Whether watching points and grams on a fabulous Weight Watchers diet or looking for an edge in time management, we all know that the little things sometimes matter most.
I was just standing over the kitchen sink using this handy-dandy scrub cloth for what seems like the thousandth time (see below), and it hit me that a small object like this really does prove that big things come in small packages around the kitchen.
So why stop there? We decided to take a look around and find more examples of little secrets that carry their weight in productivity and help us bigtime with cooking prep and cleanup. Some of them are just little in size, and some of them are just the smallest secrets with a big payoff. Here are 50 of our favorite examples and feel free to add your own in the comments:
1. Diminutive dishes. If you’re like me, half the battle of watching weight is portion control, and just serving food on smaller plates and pasta bowls can work wonders.
2. Cherry tomatoes are little secrets worth celebrating. They add dazzling color and bursting flavor to any dish, like a Buddha Bowl or a fresh pasta. They are loaded with antioxidants like lycopene, beta-carotene and vitamin C. Chop them in half and sauté briefly just to soften then season.
3. Cholula’s iconic little round wooden lids. Is there a better lid in the entire world? I actually like Tabasco best since I’m someone who believes that hot spice and longevity go hand-in-hand, but it’s like Tabasco is going after the World’s Smallest Lid record and that makes me love Cholula more. Ours in the fridge is black because it’s chipotle, but the browns ones are everywhere.
“Sustainably sourced, these caps are fashioned from beechwood and celebrate the tradition of Mexican artisanship,” Cholula’s website says. “The color of the wooden cap is specifically matched to correlate with each flavor making it a memento long after the sauce is gone.”
4. Lazy Susans. Anything that saves space, whether it’s a turntable spice rack or a rotating food distributor on the table. Was Susan really lazy? We looked it up.
5. Speaking of kitchen space savers, how about that silverware tray in your kitchen drawer? Was someone a genius or what? Unloading the dishwasher isn’t my favorite thing in life, but at least I can speedily shove utensils one at a time right into their proper slot with forks, knives and spoons.
6. That scrub cloth I was talking about above didn’t really get used a thousand straight times without being cleaned. I toss it into the microwave once in a while on high for two minutes. Microwaving sponges will kill 99 percent of all living germs including E. coli, according to one study. Wet the sponge thoroughly first and put it inside a bowl to go into the microwave.
7. And why do those scrub cloths last forever, anyway? We don’t gain from affiliate links on this site, but we do also look forlornly at that Scotch-Brite Dobie Scrub Cloth.
8. Here’s a little garlic secret: Put your cloves in the microwave for 10 seconds, then squeeze them and they will come out of their paper skin. That’s not long enough for the garlic to actually cook, so you don’t lose the raw flavor and you don’t have to waste time trying to remove the outer layer and have the juices stick in your fingernails.
9. Mini whisk. It can do what a bigger whisk does in many cases, but it can also do a lot more and jazz up your workplace. Let’s face it, a huge whisk is overkill for one or even two eggs.
10. Little spoons from every corner of the globe on your delightful drives and summer safaris and Caribbean cruises. You know the ones. They might even be on your fridge.
11. Oh, wait! You collect those little wanderlust magnets instead? The one shaped like an Arch for St. Louis or the Colosseum for Rome? Here’s my little secret: Every now and then grab your significant other if you’ve been doing all that traveling together, and take the time to look over your collection and cherish those memories. It’s why you put them up there, after all. If it was just you doing all that traveling, do the same thing and admire them.
12. But wait! Every Mom and Dad ever will go with the colorful ABC fridge magnets, especially when they are holding up the great school artwork in the world.
13. The four most famous words in cooking: “A pinch of salt.” You can put salt on most everything, even coffee grinds. Salt enhances all flavors, and suppresses bitter.
14. Oh, wait. “Come and get it” are four even more famous words. People used to clang those old iron dinner bells on the farm. Whatever it takes, make it an impressive command because you made that masterpiece and this says “drop everything and eat my food now.”
15. “Alexa, play Adele.” Or WQXR. Or Tim McGraw. Or whatever zenful tunes fit your cooking mood. Music soothes the task of making the dinner about to be consumed by the savage beast.
16. Back to Cholula. I know, I’m obsessed with hot sauce. Did you know that the ancient city of Cholula sits at the base of Mexico’s Popocatépetl volcano and is the oldest still-inhabited in North America at about 2,500 years old? Their little secret has gotta be hot sauce.
17. Try using muffin pans to make cookies as perfect circles.
18. Some of us remember when it was cool to have a mini TV in the kitchen, to watch one of the three networks while you cooked. Honestly, isn’t the kitchen your break from TV now?
19. Break out the Swiss peeler. The colorful and compact Kuhn Rikon version measures just four inches long and can work up a storm on potatoes and carrots and more.
20. You can use the aluminum foil box cutter for more than aluminum foil. Gently rub a lemon or lime across it and into your dish for instant zest.
21. Light a small candle. Your gourmand concoction may be to die for, but it also may be a little overpowering to others while it’s in progress. Light a nice, calming scented candle for the ride.
22. When you’re about done with that candle, scrape out most of the wax with a knife and then pop it into the microwave for 20 seconds. Then wipe out the rest of the wax with a paper towel and repurpose your pretty candle holder container.
23. Clips, clips, clips! I use little clips for everything. Bear’s dog food. Chips. Crackers. And not just any clips, but you want the ones that are durable and don’t snap in half to bow to the pressure. OXO Good Grips Clips are a great start.
