Cooking has become a priority again, but many of the techniques that our mothers used have grown outdated and have been forgotten.
For a long time the comforts of modern life and the progress of the food industry have taken us away from our stoves. Luckily, it seems that there is a renewed interest in cooking in recent years, perhaps due to the rise of successful television programs, but also to the growing perception that the lack of concern for what we eat has gone too far.
Cooking has become a priority again, but many of the techniques that our mothers knew have been forgotten. Most people no longer know how to properly cut an onion, heat up water quickly, prepare a steak, or properly determine when scrambled eggs are ready.
These tips seem simple, but they will help you make better food more efficiently. Check out our short list:
1. Make the most of lemons
When extracting lemon juice, most people limit themselves to cutting the lemon in two and squeezing it, obtaining a ridiculous low amount of juice.
To maximize the amount of the juice, simply roll the lemon over the countertop a few times before cutting it, pressing it against it gently. You can also microwave it for 20 seconds if you prefer your juice a little softer and warmer. Then, cut the lemon down into at least 6 pieces horizontally. Do this and you’ll extract 3x as much juice as before!
2. Keeping your bread fresh
The best way to keep bread as fresh as possible from one day to the next is to put it in a plastic bag with a stalk of celery and close it. The bread will absorb the humidity of the celery, and it will be fresher. Since celery does not have a strong flavor it will not affect the bread’s taste
3. Stop crying when cutting onions
Tired of crying like a condemned man when you chop onions? Try one of these tricks. Peel and cut the onion under the tap, this will prevent the gases that make your eyes cry from permeating the atmosphere.
You can also try soaking your knife with lemon juice; the acid reacts with the onion and makes it release less gas.
Another trick, absurd as it may seem, is chewing gum. This causes you to breathe through the mouth and not through the nose, which makes your reaction to the gases less aggressive.
4. Heating Water
Whether you’re heating water for coffee, tea, or even a baby bottle, nothing beats using an electric kettle or water warmer. Heat the water once, and program it to keep the water at your desired temperature.
This way, when you’re in that inevitable morning rush and are pressed for time, you can simply pop in a bag of tea, and dispense water immediately, instead of having to microwave it or *gasp* boil it on the stove.
5. Serving champagne
When celebrating with champagne or sparkling wine, most people end up spilling half the bottle! A technique you can use to prevent champagne from overflowing so quickly in your glasses is to rinse the glasses before filling them up.
This does not affect the taste of the sparkling wine, but it prevents the bubbles from rising as quickly, allowing you to serve all the glasses at once without spilling a drop.
6. Work with chili peppers or cayenne peppers
Everyone who has cooked with chilies or cayenne has done this at least once: after cutting them, you put your hand on your eye (or some other delicate body part) and end up seeing stars.
Next time, protect yourself. Use gloves or smear your hands with some type of vegetable oil. This is enough to keep you from burning up.
that you do not end up burning all over your body.
