Kitchen tips
Little fixes from my videos that make everyday cooking easier.
37 tips
Two First Aid Items Every Kitchen Needs
Burns and cuts happen to the best of us. Two first aid items to keep in the kitchen so those moments get a lot easier.
Get yourself a bench scraper
Scraps all over the place and endless walks to the bin? A bench scraper and a bowl clean your work surface in seconds.
Juice a lemon, 5 ways ranked worst to best
Five ways to squeeze the most out of a lemon, ranked, satay stick, tongs, fork, your hands, and the manual press that wins.
What to do with a lot of lemon juice
Left with lots of lemon juice? Make lemonade with simple syrup, or mix it 50/50 with white vinegar for an all-purpose cleaner.
5 Garlic Peeling Methods, Ranked Worst to Best
I tested five ways to peel garlic fast, jar shakes, the knife smack, and the hot-water soak that wins.
Should you refrigerate your eggs?
Fridge or counter? It depends where you live, US eggs are washed, European eggs aren't. Plus the water test for freshness.
The infinite green onion glitch
Stop buying green onions every week. Save the bottom 5 cm and regrow them in water or, better, in soil, they keep going for months.
Turn Square Parchment Paper Into a Round One
Need round parchment for a round pan, or a makeshift lid to trap steam? Fold it like a paper airplane and cut once.
How to Salt to Taste Without Guessing
Every recipe ends with 'salt to taste' and never explains it. How much salt to use, which salt, when to add it, and a tasting exercise to train your palate.
Slice Cherry Tomatoes All at Once
Cutting cherry tomatoes one by one is a waste of time. Two round lids and one horizontal cut do the whole batch.
Soften cold butter fast, ranked worst to best
Five ways to soften a cold stick of butter, ranked on speed, from grating it to the hot-glass trick that wins.
Spread Butter With a Spoon, Not a Knife
Knife, fork, or spoon? Why I was taught to spread butter with a spoon, it has a larger surface area.
Stop Your Cutting Board Sliding Around
A cutting board that slides over your counter is unsafe. One wet paper towel fixes it, an underrated basic every home cook should do.
Strip your herbs with a box grater
Pull herb stems through a hole in your box grater and the leaves strip right off. Perfectly stripped parsley in seconds.
Thinly slice beef without a meat slicer
No deli slicer? An hour in the freezer firms the steak up enough to cut it thin with a sharp knife. Ready for bulgogi or a Philly cheesesteak.
Are You Using Your Vegetable Peeler Right?
Most people peel one strip at a time. Your peeler cuts both ways, and that little edge on top has a job too.
Vacuum seal without a vacuum sealer
A Ziploc freezer bag, a sink of water and maybe a straw, the water pressure pushes the air out. Good for storage and sous-vide.
How Long to Knead Dough: The Windowpane Test
Kneaded too short and your bread tears. Follow a 10-minute kneading timer and check with the windowpane test to know when your dough is done.
Stop Your Pot Boiling Over With a Wooden Spoon
Pasta water bubbling over the pan again? A wooden spoon laid across the pot saves you many stove cleanups.
Cut a bunch of herbs without the mess
Wrap your herbs loosely in a wet paper towel and cut through it. Less mess on the board, best with chives, works with parsley too.
Keep your fridge clean with cling film
Something leaked in the fridge again? Line the glass shelf with cling film, no hard stains, nothing sliding around.
Cut a bell pepper fast, 2 ways
Two quick ways to break down a bell pepper: cut off the sides and bottom, or cross the bottom and rip it open for more flesh.
Never have cheese clump up while grating
Softer cheese sticking and clumping in the grater? A layer of oil on the grater stops it. Plus a smarter way to use a box grater.
Keep your bananas fresh longer
Bananas ripen from ethylene gas released at the stem. Wrap plastic around the stem and they last much longer.
How to save your burnt toast
Last two slices of bread and the toaster burnt them? Grate off the burnt bits with a microplane and retoast.
Fix a stinky fridge with baking soda
Fridge reeks from cheese or the weekend's leftovers? A small flat bowl of baking soda neutralizes the odor molecules.
Yeast, Baking Powder, or Baking Soda: Which to Pick?
All three make your dough rise, but they work differently. What the difference is and when to use which.
Christmas Dinner Without the Stress: My 36 Tips
Cooking Christmas dinner this year? My tips from years of Christmas cooking, planning, cooking, plating and a plan B, so the day stays fun for you too.
How to Peel a Tomato the Culinary School Way
Need a peeled tomato? Score an X, boil it for 10 seconds, plunge it in ice water and the skin slips right off.
The Utensil Set That Makes You Faster in the Kitchen
Preparing your kitchen tools matters as much as prepping ingredients. Here's what lives in my utensil holder and why.
Buttermilk Substitute for Fried Chicken
No buttermilk for your fried chicken? Stir 1 tbsp of vinegar into a cup of whole milk, the acid does the tenderizing.
Use Frozen Grapes Instead of Ice in Cocktails
Ice waters down your drink. Frozen grapes cool a cocktail or mocktail without diluting it, and they double as garnish.
How to Make Sure Your Dough Will Rise
Cold kitchen, flat dough? Warm your oven for 20 seconds with the light on, or park the dough somewhere steamy like above a water bath.
6 Tips That Make You a Better Home Cook
Six things I wish every home cook did: taste as you go, learn techniques instead of recipes, mise en place, temperatures, patience and a decent knife.
How to Stack Non-Stick Pans Without Ruining Them
Stacking non-stick pans bare scratches the coating. Put a tea towel, paper towel or pan divider cloth between them.
How to Steam Food Without a Steamer
No steaming basket? Three foil balls, a heatproof plate and a lidded pan turn into a steamer for anything from fish to veggies.
Mise en Place: Prep Before You Cook
The quickest upgrade to your cooking: weigh off all your ingredients before you start, or at least gather them on a sheet pan.