There’s nothing like stumbling on a hack that will make your daily life easier. While most people associated TikTok with dance routines, comedy skits and Gen Z fashion, the social media app has become a font of knowledge for making our lives easier in ways we could never have imagined. From cooking and baking to cleaning and storing, we’ve rounded up some of Instagram’s most interesting kitchen us – tag us with results if you test it out.
Peel garlic easily by microwaving it
Peeling garlic can be a chore as it takes forever to peel and your hands end up smelling like it for days afterwards no matter how many times you wash them. Microwaving a few garlic cloves for 15-30 seconds will help you separate the garlic from the peel way more easily. No mess, no fuss!
View this post on Instagram
Spread cold butter easily with a grater or use a heated bowl to soften it
Use a grater to grate a block of cold butter over toast. This will break it down and allow it to spread more easily. When a recipe calls for softened butter and you want to avoid melting it, fill a large bowl with boiling water and turn the empty bowl upside down onto the butter. The heat from the bowl will soften it in minutes.
Use dental floss to cut cake
It sounds bizarre, but it works! The next time you need to cut a cake or roll of dough, use a string of unflavoured (very important!) dental floss to cut your cake into neat slices, as you would with a knife. You could do the same for cinnamon buns. The floss will slide cleanly through the dough without smooshing or tearing the dough.
View this post on Instagram
3 hacks for keeping food fresher for longer in the fridge
– Chop the roots off a bunch of herbs and store them like a bouquet in a jar of water
– Slice up carrots or celery and store in water in sealed jars
– Store lettuce leaves and spinach in a tupperware with a slightly damp paper towel on the top and bottom to absorb moisture
Use baking soda and dishwashing liquid to deep-clean your oven
Although effective, traditional oven cleaners can give off nasty fumes. Here are two ways of doing it. coat the inside of your oven using a sponge and leave it to eat away at the grime for 1 hour before wiping clean.
…and cut through stove-top grease
Sprinkle your stove with baking soda. Slice a lemon in half and use it to ‘scrub’ the grime away before using a cloth to wipe away the grime.
Alternatively, start with the citrus fruit and salt first, and then base with baking soda and vinegar. You can substitute the grapefruit with a lemon and vinegar with dishwasher liquid.
View this post on Instagram
Get sticky labels of jars with a paste of baking soda and oil
Glass jars are a great way to store food, but they often come with sticky labels that won’t budge using traditional cleaning agents. Mix together equal parts oil and baking soda, rub onto label glue and scrub with a scrubbing brush. Let the mixture soak in for a few minutes and then use a cloth to rub off the glue.
