Kitchen Hacks

When looking to round out a meal come brunch, lunch, or dinnertime, I stick to a simple motto: put an egg on it (not to be confused with "put a bird on it" . . . ). While fried and scrambled are nice, I hold a special place in my heart for the oozing yolks of a perfectly poached egg, but until now I hadn't thought of them as portable. It turns out, with an ingenious kitchen hack, these luscious eggs can become a protein-packed part of the brown-bag lunch rotation. Keep reading to find out the simple secret.

Cheesecloth can be a useful item to have in the kitchen, yet it's just obscure enough to be hard to track down at times. One thing that's not hard to locate, though, is a paper coffee filter, which just so happens to make a handy cheesecloth replacement.

Coffee filters perform the same functions as cheesecloth — separating liquids from solids — and are sturdy enough to withstand heavy, wet, and hot food. These features make them the perfect solution when you're looking to strain Greek yogurt or fresh cheeses. Have you ever tried this hack?

If you don't have a mason jar in your kitchen, then it's about time you invest in this multipurpose container. There's no need to invest in fancy kitchen equipment when mason jars are able to do (and store) so much, plus they'll only cost you about a dollar a jar. From preserving fruits to shaking up salad dressings, take a look at the major uses for this glass canning jar

Many recipes will call for a 15-ounce can of cooked beans, but dried beans are not only lower in sodium, but they're also more economical. If you have dried beans on hand, try this simple ratio for an easy kitchen hack.

Since a 15-ounce can typically yields about 1-1/2 cups of cooked and drained beans, soak 3/4 cup of dried beans in water for eight hours or overnight, then boil the beans in a pot of fresh water until the beans are tender (25-45 minutes, depending on the bean). This should yield about the same amount of beans as the can.

Whenever fresh herbs aren't on hand, know that you can turn to your dried stash; just adjust your measurements. Dehydrated herbs actually have more concentrated flavor, meaning you'll need less than if you're using fresh varieties. Use the 1:3 ratio when substituting dried herbs for fresh ones. For instance, one teaspoon of dried oregano equates to three teaspoons (or one tablespoon) of fresh oregano. It should also be noted that it's better to add dried herbs at the beginning of the cook time, so they have time to infuse flavors in a dish. Have you ever substituted dried herbs for their fresh counterparts in a pinch?

Unless you went to culinary school or are an amateur pizzaiolo, a bench scraper like this OXO version ($10) might not frequent your kitchen counter — yet! While traditionally, this dull-edged, rectangular piece of stainless steel is used to portion out bread dough and scrape off persnickety pieces of dried pastry dough from countertops, there's an even more practical way to implement this tool. Find out the life-changing bench scraper trick.

Welcome to our new series Kitchen Hacks, where we take ordinary household objects and transform them into useful kitchen tools. We know it's difficult to stock a kitchen with every gizmo and gadget, especially if you live in tight quarters. So instead of junking up your drawers with unused items, try make-shifting kitchen tools with our tips.

It's always a messy and upsetting event when a wine bottle cracks and its precious contents leak during transit. The diligent packer may cover it in styrofoam or bubble wrap, but many of us are guilty of haphazardly wrapping the bottles in old kitchen towels and crossing our fingers they arrive to the next destination in one piece.

Here's a new way to easily and securely wrap up wine if you don't have a wine sleeve handy. We recently received a bottle of Las Rocas Garnacha, outfitted in the most unexpected makeshift wine sleeve: a kitchen mitt! A fluffy cotton kitchen mitt fits a wine bottle snugly — plus it also seconds as a cute gift if you're bringing the bottle over to a friend's place. Just be sure to find a long glove, so the neck of the bottle stays protected, too.

Know of any other smart ways to transport wine? Share them with us below.

We've all been there: tired and hungry, we pull out the necessary ingredients for a recipe, only to discover that we ran out of ___. Rather than scrap the meal altogether or make a desperate rush to the store, we'd like to think that with a little ingenuity and a sprinkling of know-how, many potential disasters can be averted.

Before we share a few — dare we say it — simply genius ingredient hacks, we have a little pop quiz for you. What baking and brining superstar can be approximated in a pinch with a mixture of milk and lemon juice?

For the answer (and more kitchen hacks), keep reading.

Welcome to our new series Kitchen Hacks, where we take ordinary household objects and transform them into useful kitchen tools. We know it's difficult to stock a kitchen with every gizmo and gadget, especially if you live in tight quarters. So instead of junking up your drawers with unused items, try make-shifting kitchen tools with our tips.

Have you ever been ready to roll out your dough only to realize you've misplaced your rolling pin? No problem! Rolling pins are incredibly easy to makeshift using an empty wine bottle. Since glass stays cold, the wine bottle keeps the dough firm and malleable, so the dough won't warm up and start sticking to surfaces. The perfectly round shape and long body of the bottle also contribute to making this an amazing substitution for a rolling pin.

Before you begin rolling, remove the bottle's label, scrape off the sticky glue residue, and wash the outside to disinfect it. Or, for a quick fix, simply cover the bottle in saran wrap (although it should be noted, the saran wrap may leave tiny line indentations in the dough). Once the bottle is washed or wrapped, sprinkle it with flour all around. Then roll out the dough by keeping your hands on the top of the bottle's body and pressing down firmly as you slowly rotate the bottle. Ta-da! It's as simple as that.

Have you ever tried this technique out before? Were your results successful?

Source: Nicole Hamaker for Pinch My Salt