Food Hacks That Will Change The Way You Feel About Your Kitchen

While some people see cooking as an art form or self-expression, others see it as a chore or something that they have to do. However you feel about cooking, these hacks will make cooking your next meal way easier. You'll also learn how to create less waste and how to get the most out of your grocery bill.

Keep reading to find out what you can do with leftover coffee, how you can easily peel an egg, and how to be a boss in the kitchen.

How To Chop An Onion Without Crying

GettyImages-1096109252
Photo by May Tse/South China Morning Post via Getty Images
Photo by May Tse/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

Onions are delicious and essential for so many great dishes. The problem is when you chop an onion, the chemicals released from the onion cause your eyes to sting and water.

The next time you're chopping up an onion, try putting a metal spoon in your mouth. It will lift up your soft palate to prevent tears from forming. You can also try chopping the onion in a bowl of water.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Stop Avocados From Browning

ADVERTISEMENT
GettyImages-1127618222
Photo by Sebastian Gollnow/picture alliance via Getty Images
Photo by Sebastian Gollnow/picture alliance via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Avocados are delicious, but if you leave them cut and exposed to the air for too long, all of that delicious green flesh starts to turn brown. To prevent this from happening, spray the cut side of your avocado with cooking oil to create a barrier between the avocado and the air.

ADVERTISEMENT

You can also use this trick on guacamole. Spray the top of the guac with cooking oil so it doesn't turn brown.

ADVERTISEMENT

Save Time By Cooking Pasta In A Frying Pan

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
cook-pasta-pan
YouTube
YouTube
ADVERTISEMENT

Save time and water by making pasta in a frying pan, instead of a pot. Place the pasta to the pan first, then add cold water on top of the pasta-- about a quart or so. The cold water will prevent the pasta from sticking to itself.

ADVERTISEMENT

Turn on the burner and bring the water to boil (and notice how much fast it is than cooking in a pot!) In no time, you'll have perfectly cooked pasta, ready to go, and a pan full of thickened water you can reuse to make a sauce.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Make Mess-Free Tacos

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
fritos
Photo Credit: @hobokenmamas / Instagram
Photo Credit: @hobokenmamas / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

We all love tacos, but let's face it, it's impossible to eat a hard taco without making a mess. If you love the crunch of a hard taco shell but you don't like the mess, try putting all of your taco ingredients into a bag of Fritos.

ADVERTISEMENT

You'll get all of that crunch in a neat, handheld package. These are great snacks to eat on the go or at a sporting event.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Put Old Coffee To Good Use

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
old coffee
Photo Credit: @adrianleonard / Instagram
Photo Credit: @adrianleonard / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

Don't throw away your extra coffee. If you made too much coffee in the morning, just pour the excess into an empty ice cube tray. Pop that tray in the freezer and the next time you want to make ice coffee, you won't have to water down your drink with plain old ice cubes.

ADVERTISEMENT

You can also blend these coffee ice cubes into a homemade frappuccino. The possibilities are endless.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Use Up That Last Bit Of Nutella

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
GettyImages-1133770608
Photo by Diego Puletto/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Photo by Diego Puletto/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Nutella is so good that you want to use up every last drop, but it can be annoying trying to get every last drop out of the jar with a spoon or a fork. Instead of scraping, throw some cake batter into the jar and pop the whole thing in the microwave.

ADVERTISEMENT

You've just made an instant Nutella cake! If microwave cakes aren't your thing, you can always make a milkshake in your almost-empty Nutella jar.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Make Easy Yogurt Pops

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
jjayne12_33182728_221578835239521_7940547128961531904_n
Photo Credit: @jjayne12 / Instagram
Photo Credit: @jjayne12 / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

It's not always easy to find a healthy snack that your whole family can enjoy, but frozen yogurt strikes the perfect balance between breakfast and dessert. Making these yogurt pops is super easy. Just stick a popsicle stick through the top of a yogurt container, put the whole thing in the freezer, and the next morning, you'll have the perfect summertime treat.

