⏱Kitchen Time Savers – Produce Prep Round 2

After writing my initial post about produce prep, I got to thinking about other ways I shave off bits of time. In a slightly uncharacteristic move, I started collecting the ideas into a single place. In the past I’ve always just jotted them down wherever…never to be seen again. For some reason this time things were different. Maybe I’m learning!

I realized that one of my biggest time savers are my kitchen shears. First off, let me put your mind at ease: You don’t have to purchase an expensive pair of kitchen shears from the specialty kitchen store. Almost any scissors will work. My one recommendation is make them a dedicated kitchen implement.

I’ve previously written about one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, my manual chopper. I’ve also got several small electric choppers. And of course, I’ve got sharp knives and cutting boards. But when it comes to many chopping tasks, I use my shears more often than not. Have you ever seen a recipe that calls for minced herbs (chives, dill, basil, or parsley)? Mincing is a huge pain with a knife. It doesn’t matter how sharp your utensil or how good your skills, there are few herbs that mince as well with a knife versus kitchen shears. Grab your bunch of herbs, rinse them, and snip teeny-tiny bits off of the bunch. One of the best parts is that you only get the shears dirty. There’s no cutting board to wash afterwards! I’ll be honest: Almost every recipe that includes mincing or chopping has gotten the kitchen shears treatment.

Another handy tool for produce prep is a food processor. While kitchen shears can cover a lot of ground, a food processor can do even more. Whether slicing or chopping, this handy gadget can help you prep produce very quickly. Since most of the parts are dishwasher-safe, cleanup is that much easier. Don’t let your food processor sit in the cabinet, put it to good use doing produce prep!

Another trick I use is to store produce into see-through bags and containers. I have a set of plastic containers that I use. I’m also a big believer in zippered storage bags. Remember my story about chopping onions every night of the week? Now that I do once-a-week chopping when possible, I put each onion into a bag marked “1 Onion”. If I chop five onions, I have five bags. When a recipe calls for two chopped onions I grab two bags. Half an onion in the recipe…half a bag is used and I mark the bag as 1/2 Onion.

Another somewhat silly tool for produce prep is my cookbook stand. For years I battled cookbooks laying flat on the countertop. Pages would turn accidentally and I’d lose my place. The flat-surface provided a landing place for splattered ingredients and many pages were drizzled with bits of food. My cookbook stand resolves that. If you don’t have a stand, get a cheap one. Mine happens to be wrought-iron…but it was a gift. Before that, I used a simple wire frame for holding my cookbooks.

The final time saver is to think small. If you’re slicing or dicing, the smaller the size the faster the produce will cook. It doesn’t matter if you’re boiling or roasting, smaller pieces cook faster. The same goes for purchasing. Buying baby vegetables, while potentially more expensive, will speed up the cooking process. Decide for yourself whether the additional cost is worth the time-savings.

I’ll admit none of these tips save a lot of time all at once. But as I’ve mentioned before, a little bit of time-saving over daily meal prep adds up quickly.

Do you have any other produce prep tips you use? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.

Now get in there and start prepping. And while you’re at it, make it a great day in the kitchen!