100 life hacks to make your culinary life even tastier and easier

Check out the new roundup for a handy selection of the top 100 culinary life hacks that you will definitely need in your kitchen.

You don’t have to spend endless hours in the kitchen and take a cooking class to cook deliciously (although it won’t be superfluous). It is enough to know important and useful tricks and secrets that will help diversify the diet, make familiar ingredients play in a new way and save your time. 
We have collected for you 100 of the best culinary life hacks that you must know if you want to cook deliciously, pamper your home and not spend a lot of time on it. one0oneVegetables and fruits

1. How to restore freshness to vegetables
Everyone may be faced with a situation where vegetables are stale and have lost their original juicy and appetizing appearance. Try soaking them in vinegar water. This will help restore their former freshness.

2. Ripe and juicy fruits
If a few fruits in your grocery basket have not yet reached the condition, then help them do it. Place them in one apple paper bag overnight. The latter contains ethylene gas, which has a revitalizing and invigorating effect.

3. How to give golden color to carrots and onions In order for onions and carrots to brown faster and acquire an amazing golden crust, they must be sprinkled with a pinch of sugar. If only one onion is fried, sprinkle it with a little flour to obtain a golden color.

4. To quickly salt the cucumbers
If you really want homemade pickles, but you don’t want to wait at all, you can speed up the process. You just need to cut off the ends on both sides or chop the cucumbers with a fork in several places.

5. How to quickly peel tomatoes

This process can take only a few minutes and requires a minimum of effort. It is enough just to pour boiling water over the tomatoes and leave for a few minutes. Drain and pick up the skin – it will come off with ease.

6. How to keep bananas fresh longer
Lovers of sweet and tasty bananas know that this fruit does not last very long. Keeping bananas fresh really takes a lot of work. If you wrap the spine of the bundle with tape, the fruit will begin to darken as much as 3-5 days later.

7. How to store pineapples
Interesting, but true. To keep pineapples juicy and tasty as long as possible, it is better to store them upside down. They ripen this way faster. It is also important to cut off all the leaves.

8. How to store celery
Celery is a must-have for your diet. Firstly, it has a negative calorie content, and secondly, it is a valuable source of vitamins and minerals. It is better to store celery in foil. This will keep it in the refrigerator for a month longer.

9. How to make vegetables crispy
Withering celery, radishes, and carrots can be crispy again by placing them in a bowl of cold water and raw potato slices.

10. How to protect lemon from drying out
When a recipe requires a few drops of lemon juice, it is best to pierce the lemon with a nail and squeeze the required amount of juice out of it.

11. How to make delicious pastries
Be sure to sift the flour for the dough. This is perhaps one of the main conditions for delicious and appetizing pastries. The sifted flour is enriched with oxygen and impurities are removed from it.

12. How to make fluffy pies
Add diluted potato starch to the dough. This will make your cakes and rolls very plump and soft. They will not lose these properties the next day.

13. To prevent the dough from getting stale
Add semolina to any dough (except for dumplings, puff, custard and shortbread). Just a heaped tablespoon of 0.5 liters of liquid is enough. By the way, this unit of measurement is called “zhmenya”. The dough will not dry out and become stale. And this is especially true for bread, pancakes, pies and pancakes.

14. Food at room temperature
When kneading the dough, use products at room temperature. Food straight from the refrigerator slows down the rise of the dough, which can ruin baked goods.

15. Use milk
Try making pies with milk! They are very tasty and aromatic. And the crust becomes very appetizing, shiny and beautiful color.

16. Check the quality of the yeast
The yeast you use to make the dough should be fresh and smell good. You can check their quality in advance. Prepare a small amount of dough and sprinkle flour on top. If no cracks appear in half an hour, then the quality of the yeast leaves much to be desired.

17. Pay attention to egg yolks
Finished pies will be more tender and crumbly if you put only yolks in the dough.

18. Don’t Forget Starch
To keep the bottom of the pie dry and not crumble, sprinkle it with a little starch. Only after that you can safely lay out the filling.

