Hot Kitchen Utensils & Equipment How-Tos

How To: Use, warm and heat up a tortilla warmer in the microwave

A tortilla warmer is a traditional way to keep your tortillas warm at the table. This tutorial shows you a quick and easy way to warm up your tortillas and the warmer in the microwave. Make sure not to microwave the lid!

How To: Use the Bottle Opener on a Swiss Army Knife to Pop Off Bottle Caps

The Swiss army knife has a lifetime warranty and is the brand that MacGuyver used in his series so you know that it's good. The keychain side of the knife contains a bottle opener while the other side contains a can opener with a sharp cutting edge. The bottle opener has a flathead screwdriver on its top. You can use it to open bottles of ale when traveling through Europe by using a leverage technique. The top should then easily come off of your desired bottled beverage.

How To: Make a cheap funnel using a soda bottle

Funnels are necessary for a bunch of different types of food prep, but that doesn't mean you have to blow your money on one at the grocery store. If you're trying to feed your family on a budget this holiday season, simply craft the funnel yourself!

How To: Shape falafels with a falafel press

Falafels area delicious treat to eat. Watch this how to video to learn how to make a middle eastern snack, the falafel. Observe how the Podchef uses a falafel press to make this deep fried snack. They are so easy to make, anyone can make them at home.

How To: Use a Cuisinart Vertical Rotisserie

The best way to roast and barbecue meat and poultry is with a rotisserie. A vertical rotisserie is the best way to save space and stay clean. Know how to get the most out of your new Cuisinart rotisserie. Get all of the information on the Cuisinart Vertical Rotisserie. This detailed video tutorial will show you everything you need to know on how to use a Cuisinart Vertical Rotisserie (CVR-1000).

How To: Make Brew Ice Coffee in Keurig K-Cup Coffee Brewer Maker

Learn how to make or brew ice coffee in your Keurig coffee maker. We used the Donut Shop Sweet and Creamy regular ice coffee k-cups in this demonstration. It has the milk and sugar already added to the K-Cup.

How To: Use a Can Opener That Doesn't Leave Sharp Edges

This is a video of how to use a can opener that's a safe can opener, which will not leave sharp edges. You can also reuse the lid to put back on top of the can if all of it's contents are not used.

How To: What Is the Basic Cuts of Vegetable

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How To: Open a can using a Swiss Army Knife

This is a video demonstrating how to open a can with a Swiss Army Knife can opener. To begin, place the can on a flat surface. Open the can opener on the Swiss Army Knife. Make sure that the hook of the can opener is on the outer ring of the can and that the cutting part is on the inside. Use the blade to puncture a hole in the can, pulling up on the handle and pushing the blade along the can. Move the can in a counter clockwise motion cutting along the way. Use the tip of the can opener to p...

How To: Make Porsche Christmas Cookies

Christmas is near, which means Christmas cookies. And if you love cars and cookies, this video will show you how to produce your own cookie cutters in the shape of your favorite Porsche. This technique could also apply to other vehicles, as well.

How To: Easily and Quickly Peel Garlic

Garlic is a great addition to many delicious recipes but it can often be a very time consuming process even just to peel. This article will show you a great trick that will make peeling garlic fast and easy.

How To: Add a Non-Stick Surface to a Cast Iron Skillet

Many cooks refer to well-seasoned cast iron skillets as the original non-stick pan. A cast iron skillet is a versatile piece of cookware, going from the top of the stove to the oven with ease, provided the handle is also cast iron. The secret to a non-stick skillet is in the seasoning and cleaning process. Improper seasoning, cooking acidic foods and incorrect cleaning methods can all remove the non-stick capabilities. Achieving and maintaining a non-stick cooking surface is uncomplicated and...

How To: Decorate sugar cookies just like a professional

You don't need to invest in a bakery to get the sort of professional looking cookies you want! All you need are a few tools, some more implements you probably already have, and a few basic decorating techniques to get beautifully decorated cookies! Decorate sugar cookies just like a professional.

How To: Ice a cake or pastries without a piping bag

Decorating a cake and realize you don't have any of those professional piping bags? Not to worry! If you have some wax paper, then you have everything you need to be able to make your own piping bag for icing! Ice a cake or pastries without a piping bag.

How To: Learn the basics of making an excellent Bento lunch

Bento is the Japanese style of pre-packed lunch that might be the most efficient and stylish lunch delivery system ever conceived. This video will teach you how the basics of making a Bento, and is the first video in a series on the topic.

