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Ask HN: What kitchen/cooking hacks that have been really effective for you?
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Re: Ask HN: What kitchen/cooking hacks that have been really effective for you?
#2A few of my own:
1. Keep a stick of butter at room temperature in a closed container. It doesn't seem to go bad (at least not if you use it within a couple of months) and it's so much more spreadable.
2. Use the broiler in your oven. It makes food taste similar to if you'd grilled it. (This might not be a "hack," since it's just working as intended.)
3. Make buttered (or olive oiled) toast in the broiler. Put on the butter in advance, then broil until it's golden brown. That way the fat soaks through.
4. Clean your blender by blending water and detergent.
5. Make bland coffee taste better by adding cinnamon to the grounds before you brew it.
6. Use your stale bread for making french toast instead of throwing it out. This is how french toast was invented, I think, but it might not be obvious that you can do this.
Re: Ask HN: What kitchen/cooking hacks that have been really effective for you?
#3Freeze herbs - most herbs will retain flavor. I've used rosemary, thyme and lemongrass as old as 6 months.
Ginger becomes really easy to grate if its frozen. So stick it in the freezer.
Add freshly crushed Cardamom, saffron and pistachios to vanilla ice-cream. Orgasmic.
Whack a garlic clove with the back of the knife. It will peel instantly.
Put a lid on to boil faster (~10-15% faster in my experience)
Add butter to Italian red sauce. Secret of an old manhattan italian restaurant, there was a NYTimes or NewYorker article on this famous italian diner in NY and their secret was - butter.
Re: Ask HN: What kitchen/cooking hacks that have been really effective for you?
#48 sticks of unsalted butter, a small dutch oven, medium heat, and ~40 minutes gives you fantastic ghee which can be eaten by lactose intolerant folks. Strain the resulting liquid through some cheese cloth into a mason jar and set it aside to cool down. We use it as a replacement for butter.
Re: Ask HN: What kitchen/cooking hacks that have been really effective for you?
#5The night before a chicken bbq, add in a tablespoon of yogurt to your marinating spices. It helps the chicken stay much more moist.
Re: Ask HN: What kitchen/cooking hacks that have been really effective for you?
#6Mostly ordering carryout and saving the time of cooking.
When I do cook, I opt for pre-prepped ingredients if possible.
Re: Ask HN: What kitchen/cooking hacks that have been really effective for you?
#7Shopping and cooking for one can be a hassle. I was surprised to learn how convenient it is to buy larger portions, cut them up, and freeze them in baggies. My freezer has a row of chicken, one of beef, and one of shrimp along with piles of baggies of snow peas, water chestnuts, and broccoli. I keep a baggie of chopped onion and sometimes one of green pepper in the fridge door. Added a microwave and life was way simpler.
Re: Ask HN: What kitchen/cooking hacks that have been really effective for you?
#8Always stir fry some finely chopped onions and garlic before putting anything else
Re: Ask HN: What kitchen/cooking hacks that have been really effective for you?
#9Freeze herbs - most herbs will retain flavor. I've used rosemary, thyme and lemongrass as old as 6 months. Ginger becomes really easy to grate if its frozen. So stick it in the freezer. Add freshly crushed Cardamom, saffron and pistachios to vanilla ice-cream. Orgasmic. Whack a garlic clove with the back of the knife. It will peel instantly. Put a lid on to boil faster (~10-15% faster in my experience) Add butter to…
Depending on where you live you might find that just growing a pot of rosemary, thyme, basil, mint, etc is an option rather than freezing previously-bought pieces.
Also when it comes to flavouring ice-cream garlic is an underappreciated flavour!
Re: Ask HN: What kitchen/cooking hacks that have been really effective for you?
#10Use cookbooks as inspiration for your own concoction. Use the ingredients you have, don't measure and be creative. It's more fun and less work-like (i.e. no treasure hunts for random ingredients) and cheaper. Note: this method doesn't work well for breads, cakes, soufflés and other precise baking recipes.