Hot Food Hacks Daily Posts
How To: Make a Fire Snake from Sugar & Baking Soda
When the baking soda gets hot, it makes carbon dioxide gas. The pressure from this gas pushes the carbonate from the burning sugar out of the sand, producing the "black snakes."
How To: 10 Reasons Why Drinking Gin Can Actually Be Good for You
Alcohol isn't exactly considered a healthy lifestyle choice; more often than not, it's associated with empty calories and bad decisions. But that doesn't mean there aren't a few benefits to drinking in moderation. In fact, gin is a liquor with a wealth of potential benefits to offer. So read on, and discover ten ways in which gin might actually be a good drink for you.
How To: Make a Cheap Cut of Steak Taste Like Filet Mignon
Living on a budget often means compromising what you want for what you need—or at least, for what's affordable. But that doesn't necessarily mean you have to compromise on flavor, especially if you know the right tips and tricks to make something spectacular out of the ordinary.
How To: 10 Reasons You Need to Add Cinnamon to Your Coffee
Creamer, milk (whole or skim), sugar, or even butter—you've probably added at least one of these to your coffee to improve its taste at some point. If you're looking for something different, though, try a new twist with a dash of cinnamon. This sweet, sharp spice can do so much more than improve coffee's taste, and I've got 10 examples for you to consider.
How To: 10 Easy Tricks to Make Store-Bought Pasta Sauce Taste Homemade
There's nothing better than real, homemade tomato sauce, but to really develop the flavors, it usually has to simmer for a few hours. And while it's totally worth doing if you have the time, some nights it's just not an option. That's where the pre-made stuff comes in. Jarred pasta sauce certainly doesn't taste the same, but it's really easy to dress up when you need something quick. If you don't want anyone to know your "secret recipe," here are 10 ways to make store-bought spaghetti or mari...
How To: Make Amazing Hard-Boiled Eggs That Are Easy to Peel
Hard-boiled (also known as hard-cooked) eggs are notoriously easy to mess up. We've all ended up with tough, rubbery egg whites and overcooked yolks that have that unappetizing gray-green ring around the edge. An ideal hard-cooked egg has a firm yet tender white, while the yolk is creamy and well-done without being mealy.
How To: Make Easy Ice Cream at Home in Under 10 Minutes
Homemade ice cream is so good and you can make it with just a few ingredients and no special equipment. Most cookbooks and magazine recipes expect you to have an ice cream maker at home, but you can imitate the churning effect of an ice cream maker by shaking or tossing around the ingredients inside a tightly sealed ziplock bag.
How To: 11 Ways to Keep Cheese Fresh & Mold-Free for as Long as Possible in Your Fridge
Cheese is one of the most loved foods in the world, and there are hundreds of different types. Some prefer super expensive gourmet cheeses, others are fine with the cheaper processed stuff.
How To: Tell if Your 'Expired' Eggs Are Still Good to Eat
A lot of people rely on the date on the packaging to tell them when food has gone bad, even with eggs, but the "sell by" dates are often rather arbitrary, and do not correlate to expiration dates. If you've been tossing away your eggs based on the dates on your carton—you're wrong.
How To: 8 Tricks That Make Boxed Cake Mix Taste Like Homemade
Ask ten different people how they feel about boxed cake mixes, and you'll likely get ten different answers. Some baking purists will berate them and throw them in the same category as garlic presses and knife sets sold on infomercials. Many people will say that they prefer not to use mixes, but keep one in the pantry just in case. And I dare you to find a college student that doesn't sing their praises.
How To: 10 Absolutely Ingenious Ways to Open Wine Without a Corkscrew
Unless you like boxed wine, your wine bottles are going to either be sealed with a cork or a screw cap, the latter of which should not be frowned upon, especially if it's white wine. However, most wineries still prefer corks over screw caps, and that means you'll need a corkscrew.
How To: Prevent Carved & Uncarved Pumpkins from Rotting
Pumpkin carving and decorating is a favorite pastime during this time of year. After you've carved an amazing design or face into a pumpkin or two, you want to show it off through your window or set it out on your porch for the neighbors to see. Without knowing the tricks to save your holiday pumpkins, they can turn slimy, moldy, and mushy in as little as three days.
How To: Ripen an Avocado in 10 Minutes or Less
Summer cookouts and barbecues come with a lot of delicious foods, but to me, there's nothing better than dishes heaped with avocados. From guacamole to simply eating an avocado right out of its skin, I devour this fruit constantly—but it's one that can be tricky to find perfectly ripe.
