2020 was a busy year for most people in the kitchen. All that extra time baking homemade sourdough, creating neon-hued cloud bread and trying out other inspiring food trends really paid off.
Many shared their own inventive food prep hacks and it has made all that home cooking even easier. To pay tribute to the masterminds behind 2020's coolest tricks of the trade, TODAY Food rounded up some of our favorite fun hacks, some of which we tried out ourselves.
Here's to making 2021 all the more simple!
1. It's in the (chip) bag
"Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi helped make this TikTok hack for flawlessly closing a chip bag without any clips or rubber bands go viral. In the short video, the poster, Heidi Tuley, first folds both sides of the open bag into the center, and then expertly rolls the fold into itself before tucking it into the tip of the bag. When she turns it upside down, none of the Fritos corn chips are able to escape from the tight, handmade seal.
2. Mastering the perfect cheese slice
Simple yet surprising, one Facebook post made 2020's jarcuterie trend far easier with beautifully sliced cheese every time. The trick involved swapping out a knife or even a cheese slicer for a vegetable peeler. Many attested it created an even, gorgeous slice every single time.
3. The mind-blowing way to open coffee creamer
Those who enjoy the milky, flavored liquids in their morning coffee know how tricky the tin foil tops can be to remove. But that all changed in October thanks to a resourceful mom of three who posted her discovery on TikTok. The hack involves using the top portion of the bottle's plastic cap to simply puncture the foil — and voila, time saved!
4. So fresh and so green
After trying out this viral trick to keep avocado flesh green, both Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager agreed they'd eat leftover avo any day! Shared by Tik Tok user @kmag1, the method doesn't require any fancy storage devices or tangy citrus fruits. All you need is half of an avocado and a Tupperware or bowl filled with just enough water to submerge the exposed side of the fruit. Then, simply place the avocado half in the bowl, cut-side-down, and the next time you're ready to use it, the avocado should look like it was just cut.
5. The hack that made peanut butter lovers go nuts
In late April, TikTok user @shopsplat showcased how to avoid scraping peanut butter remains from the sides of the jar: Hold up a nearly empty jar of peanut butter, screw the lid back on tightly and spin the jar on the floor, making several vigorous turns in the same direction. After filming a few spins, the TikToker opens the jar and reveals what appears to be nearly full jar of peanut butter (of course, the creamy condiment has just been forced to the top) in a neatly swirled pattern.
6. Cracking the case on egg peeling
The internet is littered with egg-peeling hacks but a video posted to Twitter back in January is got a lot of attention because it purportedly showed a technique to peel an egg in just a few seconds. In the video, a person is seen placing an egg inside a small glass then filling the glass with some water. The glass is then shaken firmly for about five seconds, at which point a hand slides the egg out of the glass and, with a gently squeeze, the shell slips right off the egg like a snake shedding its skin.
7. Think outside the cereal box
Forget Tupperware containers, forget stale cereal and forget sloppy, half-opened cardboard boxes. Becky McGhee, a mother of two from the U.K., shared a clever trick on her Facebook page that went viral and inspired countless imitations.
By following her step-by-step guide to a beautifully folded cereal box, people anywhere can obtain a tidy pantry with mitigated morning spills.
