6 Ingenious Tricks for Using Cookbooks in the Kitchen
If you like cookbooks, you know it’s not always as easy at it looks, with drips and splatters turning into stains and sticky pages. To avoid these mishaps, follow these 6 genius tricks to make cookbook cooking easier than ever.
Binder Clip Recipe Stands
Ever find yourself shuffling back and forth between the stove and your recipe directions as you cook? With this quick trick, you will shuffle no more! Slip the bottom of your recipe cards into binder clips turned upside down, then stand the clips on their metal prongs atop your counter. (And if you’re reading the recipe off your phone, binder clips can make a stand for that, too!)
Protectors for Printed-Out Pages
We hate it when our printed (or handwritten) recipes get stained while cooking. To keep them safe from drips and splatters—not to mention better organized—slip them into plastic photo protectors, which you can find at office supply stores. They come in different sizes, so choose the protectors that best suit your recipes. Then, you can store them all in a binder for safekeeping.
Genius Holder for Recipes
Need a holder for recipes? Use a pants hanger! You can hang it on a cabinet pull and easily see the recipe while you cook.
Keep Pages from Sticking
Oops! You just spilled something on your favorite cookbook. Don’t despair. Simply blot the page with a paper towel and then insert a piece of wax paper on the page before closing the book. The wax paper will keep the page from sticking together.Â
Protecting Your Cookbooks
A well-worn cookbook is a good sign, but company shouldn’t be able to guess your favorite recipes just by inspecting the splatters. So here is yet another use for one of the million plastic bags taking over your pantry: Use one to cover the binding and pages surrounding the recipe you are using. Then to keep the book open and the pages clean, just place it under a glass pie plate—unless you’re making pie, of course!
DIY Book Weight
You’re trying to read from a cookbook or other book hands-free, and it keeps snapping shut! Here’s an easy solution: Make a weighted bookmark by lining up two rows of 15 pennies each, then pressing a piece of duct tape on top of them. Turn it over and press another piece of duct tape to the back. Use colored duct tape and some stickers if you want to spruce it up!
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Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
About the Author
Bruce Lubin and Jeanne Bossolina-Lubin are the proud parents of three boys and more than a dozen books. After saving thousands per year using everyday tips and simple lifehacks, they started their own business in the hopes of sharing their knowledge with others. They have been known to go into their friends’ refrigerators to turn their eggs upside down so that they last longer.
