100 Life Skills that will make your cooking life even tastier and simpler

To cook deliciously, you don't have to spend endless hours in the kitchen or attend cooking classes (although it wouldn't be superfluous). It's enough to know important and useful tricks and secrets that will help you diversify your diet, make familiar ingredients shine in a new way and save you time. 

We have collected for you the 100 best culinary tips that you need to know if you want to cook deliciously, spoil your family and not spend a lot of time on it.

Vegetables and fruits

1. How to make vegetables fresh again

Everyone can face a situation when vegetables have become stale and lost their original juicy and appetizing appearance. Try holding them in vinegar water. This will help to bring back their former freshness.

2. Ripe and juicy fruits

If a few fruits in your grocery cart have not yet ripened, help them do so. Place them overnight in the same paper bag as an apple. The latter contains ethylene gas, which has a revitalizing and uplifting effect.

3. How to give a golden color to carrots and onions

To make onions and carrots brown faster and get a stunning golden crust, they should be sprinkled with a pinch of sugar. If onions alone are being browned, you can sprinkle a little flour on them to get a golden color.

4. To salt cucumbers faster

If you really want homemade pickles, and you do not want to wait at all, you can speed up the process. You only need to cut the ends on both sides or prick the cucumbers with a fork in several places.

5. How to quickly peel tomatoes from the skin

This process can take just a few minutes and requires minimal effort. All you need to do is to scald the tomatoes with boiling water and leave them for a few minutes. Drain the water and pick up the peel - it will easily come off on its own.

6. How to keep bananas fresh for longer

Fans of sweet and savory bananas know that this fruit doesn't keep very long. To keep bananas fresh, it really takes a lot of effort. If you wrap the spine of the bunch with duct tape, the fruit will start to darken as much as 3-5 days later.

7. How to store pineapples

Interesting but factual. To keep pineapples as long as possible juicy and tasty, it is better to store them upside down. They ripen faster that way. It is also important to snip off all the leaves.

8. How to store celery

Celery is a product that you should definitely include in your diet. Firstly, it has a negative calorie content, and secondly, it is a valuable source of vitamins and minerals. It is better to store celery in foil. So it will stay in the refrigerator for a month longer.

9. How to make vegetables crispy

Withering celery, radishes and carrots can be made crispy again if you put them in a bowl with cold water and slices of raw potatoes.

10. How to protect lemon from drying out

When a recipe requires a few drops of lemon juice, it is best to pierce the lemon with a nail and squeeze out the required amount of juice.

Dough 

11. How to make delicious baked goods

Be sure to sift the flour for the dough. This is probably one of the main conditions for delicious and appetizing baked goods. Sifted flour is enriched with oxygen and foreign impurities are removed from it.

12. How to make puffed pies

Add diluted potato starch to the dough. In this way your pies and buns will become very puffy and soft. They will not lose these properties and the next day.

13. To prevent the dough from getting stale

Add semolina to any dough (except for dumplings, puff pastry, custard and sand dough). It is enough only a tablespoon with a slide per 0.5 liters of liquid. By the way, this unit of measurement is called "zhmena". The dough will not dry out and become stale. And this is especially important for bread, fritters, pies and pancakes.

14. Room temperature products

When kneading dough, you should use room temperature products. Products straight from the refrigerator slow down the rise of the dough, which can spoil the baked goods.

15. Use milk

Try making pies with milk! They turn out very tasty and flavorful. And the crust becomes very appetizing, shiny and beautifully colored.

16. Check the quality of the yeast

The yeast you use to make the dough should be fresh and have a pleasant alcoholic odor. You can check their quality beforehand. Prepare a small portion of the opara and sprinkle a layer of flour on top. If no cracks appear after half an hour, the quality of the yeast leaves much to be desired.

17. Pay attention to the egg yolks

Ready pies will be more tender and crumbly, if you put only yolks in the dough.

18. Do not forget the starch

To make the bottom of the pie dry and not crumble, sprinkle it with a small amount of starch. Only after that you can safely lay out the filling.

19. How to give the pie an appetizing blush

Closed pies should always be greased on top before baking. This gives them an appetizing blush and gloss. Milk, sugar water, beaten egg are excellent for this purpose.

