How to keep herbs fresh for longer. Screenshot from Make Eat Home YouTube channel

It you're spending most of your social distancing time in the kitchen, why not learn some tricks to overcome those everyday difficulties and become a top notch home cook?

Make herbs last longer

There is nothing worse than seeing fresh herbs you have just bought wilt away the next day. So to expand the lifespan of washed herbs, you should roll them in damp paper towels and leave them in zip-lock bags. You can then use them for the next two or three days.

Peeling garlic the easy way

There are many ways to save time peeling garlic – an indispensable ingredient to cooking. One of is to heat the garlic in microwave for 20 seconds. This will loosen the skin and make it easier to peel.

Defrost food faster

If you have less time, leave food in a bowl of cold water (time depends on amount of food). It’s not time consuming and is still safe and hygienic.

Cut meat easier

Is it too hard for you to slice raw meat? Leave meat or fish in freezer for half an hour to make them a little harder. It will be easier if you have a sharp knife. You can also apply this method with shrimp.

Remove smelly food odours from your hands

To get rid of food odours such as onions or chilies, wash your hands with salt and rub them against a stainless steel spoon, rub in toothpaste or lemon for 30 seconds, then wash again with water. Your hands are now clean and fragrant.

Wash away tea and coffee stains

Tea and coffee cups are always left with a stubborn stain. Try using baking soda with lemon or vinegar to wash those stains away.

Cherry pipper

You want cherry juice but don’t know how to handle the pips? Use a hard straw or chopstick to remove them from the fruit.

Open jars with ease

There’s always that one jar that challenges you to open it! No need to worry, just put on a rubber kitchen glove. The rubber gives you just the right amount of grip to get the job done without tearing a muscle.

Clean a microwave

You don’t need to scrub your microwave for hours, just put a bowl of water with one lemon in the microwave for five minutes. This steams up the inside and makes any splatters easy to clean up with a damp cloth.

Speed- ripen fruit

Use a paper bag to ripen fruit! Put the fruit in a dry bag, and keep away from direct sunlight at room temperature, and you can enjoy your favourite fruit as soon as possible. This trick works well with avocados, bananas, apples and pears.

Compiled by Minh Phuong (VNS)