Top 20 Kitchen Tips & Tricks

With more than 130 active food bloggers in our community in Belgium – it helps to have a tricks & tips on how to simplify your life in the kitchen.

1. Keep butter in the freezer. It can then be grated allowing it to be incorporated into flour easier, as well as making it soften quicker
2. Is your stew or soup too salty? Add a peeled raw potato for about 10minutes to absorb some of the salt
3. To stop your hands from absorbing the natural oils of the chilli while chopping, rub your hands with a little bit of vegetable oil first
4. Too many ripe bananas? Freeze them (peeled) for later use in smoothies & cakes
5. It is easier to peel boiled eggs if you add some bicarbonate of soda to the water during boiling & then rinse with cold water once cooked
6. Place onions in the freezer for an hour before chopping to reduce the risk of crying
7. Keep celery & broccoli longer by wrapping them in aluminum foil
8. Keep basil fresher for longer by placing them into a jar with water only up to the stems
9. Store tomatoes stem side down to slow down rotting – as it prevents air from entering the area where the tomato was once attached to the plant!
10. Separate bananas to give them a longer life!
11. Put a slice of fresh bread on top of your cooling baked cake – the bread will dry out keeping the sponge cake moist
12. Wrap your baking tin with a wet tea towel to help give it a nice even bake & stop the outsides from cooking too quickly. (Jo Wheatley from Great British Bake Off recommends also placing the cake tin on a baking tray & remaining in the kitchen to ensure that the tea towels don’t burn in the oven)
13. Read through the entire recipe before starting and if you can, measure out all the ingredients as well
14. Add a thin layer of icing to your cake before piping on designs – as mistakes are easier to remedy without worrying about cake crumbs sticking to the icing that you remove
15. To release your cakes easier, grease & line the base as well as the sides of the tin (it also makes washing up easier!)
16. To stop your cheesecake from cracking – don’t overbeat the mixture after adding the eggs, as well as don’t remove the cheesecake from the oven when baking time is up, rather turn off the oven, open the oven door & leave the cheesecake inside to cool down for half an hour
17. Use a spoon to peel ginger!
18. Leftover wine? Freeze it in ice-trays to be added to stocks & stews later
19. Save fresh herbs for later use by freezing them in water, olive oil or even stock
20. Avoid ice crystals forming on your opened ice-cream – just place a piece of wax paper over the ice-cream before returning to the freezer.

Maxine is a South African experiencing her 7th year living in Brussels and still can’t speak French… married to HIM who speaks 5 languages (& thankfully with French being one of them!). Loving food in all its glory… reading about it, making it and eating it! She writes Why I Am Not Skinny. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Tags: Kitchen HacksKitchen tipsKitchen tricks