How To: Build your own sous vide rig for cooking

Sous vide, or ultra-low temperature poaching, is transformed into a safe and precise science when you create your own rig in this informative video from Cooking With Geeks entrepreneur Jeff Potter. The essential components of this cooking device are a slow cooker, a thermocouple and a temperature controller. Watch the video to see these components combine into a DiY sous vide rig.

How To: Cook food fast using an IMUSA pressure cooker

Have a delicious stew recipe you'd like to make, but want to cut the cooking time in half? Then, pressure cookers are perfect for you. Actually, pressure cookers can heat up a nice soup or goulash three times faster than regular cooking times! If this sounds good to you, then you need one of these suckers. And if you're lucky enough to own a IMUSA brand pressure cooker, this video with Chef George Duran will give you the tips and tricks to mastering your IMUSA pressure cooker.

How To: Polish silver cheaply for the holidays using toothpaste

If you recently unearthed your silver from storage hoping to use the pieces to set your holiday table, you may have been a bit disappointed at how tarnished all those spoons and forks look.

How To: Crack peppercorns cheaply by pressing them between pans

During the holidays, many recipes call for cracked black peppercorn (it's much fresher and much tastier than regular pepper in a plastic seasoning jar).

How To: Prepare a gas grill for safe summer cookouts

One of the most memorable and fun activities during the summer is grilling hot dogs, slabs of steak, and chicken on the grill outside. But using a gas grill and propane tank can be potentially very hazardous.

How To: Select wood and use wood properly for wood grilling

What's the difference between grilling on a pan in your kitchen and grilling outside with wood chips? It's definitely not just the surface you cook on that changes.

How To: Turn your slow cooker into a sous-vide machine

A sous-vide is an "under vacuum," a method of cooking food sealed in plastic bags and then dipped into a water bath that typically takes up to 72 hours to complete. Why cook your food in plastic baggies, you ask? To make sure all the ingredients come out pure and unadulterated.

How To: Make a soup bowl out of a coconut

In this video, we learn how to make a soup bowl out of a coconut. This will add a ton of flavor to soups or drinks! To do this, you will need to make a wide opening to the top of the coconut. Take a cleaver with a strong, thick, and heavy heel. Then, score through the husk with the cleaver, looking for any weak spots. After you have scored the wide opening, go back around until you break through the shell. Once you break through, use the back corner of the knife to pry back the top. Pull it b...

How To: Grind your own spices

In this tutorial, we learn how to grind your own spices. Spices grow all over the world, which can give them all unique tastes. Start off by grabbing the spices that you want to mix together. Use your favorite spices to make your own unique tastes. If you are roasting, you should not roast or toast the spices all together at once, so they don't incorporate smells. After you do this, you will use a mortar and a pestle to crush down the spices. Start pounding on the spices to release the oils a...

How To: Clear your drain with eco-friendly white vinegar

A clogged drain makes an unhappy cook. But unfortunately drains get clogged far too easily and often. And while pouring down a drain de-clogger can work, the very toxic chemicals in the de-clogger are damaging to your health and to the environment.

How To: Clean and replace the burrs in a coffee grinder

In this tutorial, we learn how to clean and replace the burrs in a coffee grinder. Start out by taking the bean hopper out, you will have to use a screw driver to remove this completely. Then, mark the top burr so you ,know where it was lined up, then spin the top until it comes off. Then, remove the parts off of this and clean them off. Make sure to put these all back together the way you took them off. Now, clean the bottom burr by prying it up with a tool and using an old toothbrush to scr...

How To: Clean your espresso machine with citric acid

In this video, we learn how to clean your espresso machine with citric acid. First, mix the acid up with some water in a pouring cup. Then, pour this into the machine and run water through the machine to get the boiler filled up with the acid solution. Run it out the steam wand as well so it has a chance to get into all the pipes and valves. After you have done all the steps, run it out once more with just plain water to clean it out of the citric acid taste. Then, you will be able to run the...

How To: Clean a coffee maker

This video tutorial is in the food category which will show you how to clean a coffee maker with vinegar. First you got to remove the used coffee powder from the coffee pot and put it in a compost maker or in the garbage bin. Then add one part vinegar and two parts water in the jug and pour it in to the coffee maker. Turn it on and after the cycle is completed, drain out the mixture of vinegar and water. If the coffee maker is still dirty, repeat the process. Once the pot is clean, flush it w...

