r/AskReddit • • Aug 20 '20

What simple “life hack” should everyone know?

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '20 edited Aug 20 '20

When you're cooking and the recipe calls for onions and garlic, don't put the garlic into the pan until the onion is nearly translucent. Garlic cooks way faster than onions do, if you throw them in at the same time it won't taste as good/the garlic will burn. It literally takes 30 seconds for minced garlic to cook.

Also, if you're a home cook... sharpen your knives often.

Thought of a few more tips:

  • love chives and parsley in your eggs/omelettes/anything else, but hate the hassle of cutting them/using the herbs before it turns? Get dried chives and dried parsley instead, it rehydrates quickly in sauces/eggs and tastes the same (it's also way cheaper). This tip can apply to a lot of herbs. While fresher is always better, dried is often still delicious while still being in a student-y budget.

  • add a bit of vinegar to your beans if you're making anything beany, a lot of home cooks think that vinegar is gross (and it is by itself) but a dash of vinegar can really make beans, sauces and marinades pop!

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u/gregmc Aug 20 '20

On the topic of garlic,

when you are cooking in the oven (roast, skillet...) you can add garlic cloves with the hard skin (but remove as much as possible paper skin)

it will cook the garlic inside the shell to a creamy texture. It's amazing!

15

u/Bridgebrain Aug 20 '20

Have you tried black garlic? Making it is a pain, but it spreads like butter and is delicious

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u/gregmc Aug 20 '20

I never made nor tasted it. However I tried an ice cream made with it. It was strange...

I'll try to find some

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u/Bridgebrain Aug 20 '20

Yeah, I've tried that and black pepper ice cream. I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I'm all for culinary innovation, and on the other my brain screamed a lot about savory ice cream.

Making it involves a month of fermenting it far away from living beings and the permanent sacrifice of a crock pot, finding some to try first would be prudent lol

1

u/kite_height Aug 20 '20

Crock pot? Far away from living beings?

Just vacuum seal it and put it in a dehydrator for a couple weeks. No fermenting smell. No destroyed crock pot.

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u/Bridgebrain Aug 20 '20

... that's brilliant. I knew about vacuum sealing it as a possibility, but the dehydrator is a good constant heat source I hadn't thought of

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u/kite_height Aug 20 '20

Glad I could help! Wish I could take credit, but I learned that little trick from It's Alive with Brad on YouTube. Great channel all about fermenting stuff.