8 Essential Cooking Hacks

Ever wonder how to peel garlic efficiently? Or how to clean the grater faster? What about how to avoid ice cream freezer burn? Some kitchen tasks you're faced with can be more tedious than others, and if you're looking for smart tricks to make it all easier, you're in luck.

If you use garlic in your cooking you know that peeling it can be incredibly tedious, so you'll be thrilled to learn this tested hack that always does the trick. Smash the garlic with your hand and place it a bowl. Cover the bowl with another bowl to create a chamber in which you can vigorously shake the garlic. It works like magic—the skin comes right off! A similar approach works with removing the core in lettuce. In order to chop lettuce with ease, smash a head of lettuce on its core. Once the core has fallen out, chopping the lettuce becomes a simpler task.

Did you know non-stick spray has many uses beyond the pan? Turns out, you can use non-stick spray on a cheese grater to make it easier to clean. The nifty trick also works on spoons if you are working with something sticky like honey or peanut butter. Cleaning up just got that much easier!

Nothing is tastier in summer than ice cream, but when left in the freezer for too long, ice cream tends to get rock hard or even develop freezer burn. According to the video above, by storing ice cream in a plastic bag, you will prevent the sweet from getting too hard. How simple is that? Wrapping ice cream in tin foil also helps to ensure that ice crystals don't develop.

Watch the video above for 8 cooking hacks that everyone should know.

Become a KD VIP to save your favorite recipes from anywhere to your recipe box, and visit @KitchenDaily on Twitter for more stories like this one! Then, check out 5 Ways You Are Cleaning Your Body Wrong from our friends at StyleList.

8 vending machines you didn't know you needed
4 surprising veggie benefits
From diet to doctor: My 99-pound weight loss