ADVERTISEMENT

Kids absolutely love these things. If you want to be super fancy, you can pour the yogurt into a popsicle mold and add some fresh fruit.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Keep Potatoes From Spoiling

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
GettyImages-676634154
Photo by Waring Abbott/Getty Images
Photo by Waring Abbott/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

You know how they say that an apple a day keeps the doctor away? Well, an apple a day also keeps potatoes from rotting. If you put just one apple in your potato drawer (or wherever you keep your potatoes), your potatoes will last longer.

ADVERTISEMENT

Then you can use that apple to make apple sauce which goes perfectly with potato latkes (fried potato pancakes or fritters). Trust me on this one. It's an excellent combination.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Easily Peel A Hard Boiled Egg

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
GettyImages-566010645
Photo by Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Photo by Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

It's hard to perfectly peel a hard-boiled egg without removing bits of egg while you're scraping off the shell. Here's a hack you can use to get a perfectly smooth surface every time.

ADVERTISEMENT

Place your hard-boiled egg in a glass with a bit of water in it. Put your hand over the top of the glass (or a lid if you have one) and shake it around. The shell will crack and become easy to remove.

Like eggs, many foods are great for your mental health. Learn how Your Diet Can Have A Major Impact On Your Mental Health on Modern Home Life.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Stop A Pot From Boiling Over

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
kitchen-hacks-3-768x432
Photo Credit: YouTube
Photo Credit: YouTube
ADVERTISEMENT

You know what they say, a watched pot never boils. But if you don't watch your pot, then it's definitely going to boil, and then it's going to boil over because you're not watching it.

ADVERTISEMENT

How do we solve this paradox? Place a wooden spoon over your pot to prevent overflow. The bubbles will be attracted to the spoon and not the edges of the pot. This is only a temporary solution, though. Eventually, you're going to have to watch the pot.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Clean Your Cutting Board

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
whiskysmoked_53614270_122569618834343_4696224786905376702_n
Photo Credit: @whiskysmoked / Instagram
Photo Credit: @whiskysmoked / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

Wood is porous, which means it has a natural ability to soak up liquids and hold onto stains and smells, especially if the wood is untreated. The best way to clean your cutting board is to sprinkle a little bit of salt on it, and the use half a lemon to rub that salt in.

ADVERTISEMENT

All of the stains on your cutting board will disappear, the wood will smell fresh, and you avoid using a chemical cleaner.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Soften Butter Quickly

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
machikoerhard_56835823_2284983915079521_6264816164707403027_n
Photo Credit: @machikoerhard / Instagram
Photo Credit: @machikoerhard / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

If you've left a stick of butter in your fridge for a while, but you want to soften it in a pinch, fill a glass with warm water, empty the glass, and then place the hot glass over the stick of butter. You can also try out this technique with a glass butter dish if you have one.

ADVERTISEMENT

The heat from the glass will soften the butter without causing it to melt completely.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Save Fresh Herbs

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
wasteless.at_30085378_193349688130518_6935114985982918656_n
Photo Credit: @wasteless / Instagram
Photo Credit: @wasteless / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

Herbs are often sold in large bushels, and you can end up throwing a lot of those herbs away if you don't know how to save them properly. Freeze your extra herbs with some olive oil in an ice cube tray.

ADVERTISEMENT

When you need some fresh herbs for a sauce, or for anything really, just pop out one of the cubes and let it melt in your sautée pan. It infuses your food with tons of flavor.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Take Cinnamon Buns To The Next Level

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
emilyframe_30830222_167992570556143_8500761433028427776_n
Photo Credit: @emilyfram / Instagram
Photo Credit: @emilyfram / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

If you didn't think that cinnamon buns were the greatest food on earth already, wait until you try this hack. You can cook cinnamon buns (the Pillsbury variety, or homemade dough) in a waffle iron. Wake up your whole family with the smell of cinnamon bun waffle hybrids.

