10 ways to make cooking easier

1. Use freezing of semi-finished products and ready-made meals
Some products and even ready-made meals do not lose their taste after freezing, which greatly facilitates and reduces time spent in the kitchen. For example, frying for soup is easier to cook a lot at once for several soups, in the future it can be used by simply adding it to the soup.
You can store in the freezer:
- Ready-made soups and broths poured into containers or plastic bags. It is recommended to use rectangular containers in which to put plastic bags and pour in the soup. After solidification Put soup out of containers and fold in bricks.
- Ready-made vegetable frying for soups.
- Chopped raw vegetables for soups and other dishes. It is not recommended to freeze vegetables with a large moisture content. Onions and potatoes may turn sweet after freezing. To avoid this, you need to start cook vegetables without defrosting them.
- Raw and cooked cutlets, cabbage rolls, meatballs, dolma, lasagne, stuffed peppers. After defrosting you can stew them in fresh sauce.
- Raw and baked pies. Uncooked defrost on a towel at room temperature, ready - in microwave.
- Small raw pizza for freezing convenience.
- Puff and shortcrust pastry.
- Ready-made pancakes with filling: with cottage cheese, condensed milk, mashed potatoes, meat, mushrooms.
- Boiled cereals (rice, buckwheat, beans).
- Sauces, such as bolognese or cream sauce.
- Finely chopped greens: onions, parsley, dill, nettle for soups. For freezing, use special containers, plastic bags, glass jars. Ready meals must first be cooled. Freezer a fast freezing chamber allows you to better preserve the taste of food.

2. Buy products for future use
Daily grocery shopping is time consuming and contributes to unnecessary shopping and waste. of money. To avoid this, it is better to buy food for future use - some for a week, and some for a month. You can have a special tear-off notebook with a magnet, attach it to the refrigerator and within a week record necessary purchases. On weekends, take the list with you to the supermarket and shop for everyone necessary at least a week in advance. The only exceptions are perishable foods, and such a little now. Helps you not to buy too much and save time buying groceries in the online store. The advantage of the method is that you can immediately see the amount of the purchase and, when making a purchase decision, you can always remove unnecessary items from the cart and compare the amount with your estimated budget.
Meanwhile, products such as sugar, salt and cereals can be purchased immediately for six months or a year, because their term storage is quite long, and during storage, cereals are likely to rise in price.

3. Stock up on a set of plastic containers
Transparent plastic containers are an indispensable thing to put things in order in the kitchen, not waste time on finding containers for storing food and not fiddling with breakable plates.
Plastic containers come in a variety of sizes. It is convenient to store chopped vegetables, herbs, bulk products, ready meals. To save space, it is desirable that the containers be folded with a matryoshka. After using the same plastic container for a long time, an unpleasant odor is generated in it, which does not disappear from normal washing. To get rid of it, you need to leave it in a container overnight a handful of coffee beans or a scrap of newspaper. They will absorb the unpleasant odor. Another way is to rub the sides of the container with lemon peel, then wash. You can mix 1-2 teaspoons of baking soda with water, until obtaining a thick consistency.Rub this paste along the bottom and walls of the box, leave it overnight, after which wash thoroughly.

4. Use modern technique and technology
A dishwasher and induction hob are not cheap ways to make life in the kitchen easier, but very effective and saving both time and money in the long term.
- The dishwasher is easy to use - just put the dishes in it and select the mode. She saves water consumption and washes the dishes better than using the manual method, because the water is in the dishwasher heats up to 70 degrees. Hands cannot withstand this temperature, namely, it is necessary for quick cleaning. Relief surfaces are washed off due to the strong pressure of water. In addition, the dishwasher contains drying function. Among the minuses are additional electricity consumption and the need to use special detergent. Therefore, it is worth buying a dishwasher only if you plan load it with dishes completely.
- The induction hob works on the principle of magnetic induction, when heat energy is transferred directly into the cookware, heating only it and not the surrounding surfaces and air. Thanks to this water on such a stove it boils much faster, and the change in heating power occurs instantly, as on gas hotplates. In addition, the induction hob requires little maintenance. Its surface does not heat up, but therefore, food pieces do not burn on it. After cooking, it is enough to wipe the surface with a damp sponge. Of course, there will be a need to buy new dishes, since the old ones are often deformed and not suitable for induction hobs, but the ease of cleaning and energy savings will pay off over time plates with interest.
- Consider the cost of electricity and water. Study the rates and especially the type of electricity rate. For example, if you are an owl by lifestyle and the meter works at differentiated rates, you will be pleased to know what is more profitable to cook late in the evening and at night.

