Food hacks: Tips and tricks that are sure to amaze

Have you ever wondered how you can make fondant from scratch? Well, we have the answer! Watch how easy it really is to make fondant using just marshmallows and icing sugar. Prepare to have your mind blown.

Watch: How to make cheat’s marshmallow fondant

Learn how to squeeze lemons the easy way with this handy food hack. It’s goodbye mess, hello kitchen tongs and maximum lemon juice!

Watch: How to squeeze a lemon with tongs

Your hot chocolate will never be the same again once you’ve mastered these frozen cream swirls. They won’t melt straight away like usual cream and are super easy to make.

Watch: How to make frozen cream swirls

Watch how to grate chocolate with a potato peeler – yes, really! You can make perfect chocolate curls and grate chocolate in a matter of minutes with this nifty food hack.

Watch: How to grate chocolate with a potato peeler

Strawberry fan? You’re going to love this next trick! All you need is a straw and a steady hand to hull a whole punnet of strawberries in a matter of minutes. Prepare to be impressed!

Watch: How to hull strawberries with a straw

Say goodbye potato masher, hello electric whisk! This is the perfect way to make creamy, lump-free mashed potato every time. Watch and learn…

Watch: How to mash potato with an electric whisk

Yes, you really can peel ginger with a spoon. It’s so much easier than using a knife and will leave less waste in the process too. You’ll be showing this hack off to your friends.

Watch: How to peel ginger with a spoon

The kids are going to love these mini chocolate bowls. Made with white chocolate, sprinkles and balloons, these bowls can be filled with all sorts of treats including ice cream!

Watch: How to make mini chocolate bowls

Yes, you really can remove an egg yolk from its egg white with the
nozzle of a plastic bottle. Watch and prepare to be amazed by this
simple yet effective method that means you don’t have ot get your hands
dirty.

Watch: How to remove egg yolk with plastic bottle

The kids are going to love these melted snowman biscuits. They’re so easy to make using marshmallows, icing and shop-bought biscuits. A quick, easy and fun party food!

Watch: How to make melted snowman biscuits

There’s no need to buy buttermilk from the shop anymore! This nifty hack
shows you how simple it really is to make buttermilk at home. All you
need is milk and lemon juice, and ta-dah!

Watch: How to make buttermilk

It really doesn’t take much to make these ice cream pops. Greek yogurt,
Maltesers and a drizzle of honey – simple! The kids are going to love
this food hack, and they can help make them too! If you want a healthier
option, swap the Maltesers for fruit.

Watch: How to make cheat’s ice cream

Take your favourite chocolate bar and turn it into a warm, luxurious hot
chocolate. All you need is a glass of milk and you’ve got a
mouth-watering hot chocolate – you’ll never look at hot chocolate powder
the same way again.

Watch: How to make hot chocolate with real chocolate

The kids are going to love these milk and cookie ice cubes. They’re
perfect for popping into milkshakes to keep them cool without watering
them down, plus they’re really easy to make too.

Watch: How to make milk and cookie ice cubes

Transform your cake or cupcakes with this easy two tone icing that you
can make with just one piping bag. We’ve used yellow and pink
buttercream, but you can choose your favourite two colours instead.

Watch: How to make two tone icing

Using an apple slicer, this nifty little trick will show you how simple
it can be to make potato wedges. Drizzle in oil, season and cook away!

Watch: How to make use an apple slicer to make potato wedges

Short on time when it comes to decorating your Christmas cake? Don’t worry! These fondant Christmas trees will make it a lot easier. All you need is some green fondant and some small scissors. Simple!

Watch: How to make speedy fondant Christmas trees

Turn fruit into ice cubes with this simple food hack. It’s so simple to
make these fruity treats – perfect for keeping drinks cool without
diluting them or even as a snack for the kids in the summer months.

Watch: How to use frozen fruit as ice cubes

Fed up of that icing sugar cloud or buttercream splattering all around
your kitchen surfaces? This handy trick will show you just how easy it
is to stop the mess.

Watch: How to stop an electric hand whisk splattering

Looking for a simple way to decorate your cake? Learn how to use cookie
cutters as a great way to create patterns on a plain cake using icing
sugar or sprinkles.

Watch: How to use cookie cutters for decorating cakes

Yes, you really can whip cream in a jar! Once you’ve mastered this fun
food hack, you’ll be swapping that electric hand whisk for a jar
instead. It takes just 30 seconds, no equipment required.

Watch: How to whip cream in a jar

It’s super easy to make these festive little strawberries. All you need is a steady hand and plenty of cream. The kids are going to love making these strawberry Santas.

Watch: How to make strawberry Santas

Yes, you really can peel a potato without even picking up a potato peeler! Lightly score a sharp knife around the centre of your potato, pop into boiling hot water and cook until slightly soft. Remove and cool before carefully peeling off the potato skin in two parts. Ta-dah!

Watch: How to peel a potato without a potato peeler

There’s no need to spend ages trying to peel off the shell of your hardboiled egg. Just pop it into a glass with some water and give it a good old shake. It’ll take the shell off in seconds.

Watc: How peel a hardboiled egg in a glass of water

Did you know you can ripen bananas in the oven? It’s quick, simple and a great way to speed up the ripening process without making your bananas taste any different.

Pop them on a baking tray on a low heat in the oven and keep an eye on them. They’ll slowly turn brown, like magic!

Pour some hot water into a bowl and before you scoop your ice cream from the tub, dip the scoop into the water to warm it up. You should be able to scoop perfect balls of ice cream every time!

Wet your fingers with water before attempting to scoop out eggshell from your mixing bowl. It’ll make chasing that stray bit of eggshell around the bowl a little easier as it should stick to your finger in no time.

Making bread in a hurry? Speed up the rising time by popping the bowl you’re proving your dough in onto a heat pad or stand next to a hot water bottle. It’ll really speed up the process!

Do you find that your brown sugar always clumps? Never fear! Add a slice of bread to the container. This will absorb any moisture that the sugar contains and will stop it from sticking together.

Make sure you get the perfect cut of bread or cake every time by warming up your knife. Just run it under the hot tap until warm, pat dry with a tea towel and get slicing.

There’s a very simple way of making sure the eggs in your kitchen are fresh. Fill up a glass bowl full of water. Pop the egg into the water. If it floats, don’t eat it. If it lies on its side at the bottom, it’s fresh and if it lies upright at the bottom, eat as soon as possible.

One of the best way to keep asparagus fresh is by cutting off the ends (at the base, not the spears) and popping them into a jar of water, like a bunch of flowers. They’ll last much longer than being kept in the fridge.

A quicker way to cut up meat is to use kitchen scissors. We’d recommend having two pairs though – one for cutting meat and one for other day-to-day use, each labelled to make sure you don’t get confused. Wash the meat scissors like you would a knife.

Finding it hard to get a lid off a jar? Run it under the hot tap for a while or pour a little bit of boiling water over the rim. Twist and pull!

Wrap the top of the bunch of bananas where they all meet with clingfilm and it should keep them fresher for longer – up to 4-5 days, according to some sources!

Want to keep a cake for a few days? Pop a slice of bread into the cake tin. This should keep it from drying out and going stale.

Storing apples with potatoes can keep them from sprouting – amazing, we know!