19. How to give a cake a delicious blush
Closed pies must be greased on top before baking. This gives them an appetizing blush and gloss. Milk, sugar water, beaten egg are great for this.

20. How easy it is to roll out the dough
Wrapping the rolling pin with a clean linen rag makes it even easier to roll out the thin dough.

21. So that the meat is not toughIf you want juicy meat for lunch or dinner, you cannot salt it until the end of cooking, especially if it is dense pieces. Salting raw meat before it is cooked will dehydrate and harden the surface.

22. Cooking meat without splashing fat
When cooking meat in a pan, we often encounter the fact that splashes scatter throughout the kitchen and sometimes burn our hands unpleasantly. If you do not have a special mesh device, then just blot the meat well with a paper napkin before putting the meat in the pan. Thus, you get rid of excess moisture and grease, which shoot at hot temperatures.

23. How to make a juicy steak
A product that can definitely be found in the kitchen of a typical bachelor is dark beer. It’s great for marinating steaks and anything stubborn and tough. After all, what could be tastier than juicy, soft meat.

24. Make the perfect cutlets
A couple of hours before frying, spread the chops and schnitzels with a mixture of bite and vegetable oil and they will turn out even tastier and juicier.

25. Combine red meat with avocado
The nutritious avocado fruit helps the meat open up in new ways. If you add green fruit to the dish, then it will cease to be so heavy, but will become even more nutritious and useful.

26. Cook meat with a golden crust
Take the advice of experienced chefs: Before placing the dish in the oven, brush it on top with a delicious and, most importantly, a successful marinade. It can be pomegranate juice and honey, diluted dry wine, cognac or water.

27. Let the meat reveal its taste
Do not rush to immediately serve the dish to the table. Sophisticated chefs first let the meat cool slightly and reveal its exquisite taste.

28. Don’t overcook meat
But what if you did digest it? No, do not grit your teeth. Chefs know how to revive a good piece of meat and bring back its juiciness. Cut it into thin slices and place on a plate. Then sprinkle with onions and tomatoes and add a little vegetable oil, lemon juice and vinegar. Wait a little and soon the meat will become juicy again.

29. Use flavorful mince
Cook the minced meat at home. Only in this way it will turn out to be of very high quality, and the dish that you are preparing is amazingly tasty. To make the minced meat even more aromatic, healthier and tastier, add some raw and some fried onions to it, as well as finely grated raw potatoes.

30. Salt the liver in the final
The liver should definitely be included in the diet. This dish will help to strengthen the immune system and supply the body with the amount of iron that is necessary for its normal functioning. To make the liver soft, salt it at the end.

 31. Check fish for freshnessBefore you cook a slice of appetizing-looking fish, check it for freshness. To do this, you must lower the carcass in a deep bowl of water. If the fish sinks, then it is fresh, and if not, it is better to abandon the idea of ​​cooking it for dinner.

32. Improve the taste of fish dishes
Try to fry the fish in a slightly salted mixture of vegetable and butter and the usual taste of the dish will sparkle with new colors.

33. Combine fish and red wine togetherDry red wine is an excellent companion to red fish. It helps her to better reveal her taste and enhances the positive effect that this seafood has on the cardiovascular system.

34. To eliminate the smell of fish when frying
Do you like fried fish, but rarely cook because of the unpleasant smell that quickly spreads throughout the apartment? This is completely avoidable. To eliminate the smell, put peeled and sliced potatoes in vegetable oil .

35. In order not to boil the fish
To prevent the fish from falling apart during cooking, you need to add a little lemon juice to the water. In this case, during cooking, do not cover the pan with a lid.

36. Spice up your vegetable salads
The chefs know a great and straightforward way to prepare a delicious and spicy vegetable salad in a special way. It is enough to add a small amount of vanilla to it. This is a great spice that goes well with any vegetable.

37. Diversify the vinaigrette
Vinaigrette is a very healthy and tasty salad. This is a great option for a light lunch or a hearty snack. Try to move away from the usual classic vinaigrette recipe and diversify it a little. It is very simple to do this: add a tablespoon of milk, a teaspoon of sugar to it and mix thoroughly.

