25 Kitchen Tricks That Will Make Your Life Easier

From one-ingredient desserts to nifty wine hacks, these ingenious ideas will help you become a culinary maven.

Chris Schonberger

Cooking isn’t all about ease—sometimes, it’s the hardest, most labor-intensive dishes that turn out to be the most satisfying to make. But arming yourself with little time-savers—a better way to peel garlic or cut cherry tomatoes, for example—will make you much more efficient in your cooking ops. And there are plenty of fun party tricks that you can pull out to impress your guests, like making Coke slushies in your freezer or creating a delicious dessert out of one ingredient. Here are our 25 favorite cooking hacks and kitchen hacks—learn ’em all and you’ll be unstoppable.

Open a bottle of wine on a tree

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 5 How it works: Wrap up a corked bottle of wine in a towel and lightly slam the butt of the bottle to a tree. Read more.
Freeze a bottle of Coke for the easiest slushie ever

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 2 How it works: Put a standard soda bottle in the freezer for 3-4 hours, then take the bottle out, quickly release the pressure by unscrewing and then rescrewing the cap, flip the bottle upside down, and then back upright again. The cold soda should now turn into slush and you can squirt out your DIY soda slushie. Read more.
Get hard-boiled eggs out of the shell without peeling.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 5 How it works: Remove a bit of the shell on the top and bottom and then just blow—power moves. via Tim Ferriss
Make one-ingredient ice cream—all you need is bananas

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 4 How it works: Cut up bananas, freeze them, mush them in a food processor, and eat. Read more.
Store ice cream cartons in a plastic bag to keep your frozen treats soft

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 1 How it works: Storing your ice cream in a plastic bag will ensure scoopable softness and avoid freezer burn. Read more.
Slice cherry tomatoes by pinning them between container lids

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 4 How it works: Cutting cherry tomatoes on by one is time-consuming cherry tomatoes—instead, pin them between two plastic container lids and get them all with one slice. Read more.
Blow people's minds by eating a cupcake like a sandwich.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 3 How it works: In case you didn't learn this in first grade, there's a better way to eat cupcakes: Simply slice off the top part with the frosting, flip it over, and create a sandwich with the bottom half. via Foodbeast
Store champagne with a spoon in it’s neck to keep it bubbly

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 1 How it works: While there are some naysayers out there who cite things like "science," plenty of bartenders still swear by this trick for keeping your champagne bubbly. Read more.
Pit cherries using a stick.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 6 How it works: People like to eat cherries with no pits, but they don't like cherries cut in half. Fulfill their dreams by poking the pits out with a stick. Read more.
Make a brownie in a mug in a minute and 40 seconds.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 5 How it works: If you're too lazy to bake brownies, this little trick is a fine alternative for a late-night snack. Read more.
Cook crispy bacon in a microwave.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 5 How it works: Drape slices of bacon over the side of a bowl and cook for 90 seconds per slice. It may not be quick, but it's pretty damn easy. Read more.
Make awesome yogurt pops with almost zero effort.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 4 How it works: Mix up Greek yogurt, berries, and honey, then pour the mixture into popsicle molds and freeze. Boom—delicious frozen treat. Read more.
Peel a potato in one easy step.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 4 How it works: After boiling, simply put the potato in ice water for a few seconds and the skin will come off with one easy twist. via Lifehacker
Make hard-boiled eggs in the oven

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 3 How it works: Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, bake eggs for 30 minutes, rinse in cold water, and voila: hard-boiled eggs. Read more.
Hack a tart pan.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 5 How it works: If you need to make something in a tart pan but your tart pan is too big, use tin foil to make it smaller. Read more.
Turn your Ben & Jerry's stash into ice cream bread.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 7 How it works: Ice cream + self-rising flour = weird but awesome bread/cake. Our intern made it and it was good. Read more.
Slice cartons of ice cream with a knife so they're easier to serve.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 1 How it works: Pretty self-explanatory—just make sure your knife isn't too hot! Read more.
Peel a head of garlic in less than 10 seconds.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 5 How it works: Saveur breaks it down: "Smash the head of garlic with the heel of your hand. Sweep the cloves into one bowl, and invert the second bowl over the top of the first bowl. Hold the bowls together where the rims meet and shake the dickens out of it for 10-20 seconds, until the garlic cloves have been released from their skins." Read more.
Unload a case of soda into your fridge like a champion.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 4 How it works: Open one end of the cardboard box and place it on a shelf in the fridge. Then open the other end and push your arm through—the cardboard box will slide out, and the sodas will stay on the fridge. via Lifehacker
Keep leftover wine in a mason jar.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 6 How it works: Yes, "leftover wine" should be an oxymoron. But if you end up with an unfinished bottle and don't want it to go to waste, sealing it in an airtight mason jar will do the trick. Read more.
Figure out if an avocado is ripe by looking at it.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 2 How it works: You can squeeze an avocado to get a good sense of how ripe it is, but here's an easier way: Simply remove the stem and check the color. Read more.
Core your lettuce by smashing it on a cutting board.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 3 How it works: When you have a whole head of lettuce, all you have to do is slam the root down on a hard surface to dislodge it. via Sorted Food
Skin a kiwi with a spoon.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 4 How it works: "Trim both ends of the fruit; ease a tablespoon between the flesh and the peel. Turn the kiwi, pressing the back of the spoon against the peel as you go. The whole fruit should slide right out—ready for slicing." Read more.
Make clear ice at home.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 6 How it works: Boil water before freezing it and it won't come out cloudy—your cocktails will look super professional with crystal-clear ice. Read more.
Make better toast for BLTs.

Degree of difficulty (0-10): 4 How it works: If you place two slices in one toaster slot, the outside will get warm and crispy, but the interior will remain soft and doughy. via Kottke

25 Kitchen Tricks That Will Make Your Life Easier

Open a bottle of wine on a tree

Freeze a bottle of Coke for the easiest slushie ever

Get hard-boiled eggs out of the shell without peeling.

Make one-ingredient ice cream—all you need is bananas

Store ice cream cartons in a plastic bag to keep your frozen treats soft

Slice cherry tomatoes by pinning them between container lids

Blow people's minds by eating a cupcake like a sandwich.

Store champagne with a spoon in it’s neck to keep it bubbly

Pit cherries using a stick.

Make a brownie in a mug in a minute and 40 seconds.

Cook crispy bacon in a microwave.

Make awesome yogurt pops with almost zero effort.

Peel a potato in one easy step.

Make hard-boiled eggs in the oven

Hack a tart pan.

Turn your Ben & Jerry's stash into ice cream bread.

Slice cartons of ice cream with a knife so they're easier to serve.

Peel a head of garlic in less than 10 seconds.

Unload a case of soda into your fridge like a champion.

Keep leftover wine in a mason jar.

Figure out if an avocado is ripe by looking at it.

Core your lettuce by smashing it on a cutting board.

Skin a kiwi with a spoon.

Make clear ice at home.

Make better toast for BLTs.

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