Given the COVID-19 pandemic era, most of us would spend more time at home working and such. That means it comes to no surprise that we’ll be using the kitchen more often as well. Among the kitchen tasks that we usually face include cutting, slicing and peeling. The latter can takes up a lot of your time, but here are 7 Peeling Hacks To Ease Your Kitchen Tasks!
1) Peel Potatoes Without A Peeler
No peeler? No problem. Try this time-saving simple method, instead. Grab a knife and run the blade around the middle of the potato in a circular motion. Make sure your knife is sharp, though so it can penetrate deep enough to cut the skin without going overboard. Then, boil the potatoes as usual in a pot of water. Once done, transfer the boiled potatoes into cold water and let them cool for a while. When the potatoes are just cool to the touch, you should able to peel away the cut skin easily.
2) Peel Hard-Boiled Eggs Easily Using The Baking Soda Trick
Got a box of baking soda lying somewhere in your kitchen cabinet? It’s time to put it into good use. If you often make hard-boiled eggs at home, you know how annoying it is to peel the shells off. Time-consuming would be the right word here. But you don’t have to suffer from that all the time, thanks to this neat little trick. Here’s how: You boil your eggs in a pot of water as usual. Only this time, you add a teaspoon of baking soda during the boiling process. Apparently, baking soda helps to increase the pH level of the egg whites. This, in turn, make the hard-boiled eggs easier to peel once you transfer them in a bowl of cold water.
3) Peel Prawns With A Fork
Those who enjoy prawns or shrimps would understand how time-consuming peeling them can be. Not to mention you can make a mess de-shelling a prawn. This is especially true if you are not used to peeling a prawn. Fortunately, there’s a simple hack you can try here. And best of all, you do not need special equipment whatsoever. Just a fork would do. All you have to do is to stick a fork between the shell and its meat. Then, you drag the side prong of the fork all the way down. This would help to remove the shell easily. Now, you can enjoy a prawn in its entirety minus the deshelling mess!
4) Peel Gingers With A Spoon
Ginger is no doubt one of the most quintessential ingredients in most Asian cuisines. But when it comes to preparing them for cooking, that is where the trouble starts, with those bumpy and uneven roots. While you can use a vegetable peeler or a small knife to peel the outer skin, it can be a painstaking process. So, what can you do instead? Use a spoon. Simply lay your ginger on the wooden board and scraping its outer layer using the sharp edges of the spoon. But before you do the scraping, remember to make sure the ginger is dry.
5) Peel Garlic Using The Shaking Method
If you don’t have a garlic peeler or garlic press in the kitchen, there’s another way you can peel garlic. No, not the usual slicing-and-smashing method. But the shaking technique, where you need to grab two bowls and make sure they are similar in size. Next, place the head of garlic in the bowl and use the other bowl to smash it. For the smashing part, remember to use the bottom part of the bowl you are holding (According to Taste of Home, they mention that metal bowls work the best due to their hard-sided build).
Now, for the shaking part: Make sure the crushed garlic bulb is placed in one bowl and the other one on top. Start shaking both of the bowls vigorously for around 10-15 seconds. This method helps to separate out the outer layers of the garlic cloves. Finally, you can remove the cloves out of the bowl for cooking and toss away the skin.
6) Peel Kiwis With A Spoon
Kiwi is a versatile fruit. You can eat it on its own, mix it in a fruit salad or blend it into a smoothie or juice. And yes, this little New Zealand oval fruit happens to be loaded with more vitamin C than your usual orange! When come to peeling a kiwi, you can use a small knife or a vegetable peeler. Unless you are comfortable with either of the methods, the result can be time-consuming. Try this simpler hack instead: Simply cut both ends of kiwi fruit. Then, use a spoon and gently slide through the edge of the kiwi between the skin and the flesh. From there, roll the spoon inside the kiwi in a circular motion to remove the skin altogether.
7) Peel Mangoes With A Glass
Like kiwis, mangoes are just as versatile for a fruit. You can eat them on its own, make juices, smoothies, salads and pickles. Typically, you use a knife to peel the skin off but there’s an easier way. Simply slice the mango in half and grab the one half against the rim of a glass. Grab the glass firmly and use that rim to press the mango to separate the flesh from the skin. You will see the flesh slide down into the glass.
