Food Hacks How-Tos
How To: Turn a Pint of Ice Cream into a Freakin' Loaf of Sweet Bread
Cooking may be an art, but baking is a science. It requires precise measurements since the outcome is based on chemical reactions. Using too much or too little of one ingredient can be the difference between perfect, crunchy-yet-chewy cookies and the dreaded "one big cookie." That's why frozen cookie dough and pre-made bread and cake mixes are so popular. They're easy to throw together, and pretty much guarantee success every time. But what if you're feeling so lazy that you don't even want t...
How To: Screw McDonald's—Make Your Own Big Macs, Egg McMuffins, & Other Famous Mickey D's Meals at Home!
McDonald's is probably the most recognizable fast food chain in the entire world, with over 34,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. In may not be the healthiest place to get a meal, but like millions of kids in America, I grew up on McDonald's unquestionably delicious products—and I'm still alive.
How To: Don't Have a Special Cupcake Pan? Here's How to Bake Cupcakes and Muffins Without One
Love or hate 'em, you've got to admit that cupcakes really had their moment. They started rising in popularity back in 2003 with the opening of Crumbs Bake Shop in Manhattan, and quickly became one of the most annoyingly ubiquitous food trends to date. Seriously. Type "cupcake" into Google. While I wouldn't turn it down if you put one in front of me (red velvet, please), I can't say that I was particularly disappointed to hear that the cupcake trend is coming to an end. I'm more of a cheeseca...
How To: The Dead-Simple Trick to Getting Chips Out of a Pringles Can—Fast & Mess-Free
Pringles are just as well known for their cylindrical packaging as for their suspiciously addictive fried crisps. Yes, that's crisps—not chips.
How To: Tenderize Tough Cuts of Meat in a Hurry—Without a Mallet
Sometimes, figuring out what to cook for dinner takes longer than actually cooking it. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten excited about a recipe, then realized that it requires marinating for twelve hours. When it's already 6 p.m., that just isn't going to work.
How To: The Easiest, Most Practical Way to Separate Egg Yolks from Egg Whites Without Getting Messy
Separating an egg yolk from the white is one of the most universally hated kitchen tasks out there. Most cooks prefer using their hands or the egg's own shell to separate them. For those who don't like getting messy, there are countless devices designed solely for this purpose, and a lot of shortcuts that use household items to make it easier. Remember this water bottle trick?
How To: Keep Recipes Visible, but Clean & Out of the Way While You Cook
With the explosion of food blogs in the last couple of years, there are more recipes available at the tip of your fingers than ever before. Craving chocolate chip cookies or Sriracha-flavored anything? You're guaranteed to have several thousand versions to choose from. So that's how they did it before the Internet...
How To: 10 Simple Kitchen Hacks That Can Remove & Prevent Lingering Food Smells on Your Hands
Food can smell great before, during, and after cooking. A pot of stew simmering away on the stove will tantalize you all afternoon, and there's nothing better than the smell of fresh-baked cookies lingering in the house for hours.
How To: The Effortless Secret to Baking Perfect, Crispy-Edged Cookies with Chewy Centers
No matter how good you are at baking, we've all had a cookie mishap (or disaster) or two. Sometimes you forget about them and they burn, other times you open the oven to find your sweet treats have melted into one huge, disappointing blob of a cookie. And occasionally, you just picked a bad recipe (although no one ever believes you when this is the case).
How To: Keep Your Tablet Safe from Kitchen Disasters with the Simplest Wall Mount Ever
Tablets can be incredibly useful in many situations, and the kitchen is no exception. Whether you're following a recipe, using an app to convert cups to tablespoons, or getting your Gosling fix, there are a lot of reasons you might keep your tablet nearby while you're cooking.
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: Dunk an Oreo Cookie in Milk Without Getting Your Fingers Messy
Who can eat Oreos without a glass of cold milk? They're called "milk's favorite cookie" for a reason, after all. People tend to feel strongly one way or the other on whether or not to dunk cookies in general, but most dunkers and non-dunkers alike can agree that milk is a must with Oreos.
How To: The Squeaky Clean Trick to Eating an Orange Without Getting Your Fingers All Sticky
As a kid, there was nothing more fulfilling than sinking my teeth deep into the succulent flesh of an orange, savoring every drop of juice that wasn't busy sliding down your chin and onto your clothes. While my adulation for oranges never ceased as I grew older, the way I consumed the precious fruit did evolve with my maturity. Gone were the days of messy eating, and here I was now, peeling my oranges as a teenager, taking my precious time in separating each individual slice for a clean and t...
