We all like to find ways to make our lives easier in the kitchen. So, we reached out to the Prestige community for a few of their favourite time-saving kitchen tips
Kitchen tips from the Prestige community
Much as we love cooking, we’re always looking for ways we can make our lives easier in the kitchen. And with over 80 years of experience of being your friend in the kitchen, we’ve managed to pick up a few handy cooking tips along the way. There’s always something satisfying when you discover something new which cuts your cooking time in half!
While we love sharing our experience with our amazing Prestige community, we also thought we’d reach out to some of our members to hear some of their best ‘kitchen hacks.’ By using some of these the next time you cook, you can spend less time chopping, peeling and cutting and more time doing the best thing of all….eating!
TIP #1 - PEEL GINGER WITH A SPOON
“When I’m making a stir fry or a curry, I love using ginger,” says Christina. “However, it’s really fiddly to peel. One of my favourite kitchen tips is to peel it using a teaspoon. Just hold the ginger at the base and run over it a few times. The skin is really thin and it just comes right off, plus it’s much easier than using a standard peeler. It sounds strange, but it really works!” Why not put this handy tip to use tonight by making our delicious recipe for Ginger and Sesame Chicken?
TIP #2 - FOR PERFECTLY ROUND MACARONS
“It can be difficult to get perfectly round macarons if you don’t have a macaron mat,” says @thebakingnana. “So, what I like to do is use an upturned piping nozzle. You dip it in the mixture and dab it onto your baking tray which you’ve lined with baking paper. That gives you the perfect circle to pipe your macarons onto.” ,TIP #3 - TURN PLAIN FLOUR INTO SELF RAISING FLOUR
This great tip comes from Karen via Instagram. “During lockdown, it’s been difficult to find flour in the shops, so I’ve had to use strong plain flour for everything. I turn it into self raising flour by adding two teaspoons of baking powder to every 150g of flour. It’s great as then your flour becomes more versatile. Strong flour can be used for everything from pastry to scones.”
TIP #4 - HOW TO SOFTEN BROWN SUGAR
This tip comes from Stephanie. “Brown sugar is great, but it can clump together and get hard really easily. If this has happened to yours, simply place a piece of soft white bread in the packet and the sugar will break back down into sandy granules in a few hours. If you really need to use it in a hurry, you could also put the sugar in a glass or ceramic bowl with a moist paper towel, cover it with a lid or plate and microwave it for 20 seconds."" ,TIP #5 - TAKE THE BITE OUT OF RED ONIONS
“I got this great tip from the American food blog ‘Smitten Kitchen’ and it’s one of my favourites,” says Christina. “Red onions are delicious, but they can be a bit overpowering if they’re put into a salad raw. So, once they’ve chopped, I like to soak them in cold water for ten minutes. This helps to soften their taste and makes them even more delicious. For added flavour, you can also soak them in lemon juice, lime juice or vinegar - I really like apple cider vinegar!”
What are your favourite cooking tips? We’d love to hear all about them - as well as share them with our community! If you fancy sharing your secrets with us, join our Facebook community or follow @yourprestigekitchen on Instagram.
“When I’m making a stir fry or a curry, I love using ginger,” says Christina. “However, it’s really fiddly to peel. One of my favourite kitchen tips is to peel it using a teaspoon. Just hold the ginger at the base and run over it a few times. The skin is really thin and it just comes right off, plus it’s much easier than using a standard peeler. It sounds strange, but it really works!” Why not put this handy tip to use tonight by making our delicious recipe for Ginger and Sesame Chicken?
TIP #2 - FOR PERFECTLY ROUND MACARONS
“It can be difficult to get perfectly round macarons if you don’t have a macaron mat,” says @thebakingnana. “So, what I like to do is use an upturned piping nozzle. You dip it in the mixture and dab it onto your baking tray which you’ve lined with baking paper. That gives you the perfect circle to pipe your macarons onto.” ,TIP #3 - TURN PLAIN FLOUR INTO SELF RAISING FLOUR
This great tip comes from Karen via Instagram. “During lockdown, it’s been difficult to find flour in the shops, so I’ve had to use strong plain flour for everything. I turn it into self raising flour by adding two teaspoons of baking powder to every 150g of flour. It’s great as then your flour becomes more versatile. Strong flour can be used for everything from pastry to scones.”
TIP #4 - HOW TO SOFTEN BROWN SUGAR
This tip comes from Stephanie. “Brown sugar is great, but it can clump together and get hard really easily. If this has happened to yours, simply place a piece of soft white bread in the packet and the sugar will break back down into sandy granules in a few hours. If you really need to use it in a hurry, you could also put the sugar in a glass or ceramic bowl with a moist paper towel, cover it with a lid or plate and microwave it for 20 seconds."" ,TIP #5 - TAKE THE BITE OUT OF RED ONIONS
“I got this great tip from the American food blog ‘Smitten Kitchen’ and it’s one of my favourites,” says Christina. “Red onions are delicious, but they can be a bit overpowering if they’re put into a salad raw. So, once they’ve chopped, I like to soak them in cold water for ten minutes. This helps to soften their taste and makes them even more delicious. For added flavour, you can also soak them in lemon juice, lime juice or vinegar - I really like apple cider vinegar!”
What are your favourite cooking tips? We’d love to hear all about them - as well as share them with our community! If you fancy sharing your secrets with us, join our Facebook community or follow @yourprestigekitchen on Instagram.