Food Chemistry: The "Ingredients" in Organic, All-Natural, Fruits & Eggs Are Not What You'd Expect
If you look at the label on your favorite processed snack, there's a good chance you have no idea what half the ingredients are. It's nothing new, but with natural and organic foods becoming huge trends, we're hyper-aware of all the "chemicals" we eat.
How To: Oops! Food Too Spicy? Here's How to Fix It
The headline above may have some spice addicts shaking their heads, but, believe it or not, there are people out there who either don't like or can't handle a ton of spice.
How To: Make Delicious Thai Sticky Rice Without a Steamer or Rice Cooker
If you're a fan of Thai food, I'm sure you're familiar with sticky rice. There is something so special about its chewy texture and sweet flavor. If you have a desire to make it in your own kitchen but don't have the proper tools such as a traditional bamboo basket or stackable steamer, there are several other methods that work just as well. Once you try these alternative methods, I'm sure you'll be "sticking" to them for a while. What Makes Sticky Rice So Sticky?
How To: 5 Things You Need to Do When Baking with Frozen Fruit
Frozen fruit is always in season at your local grocery store, so you don't have to wait until the farmers market starts again to enjoy delicious baked fruit desserts. Peach pie, blueberry muffins, raspberry scones... all of these delicious baked goods can be just as delectable when using frozen fruit, too.
How To: Split an Apple in Half with Your Bare Hands
Have you ever looked at a piece of fruit and thought to yourself, "you suck, fruit, sitting there all smug and happy, I wish I could just destroy you here and now?" If so, read on—your favorite Fat-man is going to show you how you can get your revenge on that happy smug fruit sitting in your fridge by breaking an apple in half with your bare hands.
How To: Make Your Own Dippin' Dots Ice Cream with Liquid Nitrogen
Dippin' Dots are a fun way to enjoy ice cream, but the price tag is not so fun. Plus, the company filed for bankruptcy last year, so they may not be around much longer. The good news is that you don't need them—you can make your own at home with some ice cream and liquid nitrogen. Redditor hypoid77 posted instructions on how to make your own DIY Dippin' Dots Maker out of a Styrofoam cooler, a couple two-liter bottles, a thumbtack, and some liquid nitrogen. Use the thumbtack to poke a 3-inch p...
How To: The Secrets to Giving Day-Old French Fries a Delicious Second Life
French fries, like mashed or roast potatoes, are the type O blood of the food world—they're compatible with just about everybody. That's why it's so sad to bring home leftover frites (that's French for French fries) and have to toss them out the next day because they don't taste as good when they're reheated. Warning: Do Not Ever, Ever Use Your Microwave
How To: Tired of Flat Soda? Use This Trick to Keep Two-Liter Bottles of Soda Fizzy Longer
A flat soda tastes awful. It's almost as bad as drinking a room temperature milkshake. Of course, you can always opt to buy single-serving cans or 20 ounce bottles, but that's always going to be more expensive than 2-liters.
How To: This Simple Trick Will Keep Your Bread Fresher Longer
Fresh loaves of bread from the bakery are both delicious and often free of the preservatives that come with buying sliced, bagged bread off the supermarket shelves. However, these same loaves of bread tend to become stale much more quickly when sliced. It's quite the dilemma, especially for those who want to avoid throwing away and wasting stale bread (or are tired of turning said stale pieces into breadcrumbs or croutons).
The Science of Frothing: How to Make Your Own Milk Foam
Once upon a time in America, there was coffee and there was decaf. That's it. No capuccinos. No espressos. And certainly no Starbucks. Coffee was just coffee, something that you bought at a gas station or donut shop. If you made it at home, it was either in a metal pot or instant coffee.
How To: Why You Should Stop Buying Spreadable Butter—And How to Make It Yourself
We've already taught you a few tricks for getting chilled, rock-hard butter to spread easily on toast, and some of you probably bypass that issue entirely by purchasing spreadable butter from the supermarket. But why waste your money when you can make a healthier, tastier version at home for a fraction of the cost?
How To: Cook Food Perfectly at Home with a Super Cheap DIY Sous Vide Machine
Unless you're a pretty avid home cook, you probably don't know a lot about sous vide. Sous vide is a low-temperature cooking method where food is cooked in vacuum-sealed plastic bags in a water bath for a prolonged period of time.
