Food Hacks - Cool tricks for dear frens

[AnOminous]

Okay, this is the kind of thing the thread is for, things that don't deserve a post in cooked recently or whatever but you routinely do. This is basic and probably many of you already know it and it's stolen from Martha Stewart.

How to Peel a Fuckton of Garlic Instantly

Take a couple full heads of garlic, don't prepare them in any way except giving them a solid thwack with your open palm. Get as vicious as you like with it. Throw the cloves into a bowl. Get most of the paper out of it but don't really get obsessive, it doesn't matter. Now you need another bowl about the same size as the first, so you can close them together. Now just vigorously shake the absolute fuck out of the closed container for about 20 seconds.

Congratulations the cloves are now peeled. Even the ones that still are wrapped are super loose and you can just take it off by hand.

 

[Skitarii]

Octosect your onion 90% of the way through and then slice it vertically

 

[Dammit Mandrake!]

Take a damp paper towel and clean the lids of your cans before opening them with a can opener. Do it a couple times if you have to. You're going to look at the gunk on the paper towel after you're done and thank me.

Only get clear soda from soda fountains so that you can see if there is any junk deposited in your drink by the machine. Ants love to crawl into soda machines and you can't see them in brown liquid.

Uhhhh... don't rush yourself when you're caramelizing onions. To do it correctly takes about a half hour at a minimum and more time is better.

I don't know. Maybe um. When you are hard boiling eggs, pull an egg out when you think they're done. If the water on the shell vanishes within two or three seconds, it is done.

 

[Tsukasa Kadoya]

If I am tenderizing meat for BBQ, I will use pears as the main sweetener for the sauce, rather than honey or brown sugar. It tastes amazing and also tenderizes the meat due to the acidity of the fruit. I do this instead of hammering or beating the meat not my cock
Don't let the meat sit for too long in the sauce, it will turn to mush.

 

[Mark Antony]

The secret is letter cereals in sour milk. Instantly turns you into a lawyer.

 

[AnOminous]

If I am tenderizing meat for BBQ, I will use pears as the main sweetener for the sauce, rather than honey or brown sugar. It tastes amazing and also tenderizes the meat due to the acidity of the fruit. I do this instead of hammering or beating the meat not my cock
Don't let the meat sit for too long in the sauce, it will turn to mush.

Asian pears are particularly good for this purpose, although as with pineapple, you don't want to overdo it because while it's not as effective as pineapple, it will still turn meat into mush if you over-tenderize.

 

[Dammit Mandrake!]

Asian pears are particularly good for this purpose, although as with pineapple, you don't want to overdo it because while it's not as effective as pineapple, it will still turn meat into mush if you over-tenderize.

Asian pears are a miracle fruit. I like doing the thing where you core it, fill it with honey and walnuts and pressure cook it for a bit. Works great with apples, too.

 

[Daddy's Little Kitten]

Don't know if it qualifies as a hack, but put a bit of sugar in stewed beans.

 

[Pissmaster]

man I am not installing Linux onto a cucumber

 

[Pee Cola]

The easiest way to prepare instant noodles is to put them in a plastic food container with a lid (rectangualar takeout style ones work well), pour boiling hot water into said container so it just covers the top of the noodles, and then put the lid on. After 2-3 minutes, peel one corner of the lid away and pour the liquid out. Then add your flavourings as per usual. As an added bonus, you can eat the noodles straight out of the container. No muss, no fuss.

Speaking of no muss and/or no fuss, if you live in a rented house, buy yourself an air fryer and an electric frypan and do NOT use the cooker that comes with the house. Cleaning a stove and an oven can be a real cunt of a job, and it's often the first thing a property manager will look at when they do an inspection on behalf of the landlord. If you don't use it, you won't have to clean it.

I don't know. Maybe um. When you are hard boiling eggs, pull an egg out when you think they're done. If the water on the shell vanishes within two or three seconds, it is done.

Immediately after boiling an egg, put it in cold water for 20-30 seconds before unshelling. This will stop the yolk from turning green.

 

[Dammit Mandrake!]

yolk

yolllllllk

yolk

yolllk

yolllllllllllk

yolk is a weird word

yolk

yolk

yollllllk

 

[Ultrapenguin]

- I don't know if this counts as a hack or is just knowing how to use an oven, but learn to love your broiler. It's great for revitalizing leftovers, especially as an alternative to microwave.
Also if you're making something like pulled pork barbecue, mixing in your sauce then finishing with 5 minutes on a sheet under a high broiler makes a tremendous difference in texture.

- If you need boiling water but for whatever reason don't want to or can't use your burner, you can fill a pressure cooker with water then turn it on with the top off and it'll give you a temperature controlled pot of boiling water.
Plus if you want something to sort of marinate or get tender, don't be afraid to toss it into a pressure cooker and leave it on the "stay warm" setting. It'll keep it at a safe temperature while trapping a lot of the moisture so it doesn't dry out.

- You can hollow out the middle of a loaf of bread so it's just the crust and fill it with a whole bunch of whatever, veggies, meats, cheeses, etc. then bake it for a while to get a crispy stuffed thing. It's a good if you don't really use a lot of sliced bread and have a loaf that's getting old.