5. Make lists of foods and menus for the week You can keep a list of the products you need to buy on your computer or smartphone, on a piece of paper or in a notebook attached to the refrigerator. It is worth replenishing it immediately when there is a need to purchase anything. For example, after opening the last package of oatmeal. If you need to save money, but the purchase is not urgent, you can write it down to the following list. According to the compiled list, before sending to the store, you can calculate an approximate budget for upcoming purchases. This will allow you to take with you a limited amount of money, which will save you from unnecessary acquisitions.
In parallel with the shopping list, it is worth making a menu for the week ahead. You need to think it over before going to store and record all necessary purchases in the grocery list. This will save time as you will not need to think of what to cook every day and go to the supermarket every time.

6. Use sharp knives Cooking with a dull knife makes you nervous, spoils the mood, the cutting time increases by two times, security is reduced - three times. Sharpening a knife yourself at home is not difficult. For this will require an ordinary whetstone, which can be purchased at any building or hardware store. To sharpen the knife, place the whetstone on a hard surface. Place the knife blade against the top edge of the stone at an angle of approximately 20 degrees, sharp side forward. Quickly draw a knife from the top of the stone to the bottom. Turn the knife at the bottom edge to make a sharp the side of the blade was facing forward again, and now draw from the bottom up. The knife should slide easily on grindstone. If the knife goes tight, it is worth reducing the angle of inclination to the stone. Run the blade over the stone about 15-20 times on each side. Check the sharpening with a sheet of paper. A sharp blade will cut it stupid - will tear.

7.Save time and money buying food
Excessive grocery shopping takes time, money and space in the kitchen. Do not succumb to advertising supermarket technology and buy only what you need is quite possible:
- Do not go to unnecessary sections of the store. Usually all departments in large supermarkets are marked with signs, so it’s better to head straight to where the staple products are selling. Counters with sweets and snacks best avoided lest you be tempted to buy something.
- Do not be lazy to make a shopping list and strictly follow it. People often wander into unnecessary sections store, forgetting what they need to buy. The list can be grouped by topic, for example, meat or dairy products, so that, entering the store, they immediately go to the desired department.
- Going to the store, change from car to bike or walk. So it becomes physically it is impossible to take a large amount of food out of the store.
- Do not go to the supermarket on an empty stomach. A hungry man will definitely type in the supermarket unnecessary but mouth-watering foods. This is a psychological reaction, so before going to the store it is better hearty to eat.
- Go to the store as little as possible. Better to buy all basic non-perishable foods for a week or even a month in advance for one trip to the supermarket. The less often you appear in the store, the less in your the basket will end up with unnecessary purchases.
- Go to the store without company. Family trips to the supermarket create a feeling of walking and you will last longer are at the counters, respectively, you can collect more unnecessary products. Also, usually children cannot resist a huge amount of sweets, and parents cannot resist the requests of children.

