One of the nice parts about cooking is that whether you're a beginner or a seasoned chef, there is always room to improve. It's a never-ending journey! And what better place to start than the internet?
The subreddit r/foodhacks is full of tips and tricks that can make your time in the kitchen much more efficient. Most importantly, the unorthodox techniques teach you creative thinking and problem-solving, two skills that help turn even the simplest meals into something extraordinary.
#1 Some Grocers Are Using Banana Leaves As An Alternative Way To Package Without Plastic
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#2 I Made This Fruit Crab For My Son. He Loved It, Regardless Of Its Minimalism
Image credits: PeteGibby
While these posts by home cooks are certainly innovative and deserve their attention, we can also check out what the pros are saying. For that, we can look at a piece by Tony Naylor, where he chatted with quite a few of them on reviving traditional habits, developing vogueish approaches to seasoning, and how to maximize flavor at minimum expense.
For example, before recycling jars of pesto, mayonnaise, tomato paste, mustard, and such, you can add oil and give it a vigorous shake. This creates the base for a “delicious dressing while ensuring you’ve got the last bits out”, says Samantha Harvey, the head chef at the Laundry in Brixton, London.
#3 Does Anybody Else Do This Or Am I The Only Crazy One?
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#4 Grilled Cheese Cooked In A Waffle Iron (The Holes Hold Extra Soup)
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#5 Did You Know That You Can Roast A Whole Rice Crispy Over The Fire, And Its Delicious ? ?
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Adding leftover parmesan rind to a meaty sauce as it cooks will give it "a strong, savory, umami backbone," says Tom Tsappis, the chef patron at Killiekrankie House in Perthshire, Scotland. Just don't forget to remove it before serving!
Equally effectively, you can put any old rinds or hardened cheese ends in milk for a day before using them to create an intensively cheesy béchamel sauce. These are your options, he says: you’ll either end up not needing to grate so much cheese into a mornay sauce for fish or on macaroni cheese, or “you’ll end up with a more luxurious mac’n’cheese”.
#6 New To The Sub, So Sorry If This Has Been Done Before. But The Bottom Of J.lohr(As Well As Any Similar Shaped Wine Bottle) Makes A Great Press For Homemade Ravioli
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#7 I Really Wanted A Hot Dog But Didn't Have Any Buns So I Used A Baked Potato Instead
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#8 Use A Spoon To Anchor Your Strainer
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Merely diluting stock cubes in water doesn't get the most out of this versatile seasoning. For instance, they can also be used as a dry rub for roast meats or as an everyday salt replacement. Rather than provide a familiar lick of sodium chloride, it will give a more rounded, “savory umami hit”, says the chef Si Toft, owner of the Dining Room in Abersoch, Gwynedd.
Toft’s “biggie” is compound stock butter: three or four chicken stock cubes – “beef is too intense” – whisked into a block of softened butter, then rolled, refrigerated, sliced into coins, and frozen to create instantly deployable nuggets of fat and flavor: “Stir them into a sauce, bang into a tray with roast potatoes, over steamed veg, whatever.”
#9 For Easy-To-Eat S'mores, Try Making Them In Ice Cream Cones
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#10 If You Eat A Hard Taco Over A Soft Tortilla Shell You Get A Second Taco
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#11 After Twenty-Eight Tomatoe Loving Years I Finally Found The Best Way To Keep My Tomatoes On My Sandwich. Maybe It Can Help You Out Too!
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When rinsing white rice to ensure distinct, fluffy grains, retain the starchy water for boiling your vegetables. This is a traditional Japanese method, often used to take the edge off daikon radish (or mooli): “The minerals in the water remove any bitterness,” says Masaki Sugisaki, the chef-owner at the restaurant Dinings SW3.
#12 Biggest Food Hack Is To Never Try And Catch The Knife. Just Step Back
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#13 Aldi Pasta Sauce Jars Have Measurements Under The Stickers!
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#14 When You Don’t Like Bread Crusts. Pour Melted Butter Then Cinnamon. Pop In Oven Until Crunchy And Have Yummy Cinnamon Chips
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Besides being energy efficient, cooking extra batches for later in the week or for the freezer has potential flavor upsides, too.
Leafier vegetable dishes aren't very good candidates for reheating. “With some, you end up with mush,” says Mayur Patel, the co-founder of Bundobust. But meat- or pulse-based soups, stews, curries, ragus, and even some hardier salads retain their texture and often develop far punchier, more cohesive flavors after a period in the freezer or 24 hours in the fridge.
The science of this unexpected bonus – how flavor molecules slowly disperse, or how calcium receptors are activated on your tongue – is complex, but the phenomenon is so self-evident that the Japanese word kokumi is used to describe the greater complexity many cooked foods exhibit when reheated next day.
#15 Make “Leftover Bombs” By Wrapping Thanksgiving Food In Crescent Roll Dough And Baking (Stuffing, Turkey And Gravy, Pumpkin Pie Filling, Cranberry Sauce & Cream Cheese)
Image credits: Thea_From_Juilliard
#16 2 Frozen Pizza 1 Tray? No Problem
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#17 One Pan Chicken Thighs Cooked On Wire Rack Over Sliced Potatoes
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If you're making instant gravy for a roast, dilute the meat juices with the cooking water from your potatoes, says Oli Marlow, executive chef at Aulis, London. “It’s added flavor that you don’t get from tap water.”
Another good steer, from Ben Mulock, the executive chef at Balans in London, is to puree any veg you stuffed under your roasting joint as aromatics (onion, carrots, celery), and blend that puree into your gravy “to give it body and flavor”. This, according to him, should largely remove the need to use thickening flour, the common cause of lumpy gravy.