ADVERTISEMENT

Drizzle on some of that delicious cinnamon bun glaze and you're good to go. You can even make your own cream cheese glaze if you're feeling fancy.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Make Easy Fluffy Pancakes

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
joyces.chan_47356233_205940250349641_2820062454449927133_n
Photo Credit: @joyces.chan / Instagram
Photo Credit: @joyces.chan / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

We've all tried regular flapjacks, but what about fluffy, Japanese style pancakes? These things are all over Instagram. There are a few ways to make fluffy pancakes, one of which involves beating egg whites in an electric mixer.

ADVERTISEMENT

The other way utilizes a rice cooker for quick, easy results. These rice cooker pancakes come out much fluffier than your regular frying pan pancakes. Give it a try if you have a rice cooker on hand.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Cut A Watermelon

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
fixasjalv_32881241_252717741962408_4883084160048037888_n
Photo Credit: @fixasjalv / Instagram
Photo Credit: @fixasjalv / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

There are so many ways to cut a watermelon, but we think this hack is the quickest and the easiest. Cut the watermelon in half along the horizontal axis. Then put the watermelon cut side down on a cutting board.

ADVERTISEMENT

Create a grid pattern by slicing the watermelon vertically and horizontally. Then you can just pull out the individual sticks of watermelon and enjoy. Cold watermelon is the perfect snack on a hot summer day.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Pit Cherries

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
j_fraker_35617012_167809180753927_5321663804881240064_n
Photo Credit: @j_fraker / Instagram
Photo Credit: @j_fraker / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

De-pitting cherries can be difficult, especially if you don't own a specialized cherry pitter like the one in this photo. You can create your own makeshift cherry pitter with a bottle and a long, thin instrument such as a chopstick.

ADVERTISEMENT

Place a cherry on the opening of the bottle (make sure that the opening isn't too big or else the cherry will fall right through). Then use a chopstick to poke the pit right out.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Peel Ginger

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
indivinehealth_28157862_276799282852551_5115309322301079552_n
Photo Credit: @indivinehealth / Instagram
Photo Credit: @indivinehealth / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

Fresh ginger always looks like a really thick branch or root with lots of awkward corners and edges. It can be hard to peel ginger using a potato peeler or a knife.

ADVERTISEMENT

If you use a spoon, you can easily maneuver it into all the nooks and crannies, plus a spoon won't scrape away any of the actual ginger flesh. This easy hack will save you time and it will allow you to get the most out of this delicious spice.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Sanitize A Sponge

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
GettyImages-546353358
Photo by David Mareuil/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Photo by David Mareuil/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Sponges soak up all the nasty food residue that's on your plates and cutlery, so you either need to throw your sponges away pretty frequently, or figure out how to sanitize them. Throwing away sponges all the time is bad for the environment and bad for your wallet.

ADVERTISEMENT

To sanitize a sponge, just wet it and put it in the microwave for two minutes. That will kill off a whole bunch of harmful germs.

ADVERTISEMENT

Wash Your Potatoes In The Dishwasher

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
potatoes in the dishwasher
Reddit
Reddit
ADVERTISEMENT

Most of us who have dishwashers aren't using them to their full potential. We often forget we have a powerful washing tool available to us.

ADVERTISEMENT

If you want a quick and worry-free way to wash potatoes, simply put them in the dishwasher, sans soap and other dishes of course. If you set it to the rinse cycle which only lasts about 10 minutes, you'll have squeaky clean potatoes in no time.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Peel A Kiwi

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
sophisticated_sustainability_33792420_2092343607670981_5012895887257501696_n
Photo Credit: @sophisticated_sustainability / Instagram
Photo Credit: @sophisticated_sustainability / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

The kiwi is one of the most delicious fruits you can bite into. It's tangy, sweet, and smooth. Cutting a kiwi can be difficult though. These fruits have really thin skin and it's hard to get that skin off without removing chunks of the actual fruit.

ADVERTISEMENT

Here are a few kiwi peeling hacks that you can use. Cut the kiwi in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Alternatively, you can use the edge of a glass to remove kiwi skin in a few swoops.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Shuck Corn

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
thecrownednest_17265618_1027516524046650_8871428058544865280_n
Photo Credit: @thecrownednest / Instagram
Photo Credit: @thecrownednest / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

Shucking corn can take a long time if you don't know how to do it properly. Plus all of those stringy bits can take forever to remove. Here's a quick and easy way to get all of that husk off in one swift motion.

