Sharpen up your kitchen skills

Hey good looking. What you got cooking? Hone your culinary skills during lockdown with these top how-to videos and your dinner parties will never be the same again.

How to cut an onion

Arguably one of the worst parts of food prep, cutting an onion is a recipe for tears. But apparently, there is a way to keep your eyes from streaming – don’t cut the root off! Watch Gordon Ramsey demonstrate how it should be done and get a beautifully diced onion (without losing a finger).

How to de-skin garlic

You can get the skin off of a clove of garlic by chopping the ends and peeling it – but that will leave your hands smelling less than desirable. Instead, put your cloves into a container with a lid (tupperware or even a cocktail shaker is perfect), and shake vigorously for about 20 seconds. Hey presto, the skin will have removed itself.

How to make tasty ice cubes

If you want to enjoy a refreshing summer cocktail without it getting watered down by ice cubes, then why not make your ice out of lemon instead. Cut the ends off of a lemon and chop the remainder into eighths. Place each lemon section into an ice cube tray and freeze. Now, whenever you fancy a chilled beverage, you’ll get a refreshing citrus twist (with hardly any water). You can of course try this with any fruit of your choice.

How to poach eggs easily

Although poached eggs are delicious, preparing them can be a bit of a faff, but this method makes it easy peasy:

1. Pour hot water (from the kettle) into a saucepan and heat up until it begins to boil, then turn the heat right down.
2. Crack an egg into a small bowl and carefully tip the egg into the saucepan – you can submerge the bowl a little to ease the egg out.
3. Start a timer for 4 minutes and cover your pan.
4. When the timer goes off your eggs are done. Scoop them out and they should be perfectly cooked!

How to get master your knife

Knife skills are an important part of your cooking regime, this video by Tasty is a great tutorial on both safety and technique. You’ll also get to see yet another way of removing the skin from those pesky garlic cloves.

How to sharpen a knife

You’ll get nowhere with those knife skills if your blade is blunt. In another super sharp video from Tasty you can learn how to sharpen your knives properly (and safely).

How to cook rice

Rice seems like it should be pretty easy to master, but it can actually be a pain to cook. Too long and it’ll be mushy and stodgy, too short and it will still be crunchy – nobody wants that! This video from the BBC gives you the lowdown on how to cook the perfect rice.

How to peel ginger

This knobbly, hard spice root can be very difficult to peel, but with Jamie Oliver’s top tips, it should be a doddle. And all you’ll need is a humble spoon.

With the how-tos mastered, you’re now ready to create a delectable dish out of diced onion, peeled garlic, lemon ice, a perfectly poached egg, some tasty rice and a slice of ginger… but we think we’re going to have to pass on that!