38. Include sesame seeds in your dietSesame is a rich source of calcium. Add it to vegetable salads and other dishes. Firstly, it is useful, and secondly, it is aesthetically very appetizing and cute.

39. Low-fat cheese is healthy and tastyNot sure how to make your vegetable salad even more nutritious? Add low-fat cheese – feta or feta cheese to the list of ingredients. The salad will transform and become even tastier and healthier.

40. Love nuts
You can safely add ground nuts to vegetable salads. They go well with this kind of food. In addition, nuts are rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are the “healthy fats”.

41. Rescue Salted Soup
Over-salt the soup? Don’t rush to throw away the dish. You can try to save him. There are several effective ways to help remove excess salt. However, the most effective is to dip cheesecloth with cereals into it and boil it. Porridge will help eliminate the salty taste.

42. Make the broth lighter
Not everyone likes rich, thick broths. Really, in this case, you need to completely abandon the hot? Not at all. Add a piece of ice to the broth and bring to a boil. The broth will be more transparent, light and appetizing.

43. Add fresh vegetable juice to the soup
Don’t rush to remove the soup from the heat. In the final stages of cooking, add freshly squeezed vegetable juice to the first course. This will help enhance the flavor and enrich your dish with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. For this purpose, cabbage, carrot or tomato juice is perfect.

44. If the broth foam sank to the bottom
If you missed the moment and the foam sank to the bottom, and the broth became cloudy, pour some cold water into the pan. The foam will rise to the surface and be very easy to remove.

45. How to make soup golden
The broth’s golden color makes the soup even more appetizing. How to achieve this effect? It is necessary to boil the unpeeled onion in water with meat. It should first be washed very well and thoroughly. After 30–40 minutes, the onion can be removed and discarded. 

46. ​​Boil white rice
Would you like to cook the crisp white rice like in the picture? It is not so difficult. Renowned chefs add a small amount of vinegar during cooking. It helps to achieve the most appetizing and delicious edible result.

47. Cook cereals with green teaPorridge can be cooked not only in water or milk. Experiment and try different grains with green tea. Dip a bag of green tea into boiling water or simply pour in the drink in a ratio of 1 to 1. The result will pleasantly surprise you.

48. Protect cereals from insects
To avoid bugs in your supplies, place a few bay leaves in storage containers.

49. Making Rice Less Starchy
It is the starch in rice that often makes a dish made of it sticky and outwardly unattractive. To remove excess starch, you just need to rinse the rice well under cold running water. Once the water running down from the rice is clear and clean, you can cook.

50. Delicious millet
In order for millet to lose its taste of bitterness, it must be rinsed several times in warm water, and when the water becomes completely transparent, pour boiling water over it. Only then can you drain the water through a sieve and cook the most delicious porridge.

51. Drink green tea with lemonCitric acid helps the body better absorb antioxidants, which are abundant in green tea. Therefore, during your next tea party, in no case forget about the lemon wedge.

52. Add salt to coffee
Some people simply cannot imagine a morning without a cup of aromatic and invigorating coffee. How to make this drink even tastier? Just add a pinch of salt to your ground coffee and enjoy a delicious drink.

53. Coffee Ice
Try freezing your coffee in cubes. Very cool and useful thing. If you don’t feel like making coffee in the morning, you will get an excellent express frappe. You can also add ice cubes to cocktails.
54. Preserve the aroma of coffee beansIn the morning, sometimes you want to drink aromatic invigorating coffee. If the grains have been lying for a long time and have lost their smell, then try to reanimate them. To do this, fill them with cold water for 1.5–2 hours.

55. Make a smoothie smoothies are the easiest and fastest way to get a bolt dose of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Show your culinary imagination. You can take milk, kefir, natural yogurt as a basis. Add any vegetables, fruits and vitaminize.

56. Don’t forget about spices
Spices and herbs can transform the most bland dish. They are also very useful. Choose your favorite spices, add them to all possible dishes and strengthen the immune system.

