Anyone who loves a streamlined, efficient kitchen will always be on the lookout for ingenious kitchen tips and tricks. So we’ve rounded up some handy ideas to ensure yours is a clean, well organised, time-saving machine. We’re willing to bet some of these kitchen hacks will make you say, ‘now why didn’t I think of that?’
1. Recycle Tic Tac Containers for Spice Storage
Keep your spices fresh and on hand by transferring them to empty tic tac containers. Now you won’t run the risk of them spoiling, getting messy and they’re much easier to store.
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2. Baking Soda Cleaner
Got a load of greasy pans and you’ve just run out of dishwashing liquid? By mixing baking soda with water and/or white vinegar, you’ll have one of the best homemade methods for cutting through grime and grease instantly.
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3. Soften Butter
Someone put the butter in the fridge, and you’re about to make a cake that calls for room-temperature butter. Forget the microwave and partially melted butter, grating with a cheese grater speeds up the process so it will be usable in a jiffy.
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4. Pants Hanger for Recipes
Using a pants hanger to hang a small to medium-sized cookbook or magazine recipe is cheap and simple way to keep your recipe at eye level reference and out of the way when you’re in the throes of cooking.
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5. Reheating Pasta
Try this trick for reheating pasta (or any leftover food for that matter) in the microwave to ensure the middle isn’t cold and the outside piping hot. Just arrange it so it’s like a doughnut, with a hole in the middle, so it warms evenly.
6. Slice Cherry Tomatoes
If you want to quickly slice a bunch of cherry tomatoes for a salad, grab two plastic Tupperware or yoghurt lids and put a layer of tomatoes on one of them. Place the other lid on top and carefully slice through the tomatoes with a sharp knife while pressing on the top lid. Voilà – perfectly halved tomatoes!
7. Destaining Coffee Mugs
Don’t despair if your favourite coffee mug gets brown rings on the inside. Simply grab some baking soda and add a teaspoon of it, along with some water. Rub it around the inside with a scouring pad and your mug will look like new!