ADVERTISEMENT

Just chop off the wider end of the corn. Then you can easily slide out the whole cob without dealing with all of that stringy nonsense.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Cook Pasta

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
eatchillblues_34464441_196610314512221_5506352299166924800_n
Photo Credit: @eatchillblues / Instagram
Photo Credit: @eatchillblues / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

Cooking pasta is pretty easy, but it's annoying having to wait for a whole pot of water to boil. If you aren't making pasta for a crowd, you can boil water in a frying pan and cook your noodles right in there.

ADVERTISEMENT

Then you can make your sauce in the same pan, add the noodles back in, and you've reduced the number of dishes you have to wash. That's two hacks for the price of one.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Make Cooking Easier

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
GettyImages-1086466352
Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images
Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Onions are often the base of so many of our favorite dishes. Whether you're making a pasta sauce, an omelet, a stew, or a soup, you're going to need a few diced onions. Onions can be a pain to chop, and sometimes you're cooking under a time limit.

ADVERTISEMENT

You can pre-cut onions and keep them in a plastic bag in your freezer. Then you'll be ready to go whenever you want to do some home cooking.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Save Scallions

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
5-cooking-hacks-scallions
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Photo Credit: Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Why not apply this hack to all kinds of veggies and fruit that need chopping? You'll cut your cooking time in half and your fresh produce won't sit around for so long that it goes bad.

ADVERTISEMENT

You can put any leftover chopped scallions you have into an empty water bottle and store that in the freezer. Stored this way, scallions can last for up to three months. Then you'll always have scallions on hand when you need them.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Make Pasta In A Jiffy

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
rhi_humphrey_21576478_761152717403357_8498735634393858048_n
Photo Credit: @rhi_humphrey / Instagram
Photo Credit: @rhi_humphrey / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

If making pasta in a pan is still too much pasta for you, you can always make a single serving of pasta in the microwave. There are specialized containers for making pasta in the microwave, but you can also just do it in a ceramic bowl.

ADVERTISEMENT

Cover the pasta with water, microwave on high, and stir it every minute until it's cooked. Then you can add whatever sauces and toppings you'd like.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Poach An Egg

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
toastsforall_55752846_2078294798883566_2273994689211307115_n
Photo Credit: @toastsforall / Instagram
Photo Credit: @toastsforall / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

Poached eggs are absolutely delicious, but they can be deceptively difficult to make. They look simple enough, but if the water isn't at just the right temperature, or if you don't stir the water exactly right, you can end up with bits of egg all over your pot and not much of a poached egg at all.

ADVERTISEMENT

If you pour a little bit of white vinegar into your poaching water, your poached eggs will be way easier to handle and they should stay together better.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Keep Your Cutting Board From Slipping

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
cricketshome_52622106_241410343477779_3842060773820637710_n
Photo Credit: @cricketshome / Instagram
Photo Credit: @cricketshome / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

This is a hack is great for anyone who chops up vegetables on a regular basis. When you do a lot of chopping, your cutting board can slip around on your counter, which can actually be quite dangerous if you're holding a sharp knife.

ADVERTISEMENT

If you moisten a paper towel and put it under your cutting board, you can stop all of that slipping. Then you can use the paper towel to wipe up your work surface.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Store Chicken

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
store coffee
Photo Credit: @recipesfromapantry / Instagram
Photo Credit: @recipesfromapantry / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

If you want a homecooked meal on a busy weekday, all you need to do is a little bit of meal prep. Store pieces of chicken in marinades in plastic bags in your freezer. In the morning, you just need to put a few of those bags in the fridge, and then when you get home, you can throw the chicken into the oven or on the grill.

ADVERTISEMENT

Check out the photo for a handful of delicious marinade ideas.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Microwave

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
microwave
Photo Credit: @sophia.at.home / Instagram
Photo Credit: @sophia.at.home / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

Microwaving leftovers is easy, and it's a great way to reduce waste and reuse what you don't eat, but oftentimes microwave food has a distinctive reheated taste. To make sure that leftovers taste as good as the day you made them, place a moist paper towel over your plate in the microwave.

