30 Kitchen Tricks That Really Save Us In a Pinch

Life hacks have a place in our kitchens and our hearts, so we partnered with another time-saver—meal delivery service Home Chef—to share 30 of our favorites: The hacks that actually work.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 14 years, you are very familiar with life hacks (yes, that is in fact how long ago the word was coined—they're teenagers!) and their pledge to get something done better, faster, easier.

That promise of greatness is what makes hacks so fun. And also, because hope springs eternal, so tempting to buy into even the ones we know are ridiculous—those hacks that are useless, time-consuming, and more likely to get a laugh than help you get anything done more efficiently.

But when hacks are good, they’re really, really good. From a smarter way to zest citrus to a dead-simple trick to sweeter pineapple, here are 30 of our favorite useful kitchen hacks (two of which require bringing your hair dryer into the kitchen, but none of which require you to start hoarding plastic bread clips):

Note: the above two should only be considered efficient​ options when you don't have proper openers on hand.

(Psst: first hairdryer use appears above)

(Spoiler alert: The second appearance of a hairdryer can be found above)

We know you love a good hack too. Remember the competition from years ago, which had vvvanessa getting more counter space out of an ironing board and hardlikearmour hacking a cold smoker? So tell us: What's your favorite kitchen or home hack (that's actually worth your time)?

Home Chef is a meal delivery service that offers 11+ meal options, reduces food waste, and saves time in the kitchen—all things we'd say make life easier, better, and faster.