13 Brilliant Hacks That Will Save You Time In The Kitchen

Even though my blog isn’t food-focused, I’ve certainly shared a lot of kitchen tips over the years! I love finding and sharing information that helps make daily life easier. And for many of us, our daily lives involve quite a bit of time spent in the kitchen! And in my experience, having a tip or trick up my sleeve that can save me a little bit of time or effort in the kitchen can be hugely rewarding. I’ve posted many of my favorite time-saving kitchen tips here on my blog, including how to shred chicken in seconds, how to soften butter quickly, and how to craft the perfect cinnamon roll.

No matter whether you’re crafting a gourmet meal, or just trying to get dinner on the table, we could all use a little help in the kitchen! And I think I’ve got just the post to help. :-) Today I’ll be sharing 13 quick and easy cleaning hacks that are sure to save you time in the kitchen! From saving salty soups to wrapping up leftovers, these tips will help you save time and energy (and maybe most importantly, stress!) on many different cooking and baking tasks!

Related: 13 Surprising Problems You Can Solve With Wax Paper

13 Time-Saving Kitchen Hacks

1. Save Salty Soups

Ever been a bit too heavy-handed with your seasonings when making soup? Salt can make the difference between a bland soup and a delicious one, but too much salt can be very unpleasant! To rescue a salty soup, drop a peeled potato into the pot. The potato will help absorb some of the excess salt and save your soup!

Related: 9 Brilliant Ways To Save Time In The Kitchen, According To Chefs

2. Rescue Rice

Rice can be tricky to get right at the best of times! And if you happen to overcook it, the rice at the bottom of the pot can burn and affect the taste of the rest of the rice. But there’s an easy way to salvage your rice! Just placed a slice of white bread on top of the rice for 5-10 minutes. The bread will draw out the burned flavor and aroma, leaving you with plenty of palatable rice to serve! (Just be careful not to scrape up any of the burned bits off the bottom of the pot when you go to scoop the rice.)

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3. Pop More Popcorn

I love homemade popcorn, but I used to get so frustrated by how many kernels remained unpopped after making it! But then I learned a simple tip that really helped. All you have to do is soak your popcorn kernels in water for about 10 minutes before popping. The additional moisture from the water creates more steam inside each kernel during cooking, resulting in fewer unpopped kernels!

4. Prevent Potato Sprouts

Can’t seem to keep your potatoes from sprouting in storage? Just drop an apple in the bag or basket where you keep the potatoes! The apple will help prevent premature sprouting.

5. Faster Defrosting

You can defrost meat quickly by pouring white vinegar over the surface of the meat. The vinegar will lower the freezing temperature of the meat, causing it to thaw faster. And as an added bonus, the vinegar will also help tenderize the meat too!

6. Fish Out Fat

Here’s a great tip for getting rid of excess fat and oil from sauces, stocks, stews, and soups. Wrap a few ice cubes in a paper towel, then skim them across the top of your soup. The ice cubes will encourage excess fat to solidify, making it much easier to scoop out and discard!

7. Thicken Runny Sauces

Struggling with a runny sauce? Toss a dry lasagna noodle into the sauce. The noodle will absorb the excess liquid without changing the taste or texture of your sauce. Once the sauce has reached your desired consistency, just pull the noodle out and discard it.

8. Ice-Free Ice Cream

Having an icy crust form on the surface of your ice cream can make it unpleasant to eat. But it’s easy to prevent that icy layer from forming in the first place! When you’re ready to put your ice cream away, press a piece of wax paper into the surface of the ice cream before replacing the lid. This will help keep your ice cream ice-free!

9. Keep Cake From Sticking

Use a damp towel to ensure your freshly baked cake doesn’t stick to the pan. After taking the pan out of the oven, set it on the damp towel to cool for a few minutes. Then turn the pan out onto a plate, and the cake should slide right out! This works for ceramic and metal baking dishes only – not for glass!

10. Quickly Warm Baking Ingredients

I can never seem to remember to let my eggs and butter warm up to room temperature before I start a baking project! But luckily for me, there’s an easy way to speed up the process! Just place your eggs and wrapped butter into a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes. The water will warm them right up!

11. Roast Without Flipping

When roasting foods like fries, vegetables, and potatoes, you typically need to flip them once or twice during cooking to ensure they cook evenly. But you can eliminate the need to flip by pre-heating your baking sheet before putting your food on it! (While this works great for roasting, I don’t advise trying it with baking!)

12. Easy Reusable Wrap

Instead of covering your leftovers with single-use plastic wrap, use a shower cap instead! Unlike plastic wrap, a shower cap is quick and easy to apply, and you can rinse and reuse it again and again!

13. Simplify Plastic Wrap

Sick of fighting with tangled plastic wrap? Just store the roll in your fridge instead! Chilled plastic wrap is much easier to handle than room temperature wrap. You’ll save yourself so much time and frustration with this tip!

How do you save yourself time and effort in the kitchen?