Post your kitchen tips

[Austina]

If you have tiled floors and the grout gets dirty, sprinkle on bicarbonate of soda, then use white vinegar, let it bubble up, then use an old toothbrush to brush the grout lines. Wipe up with a damp cloth, and the grout looks like new.

 

[stracci2000]

I store cut onion in a glass jar in the fridge.
It works much better than a plastic container for keeping the onion smell at bay.

 

[Lookinagain]

I use a "food saver" vacuum sealer so that I can buy in larger (family size packages) of meat on sale and then vacuum seal in smaller sizes. The vaccum sealing means you can freeze it for much longer. I also use it to freeze serving sizes of left overs so I can grab one and drop it in a pot of boiling water for when I need something quick for lunch while I'm working.

I have an "aero garden" so that I can grow herbs in the winter (New England here). The quantities offered in the grocery store are generally more than I need and don't last that long, even when stored in water, so growing them means I always have a fresh supply of what I like in the winter. Whatever I don't use, I hang to dry. And root some like basil and plant that outside in the warm weather.

 

[monarch64]

When cleaning pots I use an old credit card to scrape of gunk without scratching the surface.
It's free, and we all have a never-ending free supply of expired cards.
Actually I use two of them, one uncut and the other cut in half, which gives you a very sharp edge for removing extra stubborn gunk.

Also, leaving a pot to soak in hot water helps.
Filling the pot half way with water and boiling it helps even more.

I like simple free stuff, instead of buying expensive products that may be bad for the environment, and bad my parrot's delicate lungs.

What are your kitchen tips?

Microwaving vinegar helps when cleaning said appliance

Drinking a glass of wine makes your kitchen cleaner and food cooks faster

Putting a plant in the kitchen will make it live longer because you'll remember to water it

Stock all your sweets and edibles far far away from your usual targets i.e. put them in the toppy-top cabinets rather than the reachable ones

And for f*ck's sake, get a partner (if you want) who knows how to clean (or hire someone!)

Try new things. xoxo

 

[Lookinagain]

Drinking a glass of wine makes your kitchen cleaner and food cooks faster

Yep, and it makes my cooking taste better too.

 

[GoldenTouch]

I use baking soda to remove tea/coffee stains from mugs. My grandmother taught me that tip.

I use cooking salt & a little bit of fish detergent

 

[MamaBee]

When you have a pool of oil or fat from cooking on the surface of your meal.…place a paper towel on top and quickly pull it off. All the oil and fat will stick to the paper towel. Repeat with a clean paper towel until it’s all removed.

 

[Bonfire]

Ketchup removes tarnish on my copper pots. Shines them up almost like new.

 

[stracci2000]

Ketchup removes tarnish on my copper pots. Shines them up almost like new.

I have done this with brass! It works amazingly well.

 

[MamaBee]

When you have a pool of oil or fat from cooking on the surface of your meal.…place a paper towel on top and quickly pull it off. All the oil and fat will stick to the paper towel. Repeat with a clean paper towel until it’s all removed.

Edited to say..This is when you make something like a pot roast where the meat is submerged under liquid in the pot. It sounded like I meant in the plate. This is before you thicken the gravy. It also works when you are making spaghetti sauce with meat and the olive oil rises to the top and you need to remove it. I also do it to pizza to get the oil off the top.

 

[Gussie]

I do that too, and never even met your grandma.
We use a lot of baking soda, good stuff.
Costco sells it in 13.5 lb bags.

Instead of using scouring powder or Softscrub, I use baking soda and lemon juice for scrubbing in the kitchen and bathroom.
Baking soda, aluminum foil and boiling water effortlessly remove oxidation from sterling silver.

Baking soda and aluminum foil definitely works for removing tarnish from silver. But beware, it removes the patina as well. If you prefer the dark oxidation for definition, don't use this method. The spoon on the right was cleaned using the baking soda method.

You can cheat years of patina on silver by putting it in a bag with a hard boiled egg. Leave it in there overnight and then polish with Wright's silver polish.

 

[mom2dolls]

Kitchen Aid mixer is the fastest way to shred cooked chicken breast.

Magic eraser removes all fingerprints, paw prints and smudges without chemicals.

 

[MamaBee]

Baking soda and aluminum foil definitely works for removing tarnish from silver. But beware, it removes the patina as well. If you prefer the dark oxidation for definition, don't use this method. The spoon on the right was cleaned using the baking soda method.

You can cheat years of patina on silver by putting it in a bag with a hard boiled egg. Leave it in there overnight and then polish with Wright's silver polish.

I may try this on a silver locket that has engraving..Thanks!

 

[Matata]

Hire a personal chef.

 

[VRBeauty]

Invest in good tools and gadgets - including some that just plain bring you joy.

Some of our “good” examples:

a good instant-read thermometer, used especially when preparing meats;

A microplane grater or two;

Good knives, especially a good chef’s knife.

Some “brings you joy” examples:

Heavy-duty stainless steel measuring cups and spoons (originally bought to encourage my sweetie to give up his rag-tag collection of measuring cups, which included some vintage Tupperware stuff that had me fearing for my health. OK, not really fearing, but I didn’t like having them around.)

Our Fiesta ware mix/prep bowls, ranging from 6 to 1.25 quarts. They’re not the most practical - heavy, snd of course breakable - but we enjoy using them and I even look forward to cleaning them and putting them back into place.

These guys. For some reason they give my hubby GREAT JOY.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Now that Kenny mentions Tupperware ....
This thing is actually brilliant
i use it for beetroot
(I hate beetroot but Gary loves it)
Ours is 1970s vintage orange
With all those years and years of vinigur i doubt a real germ would stand a chance

 

[PinkAndBlueBling]

My daughter is constantly sending me TikTok videos of handy hints. They just make me feel stupid.

Anyhow, one is to line the drain opening with foil and pour hot grease in, let it cool, throw away.