10 Useful Kitchen Tips and Tricks You Should Know

For those who spend much of the day in the kitchen, a few tricks that make cooking faster and easier are truly useful. Read the article below from STAVI industrial catering to discover these handy kitchen tips!

Common difficulties in the kitchen

The kitchen is always a peaceful stopping place after a long, busy day for women who love to cook. It is where culinary inspiration is nurtured and love for the family is conveyed through every dish, even though each meal calls for considerable investment and effort.

The most headache-inducing question every day – “what should be on today’s menu so that it is nutritious and suits everyone’s taste” – is no small pressure, especially for large families or those with picky eaters. And while cooking, homemakers run into countless difficulties: forgetting to buy an ingredient for one dish, running out of a seasoning for another. Then, when it is time to cook, everything is done in a rush, leaving the kitchen untidy and messy, with grease splattered everywhere and no time to wipe it up right away. On top of that, food odours cling to your clothes and spread throughout the house and need to be dealt with early.

There are many other troubles besides, too many to list. That is why, to solve these problems, you need to apply a few essential tips that make kitchen work easier.

Kitchen tips you should know to save time

With just a few small kitchen tricks, cooking and cleaning up become much faster and lighter work. Save the handy tips below to keep your cooking routine going smoothly!

1. Wipe away cooking oil with white vinegar

Every time you cook, grease splatters around the stove, spoiling the look of the kitchen and feeling very unpleasant. Even those who diligently wipe it right away can only remove part of it; some grease still clings on and over time builds up into patches that are hard to scrub off. Here is a tip for you: use white vinegar, a seasoning always at hand in the kitchen, to blast away grease stains.

White vinegar is a useful helper that cleans grease effectively. Simply mix white vinegar with warm water at a 1:1 ratio, pour it into a spray bottle and spray directly onto greasy areas such as the cooktop, the kitchen wall or the range hood. Wait a few minutes for the vinegar to soften the layer of grease, then wipe with a soft cloth; the surface will be noticeably cleaner and brighter. This method not only removes grease quickly but also deodorises, and it is safe and inexpensive, keeping the kitchen tidy and pleasant after every cooking session.

Besides vinegar, you can also use dish soap or lemon to clean grease. The method is extremely simple: just soak a cloth in it and wipe directly over the spots where grease has splattered.

2. A super-fast, super-tidy way to peel garlic

To peel garlic super fast and neatly without sticky fingers or lingering odour, simply separate the cloves and put them in a jar with a tight lid. Shake the jar vigorously for about 10–15 seconds and the skins will come off by themselves, leaving you to pick out the cloves inside. Alternatively, soak the garlic in a bowl of warm water for about 30 seconds before peeling and tap it gently with a knife, which also makes the cloves easy to separate.

These simple methods save preparation time, keep the kitchen tidy and make cooking lighter work every day.

3. Protect your hands when cutting hot chillies

If you do not wear gloves when cutting hot chillies, you can rub a thin layer of cooking oil on your hands before preparing them to avoid the burning, stinging sensation. This layer of oil forms a protective film that limits the capsaicin in the chillies from sticking directly to your skin.

After cutting, simply wash your hands again with dish soap or soap and they will be clean with no more burning sensation. This small tip makes cooking more comfortable and safer, especially for those who often prepare spicy dishes.

4. How to fry fish deliciously without oil splatter

To fry fish deliciously without oil splatter, first pat the fish completely dry with paper towels before putting it in the pan, because water is the main cause of splattering oil. Heat the pan first and only then add the cooking oil, after which sprinkle a little coarse salt or a bit of flour into the pan to limit splattering and remove the fishy smell.

Add the fish once the oil is very hot and fry over medium heat until one side is golden and crisp before turning it over. This small tip helps the fish cook to an even golden colour without falling apart and limits oil splattering, keeping the kitchen clean and making cooking easier.

5. Remove bad odours from the microwave

To deodorise the microwave, you can put in a bowl of water mixed with lemon juice or white vinegar and run the oven for about 3–5 minutes. The hot steam from the lemon and vinegar will soften the stains stuck inside and drive out all the unpleasant odours clinging to the microwave.

After that, simply wipe the entire oven cavity with a soft cloth; the bad smell will be noticeably reduced and the microwave will be cleaner and more pleasant. This simple tip keeps the kitchen fragrant and safe to use.

6. How to scrub pots and pans until they shine

Frying pans and pots are utensils used constantly in the kitchen, helping you prepare many delicious dishes every day. However, after a period of cooking with oil and high heat, pots and pans get blackened bottoms and yellow stains that are very hard to wash off with ordinary water. Therefore, to make your pots and pans shine, you can use natural ingredients such as lemon, vinegar and salt combined with baking soda: boil the mixture, then gently scrub the stained areas of the pot, or use potato and salt to rub them. The stains will gradually fade and disappear after just a few goes.

7. Reheat food without worrying about it drying out

When reheating food in a microwave or air fryer, many dishes easily become dry and hard and no longer taste good. To fix this, simply place an extra glass or small bowl of water in with the food while reheating. The steam will help the dish retain moisture and stay softer. In addition, a traditional but quite effective way to reheat is to put the food in a rice cooker; few people use this method, but it heats the dish evenly without drying it out.

8. Remove onion and garlic odours from your hands

After preparing onions and garlic, the pungent smell often lingers on your hands for a long time, which many people find unpleasant. In that case, simply rub your hands with a little salt or lemon juice for about 2–4 minutes and then rinse with clean water; the smell will be noticeably reduced. If you have coffee grounds, you can also use them to remove the odour – effective and it makes the skin on your hands softer. You should deodorise right after cooking so the smell does not linger.

9. Defrost meat quickly without a microwave

When meat needs to be defrosted in a hurry, many people use the microwave, but this method easily leaves the meat partly cooked, affecting the quality of the dish. Instead, you can drizzle a little vinegar over the piece of meat and leave it for a few minutes. The vinegar helps the ice melt faster and the meat softens naturally without the edges cooking.

10. Fix caked, clumpy salt

Salt kept for a long time often cakes into clumps because of moisture. To deal with this, simply put a little rice into the salt jar, put the lid back on and shake it well. The rice will absorb the moisture, loosening the salt and keeping it longer. This is also a folk tip our grandparents used when storing salt for long-term use.

Those are 10 handy, useful kitchen tips to help you cook and clean up faster. Follow STAVI for many more useful tips for everyday life!