It is no secret to people who lead meaningful lives that the kitchen holds a position in the family’s everyday life akin to the body’s heart. Different studies have confirmed the notion created by reality DIY shows that more people generally would prefer home-cooked food rather than placing orders for home delivery or going out for dinner regularly. More people realize than ever that it is not only healthy to eat home-cooked meals, but it is also advantageous. The following seven neat kitchen tricks will serve to make your kitchen life more comfortable and more convenient.
Defrosting Chicken Quickly
If you are looking for a battle-tested way to defrost chicken meat, then thawing the same through a microwave oven is simply the best option. However, granted this knowledge of how to defrost chicken fast, you need to be highly cautious and attentive during the thawing process. It is easy to err and start cooking the chicken meat. If this happens, not only can it make the food unhealthy with bacteria, but can also ruin the meat texture and make it challenging to eat. You need to strike the perfect middle ground and stick to a moderate temperature for an equally sensible amount of time.
Remember that the chicken meat has ice in it, which, after turning to water, will transform into steam, thereby cooking the meat from inside. To prevent this, you need to check up on your thawing meat every two minutes or so and quickly take it out when it has been defrosted before directing it to the oven or grill. One should add that the microwave thawing method is only suitable for boneless chunks of chicken meat, namely the breasts. It is not well suited with chicken meat parts that have bones.
Preserved Lemons
Preserved lemons are an essential part of the Moroccan diet and make great additions to servings of salads, pasta, poultry, and scallop proteins, dressings, etc. They are relatively easy to prepare, as well. You would need the following ingredients:
- A large glass jar
- Sea salt
- Seven or eight Meyer lemons
The first thing to do is slice the lemons halfway through on their long ends. Then you need to turn a quarter and repeat the process. It would be best if you studded the lemon insides with sea salt. After this, you need to repeat the slicing and the studding process by grabbing the lemon’s cut end and turning it upside down. Ensure the glass jar is clean and fill as many lemons as possible before screwing the lid. Expect a considerable amount of the lemon juice to come out, and that is normal. Store this jar for one month and remember to turn it over and back from time to time to ensure that the juice sits at the top of the pot. After a month or so has passed in storing it this way, you can add an excellent Moroccan taste to pasta, fish, rice, sauces, and salads. You can keep the lemons for months by refrigerating it.
Freezing Ginger
It is ubiquitous to have leftover ginger pieces that remain unused during the cooking process. You can use this excess ginger by peeling the root hand before subsequently grating it and freeze it in teaspoon measurements. Another great, even more, straightforward alternative to this particular method is slicing the ginger’s large hands in food processors and grounding them fine. Then you have to place scoops of the ground ginger in the forms of pan parchments and freeze it. After a few freezing hours, these scoops become rigid and can be reused for all purposes.
Dried Dill
Persian dishes taste so terrific with some dill. This dill is the secret ingredient for many dishes with a particular Persian taste. All you need to do to have them at your cooking disposal is dry dill bunches slowly in the oven before packaging it for later use. You start this process by washing and drying the fronds of the fill and getting rid of the stems by cutting them. Then you need to put the small fronds on a single baking sheet layer and put it in an oven at 225 degrees. Move the dill from time to time when the drying is going on to ensure proper air circulation. Take them out when they become crunchy and stiff. After cooling these dills, you have to crumble the leaves with care on clean paper. You need to then place the paper ends together, and the crushed leaves accumulate in the middle. You can then store these dills in a freezer bag. You can use this method for other sorts of herbs as well, like parsley and mint.
Vacuum Sealing With Straws
Not everyone has enough space on their counters for vacuum sealers, which typically occupy a lot of space. But don’t fret if you don’t have such abundant space; straws will help you vacuum seal the contents of freezer bags. It is easier and more effective to seal such bags by inserting one end to a bag and seal the area on the top surrounding it. Then suck the air out before finishing the sealing process. Such sealing will help to ensure that the frozen products stay fresh longer.
Homemade Vanilla Extract
You can always buy large vanilla bottles, but another potential alternative is to use vanilla beans. Such beans typically come with bottles and information on mixing liquors like brandy, rum, vodka, or bourbon with the beans. Experts say that mixing vanilla beans with vodka helps to get the cleanest flavor. After mixing the two, you need to keep them in a pantry or cool, dark cabinet for five to six weeks, after which you can use the resulting vanilla extract. You can continue getting more extract by adding more alcohol at the top of the mixture. Such vanilla bean extracts can last for as long as 25 years.
Bacon by the Slice
Often an odd slice or two of bacon is necessary to add to a dish. You can get this by buying a bacon package before separating them and rolling off each piece one at a time. Before you freeze the rolls, put on a baking sheet in line with the parchments. When they are hard, please place them in freezer bags!
These seven neat little tricks mentioned above make your work in the kitchen more comfortable and more convenient. Considering that the kitchen is where your everyday food comes from, you need it to be comfortable and suitable for daily tasks. Another great idea is to keep your kitchen items neatly organized as well. But then again, that topic demands a blog post of its own. Till then, these tricks will surely make cooking life all the more accessible and tasty fun!