20. How to roll out the dough easily

If you wrap the rolling pin with a clean cloth, it will be even easier to roll out the thin dough.

Meat 

21. To prevent the meat from being tough

If you want juicy meat for lunch or dinner, you must not salt it before it has finished cooking, especially if it is a tough cut. If you salt raw meat before it is cooked, the surface will dehydrate and become tough.

22. Cooking meat without splattering fat

When cooking meat in a frying pan, we often find that the splashes fly all over the kitchen and sometimes burn our hands unpleasantly. If you don't have a special strainer, simply blot the meat well with a paper napkin before putting it in the pan. This way you will get rid of excess moisture and grease, which is what shoots at hot temperatures.

23. How to make a juicy steak

A product that can definitely be found in the typical bachelor's kitchen is dark beer. It's great for marinating steaks and anything unyielding and tough. After all, what could be more flavorful than juicy, soft meat.

24. Prepare the perfect cutlets

A couple hours before frying, rub a mixture of bite and vegetable oil on chops and schnitzels and they will turn out even tastier and juicier.

25. Combine red meat with avocados

The nutritious fruit avocado helps the meat to open up in a new way. If you add the green fruit to a dish, it will no longer be so heavy, but will become even more nutritious and healthy.

26. Cook meat with a browned crust

Use the advice of experienced chefs: before putting the dish in the oven, smear it on top with a tasty and, most importantly, successful marinade. It can be pomegranate juice and honey, diluted dry wine, brandy or water.

27. Allow the meat to reveal its flavor

Do not rush to serve the dish immediately. Experienced chefs first let the meat cool down a bit and reveal its exquisite flavor.

28. Do not overcook the meat

What to do if you do overcook it? No, not dine out gritting your teeth. Chefs know how to resuscitate a good piece of meat and bring back its juiciness. You should cut it into thin slices and put it on a plate. Then sprinkle with onions and tomatoes and add a little vegetable oil, lemon juice and vinegar. Wait a little and soon the meat will be juicy again.

29. Use flavorful mincemeat

Cook the minced meat at home. Only in this way it will turn out to be of very high quality, and the dish you prepare will be amazingly tasty. To make the mince even more aromatic, healthier and tastier, add some raw and some fried onions, as well as finely grated raw potatoes.

30. Salt the liver in the final

Liver is definitely worth including in your diet. This dish will help to strengthen the immune system and supply the body with such an amount of iron, which is necessary for its normal vital activity. To make the liver turn out soft, salt it at the end.

Fish 

31. Check fish for freshness

Before you cook a piece of appetizing-looking fish, check it for freshness. To do this, you need to lower the carcass into a deep bowl of water. If the fish sinks, it is fresh, and if not - it is better to abandon the idea of cooking it for dinner.

32. Improve the flavor of fish dishes

Try frying fish on a lightly salted mixture of vegetable and butter oil and the usual taste of the dish will play with new colors.

33. Combine fish and red wine together

Dry red wine is an excellent companion for red fish. It helps it to bring out its flavor and enhances the positive effect that this marine product has on the cardiovascular system.

34. To eliminate the odor of fish when frying

Love fried fish, but rarely cook it because of the unpleasant odor that quickly spreads throughout the apartment? This can be avoided. To eliminate the odor, you need to put peeled and sliced potatoes in vegetable oil.

35. Not to boil fish

To prevent fish from falling apart when cooking, you need to add a little lemon juice to the water. At the same time, do not cover the pot with a lid during cooking.

Salads

36. Give a savory touch to vegetable salads

Chefs know a great and unforgettable way to make a delicious and especially spicy vegetable salad. It is enough to add a small amount of vanilla to it. This is a great spice that perfectly combines with any vegetables.

37. Diversify the vinaigrette

Vinaigrette is a very healthy and delicious salad. It is a great option for a light lunch or a hearty snack. Try to move away from the usual classic vinaigrette recipe and diversify it a little. To do this is very simple: add a tablespoon of milk, a teaspoon of sugar and mix it thoroughly.

