This could be anything from time savers - shortcuts, ingredient subs, keeping your knives and equipment in good shape etc..to make life easier, and lessen time 'on the line' or at home.

I'll start. We've all accidentally lifted super hot lids without a towel or potholder, singing our fingers. To avoid this, wedge a wine cork under the handle of the lid. It remains cool, so the lids can be lifted safely, if you forget to grab a towel or potholder.

Also, an easy way to rid an artichoke of it's thorns, when stuffing and/or cooking them whole, is to pass it quickly through the flame of a gas burner. The sharp points of the thorns will burn off almost instantly.

dont wash mushrooms
itll make them gummy and rubbery
also, the dirt in which most commercially sold mushrooms are grown is completely sterile; they're not growing out in the ground in the forest, they're growing in a completely controlled environment. the dirt aint dirty!

Need to sharpen your knife in a pinch, and you can't find your stone? Use the base of a ceramic plate.

If you want to test a bunch of eggs for freshness, fill up a pot with water and place the eggs in it. Fresh eggs will stay at the bottom of the pan while old eggs will float to the surface.

Cutting cheesecake can be tricky, since some of the cake often sticks to the knife as you cut. Here's a different, neater, and fun way to do the job: Take a long piece of dental floss, hold it stretched tight over the cake, and press it down through the cake. Repeat the process at different angles. I also use dental floss to cut cakes in half to make seperate layers-wrap around, cross in front and pull left and right until cut in half.

Add a few dashes of lemon juice for each pound of white potatoes during cooking. The lemon whitens the potatoes and also add a little zest to the taste.

Mushrooms keep longer in the fridge if you place them in a plastic bag with a few holes punched into it.

To help prevent cheese from going bad, wrap a paper towel moistened with cider vinegar around the cheese and then place it in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator. The acid helps prevent mold from forming.

To help avocados ripen more quickly, stick them in a paper or plastic bag and add a banana peel.

If your brown sugar hardens in its box, there's a clever way to get it out: just add a few drops of water to the box, stick it in the microwave, and zap it on full power a few seconds.

Or, if you're not in a rush, put a slice of apple in the bag and let it sit. This will help soften the sugar.

Since it's kind of hard to visualize, especially if you use lids that have knob handles, here's an illustration of the cork & hot lid tip in the original post: woodbridgewines.com/CBIC…

this is a foodie's DREAM!!

foodsubs.com

Perfect hard boiled eggs.  Place the eggs in the pot, and fill to cover with cold water, bring to rolling boil, turn the heat off, cover, and set the timer for 15 min.

Wow, cool tips! Some of these I knew but many I didn't.

Love the cork tip Scotty. Amazing suggestions Susan! The bread ones I have never heard.

Ed, I do my eggs like that too. I add a bit of salt into the water when it boils. I heard that is supposed to prevent eggs from leaking out everywhere if they do crack.

Thanks!

Carole, vinegar is much more effective at helping the whites set if they happen to leak from the egg.  (It also makes poaching eggs much easier).  If you're super concerned about cracking eggs when you hard cook them, just poke the blunt end with a push pin.  This gives the air sac a breather hole for expanding under heat.

SHARP KNIVES
They hurt less when you cut yourself.

Cool! Thanks AJ! I'll try that next time.

Have some rust on your high-carbon steel knives or maybe a little rust on your cast-iron pan?  Barkeeper's friend is your friend.   Or, if you don't keep the stuff around, try rubbing some rhubarb on the rust.  

Both are high in Oxalic Acid which chelates the rust and makes it water soluable...that is, you can wash the rust away.

Use a dryer sheet, even a used one works, to clean your glass shower doors. Wet teh dryer sheet and use it as a sponge. The dryer sheet will soften hard water stains and remove soap scum.

To keep from ever getting hard water stains and soap scum on yoru glass shower doors, clean with the dryer sheet and dry them completely. Then apply a furniture polish to the doors and buff off with a paper towel. The water will bead up on the doors instead of staining them.

Deep hard water stains and soap scum in your shower door rails can be removed with white vinegar. Pour it straight, leave it on overnight and clean in the morning. Your chrome will be shiny and new.

Sharpen cuticle trimmers and tweezers with an emery board.

Good knives should go on a magnetic strip mounted to a wall to keep them sharpened and ready for use. Keeping them in a drawer can dull them.

Leather shoes can be stretched out by applying a creamy lotion to your feet, heating up your shoes wth a hairdryer, put your lotioned feet in the heated shoes and walk around till they are cool again. The heat and lotion will soften the leather and help the shoe mold to your foot.

