Ripen an avocado in under 10 minutes
Everyone has been that person in the fruit shop, squeezing avo after avo in search of one with a little give. Nobody likes that person. Don’t be that person. If you wrap an unripe avocado in aluminium foil and pop it in a hot oven, it will soften in around 10 minutes. Then, cool it off before serving/smashing/mashing.
Bring limp greens back to life
Forgot you bought a lovely bunch of celery at the start of the week? Good news: you can resurrect those limp stalks! Cut off the roots and stand the celery in a jug of ice-cold water and watch them magically crisp up. This trick works for many other greens, like asparagus, spinach and broccoli.
Chase eggshells out of the bowl
This is the bane of baking, or omelette making. But what most folks don’t know is that water acts like a magnet for eggshells. So the next time you have some floating about, wet your finger slightly and chase those shells.
Stop brown sugar from clumping together
Marshmallows! Yes, a few fluffy ones in your sugar canister will keep the granules from forming tight little conspiring armies.
Crisp up bacon like a pro
Soggy rashers are the devil's work. Skip the mess and spitting oil of frying bacon by lining a baking tray with two layers of alumunium foil that you’ve pre-crimped at two-centimetre intervals to form a baking rack, of sorts. When you roast the bacon elevated in this way, it lets the hot air circulate evenly and helps it crisp up perfectly.
Recycle pickling brine
Whether it’s homemade or store-bought from your favourite picklery, you can reuse all that wonderful, punchy brine with a fresh batch of whatever is in your fridge. Drop in green beans, carrots, radishes, zucchini, or cucumber. Par-boil them first, where possible, for best results. Or, use the liquid as a salad dressing.
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Are those burger patties cooked through?
The temptation to massacre a patty is very real. After all, few (kids, especially) appreciate a rare burger patty. Use a toothpick to poke a hole in the patty - this lets heat travel to the middle faster, without any unsightly gashes.
Stop water from boiling over
Who has time to wait for water to boil without a lid? But then, how easy it is to forget about said water until it’s too late. If you want to stop your pasta water from cascading over the edge, balance a wooden spoon over the pot. Strangely, it acts as a bubble barrier and keeps the water from overflowing.
Ripen up green bananas in a hurry
It happens all too often; you arrive at the grocer and all that’s left are bright green bananas. If that’s the case, and banana bread is on the menu in a few days time, place them in a paper bag with ripe tomatoes. The tomatoes apparently have a hormone that is used by some companies to ripen fruit commercially.
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