Since March 2010, SORTED Food has posted 650 videos and accumulated over one million subscribers, earning itself the title of the “largest cooking conversation on Youtube.” This group of British cooks posts regularly, providing their viewers with everything from cooking challenges with fellow Youtubers to quick and simple recipes.
In our own search of ways to make do in our small, slightly non-functional kitchens, we discovered SORTED’s food hack videos and checked them out for ourselves. When you run into your next kitchen conundrum, here are some tricks you can try–and others that are definitely worth foregoing.
The Good: Because we all like feeling handy.
1. Separating an egg with a water bottle: Use an empty water bottle to suck the yolk out of the white–a great way to reuse old bottles too.
Photo Courtesy of SORTED Food
2. Peeling ginger roots with a spoon: No knife, no fear.
3. Keeping chips fresh: Fold down the opening of the bag, fold the corners in, fold the top down one more time and then reverse flip the entire thing like a fold-top sandwich bag–no clips needed.
Photo Courtesy of SORTED Food
4. Microwaving a lemon to optimize juice collection: Microwave a whole lemon for 20 seconds and then proceed–lemon ricotta pancakes, anyone?
5. Slicing cherry tomatoes: Place a plate facedown on the counter, put your tomatoes on the back of the plate then top with another plate, this time face up. Hold in place while you cut–easy, efficient and effective.
Photo Courtesy of SORTED Food
The Bad: No one wants to embarrass themselves while trying to look smooth.
1. Making an ice cream cookie sandwich: Slice an ice cream pint into four sections and then place between cookies. Great…if you’re making sandwiches for four.
2. Keeping spatulas from staining the counter: Prop the handle up in the hole of the potholder…if your pot has the right shaped hole, that is.
Photo Courtesy of SORTED Food
3. Carrying popcorn in a backwards hoodie: We’d rather eat from the bag than do extra laundry.
The Ugly: Maybe it’s worth a try…next time.
1. Chilling wine with frozen grapes: Let us know how this goes, 21-and-overs.
2. Coring lettuce without a knife: Slam the lettuce, core side down, hard onto the counter. If only we had known about this right after this year’s Big Game…
Photo Courtesy of SORTED Food
3. Carrying condiments in a muffin tray: Easy to carry but difficult to wash.
4. Keeping rice and grain pouring tidy: Cut off the top of a water bottle, fit it over the opening of a bag and reseal it with the cap when you’re finished. Not the best solution for those who buy five-pound bags of rice.
Photo Courtesy of SORTED Food
5. Cutting a sponge cake with dental floss: Perfect for when you actually buy sponge cake but disastrous if you use the wrong flavor dental floss.
6. Ultimate nacho crunch: Crush up nachos in an old pepper grater to flavor snacks–but who even keeps old pepper graters and why would you buy one just for this purpose?
Photo Courtesy of SORTED Food
Food hack video rating: 3.5/5
SORTED provides a few great tips for some commonly bought groceries but also includes tips that involve specific foods, making the videos less useful on a general, everyday basis. Check out Spoon’s own food hacks from Penn State and Cal for more applicable tips if you’re still searching for quick-and-easy solutions.