Kitchen Hacks
More than a thousand tips that save not only your current recipe, but also time and money
Skip all the panicked calls to mom and save your laptop keyboard from sticky egg yolk and flour-covered fingers—solve your next cooking challenge with one of the most useful books we’ve come across in a while: “Kitchen Hacks.” The book compiles more than 1,000 of the best tested ideas and solutions that have been featured in Cook’s Illustrated magazine (in the Quick Tips section), and they’re accompanied by lots of illustrations. It’s a confidence-booster in book form for both budding and experienced cooks, but more importantly, “Kitchen Hacks” raises awareness of boundless opportunities to save time, money and the earth.
Some of the tips offered are pretty straightforward no-brainers, but it’s easy to learn something new. Use a coffee filter or envelope as a makeshift funnel when refilling salt and pepper shakers. While many chefs swear there’s pretty much no way to prevent tears from flowing when chopping onions, and simply tell you to tough it up, the book offers two tried-and-tested options: chop near your gas stove or candles, or—don ski goggles.
Every step of the cooking process, from set up to cleaning, is covered within the 12 chapters, and we’re particularly fond of the food storage section that emphasizes not wasting and keeping perishables fresh as long as possible. Scattered in between are 22 fun recipes that are almost like magic—including how to make vanilla ice cream without an ice cream machine, instant aged bourbon, dairy-free whipped cream and more.
Just released, Kitchen Hacks is available in paperback from Amazon for $13.
Images by Cool Hunting
