Weird Science: Kitchen Shortcuts That Work

Floss Is a Many-Splendored Thing
Dental floss can be used to cut neat rounds of soft cheeses (such as goat cheese), soft pastry dough (such as the dough for cinnamon rolls), and even cakes that aren’t too tall. Always use unflavored floss. 

Cry Me a River
So many recipes call for onion that the tears it induces seem unavoidable. Put the tissues and the Visine away—you won’t need them anymore if you take this advice:

• While you cut the onion, place a slice or hunk of bread in your mouth, letting it protrude from your lips. The bread absorbs many of the fumes from the onion before they reach your nose.
• Simply pop your onion in the freezer for ten or fifteen minutes, then chop away. (Just make sure it doesn’t harden so much that your knife can’t penetrate it.)

Thar She Blows
Any amateur baker who’s tried frosting a cake knows how difficult it is to achieve a uniformly silky finish. To give your icing an enviably sleek look, hold a hair dryer (set to low heat) a few inches above the cake. The warm air will melt the frosting just enough to smooth out its surface.

But that’s not all hair dryers can do. If you have a charcoal grill and the fire dies just as you’re ready to cook up a batch of burgers, aim a blow dryer (set to high heat) at the base of the coals. The airflow will restore the flames and save your barbecue in no time. 

If you’d like to delve more deeply into the realm of “Why didn’t I think of that?” kitchen techniques, you can find some of the above tricks—and hundreds more—in the book The Best Quick Kitchen Tips. And as you speed unencumbered through your future meal preparations, think of me. I’ll probably be in my own kitchen, covered in spaghetti sauce, holding my hair dryer in one hand and a bottle of mouthwash in the other.