Using the backs of spoons to apply spreads like jams or peanut butter is better than using a knife.
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If you put grapes in the freezer they won't completely freeze. Their frozen texture is like a slushie and they're perfect for the summer.
You can sprinkle instant coffee over foods, like you do with salt and pepper, to make them slightly bitter. It goes great with sweet things based on milk or fruits.
Whoa I never thought of the coffee thing. I gotta try that!
plus one to frozen grapes. there are a few other things like this but I can't remember them atm. We used to put pb&j in the fridge or something and it maked it good.
Ooh, I love that coffee trick. It's so good in cakes so it makes sense that it would work in other foods.
When you serve tacos, put an extra tortilla on the bottom of the plate. It'll catch anything that falls off the tacos and now you have one more taco.
i always think about that when im staring at my plate full of fallen ingredients. i never remember when i have my next taco
Opening a banana from the bottom up, it's so much easier.
...Why?
You can just pinch it open instead of using more force trying to snap open the other part.
If you're having to apply any significant force to open the banana I'd say it's much less than optimally ripe.
Some folks prefer slightly green bananas. Either way, I've converted to opening from the bottom, and find it generally less messy.
...yuck.
Banana bottoms, what's on a Monkeys mind.....
And the "bottom" is actually the top because banana grow "up"
If you enjoy eating snack foods with lots of food dye powder (mmmm hot Cheetos), but hate the fact that it stains your fingers, eat them with chopsticks. No mess on your fingers.
If you struggle with your sandwich/burger innards sliding out of the bread/bun when you take a bite, wrap the innards in lettuce like a taco; place in between the bread/buns with the bottom of the "taco" away from the side you're eating. The lettuce should help keep the sandwich/burger from falling out of the bun.
If your burger comes wrapped in paper you should only open one end and peel the paper back as you eat. No mess. Same for souvlaki.
And Halifax Donairs...
The chopsticks one was a game changer for me. Helps with mindful eating/portion control, too (until you get good enough with the chopsticks, anyway).
We all know the spork existed, and I've speculated for years that a spife must also exist
I'm glad to know I was right all along
What about a spornife?
'Fry' mushrooms in a bit of water before adding oil. They wil turn beautifully golden brown.
Got this one from Adam Ragusea
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OPJmJdStvwI
I just cook them in butter, which contains a bunch of water, and skip the oil. Although, I'm sure a little braising or sweating and oil would work better for some dishes.
Watermelon rinds and citrus peels are perfectly edible and tasty once candied, so don't waste them. If you're into booze, dump the citrus peels into vodka, wait a month, then mix the vodka half-and-half with syrup. (I know that this is technically not a food eating trick, but still - waste not, want not.)
You can also bake an entire lemon, peel, pith and all and it comes out sweet and tender. Wrap it tightly in foil so none of the juice escapes then bake until the whole thing is soft. It cooks well on the side of a BBQ too. Goes well with ice-cream.
Watermelon rind preserves and pickles are a staple in my family. One of my cousins grows them, so we all learned about making the most of them.
And they're easy. Preserves in particular are just sugar, a few slices of lemon, and heat. That's it, if you want the simplest version.
And they're so yummy on a nice biscuit
I’m very responsive to onions. If my SO isn’t around, I’ll use either my motorcycle helmet or swim goggles to cut one up.
I understand that water reacts with it too -- that is, the gas that it releases reacts with the water in your eye, so if it reacts somewhere else, that'd be better. I've seen a recommendation to cut it under water. That seems like too much trouble for me, but I at some point in the past, I did start quickly rinsing the onion after the first cut so that there's water on the onion and knife and cutting board, and it does seem to significantly reduce the impact; it's never really been a problem since then.
kagis
https://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/59688/why-does-cutting-onions-cause-tears
Propanethial-S-oxide is the major cause of the flavor and aroma of onion. However, it is a volatile compound i.e. vaporizes very quickly.
when propanethial-S-oxide comes in contact with cornea, a small amount of it reacts with water to form sulfuric acid. This sulfuric acid is the cause of itching and irritation in eyes due to onion.
Looking elsewhere, I also see a couple recommendations to chill the onion in a refrigerator prior to cutting it, and several webpages saying that it worked well for them.
https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips-techniques/how-to-cut-onions-without-crying
I left the onion in the refrigerator for 24 hours and then peeled and chopped it like usual. No tears! No burning! I cut the entire onion without needing to grab a tissue. While I felt a slight irritation in my eyes towards the very end, overall it was painless. I was surprised this method worked so well since onions aren't a produce item that generally need to be refrigerated. However, if it helps prevent blubbering, I'm all for it.
I'm not sure what's going on here. I saw one page that said that it makes the gas coming off the onion cooler, so it drops away from your eyes. Not sure if that's the actual mechanism, and I've never done it myself.
Some people may plan ahead well enough to be able to refrigerate their onions in advance of needing to chop them; I'm not really that organized, myself.
boy I wish I could describe this method of chopping where you cut it in half and then basically use the root to hold it together while you chop but just did an internet search and could not find the method im talking about and its kinda hard to describe.
Hmm, onions used to bother me a lot but I haven't really thought about it in years. Apparently using a sharp knife makes a difference. At some point I got a nice knife set that I have been keeping sharp, and my onion issue disappeared but I didn't realize until you reminded me.
If you want to learn how to use chopsticks, get a couple of friends together and order some really nice Chinese food. Serve it in bowls or on plates on a small table with you and your friends gathered around with a pair of chopsticks each.
The rules of the game are simple:
- you can only eat what you can get to your mouth using chopsticks.
- you can steal food off someone else's chopsticks with your own.
You will quickly learn how to use the chopsticks!
Cut of the top of the pomegranate to see where the white "walls" between the five sections are, then cut through the skin vertically along those walls. The fruit can now be pulled apart easily into five sections that are much easier to handle so you can strip the arils from the pith gently without breaking them.
Eating green salads with chopsticks is a game-changer.
The best way to eat grapefruit is not with a spoon: rather, cut it into wedges across the segments then stick the whole wedge in your mouth and pull the flesh out from between the tough interstitial fibers with your teeth.
While not a food eating trick, chopsticks are also great when you're deep-frying food - they allow you to firmly hold it for flipping, without piercing it or spooning oil.
Is it illegal to eat the interstitial fibers of grapefruits? I just cut them into rough slices with a knife and shove those wholesale into my mouth. 😅
I can do things with hotdogs that could possibly help in a hotdog eating competition. But that's not what I usually use it for.
Not really a hack, but I rather eat with a spoon than a fork. Obviously this applies only to eating at home and I avoid it when dining out.
Bite the top off a Cadbury’s Crème Egg and then slurp out the delicious “yolk” with your tongue.