- If you make pork and cut a bunch of fat, don't throw it away. Throw it into the freezer, then when you have some amount cut it into evenly sized pieces and put it in a pan over medium heat with just enough water to cover the pieces. It'll fry itself, rend off the lard which you can store separately, and become these brown lightly crispy things that are pretty great even if a bit rich.

- If you have bagged spinach and want it to be more like the steamed canned stuff, you can just microwave it on a plate for a couple minutes and it'll shrink up and get nice and limp and compact, which is cool because spinach is pretty great.

- This isn't a hack, but if you're some kind of ravenous fruit fiend who hates the idea of peeling oranges, the peels are totally edible and won't cause you any problems, you can eat right through the peel. A lot of people don't realize that.

- Again not a hack, but people forget how easy fermentation is. Basically anything you want, potato peels, fruit peels, anything organic you can save and use to make booze. Toss it all in a lightly vented container with some brewing/wine yeast and sugar, let it sit for a couple weeks, and bam.
Edit: do a little research though probably so you don't somehow wind up making something poisonous.


A little off track from actual cooking, but there's things.

 

[The Mass Shooter Ron Soye]

Take a couple full heads of garlic, don't prepare them in any way except giving them a solid thwack with your open palm. Get as vicious as you like with it. Throw the cloves into a bowl. Get most of the paper out of it but don't really get obsessive, it doesn't matter. Now you need another bowl about the same size as the first, so you can close them together. Now just vigorously shake the absolute fuck out of the closed container for about 20 seconds.

The initial crushing is what does it I think. You can use the flat of your knife to do that, and it usually works. Or you can just buy dry granulated or wet minced garlic.

The easiest way to prepare instant noodles is to put them in a plastic food container with a lid (rectangualar takeout style ones work well), pour boiling hot water into said container so it just covers the top of the noodles, and then put the lid on. After 2-3 minutes, peel one corner of the lid away and pour the liquid out. Then add your flavourings as per usual. As an added bonus, you can eat the noodles straight out of the container. No muss, no fuss.

Microplastic meal

This is the way to boil eggs:

https://thestayathomechef.com/how-to-boil-eggs/

Just heat the eggs and water until it boils, let it boil for 1 minute, take it off the heat and keep it covered, Use the guide to get the yolk you want. Then cold shock it to make them easier to peel.

 

[PFM]

There's seemingly a million ways to boil eggs but steaming is by far the most consistent for me. Fill a pot with about a fingernail's depth of water. Bring to rapid boil. Place eggs in water, lower heat to medium, then cover. In 10 minutes you'll have perfectly boiled eggs. After cooking do what the other poster said and immediately place them in ice water to stop further cooking.

Edit: this is where I got the idea from https://youtu.be/GPFHv5SKbZ4

 

[Kenya Jones]

If you put salt onto a dish it will make it salty/saltier.

 

[Miss Misery]

Instant Pots make gorgeous hard boiled eggs that are never tough or rubbery and are super easy to peel.

But if you're making egg salad? Crack the eggs into a pan, set the pan on a trivet in the IP, add water, and cook. No peeling required and even easier to chop.

 

[cowboytakeshi]

if you like to make stocks/broths, or want to always have home made stock on hand, put all your leftover onion/carrot/mushroom/celery/garlic scraps in a ziplock baggie in the freezer until it's full. Then, you get a fuckton of stock of any kind or can make small batches and you only have to supplement with the ingredients for a specific stock (like chicken bones for chicken stock or tomato paste for veggie broth). a gallon bag yields a few quarts.

another thing, if you want more flavorful homemade bread (this doesn't go for enriched breads imo) make a mini starter before hand. take an even amount of bread and water a few hours before baking, and mix the two together. let sit and ferment for a few hours and add to your dough when it's shaggy. when i first got into breads, i wondered why mine weren't more flavorful and this is the trick. don't make an air tight seal around any kind of starter unless you feel like making a bomb

 

[skjora]

Peel boiled eggs with a teaspoon. Just tap it to break the shell, then hold the spoon upside down and slip it under the shell then break it off.
Rice cookers can do bulgur/couscous just as well as they can rice.
Cheese slicers are awesome for slicing cucumbers for salads/sandwiches or potatoes for potatoes au gratin.
Conservative amounts of MSG is absurdly good on fried eggs. It's a useful spice in general, but specifically on fried eggs it's incredible.
Knocking on watermelons in the store and listening to the sound to determine ripeness actually works, but takes a bit of experience. It should sound a bit hollow.
Stainless steel sponges (look like a clumps of metal spirals) are the most effective tool around for cleaning pots and pans.
If you like making pizza at home, contact a stonecutting company and get an inch thick black granite slab sized for your oven. Far superior to thin shitty marble "pizza rocks" and probably cheaper.
Make your coffee with a french press. Other than making better coffee than a drip brewer, it also doesn't spoil left over coffee so you can re-heat it in the microwave without issue.
Some vegetables, like aspargus, should be pan fried rather than boiled.
To cook broccoli on its own, pan fry in butter quickly then add wine/vinegar/lemon juice and water then cover with a lid and let steam for a bit. It really needs the acidity. Makes it very appetizing.

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

The secret to making everything taste good is bacon grease.

 

[HenryKissiger]

Melon