ADVERTISEMENT

The steam will go to work to make sure your food is evenly heated and moist all the way through.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Measure Sticky Ingredients

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
flowhive_56918277_318129135790865_4561339740043852058_n
Photo Credit: @flowhive / Instagram
Photo Credit: @flowhive / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

When you're measuring out sticky ingredients, it can make a huge mess. Things like honey and molasses cling to your measuring cups and measuring spoons.

ADVERTISEMENT

Here's a tip to make the cleanup way easier. Give your measuring cups and spoons a little coating of cooking oil before you use them to measure sticky ingredients. Then the sticky stuff will slide right out, and anything that doesn't slide out will come out easily with soap and water.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Crack An Egg

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
crack an egg
Photo Credit: @randomazz / Instagram
Photo Credit: @randomazz / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

It's not that difficult to crack an egg, but some methods work slightly better than others. If you want to avoid getting little bits of eggshell inside your batter (or whatever you're cooking) crack your egg on a flat surface instead of on the edge of a counter or a bowl.

ADVERTISEMENT

Edges push bits of the shell into the egg, which eventually end up in your frittata. Flat surfaces are definitely your friend.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Scoop Out Pieces Of Eggshell

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
best_aussies_56544807_154198148946443_5619784511150655289_n
Photo Credit: @best_aussies / Instagram
Photo Credit: @best_aussies / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

If you accidentally get a little piece of eggshell in your bowl, you can use a larger piece of eggshell to scoop it out. The shells are attracted to each other, so you won't have to spend a long time trying to get it out with a fork.

ADVERTISEMENT

You could also wet your finger and gently touch the little piece of shell. As you can see in the photo, eggshells are attracted to wet things, like a wet dog's nose.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Separate Eggs

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
catherinerobincastro_18299544_220135955151399_5000379424844021760_n
Photo Credit: @catherinerobincastro / Instagram
Photo Credit: @catherinerobincastro / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

In some recipes, you might need to separate your egg yolks from your egg whites. You can do this using the egg shell itself, but that can be kind of messy.

ADVERTISEMENT

Here's a hack that can help you out. Crack the egg into a shallow bowl. Then use an empty water bottle to suck up the yolk and move it over to another empty dish. Voilla, your egg is now separated.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Peel Garlic

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
nomnomsworldfood_18251525_224800158004265_7538335686642892800_n
Photo Credit: @nomnomsworldfood / Instagram
Photo Credit: @nomnomsworldfood / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

Peeling garlic can be a finicky task. The delicate outer skin sticks to everything. If you want to peel a large amount of garlic really quickly, put the garlic cloves into a bowl or container with a tight-fitting lid. Then shake the bowl very quickly and forcefully and the skin should come right off.

ADVERTISEMENT

You can store your peeled garlic in the freezer for easy access whenever you need it.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Mince

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
fatforweightloss_26156630_141458513209270_3991204707493216256_n
Photo Credit: @fatforweightloss / Instagram
Photo Credit: @fatforweightloss / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

If you are chopping up something like garlic into very small pieces, those little pieces can easily stick to your knife. If you wipe the blade of your knife with a little bit of olive oil, whatever you're mincing won't stick to the blade at all.

ADVERTISEMENT

Just be careful not to get any olive oil on the handle of your knife, because you definitely don't want that to be slippery.

ADVERTISEMENT

How To Test If Your Pan Is Hot Enough

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
rafal.jachnik_49601733_349430275880714_6229076750917518129_n
Photo Credit: @rafal.jachnik / Instagram
Photo Credit: @rafal.jachnik / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

You want to put meat and other fatty ingredients right into a hot pan so they can get a good sear on them. To test if your pan is hot enough, flick a few drops of water into the bottom of the pan.

ADVERTISEMENT

If those drops sizzle and evaporate right away, then you know that your pan is hot enough. That's how you know it's time to cook your delicious steaks.