SLICES

      It is well-known that grilling a fish on the grill does present some displeasures like the fish breaking up before it’s done, or just sticking to the grill and getting burnt. 

     An easy way round this is to place the fish on slices of lemon; this makes it easier to prepare and even give your fish some nice zesty flavour.

13) BOIL POTATO SPUDS TO de-skin WITHOUT STRESS

This doesn’t only save you the stress of peeling, it also reduces the wastage associated with peel off with knife, as some good chunks of the edible parts are also peeled off. 

      To de-skin effectively, place your potatoes in boiling water and simmer for 10-15 minutes; do not leave in the hot water for longer, unless you intend to have a fully boiled spud. Use tongs to remove your now-hot potatoes and transfer them to cool or cold water. You can then slide the peels off, effortlessly.

14) PEEL GINGER WITH A SPOON

      De-skinning this oddly-shaped root can be a problem, and most times, people waste a good portion of it when peeling with knife or any other similar tool. To overcome this, simply scrape the ginger using a metal spoon, it surely knows its way round the tricky edges.

15) PUT ICE-CREAM IN A BAG BEFORE FREEZING IT

       Ice cream can become really hard when frozen, making it difficult to thaw out when you want to have some. An easy trick is to first put the container in plastic bag before freezing. This helps for consistency and prevents rock-hard freezing.

16) RUN SOME WATER OVER BREAD AND HEAT IN THE OVEN TO MAKE IT FRESH AND CRUNCHY

       Breads don’t always stay fresh, and you may not always have access to fresh loaves. But there is a trick to making them “fresh” again, when they are getting a bit stale. Just run your loaf through some water, then put it in the oven for 5 – 10 minutes.

17) SLAP SOME WET PAPER TOWELS ON BOTTLES OF DRINK TO COOL THEM MUCH FASTER

You want to have some chill drinks or even serve them to guests, but here are your drinks feeling like they’ve been in the microwave. Worry not, just wrap them up in a few wet paper towels and throw them into the fridge or freezer, then watch how fast your drinks cool down.

Thanks for reading! Drop your comments and please share.

And share other cooking hacks you know, you might be helping someone a great deal!!!