kitchen skills
Kitchen Hacks Make life easier with helpful tricks from prepping to preparing food
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15 AUTHOR FAVORITES Sheasby has selected some of her favorite tricks from her book to highlight how to make the most of your kitchen skills and add some zest to any meal.
AQUAFABA The liquid in a can of chickpeas (that we tend to drain off), is an ideal egg (white) substitute for vegans. It can be whisked until thick, glossy and white, and used to make things like meringues, pavlova, mousse, mayo and ice cream. Or it can be used to lighten or add moistness to baked goods such as brownies and muffins. AVOCADO Avocado flesh makes a great and healthy alternative to dairy foods in recipes such as smoothies or smoothie bowls, dressings, dips, mayo, salads and sandwiches. It can also be used to make tasty dairy-free chocolate avocado mousse/pots. BAKING When baking, use the wrappers from blocks of butter or hard margarine to grease cake and loaf pans.
6 real food spring 2021
BREAD Use celery salt or garlic salt instead of regular table salt when making savory bread dough to add a subtle flavor to the baked loaf. CAKE If you are dividing cake batter between two pans, it is important to divide the mixture evenly. Weigh the filled pans to check. CHERRIES Pit (stone) cherries inside a plastic bag to prevent the juice from splattering everywhere. COUSCOUS For added flavor, use good-quality stock (vegetable or chicken are ideal) instead of water to cook couscous or roasted buckwheat. DRESSINGS For a richer-flavored salad dressing, use a nut oil instead of regular olive or sunflower oil.
EXCITING ICE Make ice cubes from different colored fruit juices, then pop into children’s party drinks for extra appeal. GINGER Try using a metal spoon to scrape the skin off of fresh ginger. To preserve freshness, you can freeze ginger to be grated later. HOT PANS Sturdy kitchen tiles make good trivets for hot pans. Glue a piece of felt or cork on the back to prevent the tile from scratching your work surface. MUSHROOMS An egg slicer is a quick and easy way to slice small mushrooms (one at a time) or small cooked beets into thin, even slices. PIZZA If you don’t have a pizza cutter, cut a baked pizza into slices with clean kitchen scissors. STOCK To remove fat from the surface of stock, pour the stock into a pitcher and add a few ice cubes. When the fat has set around the ice, lift it off and discard. TRUFFLES To shape chocolate truffle mixture into balls, use a melon baller dipped in hot water. Alternatively, coat your hands lightly with vegetable oil and roll the mixture between your palms.
ILLUSTRATION ІРИНА - ADOBE STOCK
ven seasoned cooks can use some helpful kitchen hacks. And as people are staying home and cooking meals from scratch more often, every little bit of advice can help. For suggestions, we turned to someone who is an expert on the subject, author Anne Sheasby. In her newest book, “How to Dice an Onion,” Sheasby’s “hacks, tips and tricks for the home cook” are a fabulous guide to the kitchen and provide valuable insight for making every dish stand out as well as sharing little tricks for all things food related. Sheasby’s advice is helpful for both beginners and seasoned chefs to ensure the process of preparing your food is both exciting and simple, from how to store and prepare vegetables to how to spice up any soup or salad dressing. — Justine Szafran
