The Best Kitchen Quick Tips: 534 Tricks, Techniques, and Shortcuts for the Curious Cook

But what is a quick tip? For the editors of Cook's Illustrated it's an easier way of performing a kitchen task that either saves time or money or improves the quality of the outcome. The tip may call for an odd appliance such as a hair dryer (for smoothing chocolate frosting) or a surprising ingredient such as miniature marshmallows (placed on the ends of toothpicks to hold plastic wrap above an iced cake). You will find practical tricks for peeling tomatoes, chopping garlic, knowing when your steamer is out of water (add marbles to the bottom of the pot) and toasting pine nuts (use a popcorn popper). Arranged alphabetically it takes you through softening Almond Paste to drying Wine Glasses on chopsticks.