57. Keep greens fresh
Greens perfectly complement a variety of dishes. How to keep it fresh and appetizing for as long as possible? Store herbs in the refrigerator. You can also put it in water, as you do with flowers.

58. Use garlic
Garlic is an excellent antiviral agent and helps to keep the immune system in good shape. This ingredient can add interesting flavor to any dish and make it play in a new way. Rub a clove of garlic over a plate, then place the salad or garnish on top of it.

59. Love spicy foodIf possible, add savory spices to dishes: cayenne pepper, garlic, paprika, chili. Hot spices start metabolism and improve the functioning of the digestive system.

60. Stock up on greensGreens can be frozen! Wash bundles, wrap in containers or bag, and store in the freezer.

61. How to keep a cut cake soft
Eating a whole cake is sometimes not possible. And here there is a fear that the incised side will become stale and make the product inedible. To avoid this, attach small pieces of bread to the sides with a toothpick. They will harden, but the cake will remain tender and tasty.

62. Whisk sour cream with egg white
If you need to whip sour cream cream to make any delicious dessert, add egg white to it. This will give you a really fluffy, light and airy mixture.

63. Cook delicious charlotte
Apple pie is a great dessert for tea. Spoil your family and cook a truly delicious charlotte. To prevent the apples from sinking to the bottom of the tin, roll them in flour before cooking.

64. Combine wheat flour with other typesFlour and pastries can be made healthier. Use other types of flour instead of wheat: oatmeal, buckwheat, millet. The cupcakes and muffins will taste better too.

65. Change the butter to fruit puree
Do you like to pamper your family with delicious pastries? Substitute some of the butter for fruit puree. So, baked goods will be a little healthier. Preference should be given to mashed apples or pumpkin.one00Dishes 

66. Buy a multicooker or airfryer
Consider buying a multicooker or airfryer seriously. Modern devices allow you to cook with a minimum of oil. In addition, the temperature can be regulated, which means that the risk of carcinogenesis is reduced.

67. Cook in a cast iron pot
Cast iron cookware is an absolute favorite. Cooking food in it is completely harmless. Cast iron cookware does not emit anything into food, and microparticles do not fly off from it.

68. Bring back the shine to stainless steel dishes
Alcohol or vodka will help when cleaning stainless steel dishes: just soak a cotton pad in liquid and wipe the stains with it.

69. Eliminate the bad smell of storage containers
Store trays wrapped in newspaper – the porous material of plastic containers absorbs the smell of food like a sponge, but a newspaper sheet can absorb them.

70. Save the Burnt Pot
A mixture of soda and salt will help us with this: fill the burnt bottom with this mixture, pour water so as to cover everything burnt and leave it overnight – in the morning everything will easily go away.

71. Grease cheese with butter
Cut off a small piece of cheese and send the rest back to the refrigerator? To prevent the cheese from drying out on the cut side, brush it with a little butter.

72. Extend the shelf life of milk
This can be easily achieved by adding 0.5 tablespoons per liter in winter before boiling, and in summer with a pinch of baking soda.

73. Save the butter
Stocks of butter can be stored in plastic containers in the freezer.

74. Freeze the bread
Yes, and bread can be frozen too! Cut the stale slices into cubes and send them to the freezer – such blanks can be put on croutons and croutons.

75. Save leftover pasta
Cooked too much pasta? No problem! Transfer everything to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator, and just toss them in boiling water for a few seconds before serving.

76. Properly store fermented milk productsIf you turn sour cream or cottage cheese packages upside down, you can create a vacuum that inhibits the growth of bacteria that causes food spoilage.

77. What foods can be stored together
Some foods are very selective about their neighbors. The neighborhood should be such as to preserve the beneficial properties of a product for as long as possible. For example, potatoes are best kept close to apples. This is because the ethylene in apples will keep the potatoes from sprouting.

78. Don’t ignore frozen vegetablesYou can safely freeze vegetables. They retain the lion’s share of vitamins and minerals that are in their composition. They can be stored in the freezer for a long time.

79. How to store onions and garlic
Onions and garlic are found in almost every kitchen. They are essential ingredients in many dishes. That is why they should always be close at hand and in good condition. Store them in perforated bags. This way they will last 1 or 2 months longer.

