Deliciously Hacked

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Before, only computers and servers could be hacked. Today, everything from fashion to studying to shopping to food can be hacked.

These lifehacks are everywhere—presented to make every aspect in life easier, more efficient, and simpler. I’m not saying these hacks are just for the too-lazy-to-do-real-work folks (although we are thankful for the online abundance of these hacks). These lifehacks are for everyone who wants to do the job quicker and better. And while I do love reading posts about all kinds of hacks (even, let’s say, car maintenance hacks though I don’t own a car), I’ve never truly tried them for myself.

But here are a few food and cooking hacks that I would love to try out soon. I’ve decided to categorize each hack on levels based on its difficulty: ‘My non-existent 3-year-old could do it’ (easy), ‘Not that scary’ (moderate/average), ‘Newbies Beware’ (difficult), and ‘Gordon Ramsay is breathing down your neck’ (more than difficult).

SEPARATING YOLKS FROM THE WHITES WITH A BOTTLE
Level: My non-existent 3-year-old could do it

For kitchen newbies, the simple task of separating the egg yolk from the egg white may seem daunting (especially if the recipe calls for whipping egg whites!). But worry not, foodie neophyte—the humble plastic bottle is here to help.

Get a clean and empty plastic bottle and squeeze its body. While squeezing, place the bottle opening over the egg yolk and then unsqueeze the bottle. The bottle should’ve sucked the egg yolk inside it as you unsqueeze. Et voila—a liberated egg yolk. Simply squeeze the bottle lightly to pop out the yolk on a clean dish or bowl.

PUTTING A SPATULA OVER THE SAUCEPAN TO AVOID BOILING OVER
Level: My non-existent 3-year-old could do it

Don’t you just hate it when your pasta or soup boil over and create a huge mess? Yep, I know the feeling. This unbelievably simple trick is supposed to keep everything in the saucepan—even without a lid.

Just place a wooden spoon over the pot. The bubbles will hit the spoon handle—pop—and then roll back into the boiling pot. No mess, no fuss.

CHILL WINE WITHOUT WATERING IT DOWN
Level: My non-existent 3-year-old could do it (with assistance)

Prepping for a party? Serving wine? Then be prepared. Buy a bunch of grapes, clean ‘em up, dry them, then throw them in the freezer. Use frozen grapes to chill wine without watering them down—perfect for people who love chit-chatting around the room with a glass of wine. For added sophistication, use green grapes for champagne or white wine, and use red grapes for red wine.

HEALTHIER THAN BUTTER
Level: ‘Not that scary’ to ‘Newbies Beware’

Trying to cut down on your fat intake? Or simply ran out of butter? If you have avocados in your fruit basket or fridge, then you’ll do just fine. Avocados can be used as an equally delectable and less fatty substitute for butter in baking or cooking recipes. This is definitely something I would love to try out soon—if only avocados aren’t so expensive here.

THAT STUBBORN ROGUE EGG SHELL
Level: My non-existent 3-year-old could do it

Dropped some pieces of egg shell on the egg? When this happens to me, the rogue shell will do everything it can to avoid my fingers. But take this tip: wet fingers will do the trick. Tried it a bunch of times and I never had to struggle with (and accidentally scramble) an egg again.

‘THE WALKING TACO’
Level: Newbies Beware

A small bag of Fritos corn chips + sautéed ground beef + salsa + guacamole + shredded lettuce + grated cheese = ‘The Walking Taco’

Now THAT is an equation that makes sense.

This is perfect for tailgate parties, picnics, camping, or just when you’re too lazy to go out and get an actual taco. Fair warning, though: This might require actual knife skills, i.e. shredding the lettuce, making the salsa.

HOW TO CHILL A SODA CAN IN TWO MINUTES
Level: My non-existent 3-year-old could do it

Ran out of cold soda? No problem. You can chill soda cans in roughly two minutes through the process of ‘supercooling’ which uses three things: cold water, ice, and salt.

In a basin of water and ice, add about a teaspoon of salt. The salt will drastically reduce the freezing point of the water, which will chill the soda cans you submerge in the ice water in a fraction of the time it takes to chill in the freezer.

TWO-SECOND POTATO WEDGES
Level: Not that scary

Use an apple slicer (some people call it apple corer) to slice a potato and make wedges in just one to two seconds.

STRAW TO THE CORE
Level: My non-existent 3-year-old could do it (with quite a mess)

Use a sturdy drinking straw to remove the core and leaves of a strawberry. Just insert the straw at the bottom of the strawberry and push through until it pushes out the leaf. This technique is also applicable in pitting cherries.

INSECT-PROOF DRINKS
Level: My non-existent 3-year-old could do it

Having a party outside or just hanging out in our backyard with drinks and a good book? Use an upside-down cupcake liner to cover your glass/drink. Push the straw through the middle of the cupcake liner to keep it in place.

MAXIMIZE THAT WAFFLE MAKER
Level: Not that scary

Use the waffle maker to create evenly cooked hashbrowns.

FROZEN GOODS
Level: Not that scary

For additional flare on your rather mundane chocolate drink while keeping it chilled at the same time, use some milky cookie cubes.

Crush some chocolate cookies and put them in each compartment of an ice cube tray. Just fill it halfway. Next, pour in some milk to fill the remainder of the slots and place it in the freezer.

This is great for slumber parties, kids parties, or just to stay cool anytime of the day.

EDIBLE EGG MOLDS
Level: Newbies Beware

Core and slice a bell pepper cross-wise. You should have pepper rings. Place in a hot pan and crack your eggs inside the pepper. It looks like eggs in a basket, except the basket is made of (colourful) bell pepper rings.

NO MORE CINDER BLOCK ICE CREAM
Level: My non-existent 3-year-old could do it

Cover your ice cream tub in plastic. The plastic helps to keep the ice cream soft while in the freezer. No more spoon-bending catastrophes—just more ice cream to enjoy.

BANG FOR THE BUCK
Level: Newbies Beware

Love omelets? Instead of buying ingredients piece by piece, just head over to the grocery’s salad bar and fill your container for a fraction of the price. Plus: less effort in the kitchen, since most of the stuff on the salad bar are already cut up into manageable pieces.

BREAD WINNER
Level: My non-existent 3-year-old could do it

Keeping a slice of bread with a batch of freshly baked cookies will keep the batch softer for a longer period of time. It will also keep freshly baked cake moist.

As you can see, most hacks can be accomplished by my non-existent 3-year-old kid. They’re so easy—I don’t know why I haven’t tried all the things in this list yet.

Have you tried some of these food hacks? Or do you have food hacks of your own? Share them with us in the comments section.