10 Life-Changing Kitchen Hacks You’ll Wish You’d Known Sooner

There’s no denying the fact that no matter how much we might enjoy cooking or baking, we’d all love to be able to cut short the amount of time that certain things take in the kitchen. We’re talking hours of time spent cleaning up, slaving away over chopping vegetables, and agonizing over food gone bad because you couldn’t get to it on time. If you’re groaning right now, we’ve got you. We’ve put together a list of rather unique and, if we may say so ourselves, life-changing kitchen hacks, or should we say kitchen life hacks, that will save you time, money, and a whole lot of space in the trash. 

1. Use Cupcake Liners To Organize Your Lunchbox

Whether you have kids who are picky eaters or just like keeping things from spilling into each other in lunch boxes, just grab a bunch of cupcake liners and use them to separate everything into sections. You could play around with different colors and patterns to make it look fun and inviting as well. 

2. Prevent Leftover Baked Goods From Drying Out With A Cup Of Water

Have you ever reheated pizza in the microwave (broke college students, you know what we’re talking about) only to have it go dry as cardboard once it’s out? You’re likely to encounter this problem when you reheat any baked goods. To keep this from happening, place a cup of water alongside them to add moisture to the air. Voila! No more dried-out food!  

3. Microwave A Lemon To Get More Juice Out Of It

This one’s a favorite with most people since it helps you get the most bang for your buck. If you’ve ever had to go through several lemons to get just a few tablespoons of its juice, we’ve got something to make life easier. The next time you’re about to squeeze a few lemons, microwave them for 7-10 seconds. Then roll each one back and forth under your palm on the counter for a few seconds. When you cut into the lemon and squeeze, you’ll find that you’re able to extract a lot more juice than usual, without a whole lot less effort. 

4. Avoid Diluting Wine By Using Frozen Grapes Over Ice Cubes

Diluted wine has never been pleasant to taste, nor do we believe it ever will be. But if you can’t help but plop an ice cube in to cool down a glass, we recommend keeping the integrity of wine and dropping a few frozen grapes to your glass instead. This will ensure that your wine tastes great. In addition to this, you’ll have a delightful little snack at the end of your glass of wine. 

5. Place Herbs In Water To Keep Them Fresh For Longer

We’ve all had to deal with the pain of bringing home fresh herbs and watching them wilt and wither away in front of our eyes. Herbs like parsley, cilantro, and basil can be kept fresh for up to two weeks with this hack! As soon as you get home from the grocery store, trim the stems of the herbs and place them in a small glass of water. Wrap the top with a plastic bag (ensure it’s not a zip loc and is a regular, thin plastic bag). Secure the bag with a string or by tying the handles of the bag in a knot. Store this in the fridge or the countertop and say goodbye to slimy, wilted herbs.

 6. Fix A Salty Soup Or Curry With Apples Or Potatoes

There’s nothing worse than an overly salty bit of broth, soup, or curry. Adding too much salt to your food is one of those things that makes it close to being inedible. If you’re ever there again, instead of tossing the entire thing out, toss in a few wedges of raw apple or potato into the mix instead. Simmer for 10 minutes and discard the wedges. Cook until the flavor is back to normal. This is one of the most simple, yet essential cooking hacks out there. 

7. Freeze Nuts To Make Them Last Longer

If you’ve ever had a bag of nuts go rancid or slimy, you know what we mean when we say that, unlike popular notion, nuts don’t last a lifetime at room temperature. If you’ve got a giant bag that you know you won’t be able to go through quickly, stick it in the freezer instead. This will help preserve their natural oils. 

8. Prevent Cast Iron Pans From Rusting With Salt

Not only will scrubbing your cast iron pan with soap and water strip it of all the wonderful seasoning that’s built up over the course of all the things you’ve cooked on it but will also cause it to rust quickly. Instead, scrub it with a cup of coarse salt to remove stuck bits of food. Throw this out and add a fresh cup of salt. Scour this with a kitchen towel and rinse it off with hot water. Dry it with another towel before putting it back on the shelf. 

9. Use A Towel To Keep Wooden Cutting Boards From Slipping

So many of us can attest to having trouble keeping our wooden cutting boards steady while using them. And this has spelled all kinds of trouble from leading to veggies and fruits being chopped less than favorably to causing cuts and knife injuries. All you need is a little traction and resistance underneath the board. Grab a towel, dampen it, and place it under the board to keep it from sliding all over the place. 

10. Use Lemon And Salt To Keep Wooden Spoons Looking New

We love wooden kitchen utensils just as much as the next person. But even we can’t deny that wear and tear are glaringly obvious on them. To keep them looking new, scrub them with equal parts lemon juice and salt to get rid of food stains. Then scrub them with food-grade mineral oil. Do this once and month and your wooden utensils will always look in good shape. 

We know that the absurdity of viral kitchen hacks out there might leave you skeptical about the effectiveness of hacks in general, but we can assure you these ones are well worth the deviation from what you normally do. We hope they change your life just as much as they did ours.