After lockdown lifted, many of us enjoyed the novelty of going to restaurants and cafés again. But with the cost of living crisis pushing our budgets, it appears that home cooking is back on the menu.
Earlier this year, just under half of people (47%) said that they planned to eat out less, according to research from Two Ears One Mouth. Whether you're preparing meals at home to save money or you genuinely love cooking, it never hurts to make the process quicker and easier.
Here are 7 preparation hacks that could help you get food on the table faster!
If you're baking with chocolate and want to grate it without a gooey mess, put the block and your grater in the freezer first for 10 mins. This will speed up the grating process and prevent you from having to clean up too much after.
Make the quickest potato wedges ever by using an apple slicer to split each potato into even pieces.
Don't fancy wedges? Never put up with lumpy mash again. Forget your stick masher and tip the mash, milk and softened butter in to a large bowl and whisk with an electric hand-held whisk until smooth, instead. This Smeg Hand Mixer came out on top in the GHI's electric whisk tests, so it's worth checking out if you're in the market for a new one.
Get even more juice from your lemons and limes: pop them on a plate and microwave for 10-15 seconds until just beginning to soften, then slice and squeeze for maximum juice.
Need your avocados, bananas and soft fruits to ripen more quickly? Keep them together in a paper bag and the ethylene gas produced by avocados and bananas should have your fruit ready for breakfast.
Every cook knows that chopping garlic, ginger or chilli is the most tedious thing you can do in the kitchen!
Instead, use a microplane to grate everything straight in to the pan or bowl. And if there are leftovers, whizz them into a purée and freeze in ice cube trays for a fast-fix instant flavour addition to curries and stir-fries.
Struggling to peel shallots? Put them in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 10 seconds, and then lift them out. The skins should peel off much more easily.
Making a béchamel sauce isn't too tricky. But, sometimes time (or inclination!) gets in the way.
Reach for the full-fat cream cheese instead. Add straight to the pan, thin to desired consistency with water and flavour with mustard, herbs or grated cheese.
Carrots, sprouts and potatoes are just a few examples of vegetables that taste better when roasted!
Don't be fooled into thinking you have to boil your vegetables before roasting them. Save yourself time and get a much tastier result by simply roasting.