Add some salt to the water if you are washing a bright article of clothing for the 1st tiem. Salt prevents the color from bleeding.

when making chicken soup, tie up the chicken in cheesecloth before putting it in the water. when your soup is done, pull out the chicken in cheesecloth and pick it apart that way. no more sifting through the soup.

"dont wash mushrooms
itll make them gummy and rubbery"

Old wives tale...washing mushrooms  has very little effect on them.  They may absorb a tiny bit of water, but it's really minute.  This is per Alton  Brown's test on Good Eats.

Use your coffee grinder to turn regular sugar into powdered sugar. Not sure if it saves money but it is one less thing to stock.

After cleaning, wipe your mirrors with a newspaper to remove streaks.

Use canola oil on your legs after a shower to lock in the moisture and give it a nice, summer glow.

rubber band- tie it around the jar lid ,it gives you a good grip for easy opening.

flour- coat a little bit of flour before frying fish or chicken,to lessen oil splatter.

An excellent tip I used this past weekend: before cooking tofu, freeze it for three days. I don't know why, but this makes such a huge difference in texture. More "meat like," tougher and chewier. Thaw it by boiling it in vegetable broth then prepare as you will. Yum.

Stuck-On Food in Pots, Pans, and Crockpots: Fill the pan with water and place a fabric softener sheet in the water. Allow the pan to soak overnight. The food will wipe right out!

To cut cakes and cheesecake beautifuly with a knife, just put the knife under running hot water, needs to be hot, and slice. You'll get a clean cut. You need to put the knife under hot water for each slice. I learned this while I worked at the bakery section of a restaurant.

Always put a towel, could be wet or dry, under your cutting board so it doesn't move while you're cutting.

To remove coffee/tea stains on the inside of your mugs: pour a bit of baking soda and a bit of water, scrub lightly.

To remove soap scum: make a paste out of baking soda and dish detergent, slather onto scum, leave a few minutes.  Give it a good rub, and rinse.

To stop tears when cutting onions: breathe through your mouth.

Freeze chicken stock/broth in ice tray, add to your stir-fry to give instant flavor without added fat.

Clean your empty jam jars and use them for drinking glasses.  If you happen to break one, you didn't lose a thing.  Handy if you have children.  Or if you're a struggling college student without much money.

Salad spinners make for the best container for your unused greens.  If you don't have a salad spinner, keep them in a colander, spread a damp paper towel on top.  Re-wet towel each day.

Too keep it fresh, put parsley in a bowl of water in refrigerator, root end immersed.

Always, always have clean, dry dish towels on hand when you're cooking.  Grabbing a hot pan with wet towels can burn you real quick!

Susan I made a quick reference doc on that aol slideshow too..I was gonna copy and paste you beat me to the punch....great tips!

Kitchen tips, eh?

If your significant other miraculously volunteers to cleans the kitchen I can guarantee a happy household :)

P.S. With a possible happy ending....HAHA!

To prevent lettuce from browning after you cut them, wash them and drain well.  It's the metal blade that causes them to brown over night.

When making stock and it's a bit too much fat floating on top, stick the pot of stock overnight in the frig, it will solidify overnight and makes it easier to scoop out.

After handling garlic, rub your hands with stainless steel and it will make the smell go away.

Same with seafood, use some lemon or lime and it will take away the smell.

For opening tough jars, use the tip of a knife to make a small space to let air in, it will break the seal and allow you to open the jar.  

If your utensils are spotty, soak in 1 part vinegar and 1 part water, then rinse.

Best thread ever today.

To clean a microwave: Cut up a lemon and stick the slices in a bowl of water.  Nuke the bowl for 2-3 minutes, then let sit for another minute.  The steam will allow you to wipe off the exploded gunk and the lemons leave a nice smell.

Scotty is CUTE!

here's a carpet cleaning quick tip from infinite solutions.  youtube.com/watch?v=m2df…

This isn't a kitchen tip...unless you do laundry in your kitchen.  Make sure you wash the lint screen with a brush and soap at least every few months.  The product on the dryer sheets will build up on the lint screen making it less efficient and can increase the risk of your motor burning out early.  I thought this was BS, but check it out on Snopes, it is true.  And make sure you rooter out your lint trap all the way to dryer; lint fires do happen,

Do not eat ANYTHING Scotty D touches

Micro-plane Graters Are Your Friend.

Lemons, cheese, ginger, garlic, anything you need to shave or grate.

Frieda: I like this type:
img.quamut.com/chart/361…

Have you tried this type?