8 Kitchen Hacks for a Better You in 2022
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Here at SDC, we are always thinking about food, paired with our obsession with recipes and various hacks. And now that the new year is here, it wouldn't surprise us if many of our members set out to be better cooks as part of their new year's resolution. In fact, it’s part of our resolution too.
Well, worry not because we’re with you in this journey of freshening up our kitchen skills, and this year looks like the best time to do it together.
Spending time in the kitchen cooking up dishes and recipes for the family may not always be our favourite part of the day (or maybe it is). But you have to admit, creating a meal and enjoying it with friends and family unlocks a deep sense of satisfaction.
So, ready yourself because we’re about to present you with eight of the best cooking hacks that would surely make anyone a professional in the kitchen.
Credit: Randall Beans.
Stop wasting potatoes! Make them last for a few more months by storing them in a cool, dark place.
We’ve all been guilty of buying too many potatoes and ending up having to discard the excess. Too often they go bad and either end up in the trash or the compost bin, contributing to unnecessary food waste.
Thankfully, food safety expert, Jeff Nelken, shared a tip on how to extend the shelf life of our potatoes. According to him, ultraviolet light makes potatoes go bad faster. “Ideally, you want to store potatoes in a dark, cool place,” he suggested.
Use olive oil for better heart health.
Studies from the American Heart Association (AHA) found that among the wide variety of cooking oils available in supermarkets, olive oil is the best for our heart health. It has high concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids, which help lower the risk of various heart diseases.
Lisa Moskovitz, a certified dietitian nutritionist and the CEO of NY Nutrition Group, also said: “Aside from being heart-healthy, extra-virgin olive oil provides antioxidants that fight inflammation caused by normal daily stressors, dietary habits, and environmental exposures.”
Upgrade your kitchen equipment with these three knives.
According to chef and culinary consultant Adriana Urbina, every home cook should have at least three knives in their kitchen: a paring knife, a chef’s knife, and a bread knife.
The paring knife can be used to deal with smaller ingredients, such as dicing onions and mincing garlic. The classic chef’s knife can be used for the larger ones, such as meat and bigger veggies. You can also use it to chop herbs more efficiently.
Adriana also highlighted that the bread knife can be used for so much more than just slicing loaves of bread. “Despite its name, this type of knife can actually be used for so much more. You can slice tomatoes, citrus, cakes, and much more!”
Want quick and easy soft-boiled eggs? The air fryer is your best friend.
Soft-boiling eggs used to be a hassle before, with all the pot and amount of water you need to prepare. Now, if you have an air fryer in your kitchen, you can cook multiple batches of boiled eggs minus the hassle of waiting for your water to boil.
To do this, simply preheat your air fryer to 270 degrees. Then, add a few eggs on the tray and cook them for 10 to 14 minutes, the time depending on if you prefer your egg yolks runny or firm.
After cooking, place the eggs in an ice bath to stop them from cooking. Then, peel and enjoy!
Not enough juice? Microwave your citrus!
Not everyone can afford to have the physical strain caused by hand juicing our lemons(or any citrus fruit for that matter).
Kelly Jones, a registered dietitian, understands this; that’s why she suggested microwaving your citrus before slicing it open and squeezing. “Microwaving softens the fibrous membranes in the citrus, making it easier to release the liquid from them,” she said.
Another tip is to roll the fruit around any hard and flat surface to achieve the same effect.
Freezing your sweet potatoes makes them fluffier.
Do you fancy having caramelised sweet potatoes for a healthy meal? If you freeze them before baking, you can enjoy sweet potatoes that are well-cooked on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Yum!
“Freezing sweet potatoes before baking them results in a nice and charred exterior and the most fluffy inside, because freezing the potatoes allows their flesh to macerate from the inside out,” said Katie Chin, a celebrity chef and a cookbook author.
“Because the skin of the potato isn't punctured, the high roasting temperature caramelises the sugars, but the skin protects the sugars from burning. As the potatoes bake, caramelised sugars will seep from them, and the trapped steam will naturally separate the skin from the flesh.”
Relax your chopped garlic before cooking it.
We know how inconvenient it may sound to hold out putting the diced garlic straight to the pan after chopping, but for the added nutrients and health benefits? We think it’s worth the 10-minute wait.
According to gastroenterologist Will Bulsiewicz, MD, leaving your garlic out for 10 minutes after chopping allows it to develop a compound called allicin, which has antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties.
The secret to the fluffiest scrambled eggs? Lemon juice.
Have you ever had scrambled eggs that look like fluffy yellow clouds and taste like heaven? Well, it turns out that the secret behind them is sitting in our pantries all along.
According to food scientist Makenzie Bryson Jackson, MS, squeezing a fair amount of lemon juice as you whip your eggs for scrambling has two benefits.
First, it allows for a fluffier and more cloud-like result for your scrambled eggs. “Whipping the eggs beforehand with some acid such as lemon juice can create a stiffer structure that holds air bubbles,” she explained.
Second, the lemon juice allows the eggs to cook slower, resulting in a smoother consistency. “The water in the juice dilutes those egg proteins, so they aren’t as quick to coagulate. They cook more slowly because there is more water to evaporate, and the water creates steam as it cooks, creating a softer, fluffier texture.”
Do you have more kitchen hacks? Share them with us in the comments below!
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