Usually, people who are passionate about cooking have a lot of tricks in stock that make their work much easier and turn their dishes into real masterpieces. Novate.ru believes that all housewives who spend a lot of time in the kitchen should know about the most useful ones.
Life hack 1: You can refresh vegetables and herbs with water
If you decide to make a salad for dinner, but notice that the herbs and vegetables have withered while they were in the refrigerator, just fill them with ice water. After a few minutes, the lettuce leaves, as well as the cucumbers, will be crispy, vibrant and completely ready to eat. By the way, in this way you can also refresh a half of a lemon, so take a life hack into service.
Life hack 2: The breast will turn out juicy if you turn it over in time
Duck breast is an incredibly popular dish in restaurants, but housewives rarely take it at home, fearing that the meat will turn out to be dry. We propose to forget about all fears and prepare the breast as follows: cut the skin, fry the meat in a pan, and then send it to bake in the oven, putting a piece on the side with the skin. Turn the breast 5-7 minutes before cooking so that all the fat and juice that has formed under the skin is absorbed into the meat. In this case, the duck will turn out to be very juicy.
Life hack 3: You can lift the filling with flour
There are many nuances in baking. One of them is associated with a heavy filling - raisins, nuts, frozen berries. The fact is that, due to their weight, they often end up at the bottom of the confection, as a result of which the taste of the baked goods deteriorates and, moreover, it sticks to the mold. To fix this, mix the filling with a little cinnamon, flour, or cocoa and then add to the dough. Choose the right ingredient based on the recipe.
Life hack 4: Milk can be frothed in a French press
Recently, some kind of coffee boom has begun. Cappuccino, latte and other types of invigorating drink are not only ordered in specialized establishments, but also tried to be prepared at home. And the main problem facing the amateur barista is the creation of fluffy lather.
Fortunately, there are many proven life hacks that are indispensable in this matter. You can heat the milk in the microwave and then beat it with a French press. It turns out to be an excellent dense foam, on which you can even paint with chocolate syrup if you want. The second way is to whip warm milk with a manual cappuccino maker and heat the resulting mass in a microwave oven so that the foam is stabilized and stable. Instead of a cappuccinator, you can use a regular mixer - the whisk attachment should be immersed in milk heated to 70 ° and beat until a dense substance is obtained from small bubbles. Ready warm foam should be immediately laid out on the surface of the coffee.
Life hack 5: You can fix the lid on the pan itself
During the cooking process, we often have to lift the lid to check the taste and readiness of the dish. And all would be fine, but it needs to be attached somewhere. If you put the handle down, the lid will roll over the surface, and if up, grease or condensation will stain the countertop. In fact, everything is much simpler than we think - the lid is perfectly fixed on the pan itself, if you hook it with the edge of the edge. Even if the container is empty, nothing will fall, since the structure is stable.
Life hack 6: To prevent the dough from sticking, roll it out between sheets of parchment
Before sending the cookie dough to the refrigerator, roll it out between two layers of parchment paper. Then remove the top layer and set to cool. The approach has several advantages: firstly, you do not have to deal with a sticky lump of cold dough, and secondly, it is much easier to cut shapes from such a blank.
Please note that it is better to immediately transfer the cooled dough to a baking sheet, and only then take up the cutting forms. So you do not have to separately transfer each piece, and this is a guarantee that the future cookies will turn out neat, beautiful and not deformed. To make it even better keep its shape, cool not only the dough, but also the baking sheets - 15 minutes in the refrigerator will be quite enough.
On a note: If your goal is perfectly round cookies, wrap the dough in parchment, tuck it into a used paper towel tube, and then put it in the freezer. The resulting sausage will only have to be cut into equal pieces with a knife.
Life hack 7: In order for the ice to be transparent, you need to freeze boiled water
You've probably noticed that ice, which is usually served in a restaurant in a separate container or added to glasses with ready-made drinks, is crystal clear and transparent. But when you try to do the same at home, it turns out to be cloudy and white. It is easier to fix the situation than you think: you need to pour boiled water into the molds, not from the tap. Then the cubes will delight with their transparency.
Life hack 8: Water will keep guacamole fresh
Guacamole is a thick cold appetizer and sauce made from puréed avocado pulp with cilantro, tomatoes, lime juice and other vegetables. Despite the amazing taste of the dish, few people cook it at home due to the fact that, upon contact with oxygen, guacamole quickly loses its aroma and changes color from green to brown. To avoid this, transfer the remaining sauce to an airtight container and pour a small amount of water on top - it will act as a kind of barrier between the dish and oxygen. When you want to eat guacamole, just drain the water.
Life hack 9: You can soften the oil with a glass goblet
For many dishes, especially dough, you need to use ingredients at room temperature. If you forgot to remove the oil from the refrigerator in advance and realized when the cooking process was in full swing, use the following life hack: take a regular glass glass, hold it for several minutes under hot running water or in the microwave, and then cover this glass with a piece of oil of the required size … Under warm dishes, it will quickly acquire the desired consistency.
Life hack 10: Quickly cool the liquid in an ice bath
If your goal is to quickly chill cake or pastry cream, pour it into a metal container such as a saucepan and place in a large bowl filled with ice water. The essence of this method is simple: metal helps heat to escape quickly, and cold to penetrate. Note that the larger the pan, the faster the hot cream will cool down.
Life hack 11: To keep cane sugar soft, store it with marshmallows
One unpleasant property of cane sugar is that it often hardens during storage. This will be avoided if the product lies with the marshmallow. If you realized late and the sugar has already hardened, pour it into the mold and cover with a damp towel for three to four minutes. After the time has passed, put the sugar in the microwave for half a minute - it will become soft and crumbly again.
We also advise you to adopt 11 tricks for professional chefs to print in newspapers and distribute to hostesses