10 Proven cooking tips from grandmothers

10 Proven cooking tips from grandmothers

Storing food, not crying while peeling onions, opening a bottle without a bottle opener: everyone has their little tips and tricks in the kitchen. Most of the time, it’s advice that comes from our parents, from their parents, etc., etc. Here is a list of 10 tips that work and have been proven for generations.

1. Peel the  eggs

To peel the eggs easily, run them under cold water as soon as they are cooked. Our grandmothers were already taking advantage of this proven trick. When the hot egg comes into contact with cold water, the shell, skin, and flesh of the egg contract, forming micro-cracks that make it easier to peel the egg. 

Be careful, if you want to store your hard-boiled eggs without peeling them, avoid soaking them in cold water after cooking, as they won’t keep for as long. 

 2. Open a bottle

Everyone thinks it’s impossible to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew… when in fact, all you have to do is get a screw and pliers from the toolbox: push the screw into the cork and remove it with pliers, and voila!

Don’t have a toolbox at home? That’s okay, there’s another trick. Place your bottle in a towel to protect it from shocks. Put a shoe against a wall and tap the bottom of the bottle against the shoe. The shocks at the bottom of the bottle will eventually cause the cork to rise. All you have to do is grab it to remove it.

3. Peel garlic

Here’s a quick tip well done: enclose the garlic cloves in a glass jar and shake the jar vigorously. Handy when you need lots of garlic cloves for cooking. Be careful, however, to cut off the end of the pods and shake the pot very vigorously. 

4. Store apples

Another well-known trick that will allow you to avoid waste. To make an already opened apple keep longer, pour a little lemon juice on the fruit. Apple flesh will no longer break down as quickly. 

5. Freeze herbs

It is the ordeal of the cooks: to preserve the aromatic plants. They don’t like hot or cold, sun or shade. So what to do? They can be frozen, provided you do not do anything to preserve all the flavor. Cut the aromatic herbs, wash them quickly and place them in ice cube trays. 

Then add olive oil to the ice cube trays to prevent the cold from burning the herbs and turning them black. This trick works particularly well with rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano, chives, and flat-leaf parsley. Also, be sure to use good quality, cold-pressed olive oil. 

6. Protect ice cream

Place plastic wrap over the opening of the ice cream jar before closing the lid. This ensures that the ice cream does not come into contact with the air and thus does not absorb odors from other foods in the freezer. This method also prevents the formation of ice crystals in the ice cream. 

7. Always fresh basil

This fresh herb that always smells good has the particularity of dying after spending a few days in our kitchen. Blame it on its hypersensitivity to everything (hot, cold, light, shade) and the fact that it is usually sold before maturity in the supermarket. 

To enjoy basil longer, wrap it in a plastic bag that you pull out a centimeter each day. Finally, pay attention to a few details: the temperature of the room (about 20°C), the place of the basil in the kitchen (avoid window sills facing south), and the amount of water the plant has. Also, be careful to cut the largest leaves first

8. Make ice cubes look good

After seeing this technique, you will wonder why in the 21st century there are still people who take simple squares of frozen water to make ice cubes when there is a technique so much more fun and classy! 

Frozen berries, such as grapes, raspberries, or strawberries are perfect substitutes for ice cubes in a glass of champagne. Not only is it much prettier, but the fruit will only cool down without diluting your favorite drink with water. 

9. Store bananas

Simply place the bananas in the refrigerator to keep them longer. The skin will turn brown but the flesh of the banana will be fresh as on the first day. 

10. Peel onions without crying

When we peel an onion, a gas is released from the bulb and stings our eyes which cry to protect themselves from it. The simplest solution is to peel the onion under running water. Alternatively, you can quickly run the cutting board underwater as well as the knife and the onion, keep some water in your mouth, and cut the onions like this. It looks a bit silly, but it works. 

Some of these tips are known, others less so, anyway, they have all been proven!