How To: DIY Altoids! How to Make Your Own Miniature Mints in Any Flavor You Want
It's always a good idea to have a pack of mints on hand, especially right after a cup of coffee or a lunch made with loads of garlic. Whether you're going on a date, to the dentist, or to an interview, bad breath is a major faux pas and totally avoidable. Simply pop a mint! But not just any old mint — homemade ones not only freshen your breath but can give you a sense of pride every time you need one.
How To: How a Breakfast Badass Makes Eggs: Scrambled AND Hard-Boiled (Without Cracking the Shell)
Eggs are one of the most versatile foods imaginable. They can be cooked in tons of different ways, eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and go with just about anything. Most of us have hard-boiled and scrambled eggs before, but have you ever thought about combining the two? That looks pretty good, doesn't it? But it's not exactly the kind of scrambled and hard-boiled eggs combo I'm referring to. And thankfully, this isn't what I'm talking about either... No, even though balut may look like ...
How To: Turn Your Freezer's Ice Maker into a Candy Dispenser
Tons of freezers have built-in ice dispensers, but a lot of people never use them. But it turns out, all it takes to give it a new purpose is some duct tape, an X-Acto knife, and a piece of foam core.
How To: Make Trader Joe's Must-Have Speculoos Cookie Butter at Home
If you've never heard of cookie butter, it must be because you live in a town where there's no Trader Joe's. It was their most popular item in 2012, and when it started to become popular, the Internet promptly went nuts, posting recipe after recipe using it as an ingredient. For those of you who don't live near a Trader Joe's but still want to see what all the fuss is about, there's good news—you can make it at home—and you don't need spiced Speculoos shortcrust biscuits either!
How To: Make Nachos That Are Mathematically Perfect—And a Whole Lot Less Messy
Nachos are one of those foods that are really hard to hate. Cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream...what's not to love? They're a favorite at Mexican restaurants, concession stands, and even inspired their own kind of cheese, so what's the downside?
How To: Hate Peeling Garlic Cloves? This Trick Will Make Those Skins Slide Right Off
I love to cook. There are few things more relaxing for me than spending an afternoon in the kitchen, and one ingredient that I throw into just about everything (seriously, everything) is garlic. It can instantly add a whole new level of flavor to a dish, and there's not much that it doesn't go with.
How To: Brighten Up Your Breakfast with These Rainbow-Colored Pancake and Waffle Recipes
If you've ever stumbled through Pinterest's boards, you'd know that Pinners have quite a penchant for aesthetically beautiful desserts. You can find a whole spectrum of "huh?" recipes, from pumpkin zebra cheesecake to sorbet terrine with plum compote.
How To: Keep Your Fingers Clean While Eating Cheetos, Chocolate, Chips, and More!
Cheetos fingers is defined as the unpleasant (but mostly pleasant), oddly-colored residue left on the thumb, index finger, and middle finger after ravenously eating through a bag of—you guessed it—Cheetos. It can usually be cleaned up by licking your fingers (my favorite) or washing your hands (boooooo). For the folks who enjoy the latter, Cheetos fingers are an annoyance. As someone who enjoys this idiosyncrasy, I've never quite understood the disgust in getting your fingers all cheesed up.
How To: 5 Lightning-Fast Tricks for Peeling Annoying Fruits and Vegetables
I think part of the reason why I don’t eat more vegetables or fruits is because there's always a process—a simple one, but a process nonetheless. Having to wash my fruits and veggies is just flat out annoying. I just want to eat them, not take a shower with them.
Stop Your Sloshing: How to Carry a Hot Cup of Joe Without Spilling Any Coffee on You
For the vast majority of people, coffee is a must-have in the morning. It provides a stimulating effect that not only wakes you up, but sets your mood and attitude for the rest of the day. Personally, I wouldn't get anything done without coffee.
How To: Make Your Own Soda Pop at Home with a DIY Carbonation Kit
Even if you're not a hipster with your own self-sufficient garden, making your own edibles at home can be pretty cool. And while it's obviously easier to pick up a bottle of 7-Up at the store, there's something undoubtedly fun about making your own. For those addicted to their fizzy drinks, DIY soda is a great way to save some cash and make their drinks healthier with natural flavors and sweeteners, instead of something like corn syrup or aspartame.
How To: Hate Separating Eggs? Use a Plastic Water Bottle to Surgically Extract the Egg Yolk
You can buy special utensils to do just about anything these days, and separating eggs is no exception. If you don't have (or want to buy) a fancy tool to do it, the classic method is simple—just crack the egg and transfer the yolk back and forth between the two halves. But even though egg separators are pretty cheap and using the shell (or just your fingers) isn't hard to do, neither is as fun as this trick by YouTuber jifenzhongDIY.
