Sometimes preparing food to be cooked can seem like a tedious job – one which takes up far too much time that you just don’t have. But there are ways to save time with your food prep so you can spend more time with your family or do other things you love. Check out these ten creative food preparation techniques to help you get the job done fast.
1. Peeling garlic cloves – Lay the clove on the cutting board and place the side of your knife over the garlic. Hit the blade and the clove with the heel of your hand and enough force on the garlic clove to make the skin fall right off.
2. Need to peel multiple garlic cloves? Hit the head of the garlic with the heel of your hand to get the cloves, then put all the cloves in a mixing bowl. Cover with a second mixing bowl and shake vigorously. You’ll have these cloves peeled in less than ten-seconds.
3. Removing tough stems – You don’t even need a knife to separate those tough stems from vegetables like kale, collard greens, and chard. With one hand, hold a leaf at the bottom by the thickest part of the stem. Use your other hand to pinch the leaf with your index finger and thumb gently, and then pull it up and off along the stem.
4. Peeling pearl onions – These little onions can be a real pain to peel. Well, not anymore. Chop off the tip of the onion – the end opposite of the root end. Cook in boiling water for two minutes and drain. When they’re cool enough to touch, simply squeeze each one at the root end, and they’ll slip right out. Chop off the remaining roots, and you’re done.
5. Removing an avocado pit – Slice your avocado in half, lengthwise. Take your knife and chop into the exposed pit, then twist and pull. Out comes the pit. Watch your fingers when you remove the pit from the blade of the knife. Now you can scoop out all of the yummy avocado goodness.
6. Peeling a potato – Simply cut the skin lengthwise with a knife, all around the potato. Put in a pot of boiling water and boil until it is soft inside. Then immediately remove from the water into ice water. Allow to soak in the ice water for 10 seconds and remove. Rub between your hands and the peel falls right off.
7. How to peel a kiwi – Slice both ends of the kiwi off. Put a tablespoon between the flesh of the fruit and the skin and move the spoon all around the kiwi. This will ease the kiwi right out of its peel.
8. Fishing out egg shells – We’ve all accidentally dropped a small fragment of egg shell from time to time. You wouldn’t think it would be so difficult to fish this minuscule piece of shell out of the yolk, but it can be one of the most frustrating moments of cooking when it happens. Unless you know this tip. Simply wet the tip of your finger with water and lightly place your finger over the egg shell, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly that piece of the shell will stick right to your finger.
9. Cutting round vegetables – Nothing says frustrating like chasing down that potato to chop it up. Next time you have to cut a round vegetable, cut a thin slice along the length of the vegetable to create a flat side, turn it cut-side down on the cutting board and slice away. When you get to the point where it starts to roll again, flip it onto the flat side from your last cut and continue to slice.
10. Prevent a pot from boiling over – They say a watched pot never boils, but if you don’t watch it then you have a mess on your hands. So to keep that pot from boiling over, just place a spoon over the top of the pot. Any spoon will do really, but a wooden spoon won’t get scalding hot.
What food preparation tips can you add to these?
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