How To: Squeeze More Juice Out of Lemons & Limes—Without Getting Any Seeds
The late, great writer Laurie Colwin once wrote that if she were allowed to have only one fruit in her kitchen, she would always choose lemons (or limes, since they can often be used interchangeably).
How To: Clean Tarnished Metal Using This Common Condiment
Most of you probably spread ketchup all over hamburgers and fries. Some of you may even drink it straight. But did you know that tame (and slightly addictive) condiment in your fridge is also a powerful cleaning agent?
How To: Make Bitter Coffee Taste Better with This Secret Ingredient
Finding the formula to the perfect cup of coffee for your taste can take a while. I finally got around to buying a French press a few weeks ago and I'm still tweaking the right ratio and brewing time to get it just right (though I am drinking it at the right times each day).
Shake It Up: How to Peel Eggs with a Glass of Water
Hard-boiled eggs are such an amazing snack, but there's nothing quite so frustrating as trying to get all the shell off without damaging the egg underneath. I've ended up with many a sadly pitted and pockmarked egg that somehow doesn't taste quite as good as when it emerges all white and smooth.
How To: At Last—We've Hacked Thai Rolled Ice Cream So You Don't Have To
Yes, I know it's autumn and the trees are losing their leaves, but the seasons do not decide when I can or cannot enjoy ice cream. No matter how warm or cold is is outside right now, I will remain completely fascinated by rolled ice cream. Yes, rolled.
How To: Dehydrate Food Without a Dehydrator
I grew up in a rural town, and that meant that we dehydrated a lot of food. Even with a hungry family of five, there was no way that we could eat all of the season's tomatoes before they molded, or all of the orchard's apples before they grew soft, or all of the wild mushrooms that we picked. And so our dehydrator was always getting a good workout.
How To: Steam Food Without a Steamer Basket
I'm not a big fan of single-use tools, especially ones that don't get used particularly often. And I'm especially not a big fan of seldom used single-use tools that take up a large amount of space.
How To: Make Easy Homemade Buttermilk, Sour Cream, & Crème Fraîche
Cultured dairy products are great for topping chilis and soups, stirring into dips, and adding tanginess to breads and pancakes. They're extremely versatile and often interchangeable, and they contain probiotics that offer a long list of health benefits. They're also super easy to make at home with just a few basic ingredients. Here's how to make your own buttermilk, sour cream and crème fraîche.
How To: Why You Need to Heat Up Store-Bought Tortillas (And the Best Ways to Do It)
Even though I often end the workday exhausted and just want to wrap rotisserie chicken parts in a store-bought tortilla and shove it in my eating hole, I generally try and take a couple of minutes to warm up said tortillas before I begin my meal. But if you're starving, do you really need to take the time? Do warm tortillas really make that much of a difference?
Cook for Garlic & Onion Haters: Alternatives & Substitutes
Hard as it is to imagine, there are people out there who loathe garlic and onions. Some might have allergies or medical conditions like IBS, or are supertasters (i.e. people who carry a certain gene that makes them extremely sensitive to how certain foods taste). Others might just be picky eaters.
How To: The Ultimate Garlic Cheat Sheet: Which Type of Garlic Goes Best with What?
Go to a chain supermarket, and chances are you'll see one type of garlic—maybe two or three if you're lucky. However, there's a mouthwatering slew of Allium sativum out there, far beyond those papery white bulbs most of us encounter at the nearest Stop 'n' Shop.
How To: Keep Your Sandwiches from Getting Soggy
I'm a firm believer that a sandwich is the ultimate food. It's filling, but not heavy; it has carbs, protein, veggies, and sauces; and it's easily customizable. Add that all up and you've got the absolutely perfect lunch.
How To: Brita Filters Costing You a Fortune? Use These DIY Methods to Clean Your Water for Half the Price
No matter what the clean freaks out there try to tell me, I still drink my Los Angeles tap water without a care in the world. I figure that I've already consumed much more heinous things in my lifetime. Street vendor "steak" burritos comes to mind.
How To: The Formula to Making a Perfect Cake Without a Recipe
Baking a cake is relatively easy... if you happen to have a cookbook or some boxed cake mix nearby. And though you can use the internet or your favorite cooking app, it can be nice to just cook without a recipe. That seems impossible with baking, which is such an exact science, but it's actually relatively easy.
How To: How & Why You Should Make Your Own Protein Powder
Protein powder is a fad in the same way that Justin Bieber's music is: you either love it, or you hate it. Everyone I know has a strong opinion about protein powder, ranging from "daily necessity" to "utterly useless."
Next Page
Prev Page