I was cooking eggs and had to choose between my flimsy metal spatula or a new silicone one sitting in the drawer. I went with the metal one because it was right there, and it scratched up my nonstick pan bad. Now the eggs stick every time and I gotta scrub for 10 minutes after. Anyone else deal with regret over a dumb kitchen tool choice?
I chopped a whole head just like the video said, froze the cloves in a bag, but when I threw them into my sauce they turned brown and tasted almost chemical - anyone else have this issue or did I just do it wrong?
I kept seeing people online swear by pre-making salads in mason jars for the whole week. I tried it last Monday with 5 jars, lettuce on top dressing on the bottom. By Wednesday the lettuce was already soggy and gross. I think the hype is overblown unless you eat them within 48 hours. Anyone else have better luck with a different container or method?
I saw this weird garlic crusher shaped like a rock at a kitchen store and bought it on a whim. It's basically a heavy stone that you smash garlic with, no peeling required. I've used it every day for two weeks now and it saves me like 5 minutes per meal. The clean up is just rinsing it off, no little garlic bits stuck in a press. Has anyone else tried one of those or am I just a sucker for kitschy kitchen gadgets?
I used to scrub my cast iron skillet with dish soap every time I cooked, thinking it needed to be sparkly clean. Then about 3 weeks ago, a buddy at a BBQ saw me doing it and basically begged me to stop. He said all that soap strips the seasoning and makes food stick like crazy. I switched to just hot water and a stiff brush, then a light oil rub after drying. My eggs slid around like they were on ice this morning and it blew my mind. Why did it take me 5 years of sticking food to figure this out? Has anyone else had a similar moment where they realized they were doing it all wrong for ages?
The blade flew off into my potato leek soup and I had to fish it out with tongs, but that's when I remembered my grandma's trick of mashing things through a colander and honestly the texture came out way better and now I'm wondering if anyone else has had a kitchen disaster that accidentally improved their cooking?
I finally admitted to myself that fancy garlic press was a mistake. It took me 6 months of cleaning that thing with a toothpick to realize my $5 knife works way better. The press just clogs up and I lost 20 bucks honestly cause I could have bought a 6 pack of garlic with that. Does anyone actually have a garlic press that cleans easy or is it all just hype?
Tapped it twice on the granite and it opened instantly, felt like a total idiot for wrestling with it when a $0 trick was right there, anyone else have a kitchen hack they somehow missed for years?
Dropped my chef knife on the floor last Tuesday at 6am in my tiny apartment kitchen. Was too tired to wash and sharpen it so I grabbed a regular spoon from the drawer. Scraped off the ginger skin in like 30 seconds flat with barely any waste. The spoon got into all the nooks way cleaner than my knife ever did. Now I'm questioning if I even need a knife for ginger. Anyone else ditch their peeler or knife for this?
I decided to batch cook 500 frozen burritos last Sunday using a hack from a lady in Tucson who said to freeze them on a baking sheet first. Took 6 hours but I swear my freezer says it's full after only 75 burritos. Anyone else's freezer lie about how much space it actually has?
So I was at this backyard BBQ in Portland and saw a guy grab a bunch of burger patties that were all stuck together. He just slid a piece of wax paper between each one before freezing them again. Honestly, I never thought to do that and it saves so much time when I'm meal prepping on Sundays. Has anyone else tried something like this with their frozen meat?
I used to dread cutting onions and would literally cry through the whole thing until she showed me that trick, has anyone else got a simple fix that changed a specific kitchen task for them?
I was at a friend's cookout last Saturday watching him clean his skillet after breakfast. He just scrubbed it with salt and a paper towel, no soap no soaking. I stood there with my jaw open because I've been using soap and water on mine for 10 years and wondered why the seasoning always flaked off. Has anyone else had that embarrassing kitchen moment where you find out you've been doing a basic thing backward your whole life?
I used to buy those little cans of tomato paste for recipes and then throw half of it away because I never knew what to do with the rest. Last month I was making chili and only needed two tablespoons from a whole can. A buddy at work said just scoop the rest onto a piece of wax paper in tablespoon sized blobs and freeze them. I did that on a Sunday night and now I've got four little frozen tomato paste discs sitting in a baggie in my freezer. Used one last night for a quick spaghetti sauce and it worked perfectly. No more wasting money on a full can when I only need a little bit. Has anyone else found a weird trick for saving those random leftover ingredients?
My neighbor laughed at me and showed me the "shake it in a bowl" trick. Now I can prep a whole head in 30 seconds flat. How do you guys deal with sticky garlic skin?
She said she just uses the hot water from the coffee maker to dump over rice in a bowl and covers it for 12 minutes, and now I'm wondering if I should just throw out my rice cooker after 6 years of dealing with sticky cleanup?
A neighbor told me to try this trick after my pasta water erupted for the third time last week, so I tested it with a cheap bamboo spoon and it kept the foam from spilling over every single time. has anyone else had this work or did I just get lucky with my pot size?
I dropped $180 on a high-end Japanese knife everyone raves about online. After 6 months, I honestly prefer my old $30 Victorinox. The fancy one chips if you look at it wrong, and I'm scared to use it on anything harder than a tomato. My cheap knife takes a beating and still cuts fine. Anyone else regret buying into the hype on kitchen gear?
She flat out said my stir fry tasted like steamed vegetables in soy sauce. So I finally stopped overcrowding my wok and started cooking in 3 smaller batches instead of 1 giant pile. Now I actually get that wok hei char flavor and the veggies stay crisp. Anybody else have a family member call them out on a cooking flaw like that?
I was at my friend's BBQ in Phoenix, and three different people had cutting boards that bowed so bad they slid around the counter. If you're not drying your boards on their side after washing, you're ruining them in about 6 months. Anyone else see this at parties or just me?
I used to spend like 10 minutes peeling each clove with my fingers and a knife, getting sticky garlic juice all over my cutting board. Then last month I saw a guy on youtube just smash the whole head with the flat of his knife, and the cloves practically fall out of the skin. Now I prep a whole head in under a minute and my cleanup is just a quick wipe. Has anyone else found a weird trick that cuts down on prep time?
I usually wash everything by hand but after a brutal week at work I grabbed a stack of paper plates from the dollar store. Saved me about 45 minutes of scrubbing each night and honestly my sink stayed clean the whole time. Has anyone else tried skipping real dishes for a few days and was it worth it?
So I got talked into buying this fancy Japanese knife online last month. Figured it'd slice through everything like butter. But ngl, after using it for a few weeks, my old cheap knife from the grocery store feels more comfortable and cuts just fine. The expensive one is too delicate I feel like I gotta baby it. Did anyone else waste money on a pricey kitchen tool and regret it? Or am I missing something that makes it worth the cost?
I was grabbing lunch yesterday and the guy behind the counter said he keeps his hoagie rolls in the freezer and just pulls them out when he's about to toast them up. Said it keeps them from going stale and they grill way crisper on a pan. Anyone try this with burger buns or just stick with room temp bread?