Listen, I'm not disparaging using really good knives—they can literally change your life, or at the very least, the way you work in the kitchen. However, there are many cutting and slicing tasks where you're better off using a sturdy pair of kitchen shears rather than a chef's or even a paring knife.
One of my favorite things to do when I visit my parents is cook. Aside from the fact that I adore cooking with my mom, there's something comforting about returning to the kitchen that I first started playing in 20 years ago. Nearly all of the tools and appliances are the same ones that I used as a kid, and the familiarity is palpable.
Even the most seasoned cook is always looking for ways to make cooking easier and cleaning up after meal prep a breeze. There are a million and one tricks and tips out there to simplify your kitchen routines, but some of them are more valuable than others.
There are a lot of frustrations when you're dealing with cramped living quarters, but you can do a lot of good cooking in your tiny kitchen if you make the most of your space. These storage hacks will make it easy to cook delicious meals, no matter how limited your square footage.
From emergency thread to muting an annoying drippy faucet, dental floss can do all kinds of things around the house. But it's also a great tool for a few cooking tasks. In some cases, it actually works better than the intended tool for the job. Here are 4 ways you can use dental floss in the kitchen.
There's nothing in this life that we love more than making one ingredient or one food tool do multiple things. It saves money! It saves time! It makes us look smart at cocktail parties!
Too little counter space has been the biggest annoyance in every kitchen of every apartment I've ever rented. They've all been either super small or awkwardly shaped, which means choosing between appliances and prep space. You either live with it or learn to adjust.
Most people have a few different knives in their kitchen drawers, but not everyone knows which one does what. Sometimes it seems easier to just grab whatever's clean, but choosing the right knife for what you're trying to do can actually make a pretty big difference.
Pallets, Pallets, Pallets. You have to love them! How to build an outdoor play kitchen for the kids using old pallets and recycled / reclaimed wood. I came up with the idea after seeing how my young son loved playing with the one at childcare. Pallet projects and Pallet Ideas are never far from my mind so l couldn't wait to get stuck into building my play kitchen.
Cooking spray is something of a gross necessity. The slimy, oddly-scented grease is perfect for keeping casserole dishes crust-free, but the oil splatter does a number on clean kitchen counters, and the lecithin ingredient can ruin nonstick cookware if not careful.
My kitchen isn't nearly as well-stocked as I'd prefer, and I often come across recipes that call for odd tools and appliances I don't have. Let's just say I've resorted to some unconventional methods to get the job done without them.
One of our favorite kitchen items, hands down, is a good old-fashioned wooden spoon. It's practical, versatile, and can last for decades if cared for properly. There are specific ways to nurture wooden utensils in order to keep them from cracking and to help them maintain their glossy sheen.
Learn how to replace your old kitchen sink faucet with a new one. This video will show you how easy it is to do, and the steps you need to take to perform the job successfully. We also add in a new dish and glass sprayer.Home repairs.
This video will show you how to clean a stainless steel kitchen sink with steel wool.
You've probably used Google to search for recipes, or to find out what the heck that mystery food on the ingredients list is. But with all its built-in features, there are plenty of other ways the search engine can help you out in the kitchen.
You already know that 3D-printing technology is swiftly evolving—it's been used to print balloon animals, bikinis, and house keys, and there's even an affordable home version of the printer, as well as one you can 3D print.
Smoked foods are popular all over the world, but most of us don't have smokers at home. If you want smoked salmon, brisket or Gouda, you usually have to go out and buy it. Outdoor smokers aren't usually an option for city-dwellers, and the indoor versions can be pricey.
All papercrafters and cardmakers and scrapbookers use metallic paper and card but what happens when you run out? and what is an easy why of making some? well here is the answer.
A little cooking mistake can lead to tough meat, spoiled food, and even a bacterial explosion in your kitchen if you're not careful. These five simple, easy-to-fix kitchen mistakes are some of the most commonly made in households around the world. Luckily, you can correct these innocent errors with just a few minor tweaks.
Minor mishaps occur all the time in the kitchen, whether you cut your finger while dicing an onion, scorched your hand in a grease fire, or burned the roof of your mouth because you were to eager to taste-test your killer pasta sauce.
Aluminum foil is one of those things that every cook, experienced or just starting out, has in their kitchen. And while we may think we know how useful this handy material can be, there are hundreds of ways we could be utilizing tinfoil to make our lives a whole lot easier.