38. Include sesame in your diet

Sesame is a rich source of calcium. Add it to vegetable salads and other dishes. Firstly, it is useful, and secondly, aesthetically very appetizing and pretty.

39. Low-fat cheese is useful and delicious

Don't know how to make vegetable salad even more nutritious? Add low-fat cheese - feta or feta cheese - to the list of ingredients. The salad will be transformed and become even more delicious and healthy.

40. Love nuts

You can safely add ground nuts to vegetable salads. They perfectly combine with food of this kind. In addition, nuts are rich in polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, which are precisely the "healthy fats"

Soups

41. Save an over-salted soup

Have you over-salted your soup? Don't rush to throw the dish away. You can try to save it. There are several effective ways that will help remove excess salt. However, the most effective is to dip a gauze with cereal in it and boil it. The porridge will help to eliminate the salty taste.

42. Make the broth lighter

Not everyone likes boiled, thick broths. Is it really necessary in this case to completely abandon hot? Not at all. Add a piece of ice to the broth and then bring it to a boil. The broth will be clearer, lighter and more appetizing.

43. Add fresh vegetable juice to the soup

Do not be in a hurry to remove the soup from the heat. In the final stages of cooking, add fresh vegetable juice to the first course. This will help to enhance the flavor and enrich your dish with vitamins, minerals and other useful substances. Cabbage, carrot or tomato juice is perfect for this purpose.

44. If the foam of the broth has sunk to the bottom

If you miss the moment and the foam has fallen to the bottom and the broth has become cloudy, pour a little cold water into the pot. The foam will rise to the surface and will be very easy to remove.

45. How to give the soup a golden color

The golden color of the broth makes the soup even more appetizing. How to achieve this effect? It is necessary to boil in the water with meat raw onion. It should be washed very well and thoroughly beforehand. After 30-40 minutes, you can take the bulb out and throw it away.

Cereals 

46. Cook white rice

Do you want to cook white, crumbly rice like in the picture? It's not that difficult. Famous chefs add a small amount of vinegar during cooking. It helps to achieve the most appetizing and delicious edible result.

47. Boil cereals on green tea

Porridge can be cooked not only on water or milk. Experiment and try cooking different cereals with green tea. In boiling water put a bag of green tea or just pour the drink in a ratio of 1 to 1. The result will pleasantly surprise you.

48. Protect your cereals from insects

To keep bugs out of your stockpiles, put a few bay leaves in your storage containers.

49. Make rice less starchy

It is the starch in rice that often makes it sticky and unattractive. To remove excess starch, all you have to do is rinse the rice well under cold running water. Once the water draining from the rice is clear and clean, you can cook.

50. Delicious millet

To make millet lose the taste of bitterness, it should be rinsed several times in warm water, and when the water becomes completely clear - scalded with boiling water. Only then can you drain the water through a sieve and cook the most delicious porridge.

Beverages

51. Drink green tea with lemon

Citric acid helps the body to better absorb antioxidants, of which green tea contains a lot. So don't forget a slice of lemon at your next tea party.

52. Add salt to your coffee

Some people simply do not imagine a morning without a cup of aromatic and invigorating coffee. How to make this drink even more delicious? Just add a pinch of salt to your ground coffee and enjoy an amazingly delicious drink.

53. Coffee Ice

Try freezing coffee in the form of cubes. Very cool and useful stuff. If you don't feel like brewing coffee in the morning, it makes a great express frappe. You can also add ice cubes to smoothies.

54. Preserve the flavor of the coffee beans

In the morning, sometimes you just want to sip flavored, invigorating coffee. If the beans have lain long enough and lost their odor, try to resuscitate them. To do this, pour them for 1.5-2 hours with cold water.

55. Make smoothies

Smoothies are the easiest and fastest way to get a shocking dose of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Show your culinary imagination. As a basis you can take milk, kefir, natural yogurt. Add any vegetables, fruits and vitaminize yourself.

Spices and herbs

56. Don't forget the spices

Spices and spices can transform the most bland dish. They are also very healthy. Choose your favorite spices, add them to all possible dishes and strengthen your immune system.

