1) Ginger is far too knobbly to try peeling with a conventional peeler, but try scraping a teaspoon across its contours and the skin will be off in seconds.
2) If you’ve ever rubbed your eyes after cutting chillis, then this one is for you. Rub some oil into your hands before slicing and dicing, then wash with warm soapy water. The oil acts as a barrier so the chilli won't stay on your skin.
3) Fishy odours can cling to your hands after you cook or handle seafood. Always wash your hands first with cold water and some lemon juice, then get the hot, soapy bubbles involved. This way you’ll prevent the fish proteins sticking on your hands, which makes them smell for longer.
4) Always use the stalks of soft herbs when making pesto or fresh curry pastes – you’ll boost the flavor and keep costs down.
5) Use a kernel of popping corn to test whether oil is hot enough to deep-fry in. Place the corn in the oil as it heats up – when it pops, the oil is ready for anything from chips to doughnuts.
6) Suffer from floppy celery? Keep it wrapped in foil in the fridge. It will last for up to a month stored this way. If too late, and it's already gone limp, bathe the stalks in a roasting tin of cold water, and they’ll perk right up after 15 minutes.
7) Greasy stew or soup? Drop in a couple of ice cubes and you’ll soon see the fat solidify into globules which you can scoop off.
8) Wrap the crown of your bananas in clingfilm – you’ll buy yourself an extra few days before they get too ripe.
9) Get as much juice as possible out of lemons and limes simply by microwaving for 20 secs before squeezing.
10) If you don’t have time to allow your tub of ice cream to soften (or ‘ripen’ if using the proper word) before serving, don’t panic! Just lay the tub on its side on a board, and use a bread knife to cut it into slices. Peel off the cardboard and serve. Just make sure it’s not a plastic tub first…
11) Sad that your Nutella jar is nearly at an end? Try adding warm milk and shaking with the lid on for amazing hot chocolate!
12) Ever struggled to break off a Toblerone triangle? Chances are you're doing it wrong. Try pushing two peaks together to break off the end one, rather than pulling them apart. Aren’t you glad we told you?!
Like this? You'll love...
Watch this! The fastest way to peel an orange
New ways with Marmite
Top 5 gardening tips
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
