{"id":82838,"date":"2023-09-28T10:02:58","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T08:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=82838"},"modified":"2023-09-28T10:02:58","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T08:02:58","slug":"cooking-hacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/cooking-hacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Cooking hacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Use Your Oven as a Proofing Drawer
\n<\/strong>Sometimes the kitchen is just too cold to get a good proof on homemade bread. If that\u2019s the case, pop the dough in the oven\u2014don\u2019t turn it on<\/em>. Instead, place a pan of simmering water below your dough and shut the door. The warmth and humidity from the hot water will help you get the lift you need.<\/p>\n

Soften Butter (Even if You Forgot to Take It Out of the Fridge)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t you hate it when you forget to take butter out of the fridge to make your favorite recipe? If you forget to bring that butter up to room temp in advance, it\u2019s OK. You can soften butter quickly. The easiest way is to cut butter into cubes and let it sit on the counter for about 20 minutes. The smaller pieces will soften up faster than a whole stick.<\/p>\n

Get Golden Brown Air Fryer Food<\/strong><\/p>\n

We love air fryers for giving us the crispy fried texture we love without the extra grease. However, air fryers don\u2019t always produce that golden hue we crave. You can fix that, though! The\u00a0secret to that perfect golden color\u00a0is giving your foods a quick spritz of cooking spray before popping them into the air fryer basket. That very light coating of oil is all you need<\/p>\n

Stop Cheese from Sticking<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grated cheese really makes a difference (here\u2019s why!) but it<\/p>\n

can be a pain to prep. For easy cleanup, use a quick spritz of cooking spray on your cheese grater (speaking of, you need to try this viral\u00a0TikTok cheese grater) to keep the cheese from sticking. You\u2019ll never go back to pre-shredded again.<\/p>\n

Get More Juice<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next time you need fresh lemon juice, (maybe for one of our lemon-flavored recipes) try this restaurant tip. Microwave a lemon for 7-10 seconds. Then, roll the lemon back and forth under your palm on the counter. When you squeeze, you\u2019ll get more juice from the lemon with way less effort. Try it with limes, too!<\/p>\n

Use dental floss to cut cheese or baked goods<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spray Your Spoon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spray your measuring spoon with nonstick spray before measuring sticky stuff like honey or syrup \u2014 it’ll slide right off into your mixing bowl.<\/p>\n

Don’t Toss Butter Papers<\/strong><\/p>\n

There’s good butter left on those! Save the paper that wraps your butter in a bag in the refrigerator. Next time you’re baking, wipe them across your pans to grease them.<\/p>\n

Save Paper Towel Tubes for Storing Knives<\/strong><\/p>\n

Store knives and transport them safely by carefully slipping<\/p>\n

them into paper towel tubes.<\/p>\n

RID YOUR HANDS (AND FRIDGE!) OF COOKING SMELLS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every cook has been burdened by it. The enduring smell of onions and garlic on the hands. Sound familiar? Try rubbing your hands with lemon juice or bicarbonate of soda. Smelly fridge? Mix a tablespoon of bicarb with some water in a mug, and leave it in the fridge overnight. The solution will absorb any pesky odours.<\/p>\n

PREVENT RAW POTATOES FROM BROWNING<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ever noticed how peeled potatoes turn a brownish colour when you leave them standing for too long? To prevent this from happening, place your spuds in cold water until you\u2019re ready to cook them.<\/p>\n

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR HERBS<\/strong><\/p>\n

So many recipes call for just a sprig of rosemary or coriander and before you know it, the leftovers go limp and lifeless. Pop them in an ice tray with water, olive oil or stock, then freeze. They can be used as a seasoning agent in dishes.<\/p>\n

For a nearly endless green onion hack, save the white ends <\/strong><\/p>\n

(with the roots attached) of your green onions and place them in a jar of water somewhere that gets sunlight. “Spring onions in water work almost too well. Infinite greens!”<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you want to keep a salad fresh days after making it, put a paper towel on top of it, right under the lid. It’ll absorb moisture. The picture on the right is on day four.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

BAKE CAKE IN A MUG<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not only does it make your treat fun to eat, and significantly reduce baking time, microwaving cakes in mugs is an easy way to practice portion control! No wonder it\u2019s one of the most popular cooking hacks. Grab a microwave safe cup and spoon and see how easy it is to<\/p>\n

COAT MEASURING CUPS WITH COOKING SPRAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since it\u2019s decidedly difficult to accurately portion out sticky substances like peanut butter or honey, the trick is to spray your measuring implements with cooking oil first.<\/p>\n

Reheat a slice of pizza in a skillet.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’re\u00a0warming a slice, use your skillet. This will help you score a crispy crust and melty cheese all at once, all without turning on your oven. Cook over medium heat for a minute, add a couple drops of water for steam, then put a lid on it. Two to three minutes later, you’ll slice will be nice.<\/p>\n

Slice greens with a pizza cutter.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Make quick work of a heap of herbs by rolling a pizza cutter over the leaves. Keep the round slicer handy for DIY chopped salads, too: Add all your ingredients to a sturdy glass or stainless steel bowl and roll the cutter back and forth, rotating the bowl by 90 degrees every few passes, until you form bite-sized pieces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Use Your Oven as a Proofing Drawer Sometimes the kitchen is just too cold to get a good proof on homemade bread. If that\u2019s the case, pop the dough in the oven\u2014don\u2019t turn it on. Instead, place a pan of simmering water below your dough and shut the door. The warmth and humidity from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kitchen-tips"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/KitchenTips_featured_2.jpg?fit=824%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-ly6","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-12 18:33:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}