57. Keep your greens fresh

Greens are a great addition to many different dishes. How can you keep them fresh and appetizing for as long as possible? Store your greens in the refrigerator. You can also put them in water, as you do with flowers.

58. Use garlic

Garlic is an excellent antiviral agent and helps keep your immune system energized. This ingredient can give any dish an interesting flavor and make it sparkle in a new way. Rub a clove of garlic on a plate and then place a salad or side dish on it.

59. Love spicy food

Whenever possible, add spicy spices to your meals: cayenne pepper, garlic, paprika, chili. Spicy spices kick-start your metabolism and improve your digestive system.

60. Stock up on greens

Greens can be frozen! Wash bunches, pack in containers or bag and store in the freezer.

Desserts

61. How to keep a cut cake soft

Sometimes it is not possible to eat a whole cake. And then there is the fear that the cut side will become stale and render the product inedible. To avoid this, attach small pieces of bread to the sides with a toothpick. They will become stale, but the cake will remain tender and delicious.

62. Beat sour cream with egg white

If for the preparation of any dainty dessert you need to whip cream from sour cream, then add an egg white to it. This way you will get a really lush, light and airy mixture.

63. Prepare a delicious charlotte

Apple pie is a great dessert for tea. Treat your household and prepare a really tasty charlotte. To prevent the apples from sinking to the bottom of the mold, coat them in flour before cooking.

64. Combine wheat flour with other types of flour

Flours and pastries can be made healthier. Use other types of flour instead of wheat flour: oat flour, buckwheat flour, millet flour. Muffins and cupcakes will also taste better.

65. Replace butter with fruit puree

Love to spoil your family with delicious baked goods? Replace some of the butter with fruit puree. This way, the baked goods will be a little healthier. Preference should be given to puree from apples or pumpkin.

Dishes 

66. Buy a multicooker or air grill

Seriously consider buying a multicooker or aerogrill. Modern devices allow you to cook with minimal use of oil. In addition, the temperature can be regulated, which means that the risk of carcinogens is reduced.

67. Cook in cast iron cookware

Cast iron cookware represents an absolute favorite. It is completely safe to cook food in them. Cast iron cookware does not release anything into the food and no micro particles fly off.

68. Bring shine back to stainless steel cookware

Alcohol or vodka will help when cleaning stainless steel cookware: just soak a cotton disk in the liquid and wipe the stains with it.

69. Eliminate odor from storage trays

Store trays wrapped in newspaper - the porous material of plastic containers absorbs food odors like a sponge, but a sheet of newspaper can absorb them.

70. Save a burnt pot

A mixture of baking soda and salt will help us in this: cover the burnt bottom with this mixture, pour water to cover all the burnt and leave it overnight - in the morning everything will come off easily.

Food storage

71. Coat the cheese with butter

Cut off a small piece of cheese and sent the rest back to the refrigerator? To keep the cheese from drying out on the cut side, smear a small amount of butter on it.

72. Extend the shelf life of milk

This can be easily achieved by adding 0.5 tablespoons for every liter before boiling in winter and a pinch of baking soda in summer.

73. Save butter

Stock butter can be stored in the freezer in plastic containers.

74. Freeze bread

Yes, you can freeze bread too! Cut stale slices into cubes and put them in the freezer - you can use them for croutons and breadcrumbs.

75. Save leftover pasta

Boiled too much pasta? No problem! Transfer everything into an airtight container and store in the fridge, and before serving, just throw them for a few seconds in boiling water.

76. Properly store fermented dairy products

If you turn packages of sour cream or cottage cheese upside down, you can create a vacuum that will inhibit the growth of bacteria that causes spoilage.

77. Which foods can be stored together

Some foods are very selective about their neighbors. Neighboring should be such that it preserves the beneficial properties of a particular product for as long as possible. For example, potatoes are best stored close to apples. This is because the ethylene contained in apples will prevent potatoes from sprouting.

78. Don't ignore frozen vegetables

Vegetables can be safely frozen. They retain the lion's share of the vitamins and minerals that are in their composition. In the freezer they can be stored for quite a long time.

