Things that are familiar to us are not always used exactly as the parents taught. Many of them hold a lot of secrets. This is especially true of kitchen utensils that we use every day in the cooking process, but we do it wrong. Novate.ru has compiled a list of ten such items. After reading it, you will be very surprised.
1. Press for garlic
Garlic is a versatile condiment that goes well with many foods. It is added to meat and fish dishes, fried potatoes, some salads, and so on. Garlic adds a pungent flavor to food that is unlikely to be achieved with other spices. However, cleaning it is a complete punishment. The husk constantly sticks to the teeth, does not want to come off, constantly sticks to the fingers. You can get rid of this torment with a regular garlic press. Yes, you heard right. This device is used not only to chop the garlic, but also to remove the husk. All you need to do is cut off the hard tip and send the clove to the press. The pulp will pass through the strainer by itself, and the shell will remain inside.
2. Niche under the oven
Usually, housewives store kitchen utensils there - lids, pans, baking sheets that are rarely used, and other items. And in some apartments this space remains completely unused. Probably, this happens because few people know what this niche is actually intended for. It turns out that the manufacturers initially conceived it as a place for temporary storage of freshly prepared dishes. During the cooking process, heat accumulates in this niche, and the food left there cools more slowly. Thus, you get the opportunity to always serve hot dishes on the table, and save yourself the need to reheat them several times until all family members gather for dinner.
3. Blender
It would seem that the blender is not so versatile as to be misused. However, in reality, it is not so much about the wrong pressing of the buttons, but about the wrong chopping sequence of the products. Usually, when preparing the same smoothie, housewives simply throw all the products that are at hand into the blender bowl, without thinking about the degree of hardness of the components. But it is correct to put the ingredients in a certain order: first soft or liquid, then seeds, herbs, and at the end hard vegetables and fruits, such as apples. Putting in hard food first will make it harder for the blender knives to chop and are unlikely to be able to grind everything into a homogeneous mass.
4. Spoon for spaghetti
If a spoon with wide teeth and a hole in the middle is lost among your kitchen devices, congratulations - you are the owner of a spaghetti spoon. Many housewives consider it to be an analogue of a slotted spoon and use it to get pasta out of hot water. Some use a spoon to separate long pasta during cooking. However, few people know what its real purpose is.
It turns out that the hole in the middle of the device is created so that you can measure out the perfect portion of the pasta. Of course, in the case of small pasta such as farfalle ("bows"), this trick is unlikely to work, but a portion of spaghetti can be measured out without problems. The fact is that about 80 grams of paste is placed in the hole. It is this figure that is considered the benchmark when it comes to serving size per person.
5. Hole in the handle of the pan
The most common opinion why such holes are needed is as follows: so that you can hang the pan on a hook. Yes, this method of use also takes place. However, the original idea was to insert a spoon or spatula into the hole, which is used to stir the ingredients of the dish during the cooking process. Thus, you can perfectly do without a special saucer for dirty cutlery, and leave the table clean.
Note: The situation is exactly the same with a saucepan, saucepan or ladle, in the handle of which there are often holes. It is designed for temporary placement of paddles or spoons.
6. Refrigerator
Yes, undoubtedly, the main function of the refrigerator is to keep food in low temperatures, thereby extending their shelf life. But that is not all. A special challenge is faced by the middle shelf, located at eye level. Manufacturers argue that it should contain milk, its derivatives, as well as a number of other perishable products, the existence of which in the refrigerator is often forgotten. But there is another category of food for which the most place on the middle shelf is healthy snacks. These include vegetables, fruits, kefir and other equally healthy food. This clever trick helps you stay within the dietary framework, as the first thing you see when you open the refrigerator is healthy food.
7. Hole in the cutting board
The hole in the board is much more functional than it might seem at first glance. Yes, in most cases it is used to hang a device on a hook. However, if the hole is large enough and the board itself is flat, without any protrusions, it can be used for other purposes. For example, to gently pour chopped food into a plate. So, they will definitely fall into the prepared container, and you do not have to collect pieces throughout the kitchen. Please note that such holes are only found in plastic and wooden boards, as they are intended for chopping vegetables and fruits. But you will not find them in glass specimens, since such boards are used for cutting meat.
8. Large knives
Not all housewives run the risk of using such knives, since with their help it is rather difficult to cut food accurately, accurately and thinly. Plus, there is a high chance of cutting yourself. However, if you hold the knife correctly, you don't have to worry about the aforementioned problems - everything will work out by itself. Usually, the knives are held as follows: the index finger is on top, and the rest are closed on the handle. It is not right. Chefs emphasize that the thumb should be on the top of the blade, and the index finger on the side to guide the movement. Practice every day, and after a while you will find it difficult to imagine cooking without large knives.
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