5 Handy Tips To Save Time When Cooking

In today’s world, everyone is far too busy to concentrate on cooking meals. With the pressures of modern life eating up most of our time. It’s no surprise that more than two-thirds of us now opt for eating out rather than cooking at home.

Of course, whilst this is not always the healthiest road to take or the cheapest – it is the quickest and the easiest.

After a long eight-hour day at work or education, most of us do not want to be getting home to slave over a hot stove for another hour. It’s much more simple to order a curry or pizza or pop to a local restaurant for our meals.

It’s not always just the cooking either, it’s the mess that we must clean afterwards. Studies have shown that most 18-24-year-olds often avoid cooking. Mainly because they do not like having to scrub pots and pans once they’ve eaten. It is much easier to crush a pizza box and throw it in the bin.

However, DESIblitz is here with some handy tips to save time when cooking. Which will hopefully make the thought of cooking seem less gruelling and the washing up even less so!

Lining Utensils with Parchment Paper/Foil

This is one of the handiest tricks to save time when cooking and cleaning up afterwards! If you’re preparing some delicious baked treats, or even grilling some bacon, this tip is a lifesaver!

If you’re rolling pastry, pop it in between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out flat to avoid having to clean up the flour mess afterwards.

You can also line baking trays with parchment paper if you’re roasting vegetables or baking cakes to avoid having to scrub away at the baking tray afterwards.

Foil is handy for when you are grilling things! Grilling burgers or chicken? Pop some foil underneath them in the tray.

This will catch all of the excess fat that comes off them. Once it’s cool, you can peel the foil off and voila – no mess and no having to clean the tray!

Freeze Food!

Tilesh Chudasama, the founder and chef of London’s Chai Naasto Indian street food restaurant says “cook once, eat twice”.

Chudasama suggests you cook a portion big enough that you can halve it. Freeze a portion either to eat the next day, to take to work, or to defrost and eat on nights when you’re feeling extra lazy!

This also works brilliantly if you’re in the supermarket and spot cheap fruit and veg. Buy it, take it home, chop it, and freeze it! Not only does this save time when cooking a meal with these vegetables, it’s also friendly on your pocket and means the veg you buy doesn’t mould!

This is great for when you make dishes such as curries and casseroles. As the veg is already chopped and prepared for you – all you have to do is pop it in the dish!

Clean as you Cook!

No one likes to slave over a hot stove, cook a huge family meal, eat more than they should have and then had to face a mountain of dirty pots and pans. Save yourself some time and clean as you cook!

If you’re waiting for something to fry, boil, or bake, fill up your washing up bowl and scrub away. You’ll feel heaps better once you’ve polished off your meal and realised you don’t have to go to the sink and clean up everyone’s plates as well as the utensils you used!

You can also share the responsibility of cleaning. This works particularly well for families and groups of friends. One of you washes, one of you dries, and one of you puts away. It gets the job done 3 times as fast and takes some of the burden from the chef’s shoulders!

Meaning you’ll have more time to settle in front of the TV or go about your evening activities without worrying about cleaning!

Invest in a Slow Cooker!

Whilst slow cookers may be a big purchase, they can save time when cooking!

Slow cookers allow you to prepare ingredients and meals the night before and allow them to cook the next day whilst you’re at work. Meaning when you return home you don’t have to worry about preparation or cooking because it’s done for you!

This is perfect for making Desi dishes such as butter chicken, kormas and chickpea dishes! Slow cookers also give your meal a wonderful texture. They work well when you’re cooking a joint of meat as it can give them the ‘fall-off-the-bone’ texture that everyone craves!

So why not invest in a slow cooker and let your meals simmer away whilst you’re working or at school. Guaranteed to take a load off your shoulders!

Read Recipes Before You Cook

This may seem simple but reading the recipe before you begin to cook can save you loads of time! There are many recipe books out there offering quick, 15-minute meals. But those 15 minutes can quickly be doubled if you haven’t read the recipe or prepared correctly!

Another handy tip is to make sure you’ve preheated the oven and warmed up the stoves and pans of oil to help the cooking process move along quicker.

Always go out and buy your ingredients in advance. Check what you have in the cupboards. As it’s a common habit for people to read a recipe and buy everything on the list without first checking what they already have.

Being familiar with your recipes, the ingredients, and the process can save you heaps of time. If you double the ingredients needed, you can also make enough meals for the week and freeze them! Recipe books are a great way to create quick and easy meals and to try new dishes, so long as you’ve prepared!

If time-saving is at the top of your list when it comes to cooking, take some advice from these handy tips to save time when cooking!

So try it yourself and save some time, and money, when creating homemade dishes! You’ll be sure to no longer view the pots and pans as a mountain, but more as a molehill!