79. How to store onions and garlic

Onions and garlic are present in almost every kitchen. They are indispensable ingredients for a large number of dishes. That is why they should always be on hand and in good condition. Store them in perforated bags. This way they will last 1 or 2 months longer.

80. Keep chicken eggs fresh

Before putting the chicken eggs in the refrigerator, you need to take good care of them. Coat the eggs with vegetable oil. This will help keep them looking marketable for a long time.

Food processing

81. Enhance the flavor of prunes

Soak the dried fruit in prune juice or black tea to bring out its luscious flavors even more vividly.

82. Put garlic in the microwave

If you want to peel garlic without hassle, just put it in the microwave for 10 seconds. After that, you won't even need a knife. You will be able to actually remove the cloves from their skins. This is much easier and faster than the fairly well-known method of pressing the cloves with a knife. Our method is also good when you want to keep the cloves in pristine condition.

83. Quickly peel eggs

When peeling eggs, you should use our secret and wet your fingers with cold water. In this way, you will save yourself the hassle of peeling eggs from their shells.

84. Grate cheese with ease

To prevent cheese from sticking together when grating, simply coat the surface of the grater with vegetable oil. By the way, it will also be easier to clean it.

85. It's easy to spear meat

If you don't take the knife out of the slots, it will be much easier to spear meat before baking.

86. How to tone down the spiciness of chili peppers

If you love spicy cuisine, you probably use chili peppers a lot. Sometimes it can be, well, very spicy. How to tone down that spiciness? Rinse the peppers well, remove the seeds and soak them in water for 20 minutes.

87. Carefully cut the eggs

Dreaming of a hard-boiled egg that won't crumble? Before cutting it in half, wet the blade of your knife with cold water. This way, the yolk won't crumble.

88. Squeeze more juice from the lemon

How to squeeze all the juice out of a lemon? It is necessary to forcefully roll the lemon on the table for some time. Only then can you safely cut or squeeze the fruit.

89. Boil almonds

Regularly agonize with peeling almonds from the skin? No more inconvenience! Boil the almonds for 5 minutes and then cool in cold water. The skin should come off in no time.

90. How to peel ginger

Ginger can be used to make many delicious dishes and seasonal drinks. To do this, you will need to peel it. It is most convenient to do this with a teaspoon, pressing lightly and peeling off layer by layer.

Healthy eating

91. Drink more

An adult should drink 1.5-2 liters of clean drinking water per day. Do not allow the body to become dehydrated. Sufficient fluid triggers the metabolism, removes toxins and toxins, improves appearance.

92. Eat dinner 3-4 hours before bedtime

At night, the body needs to rest. Do not overload the stomach and have dinner 3-4 hours before bedtime. This is enough time for the food to digest and the body to prepare for sleep and rest.

93. Try to eliminate empty calories from your diet

Try to forget about simple carbohydrates. These are buns, candy, fast food and other not particularly healthy treats. These products give the body only empty calories and a short-term feeling of satiety. It is better to switch to complex carbohydrates: cereals, whole grain products, pasta from durum wheat.

94. Eat fractionally

Doctors and nutritionists unanimously agree that you need to eat fractionally. An adult should eat 5-6 times a day. These are a full breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 healthy snacks throughout the day.

95. Eat slowly

To ensure that your stomach has time to send satiety signals to your brain and you don't eat a little more than you need, you need to chew your food thoroughly and eat slowly.

Losing weight

96. Drink tea

Surprising but fact. Recent studies have shown that those who regularly drink green, black and white leaf teas have less fat deposits.

97. Look for healthy alternatives to sugar

Sugar can and should be replaced with healthy alternatives, such as honey, which you should definitely include in your diet to avoid getting sick. It is important to remember that you should not subject honey to heat treatment (add it to tea), because under the influence of high temperatures it loses all its useful properties.

98. Cook on the grill

Another useful way to cook deli

99. Don't forget the right flavors

If you're craving something sweet and it's too late on the clock, remember the impressive power of flavors. Vanilla discourages the urge to indulge in forbidden treats.

100. Buy small plates

Small plates make it most convenient to eat exactly as much as your body needs. In general, one meal for the average person should be equal to the palm of your hand.