6 Ingenious Kitchen Hacks To Save You Time January 11, 2017
“Just add water” had a good long run when it comes to quick dinner prep. Continue reading to discover six time-saving kitchen hacks every home cook should have up their sleeve…
1. Stock up on extra sharp knives
If there’s one thing that’ll put a damper on your dinner prep, it’s dull knives. And no – this doesn’t mean you have to schlep all the way to the store to stock up on shiny and sharp new ones every few months. Instead, treat your blades with the respect they deserve. C’mon people — these tools do all the slicing, dicing, and chopping. Without them, we’d be lost. And hungry.
So do not, we repeat, do NOT let your blades dry on the dish rack, toss around in the dishwasher, or chill out in the kitchen sink. These are big no no’s. Also, only use knives with wood or plastic cutting boards, not your granite countertop.
Stock up on the dream team of slicing and dicing excellence with state-of-the-art Wusthof knives and necessities from our Kitchenware collection.
2. Cook with nonstick pans
Avoid any and all sticky situations with the help of one revolutionary kitchen tool: nonstick pans. They require far less oil, are practically no-brainers to clean, and allow for an equal distribution of heat. But whatever you do, don’t use with sharp objects (think knives and metal spatulas) or you risk damaging the coating. Instead, stick with wooden spoons.
3. Bust out the mandoline
Unevenly sliced veggies mean some cook faster than others which means you’ll be left with half that are ever-so-slightly charred and half that are ever-so-slightly underdone. But who actually has the time to cut that zucchini into even rounds? Not us.
With the help of a mandoline, you can thinly and quickly slice onions, apples, cucumbers, carrots, and more. Just be sure to look for one with a hand guard that holds food in place while protecting your fingers — that blade is sharp.
4. Take advantage of garbage bowls
Can you live without ’em? Sure. Do you want to? Absolutely not. Keep a garbage bowl (or, better yet, the meal kit boxes!) close by to collect peels, trimmings, stems, and other scraps as you go.
BONUS: You’ll be rewarded later with an easy-peasy cleanup.
5. Invest in kitchen shears
We love you, knives, but sometimes scissors are the way to go. Or should we say shears.
Snip herbs, cut through dough, and slice bread like a pro. Just be sure to find ones that disassemble (like the come-apart kitchen shears in our Kitchenware collection) so you can thoroughly clean those bad boys.
6. Use a garlic press
You know those tools that seem cool in theory but then prove totally unnecessary in reality? This is NOT one of those. Once you realize how easy it is to crush those cloves through a grid of small holes, the garlic press will become your cooking bff with nightmares of pungent, garlic-scented fingers long gone.
For more speedy inspiration, feast your eyes on seven of our quickest recipes — we initially rounded ’em up to celebrate the longest day of the year back in June. But let’s be honest, they’re welcome in our kitchen any day.