I swear by these 9 Surprising Kitchen Hacks that will save you effort, extra washing up and money. When I’ve shared these with fellow cooks, they thought they were a brilliant no-brainer. What other hacks do you live by – comment below.
1-2. Kitchen scissors
A pair of kitchen scissors is an essential part of my kitchen. They are useful in so many ways and the hacks below prove the point.
No pizza cutter?
No problem, simply cut your pizza into slices using a pair of kitchen scissors! It couldn’t be easier.
Chop chop
Chop chives, spring onions and herbs using a pair of kitchen scissors straight onto the dish or onto your serving plate. It’s a little trick I’ve learnt from Nigella.
Kitchen scissors also come in handy for cutting up sausages or pasta straight in the pan!
3. DIY steamer basket liner
Use a sheet of baking paper to make steam basket liners for dumplings and other foods.
Simply fold the baking paper square into four, then in half again twice. Use kitchen scissors to cut small triangles out of each edge and unfold.
4. Ice cream scoop
Use a spring-loaded ice cream scoop to measure out and dollop in batter for muffins, cupcakes and pancakes.
It’s one of my favourite kitchen hacks! It saves messing about with pouring and dividing the batter evenly, you always get the same amount in.
5-6. Freeze your herbs
Stop herbs from going to waste by freezing unused portions while still fresh. Additionally, keep herbs like coriander, parsley and dill wrapped in a damp piece of paper towel while storing in the fridge. This way, they will last longer.
In oil
For basil mix with extra virgin olive oil and use an ice cube tray to freeze it.
In zip locks
Chop up dill, parsley and coriander and store them in zip lock bags in the freezer.
7. Soften butter
Place required amount of butter on a plate. Fill a glass or bowl with boiling hot water, leave for a minute then pour the water out. Place the hot glass or bowl over the butter and leave for 5 minutes to soften it.
RELATED: How to keep your bread from going stale and mouldy
8. Keep fruit and veg fresher for longer
Place a sheet of baking paper in your fruit and veg bins in the fridge to keep your produce fresher for longer.
Additionally, this hack helps with clean up if you accidentally forget something at the bottom and it goes bad, simply remove the paper and wipe down with a hot water cloth, or replace the paper.
You can also get this special fresh paper which helps keep your produce fresher for longer.
9. Stick blender mayo
Forget all the recipes that call for drizzling oil slowly into the food processor to make mayo.
Simply add 1 egg, 1/2-1 cup extra virgin olive oil (the more oil you add the thicker the mayo), 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, a pinch each of salt and pepper into a jug and use a stick blender in an up and down motion to make mayo instantly.
Add some garlic to the mix before blending for a delicious aioli.