24. Add a little Zatarins liquid crab boil when you make gumbo, etoufee, red beans or enchiladas. The hotter the chiles the better (yup, still obsessed).
25. We’re gonna have to mention air fryers and instant pots here just because they each do so many things in one relatively small contraption. Special shoutout to Ninja for helping us to keep relatively things tidy.
26. Let’s hear it for ladle holders! They don’t take up much space but boy do they make our lives easier. As a matter of fact, I haven’t really thought about ours next to the stove in forever, but I just realized it has a beautiful ceramic design that someone put their heart and soul into.
27. We love to cook with cast iron skillets like Griswold or Wagner, and maybe a Lodge you bought at Cracker Barrel or Walmart. A standard No. 8 cast iron skillet is the most common in American kitchens because it fits the average large stove burner and cooks for the family, but we have a soft spot in our heart for the No. 3 skillet to fry eggs and other small recipes. The cooking surface actually measures about 4 1/2 inches, because the cast iron measurement system goes back to the diameter of the “eyes” on old wood stoves.
28. Speaking of cast iron skillets, don’t forget to thank your skillet handle, whether it’s a red silicone version or a thick and washable cloth handle. Those babies get hot.
29. Who doesn’t like Mini Reeses? Stick one in each cookie right after it comes out of the oven.
30. Spritz that brisket like Aaron Franklin and you avoid dry, burnt edges.
31. Little secret to longevity: Mediterranean diet. Average mortality rates are proof. Consider eating at least something every day that conforms to that way of life, if not entirely, and you might be around longer to keep doing it. Here are 24 Mediterranean diet recipes.
32. Monkfruit juice if you are watching out for sugars.
33. Add a tiny bit of soy sauce to chili. Any kind of chili. Texas chili with beef, Cincinnati Skyline chili, vegetarian chili, turkey chili, white chicken chili, chili verde or black bean chili.
34. Miso paste is great to add to stews, soups and dressings.
35. Mince some onion and incorporate it into ground beef when you make awesome burger patties. Or add a little onion powder on the burgers. When the meat chars on your Traeger grill or Weber gas grill, you’ll built that beefy onion flavor like a restaurant.
36. A little pickle juice goes a long way, like in deviled eggs, potato salad or brine. Ultramarathoners are even known to swig a little to aid endurance.
37. Pay a little bit for a good foil cutter and you’ll be opening your Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot or Chardonnay or Pinot Noir wine bottle faster.
38. Use a rubber glove to open a tight lid like the one on your new pickle jar. If that fails, give it a glancing blow with the handle end of a regular kitchen butter knife. If that fails, the gym has lots of strength equipment!
39. Into every life some little sprinkles must fall, and they might as well fall into Kodiak Cakes Muffins. Follow that recipe for just two little WW points and you’ll see why!
40. When slicing a smoked brisket, just pull the long blade toward you in one motion to cut each piece, without sawing. When pulling pork for that pulled pork sandwich, just squeeze with your BBQ glove hands. Sometimes the little secret to BBQ is tender loving.
41. Always cut an onion in half first. Then put the flat side on the surface so you can slice without the hazard of rolling as you cut.
42. A few drops of water, white wine, broth or stock added to a dry pan will help prevent burning and add flavor as you cook your dish. Remember to scrape up all those itty bitty brown bits that add up to so much flavor.
43. Pop a blueberry or raspberry into your mouth. Pop them frozen into your blender for smoothies. Seriously, just look closely at a blueberry and admire its beauty. It’s an incredible splash of goodness and your taste buds will keep busy registering what just happened.
44. A squirt of lemon juice for whatever. Here’s another little secret: Roll lemons and limes back and forth before cutting them and they’ll be juicier.
45. Zip-lock baggies. Best invention ever?
46. The mini food processor has really cut into the market share of the typically bulky food processor, and it probably deserves a spot in your kitchen appliance lineup. Whiz up a one-can batch of hummus or little quantities of herbs for pesto. Its compact size allows you to just stash it away in the cupboard when not in use.
47. MiniMax Big Green Egg. It’s a superstar at tailgating, it’s portable, and it can complement a larger kamado ceramic cooker or PitBoss smoker or pellet grill in your backyard. The round grid diameter is 13 inches, and according to the Big Green Egg website it can cook a 12-pound turkey, 4 burgers, 1 whole chicken, 2 steaks and a rack of ribs. Just not all at the same time.
48. Recyclable to-go coffee cups and lids. Sure, we love to walk around with a nice warm java in our hands from Starbucks, but you can save money and do the same thing with your own brew. Those travel coffee mugs may be washable, but at least for us they either start spilling at some point and they are always clanging around the car floor.
49. Bench scrapers do a lot. Try a Norpro Grip-EZ model and enjoy a useful companion that helps scrape morsels and scraps off a cutting board and into either a bowl or the trash. Clear off countertops and section dough. It’s more fun than using your chopping knife.
50. You might not really need that giant rolling pan from the past. The miniature Muso Wood rolling pin is just 11 inches long, a traditional version used in China for rolling dumplings. It’s great for pie crusts, fondant, cookies and more.
That one’s made of beechwood, just like the Cholula lid! Did we mention we love the Cholula lid? One little turn deserves another. Whether you’re in a small kitchen or a jumbo joint, we can all appreciate the little things to make our cooking lives easier.