8. Use space efficiently in the kitchen
A well-organized space is important for both small and large kitchens. How to make everything you needed was at hand and harmoniously fit into the interior:
- On a free wall, build a shelf for cookbooks, and under it, hang aprons, potholders on hooks, towels. This will prevent them from splashing water and grease.
- Sort the dishes by frequency of use. Place plates that are used every day on first plan, guest sets away.
- Household items - bags, plastic gloves, cling film, foil, clean sponges and rags for cleaning - fold into one box.
- Group all items in the kitchen by purpose and define permanent locations for them. Pans - always in one place, salad bowls in another.
- Pots and pans can be conveniently stored in one another. Covers - on a stand, similar to a dryer for utensils.
- The work surface for cooking should be next to the stove, and the cabinet with the main dishes above or below working surface.
- Store forks and spoons in a special tray with compartments for each type of device. Large devices - ladles, skimmers, put separately, but next to.
- Sort products by type: cereals in one place, pasta in another, spices in the third. - It is convenient to store bulk products in transparent containers so that you can immediately see what you need to get out.
- There must be multiple power outlets near the work surface.
- Small items should not be stacked on open shelves so as not to complicate cleaning. Better sort small change on mesh baskets.

9. Make the kitchen easy to clean
With the help of design and the correct choice of components of the kitchen set, you can significantly facilitate cleaning process in the kitchen:
- The worktop of the kitchen set made of composite and artificial stone is easier and faster to clean than from laminated chipboard.
- The countertop should have a minimum of joints, and next to the sink, it is better to avoid them altogether in order to protect the furniture and the floor from smudges.
- It is more convenient to wash a round and smooth sink.Avoid corners, joints, corrugated surfaces, protruding parts.
- It is better to choose kitchen sets with round and smooth handles on drawers and shelves, or without handles at all (opened by pressing). Smooth surfaces are easier to clean.
- Among the hobs, it is easier to wash vitroceramics, but it is much more expensive than conventional material and requires using special detergents. Of the inexpensive options, you should give preference to enameled panels, as it can be cleaned with abrasive products.
- It is better to choose headsets not with legs, but with a bar, so that debris does not fall under the cabinets.
- If you often fry, you should buy a powerful hood, otherwise the area around the stove will be strong get dirty.
- It is better not to tile the wall between the lower and upper drawers of the headset next to the work surface tiles, and seamless materials: artificial stone, glass, plastic. If tiles are used, It is recommended to cover the grout with a protective varnish.
Do not hang kitchen stuff (potholders, ladles, jars with spices) on an apron made of glass or tiles practical. Maximum free space for cooking and everything for quick cleaning - the rest is in the cupboards. If places a lot, it is fashionable to use desktop accessories, and if it is not enough, then you should not overload it.

10. Combine cooking, cleaning and other activities
Often after cooking, you have to clean up for a long time, but you can learn to put things in order already during it:
- Prepare everything you need for cooking in advance. This will prevent you from creating a mess by rushing to find the necessary items and opening the cabinets with wet hands.
- Put all food back in cupboards or refrigerator immediately after use.
- Place a sachet or piece of paper next to the sink to place the trash on. Throw away after cooking him in the trash can.
- It is better to immediately wash the used dishes or at least soak them in hot water - dried dishes afterwards washing will be much more difficult.
- During cooking, place the spoons that you use to interfere with the dish on special coasters or a plate so as not to stain the countertop. If, nevertheless, a piece of food gets on the countertop, it is better to remove it immediately so that it does not stuck or not smeared.
- During frying, you can use a special grid for frying pans so that oil does not splatter on parties. If there is no grid, it is better to fry under the lid, opening it only to interfere.
Cooking can be combined not only with cleaning, but also with other activities, being distracted by them during "passive" cooking stage. But in this case, it is important to follow a few simple rules so that in the end you do not do yourself more work if something "runs away" or burns:
- To be distracted only when you know exactly the time of the "passive" cooking stage.
- To be distracted by a strictly timed business. For example, putting things in the wash. View TV, reading, the Internet can tighten and make you forget about the time. As a last resort, you can use an alarm clock.
- Many modern stoves have a built-in timer, it is worth setting it up. It will automatically remind you of when it is time to remove the pan from the stove or stir the contents of the pan, or turns off hotplate.
And so that it is ready to go not only quickly, but also pleasantly, you can turn on the TV, your favorite musician or radio in the background.

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Author / Editor - Lydia Ivanova
How much to cook / Tips / 10 ways to make cooking easier