Even the best-maintained kitchens occasionally get a fruit fly infestation. These critters descend, lay eggs (up to 500 at a time!), and then disappear usually only after extreme cleaning efforts (i.e., finally attacking that weird puddle of goo behind your refrigerator).
If you're careless and tend to leave your knives lying around or in the sink, chances are you've struggled with rusty blades.
If there's one thing that gets used far too frequently in the modern kitchen, it's the trash can. Home cooks everywhere waste enormous amounts of food by throwing it away before it's actually ready to be tossed.
Spices are a necessary ingredient in any kitchen. It doesn't matter how good of chef you are—without proper spices, your food will always fall flat.
The paper towel is a wondrous invention. It allows cooks to wipe up really gross stuff without having to constantly do laundry and drain fried foods so they're crunchy and crispy instead of oily and heavy. But did you know that your humble paper towel has several other uses besides the obvious ones? Read on to find out these essential hacks.
With one exception, every time I've ever cut myself in the kitchen was due to a dull knife. The duller the knife, the more force you have to exert to use it and the higher the number of cuts it takes to get the job done.
Tablets can be incredibly useful in many situations, and the kitchen is no exception. Whether you're following a recipe, using an app to convert cups to tablespoons, or getting your Gosling fix, there are a lot of reasons you might keep your tablet nearby while you're cooking.
When I first heard about the Thermomix, an all-in-one kitchen appliance from Australia, it sounded like an old SNL commercial parody: It slices! It dices! It heats! It kneads! Is there ANYTHING this machine CAN'T do?
Tender is the name of the game when it comes to cooking damn delicious meat, but achieving that succulent texture isn't always easy.
Did you know that cookies are one of the most popular holiday desserts? Sugar cookies in particular are so easy to make and easy to decorate. They are the perfect treat for your office, friends, and family…or just yourself!
If I had to guess, I'd say your waffle maker is probably collecting dust on the highest shelf in your kitchen, or deep in some cabinet you haven't opened in years. And that's assuming you even have a waffle maker.
Many of the beauty products you buy at drug and department stores are loaded with potentially toxic ingredients like parabens, while their active ingredients are made of things like glycolic, lactic, malic, and alpha hydroxy acids and retinoids, which are all derived from foods.
I'll bet this scenario will sound familiar to you: you're in the middle of making a spectacular dessert that will knock the socks off of your guests, and you've almost finished gathering all of your ingredients to create your mise en place. The last ingredient listed is powdered sugar, and you reach for where it's stored, when—drat! You don't have enough for the recipe.
Magnetic knife strips are really handy. They allow for the removal of that huge knife block on your countertop, freeing up valuable counter space. They allow for easy access to your knives as you can mount them pretty much wherever you want. Plus, they look really cool, too!
Ralph Waldo Emerson once observed that "the seed of science" was "wonder," and taking a look at this nine-layer liquid tower from Steve Spangler's Sick Science! channel, one can't help but do just that — wonder. How is this possible? Is this magic or what?
Just like skinning a cat, there's more than one way to sharpen a knife (disclaimer: while I advocate sharpening your knives daily, please don't ever even consider skinning a cat). There's a stone, for an uber-sharp finish; the underside of a mug, for an awesome makeshift sharpening tool; the chef's daily ritual, honing with a sharpening steel; and then there's the remarkably simple, old-school Japanese trick—using a newspaper. Step 1: Grab a Newspaper
Hair products can work wonders, but the good stuff is usually super expensive. Plus, most of the major brands use a ton of ingredients you can't even pronounce, so it's safe to say a lot of us have no idea what we're putting in our hair. The good side is that most products can be made at home using basic ingredients for a fraction of the cost of commercial brands. Hairspray is no exception, and actually one of the easier ones to make.
We all know that DNA is pretty amazing, but it's not something that most of us get much hands-on experience with. Even though it's in every living thing around us, we never see it, so we rarely think about it either.
I love cheap, nutritious food: lentils, rice, toor dal, and other beans and grains. Even popcorn. The only problem is that they usually come in floppy plastic bags that make measuring ingredients more difficult. I usually open up one corner of the bag only to have everything come spilling out all at once whenever I try to pour out measured amounts.
