12 unusual cooking tricks to impress your friends

Next time you make dinner, some might surprise you and leave you wondering, "Why didn't I think of that?" Keep watching to learn new and intriguing ways to make your kitchen more efficient. Find new flavors in common ingredients and show off your culinary skills. So let's began with 12 unusual cooking tricks to impress your friends.

An instant leak or a head of lettuce

If you need to chop up a heap of iceberg lettuce, don't worry about cutting around the tough core in the middle. Just take the lettuce head in both hands and slam the bottom against the cutting board or another hard surface. You should be able to pull the core right out of the bottom. Now you can slice up the whole thing head hassle-free.

Make sure your bacon is crispy.

It's usually best to warm up the pan before doing any frying. Not so with bacon. If you place your strips on a hot pan, the meat will cook before the fat has a chance to render out, leaving your bacon fatty and rubbery. If you want deliciously crispy bacon, as the pan heats up, the fat will slowly cook out of the meat, leaving your strips deliciously crispy.

Keep taco shells from backing

Tacos and hard tortillas can be a messy affair. The first bite can cause the whole shell to break apart in your hands, with all your fillings falling out. This can happen even if you bake the shells according to the instructions on the package. To prevent a taco catastrophe, try cooking the taco shells in a new way. First, lay a moist paper towel on a microwave-safe plate. Then place a single layer of taco shells on the damp towel and cook the shells in the microwave on HIGH heat. The steam from the wet towel will make the shells more pliable and less likely to break after being filled with meat and beans.

Peel potatoes with your bare hands.

Save yourself some time and get rid of the potato peeler. This tip makes peeling any number of potatoes much faster and easier. Simply fill a pot with boiling water and boil your potatoes with the skin on until they are thoroughly cooked. Inside, prepare an ice bath and dunk the potatoes in the icy water for five to ten seconds. Take one potato in your hands, making sure it's cool enough to touch and twist. The skin will come off right.

Get a new flavor from common pasta.

Try a new flavor of common pasta by roasting dry pasta to change and enhance its flavor. Put the pasta in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. It will turn a golden brown color after cooling. Boil until the pasta is tender. It will probably take longer to cook than usual, about 15 minutes, but it will result in a nutty toasted flavor that goes well with simple, understated sauces.

Pasta cooked fast and in an eco-friendly way

If you need to get some spaghetti on the table as soon as possible, forget about boiling it in a big pot of water. Heating so much water is a waste of energy and time. Instead, put your pasta in a large frying pan, cover it with cold water, and bring the water to a boil. When the pasta won't stick in the cold water and once it's fully cooked, it will leave behind a thick liquid that's useful for making sauce.

Roasted vegetables

Roasting vegetables is a great and healthy way to enhance their flavor, and it's easy to make them even tastier by adding a crispy crunch after seasoning the veggies with salt, oil, and spices. Toss them in a bit of cornstarch, about 1 tablespoon per pound of vegetables, and then pop them into the oven to roast. When they're ready, they'll be even more crispy and delicious than usual. So brown the starch-coated veggies in an oiled skillet to further heighten that crispy flavor.

Peel a bunch of eggs at once.

There's nothing more tedious than peeling the shells from hard-boiled eggs. This trick places the hard-boiled eggs in a shallow, sealable container and fills the container halfway with cold water. Put the lid on and shake it over the sink. Just in case there are any leaks, this vigorous motion will break and loosen the shells, allowing them to slide right off.

Use alcohol for a flaky pie crust.

According to Cook's Illustrated, the best way to ensure a perfect pie crust is to use equal parts of water and 80 percent proof. When forming the dough, the alcohol in the vodka prevents the dough from becoming too tough when baked. Since the alcohol evaporates quickly in the oven, it leaves the baked crust dry and flaky. However, vodka is just as effective as water at keeping the dough wet and elastic. According to the cooks, 80-proof liquor can be used instead of vodka. Yes, taste testers approved of crusts made with rum, whiskey, and gin, and most could not distinguish the difference between the booze.

No mess pancakes

No mess Making pancakes can be a sloppy, drippy process. Good luck getting the batter from the mixing bowl to the pan without getting goo all over your stovetop; next time, save on cleanup by using a squeezable condiment or mustard bottle. clean the bottle before pouring in your pancakes. Now you can squeeze the batter into your pan and it will be perfectly shaped.

Try replacing egg whites with aquafaba.

Is it aquafaba? It's the liquid in which chickpeas and other legumes have been cooked while draining the liquid from chickpeas. You may have noticed that it's quite frothy, giving it a very similar consistency to whipped eggs. This liquid can be whipped into stiff peaks to make meringues and macarons, and it can be used for a variety of other recipes, including vegan cookies and mayonnaise.

The key to juicy burgers

There is nothing like a juicy, tender burger, but it can be tricky to keep a thicker patty's natural juices from drying out while cooking the next time you fire up the grill. Try this bit of advice from celebrity chef Graham Elliot. Stick an ice cube in the middle of the raw patties. According to chef Elliot, when you grill it, it keeps it moist and keeps it from getting dried out. So tell us, wikiAware, what are your favorite cooking techniques? Let us know in the comments section.