Clean Kitchen Hacks

Washing your hands is one of the best ways to stop the spread of food-borne pathogens. Wash before and during cooking, especially after touching raw meat and poultry.

No matter how hard you scrub your hands, simple soap and water do little to remove lingering red beet stains. However, rubbing a dab of whitening toothpaste with peroxide over the area can help erase the stains. Or you can try avoiding the stains altogether by rubbing the hand that will be holding the beets with about ½ teaspoon vegetable oil, taking care to keep the knife-holding hand dry, and then cutting the beets as desired. Afterward, wash your hands with hot, soapy water

After working with pungent ingredients such as garlic, onions, or fish, many cooks use a little lemon juice to wash away any lingering odors from their hands. But sometimes the smell is stronger than the citrus. For those tough cases, try washing your hands with a couple of tablespoons of mouthwash. Any inexpensive brand is fine.

Since so-called fruit flies are actually vinegar flies attracted to the odor of fermenting fruits and vegetables, there’s a simple solution to rid your kitchen of these annoying pests. Place a few drops of dish soap in a small bowl of vinegar on the counter and stir to combine. The vinegar lures the flies into the liquid, and the soap breaks the surface tension, preventing them from escaping. For an alternate solution, pour ¼ cup of orange juice in a small drinking glass and then top it with a funnel. Placed next to a fruit bowl, the juice lures the tiny flies into the funnel, where they are unable to escape, and keeps them away from your ripening produce.

Some foods leave an unpleasant smell in the kitchen after cooking. Here’s a simple tip to freshen the air: Simmer 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon in 2 cups of water until the offending odor is replaced with the scent of the simmering spice.

Here’s a technique that works better than baking soda to deodorize a refrigerator: Place a handful of charcoal briquettes in a disposable plastic container (with no lid) in the refrigerator or freezer. Once the offending smell has dissipated, simply discard the charcoal.

Rather than throwing out the remnants of zested citrus peels, try grinding leftover pieces of lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit rind in your kitchen sink disposal. The strong, fresh scent of the fruit helps to mask unpleasant odors that sometimes collect in the disposal. Another option to freshen things up is to freeze cubes of distilled white vinegar and then grind a few in the disposal with cold water running.

Studies have found that the kitchen sink is crawling with even more bacteria than the garbage bin (the drain alone typically harbors 18,000 bacteria per square inch). The faucet handle, which can reintroduce bacteria to your hands after you’ve washed them, is a close second. Though hot, soapy water is amazingly effective at eliminating bacteria, for added insurance, clean these areas frequently with a solution of 1 tablespoon bleach per quart of water (the bleach will also kill off some of those microbes in the drain).

For a handy way to keep track of sponges dedicated to surface cleaning, poke a small hole in the sponge and thread a string through the hole. Loop the sponge over the neck of a spray bottle filled with vinegar and water or any cleaning solution.

To avoid using the same sponge for washing dishes as for cleaning grimy countertops and kitchen surfaces, snip off a corner from sponges that you intend to use for cleaning counters and stovetops, reserving uncut sponges for washing dishes.

Letting air circulate around wet kitchen sponges—instead of laying them flat on the counter—helps them dry faster and stay mildew-free. Rather than purchasing a caddy or a tray, you can fashion a stand with a large binder clip. Attach the clip to the short end of a sponge and then press the “arms” of the clip flat against the sponge.

Whenever possible, use a paper towel or a clean dishcloth instead of a sponge to wipe up. If you do use a sponge, disinfect it. We tried microwaving, freezing, bleaching, and boiling sponges that had seen a hard month of use in the test kitchen, as well as running them through the dishwasher and simply washing them in soap and water. Lab results showed that microwaving and boiling were most effective, but since sponges can burn in a high-powered microwave, we recommend boiling them for 5 minutes

If you prefer to hang your dishwashing gloves so that they’re always at hand, but your pair lacks tabs to do so, you can create your own by folding a piece of duct tape over the top edge of each one and then piercing the tape with a hole puncher.

Narrow-mouthed bottleneck containers require a long, slim brush to reach the bottom and clean the interior. In lieu of purchasing a specialized tool, try adding a handful of uncooked rice, water, and dish soap to the bottle, covering the top, and shaking vigorously. The grains’ friction against the sides loosens any grime and offers a nearly scrub- free solution.

To avoid cleaning kitchen countertops with chemicals that might contaminate food, use a spray bottle filled with equal parts white vinegar and water.

Most home bakers have just one piece of any given type of equipment, such as a strainer or sifter. Of course, these tools must be completely dry before you use them, but waiting for a just-washed strainer or sifter to dry fully can be frustrating, and it is easy to miss spots if you hand- dry with a dish towel. If you’re in the midst of a holiday baking bonanza and in a rush to use your sifter, try this way to dry it off quickly and completely: Because the oven is on anyway, put the utensil in it to dry out. Set a timer for about 2 minutes to remind yourself that the utensil is in the oven. Just be sure that the utensil does not have any plastic parts that can melt. After 2 minutes, the utensil will be quite hot, so use a mitt to protect your hand when you remove it from the oven.

Many cooks who wash dishes by hand would prefer to wash, dry, and put away the dishes in one fell swoop. Rather than waiting for them to air-dry and putting them away later, try propping up a small table fan level with the dishes in the rack and directing the air flow onto the dishes, which will dry in record time

Here’s a cheaper, environmentally friendly alternative to dishwasher rinse agent: Fill the compartment with plain white vinegar, which works just as well to keep spots from forming and costs mere pennies per load.

To keep plastic storage containers from turning over and filling with water during the wash cycle, place them on the upper rack of the dishwasher and set a wire rack on top. The rack keeps the containers in place while soapy water flows through.

Unloading the dishwasher is a dreaded chore. However, a little extra care while loading the silverware makes unloading go faster. Separate the silverware as you go; all forks together, knives together, and so on. At unloading time, simply grab each bunch of silverware and transfer to the appropriate drawer

A. Here’s a clever way to save both time and space while changing trash bags: Store the container of trash bags in the bottom of the trash can; when a full bag is removed, all you have to do is reach down and grab a fresh bag to replace it.
B. Recycle plastic shopping bags by using them to line small trash cans. Keep them from sliding to the bottom of the can by attaching small adhesive coat hooks (with the hooks facing downwards) on either side of the can, about 4 inches from the top. To secure the bag, simply slip the bag handles around the hooks.

Most kitchen garbage bags tend to slip down inside the trash can, inviting an unpleasant mess to clean up later. Try securing the bag to the receptacle with a lightweight bungee cord. Just make sure you don’t throw out the cord along with the trash when you change the bag!

Minor spills are a frequent occurrence in most kitchens. Here’s a trick for keeping counters tidy: Use the small rimmed baking sheet from a toaster oven as a miniature dust pan, holding the pan under the edge of the counter and sweeping spilled food onto it for disposal.