80. Preserve the freshness of chicken eggs
Before you put your chicken eggs in the refrigerator, you need to take good care of them. Brush the eggs with vegetable oil. This will help maintain their presentation for a long time

81. Intensify the aroma of prunes
To make the languid notes of this dried fruit appear even brighter, soak it first in plum juice or black tea infusion.

82. Put the garlic in the microwave
If you want to peel the garlic without the hassle, just put it in the microwave for 10 seconds. After that, you don’t even need a knife. You can actually remove the cloves from their skin. This is much easier and faster than the well-known method of pressing the teeth with a knife. In addition, our method is good when you need to keep the cloves in their original form.

83. Quickly clean the eggs
When cleaning eggs, you should use our secret and moisten your fingers with cold water. Thus, you will save yourself from the hassle of cleaning eggs from the shell.

84. Grate the cheese lightlyTo prevent the cheese from sticking together when rubbed, simply grease the surface of the grater with vegetable oil. By the way, it will be easier to launder it.

85. It’s easy to stuff the meat
If you do not remove the knife from the slots made, then it will be much more convenient to stuff the meat before baking.

86. How to soften chili peppers
If you like spicy food, then you probably often use chili peppers. Sometimes it can be very spicy. How can this sharpness be mitigated? Rinse peppers well, remove grains and soak in water for 20 minutes.

87. Cut eggs gently
Do you dream that a hard-boiled egg doesn’t crumble? Before cutting it in half, dampen the blade with cold water. This will prevent the yolk from falling off.
88. Squeeze more lemon juice
How to squeeze all the juices out of a lemon? It is necessary to forcefully roll the lemon on the table for some time. Only then can you safely cut or crush the fruit.

89. Boil the almonds
Regularly struggling with peeling almonds? Down with the inconvenience! Boil the almonds for 5 minutes and then cool in cold water. The skin should come off in no time.

90. How to peel ginger
Ginger can be used to make many delicious meals and seasonal drinks. This will require cleaning it. It is most convenient to do this with a teaspoon, lightly pressing and peeling off layer by layer.

91. Drink MoreAn adult should drink 1.5–2 liters of clean drinking water per day. Avoid dehydration. A sufficient amount of liquid starts metabolism, removes toxins and toxins, improves appearance.

92. Have dinner 3-4 hours before bed.
The body must rest at night. Don’t overload your stomach and eat dinner 3-4 hours before bedtime. This time is enough for the food to be digested and the body is ready for sleep and rest.

93. Try to eliminate empty calories from your diet.Try to forget about simple carbohydrates. These are buns, sweets, fast food and other not very healthy treats. These foods give the body only empty calories and a short-term feeling of fullness. Instead, switch to complex carbohydrates: cereals, whole grains, durum pasta.

94. Eat fractionallyDoctors and nutritionists unanimously say that you need to eat fractionally. An adult should eat 5-6 times a day. This is a full breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 healthy snacks throughout the day.

95. Eat slowly
In order for the stomach to send signals of satiety to the brain, and you do not eat a little more than you need, you must chew food thoroughly and eat slowly.

96. Drink teaSurprising but true. Recent studies have shown that those who regularly drink green, black and white leaf teas have less body fat.

97. Look for healthy alternatives to sugarSugar can and should be replaced with healthy alternatives, such as honey, which must be included in the diet so as not to get sick. It is important to remember that honey should not be thermally processed (added to tea), since it loses all its beneficial properties under the influence of high temperatures.

98. GrillGrilling is another healthy way to prepare delicious food. As a rule, in a quality grill, vegetables, meat and fish are cooked in their own juice and do not require additional oil and, as a result, do not contain extra calories.

99. Don’t Forget the Right FlavorsIf you really want something sweet, and the clock is too late, then think about the impressive power of aromas. Vanilla discourages pampering yourself with forbidden delicacies.

100. Buy small plates
It is most convenient to eat from small plates exactly as much as your body needs. In general, one meal for the average person should be equal to the palm.