#18 Place Pepperoni Over Bagel Holes When Making Homemade Pizza Bagels. Cheese Won’t Melt And Stick To The Pan, Gives Toppings More Surface Area
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#19 Improvise. Adapt. Overcome
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#20 A Loose Leaf Tea Steeper Is The Best Way To Evenly Sprinkle Flour On A Surface, Corn Starch On Proteins, And Icing Sugar On Desserts
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Chefs talk about seasoning with acidity in the way we average folks talk of salt. As Toft explains, its flavor shouldn’t be overt and most people wouldn’t realize it is missing. “But, as soon as it’s there, you’re like, ‘Ah, there we are.’ It makes everything sing.”
There are several ways you can start incorporating it. James Simpson, the co-founder and chef at Owt in Leeds, likes to enhance pasta, “especially with tomato-based sauces”, ratatouille, braised pork, or roast chicken with a few strokes of very finely grated lemon zest. It gives dishes a subtle brightness.
#21 Mind Over Matter - How To Keep Your Fudge From Disappearing
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#22 Good Knowledge
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#23 It's Sad That It Takes Desperate Times For Me To Not Just Waste Cooking Oil. This Method Of Filtering Cooking Oil Brought To You By My Gram. I Used To Laugh At All The Stuff She Reused. Thanks Gram
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And if you still have room for dessert, consider salting your sweet items.
“Salt to sweet baking is like bay leaves in cooking,” says Lungi Mhlanga, the owner of a doughnut cafe, Treats Club London. “You’re not supposed to know it’s there, but when it’s not, you notice.” Increasingly, baking recipes include salt to foreground flavors of chocolate or vanilla, and Mhlanga considers it essential for French toast, to prevent it from becoming cloyingly sweet.
It may seem counterintuitive, says King, but a sprinkle of sea salt on many desserts creates “little explosions” of heightened flavor. Anything with chocolate, caramel, meringue, nuts, and even some fruits can become a valid target!
For more game-changing tips, fire up our older publication on r/foodhacks.
#24 Keep Your Cake Fresh. Add Bread Slices To The Cut Areas
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#25 I Call It Lazy Lasagna; Frozen Ravioli Layered With Sauce And Mozzarella Baked In The Oven. Anyone Else Do This?
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#26 Pour Some Coffee Into An Ice Cube Tray. Freeze Your Ice Cubes And Use Them In Your Ice Coffee Instead Of Regular Ice Cubes
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#27 Try The Lemon Method Under The Salmon To Avoid Burning Your Fish
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#28 Clean A Spice Grinder, Aka Coffee Grinder, By Blending Up Some White Rice Inside. It Will Trap Any Leftover Spices And Aromas
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#29 How To Get More Volume For Your Ramen Noodles: Add A Few Cups Of Frozen Veggies. 320 Calories For The Whole Bowl!
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#30 Wrap A Piece Of Lettuce Around One Side Of Your Sandwich/Burger To Keep The Goods From Falling Out The Other Side
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#31 Look At This
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#32 Store Your Fruit Salad In A Strainer Inside A Larger Bowl. It Keeps The Fruit Above The Juices, And You Can Just Take The Strainer Out And Dump The Juice Out Of The Bowl Every So Often. The Fruit Stays Fresh Much Longer!
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#33 Mix Cereals To Regulate Sweetness Levels And For Variety
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#34 Mason Jar Lid Ring To Make My Egg Round For My Breakfast Sandwich! Totally Works
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#35 Use Old Tic Tac Dispenser To Store Spices
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#36 Everyone Is Obsessed With My Salsa, I Don’t Make It Any Different But My Secret Is That I Add A Few Splashes Of White Wine Vinegar ? Brings Out Tons Of Flavor!
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#37 Don't Want To Mess Up 10 Bowls For Tacos? Use Muffin Tins!
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#38 When You Have A Birthday During A Pandemic And You Still Want To Blow Out Your Candles
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#39 Empty Ketchup Bottles Make Excellent Batter Holders And Dispensers
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#40 Order A Plain Costco Sheet Cake (No Decoration/Piping) To Save Time And Effort In Making A Kid’s Birthday Cake - Just Add Toys And Candy And You’re Done!
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#41 Put A Koozie On Your Ice Cream Pint, Keep Your Hand Warm, And Ice Cream Cold
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#42 If Your Cheesecake Has Any Cracks: Just “Decorate” It In Fruit
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#43 Cook French Toast In A Waffle Maker
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#44 My Husband Is Using Our Baby Monitor To Keep An Eye On The Temperature Of His Smoker While He Works
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#45 Add A Little Brown Sugar To The Egg To Caramelize Your French Toast! Also, Yay For Breakfast At Dinner!
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#46 You Can Cut An Uncooked Frozen Pizza And Put The Slices In The Air Fryer For A Quick Slice!
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#47 Hubby Was Using The Oven And I Needed To Proof My Focaccia, So I Ran The Dryer For 3 Minutes Then Put In My Dough. Worked Great!
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#48 I Know This Image Looks Like Pot But Hear Me Out: Use Crushed Dried Edamame As A Breading For Chicken In Place Of Bread Crumbs For A High Protein/Less Carb Crispy Crust That Tastes Awesome
Image credits: Thea_From_Juilliard
#49 Take A Sip Of Coffee Before Adding Sugar, You Won't Need As Much Sugar For It To Taste As Sweet Afterwards
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#50 Grate A Piece Of Toast If You're Out Of Breadcrumbs
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