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: How I Made Cat Poop Coffee (Kopi Luwak)—The Best Cup of Crap Ever
I am a man who enjoys a good cup of crap. Not just any crap, but the kind that makes the Seattle coffee-snob inside of me feel all warm and happy as if the sun were out (which of course it isn't.) It's the kind of crap that has traveled through the intestinal tracts of a nocturnal marsupial, cutely called a Civet. It's the kind of fermented brew that everyone should lay their lips on at least once.
How To: Make Stale Cookies Fresh Again with a Slice of Bread
Nothing beats the taste of a fresh-baked cookie, but unfortunately, those treats don't retain their freshness for long. With just a slice of regular old bread though, you can keep those cookies tasting great. A day or two after you've baked your batch, if you've noticed that the texture is beginning to go, slide in a slice of fresh bread with them. The moisture from the bread will transfer over to the cookies via osmosis, keeping them soft and delicious! Make sure you memorize this quick kitc...
How To: Turn a Watermelon into a Keg—The Perfect Summertime Drink Dispenser
Imagine you're holding a cookout with family and friends. You're having a good time—the grass is green, the sun is shining, and the smell of the burgers sizzling on the grill is irresistible. There's creamy potato salad, mountains of golden brown chips, and a hefty watermelon chilling on the table, but you forgot something—the drinks!
DIY Rehydration Drinks: How to Make Your Own Electrolyte-Enhanced Water for Cheap
While it's easy to make fun of water with "electrolytes," there's actually some science behind it. Despite the name, electrolyte-enhanced water isn't all that high-tech, it mostly means that it's been infused with vitamins and minerals such as potassium and sodium, which are very helpful in preventing dehydration. Unfortunately, electrolyte water isn't especially cheap, and compared to the tap, it's downright expensive. Luckily, there's a few recipes out there that can help you mix your own e...
How To: The Secret to Shake-Shucking Corn Without Leaving Any Silky Threads
One of the biggest time-consuming nuisances for any barbecue is prepping corn on the cob. If you've got a lot of mouths to feed, shucking corn is just downright painful, thanks to all of those silk strings that hide in the crevices of the kernel rows.
How To: Make Jamie Oliver's 'Cheat's' Pizza in 30 Minutes or Less
I'm constantly searching for a homemade pizza dough that tastes good but isn't too challenging to execute. In other words, a recipe that doesn't require any arcane "dough whispering" skills. However, my hunt may be coming to an end thanks to one celebrity chef's concept.
Miraculous "No-Knead" Bread: Hack Yourself a Loaf in 10 Minutes
Making bread from scratch is extremely difficult. Painstakingly following instructions does not necessarily guarantee successful results. Baking delicious homemade bread takes practice, skill, and frankly, a level of real culinary artistry.
How To: Make Glowing Green Candy
If there ever was a day to eat green candy, St. Patrick's Day would be it. But is there something better than the banality of green candy swarming the streets on St. Patty's Day? Yes—glowing green candy, and Instructables user BrittLiv wants us to show you how it's done.
How To: Make Irish Corned Beef & Cabbage for St. Patrick's Day
Corned beef and cabbage is rarely eaten in Ireland (or at least America's version of the dish), but on St. Patrick's Day, many Irish Americans and wannabe Irish Americans will head to the bar to eat sloshy, poorly cooked versions of corned beef and cabbage while downing some jolly green ale.
How To: Make Homemade Breast Milk Ice Cream (The Easiest Recipe)
There's no shortage of ice cream recipes out there, but one ice cream shop in London has found a unique recipe to sell to its customers, and of course it's controversial—breast milk ice cream.
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: Clone Taco Bell's Meat (AKA 'Taco Meat Filling')
Taco Bell's in the news for umpteenth time, and today the controversy is over their infamous beef taco meat. Gizmodo leaked a picture of Taco Bell's "Taco Meat Filling" and surprise, surprise— it's missing a lot of the "meat" that it claims in its advertisements. Taco Meat Filling Ingredients
DIY Snow Cream: Ice Cream Recipes with Fresh Winter Snow
A lot of you are enjoying a nice winter snowfall right now. Some of you aren't enjoying the snow at all, especially if your car's stuck in it or you have to grab the snow shovel, yet again. But perhaps you'll change your distaste for snow when you try out some tasty homemade snow cream!
How To: Use a Binder Clip for This Quick & Easy Beer Storage Hack
Sometimes the simplest solution is the best solution. You will need: 1 binder clip. That's it. Another simple life hack. Enjoy. Previously, 35 Life Hacks! Free Perks, Snarky Tricks and More.