How To: Clean a coffee machine

In this tutorial, we learn how to clean a coffee machine. First, get the filter out of the machine. After this, run hot water through the coffee machine and let it drain out. Clean off all the instruments that are on the machine to get it completely clean. Then, you will want to run the steamer through to rinse out any impurities as well. After you have ran water out, run it through a couple more times. When finished, you can start to brew coffee and enjoy a more delicious and fresh cup than ...

How To: Clean a coffee machine milk frother

This video tutorial is in the Food category which will show you how to clean a Coffee Machine Milk Frother on Katarina. Take a jug with about 400 ml of water and pour about 50 ml of the cleaning liquid in it. Mix it and put the frother pipe in the jug and turn on the frother as if you were frothing milk. Run the entire mixture through the frother and thereafter run some clear water through the frother to remove the remnants of the cleaning agent from inside the frother. Repeat this process af...

How To: Measure sticky ingredients by spraying measuring cups with cooking oil

Often times a recipe will call for a sticky ingredient like ketchup, honey, or jam preserves. And if you're one to follow the recipe at a precise level, you'll definitely toss that ingredient into a measuring cup or spoon. But once you dump the ingredient out a lot of it gets stuck on the measuring tool.

How To: Grill with basic tips from Lowe's

In this tutorial, we learn the basics of grilling with Lowe's. All foods can be cooked to perfection on the grill, but you will need to have the right tools. Meat thermometer, skewers, basting brush, grill cleaner, and a spatula are all tools that are key to grilling perfectly. Grill your own special way, but make sure you clean the grill after you are finished. You can do this by closing the lid and putting the grill on for a couple of minutes. Then, clean the grill with a clean cloth and ge...

How To: Craft a homemade jar opener with the inside of a tennis ball

It's a classic dilemma parodied in so many TV shows and movies we now roll our eyes every time we see it: Two women are trying to pry open a jar of jam (or some other condiment) but, despite their best efforts, the lid just won't pop. So they enlist the help of a pretty boy who lives next door to finish the "manly" job.

How To: Slice, Pit, and Cut an Avocado for Optimal Food Presentation

At first an avocado looks intimdating to cut. It's kind of squishy and has this huge pit in the center that you just don't know what to do with. So if you've never cut an avocado before, check out this food video by Serious Eats to learn how to cleverly cut, pit, and slice one for optimal presentation.

How To: Skin and Cut Citrus into Pith and Membrane Free Segments

Cutting up an orange or a lemon seems pretty easy. You just take it out, cut off the ends (if you're working with a lemon), and slice it up, right? Wrong. If you want to create a professional presentation for your citrus fruits, there's a very specific way for peeling and cutting a fruit so that you create pith- and membrane-free segments.

How To: Properly use a knife steel to straighten and sharpen your kitchen knife

If you've been using your knife right, and a lot, you've probably noticed that it's starting to show it's age a little. If you want to straighten your knife out and give it an edge again, all you will need is a proper knife steel. In this video, chef Jason Hill will showing you the proper techniques to using a knife steel and also some no no's.

How To: Sharpen your kitchen knives using a whetstone

In the kitchen, as important as it is to have great, fresh food and a hygienic cooking area, if your knives are dull, you won't be getting much done (unless you're cave-manning it, then good luck to you!). But if you are wondering how to get your blade back into the shape it was in when you first got it then check out this great video! Chef Jason Hill shows you how to maintain your kitchen knives with a whetstone.

How To: Sharpen a chef's knife or kitchen knife using a whetstone

You know how writing with your trusty No. 2 pencil gets to be a pain if you haven't sharpened the tip in a while? A sharp pencil produces crisp, pretty marks that enhance your writing, while a dull pencil tip causes smeared and sometimes illegible writing that looks slopping.

How to Act Like a Food Snob: Molecular Gastronomy Edition

I first heard the term molecular gastronomy while watching an episode of Bravo's Top Chef a few seasons back. Intrigued by the concept, I sought to find out more about this modern, deconstructed type of cookery. If you happen to be around foodies and the topic of molecular gastronomy comes up (which very likely will at some point) you'll want to have a few points to contribute and maybe even give them a run for their money.

How To: Clean and rehabilitate an old wok with Grace Young

So many cooking shows focus on how to perfect food - preparation, cooking, and presentation. But often, so much attention and focus goes into the food itself that the utensils which produce the food, like pans, spatulas, and thermometors, get almost no attention at all.