3 Kitchen Tricks We Learned From ‘80s Aerobic Workouts

Perhaps Olivia Newton-John was onto something. Not only does a sweatband stop rivulets of sweat from smearing her makeup, but it also can stop drops of cooking oil from staining your pantry. To prevent a mess, wrap a clean sweatband around the middle of the bottle of cooking oil to catch drips. When the band becomes too dirty, just toss it—jauntily if you wish—into the washing machine.

Pantyhose: a thong leotard’s best friend and a sweet onion savior. The sugar content of Vidalia, Walla Walla, and Maui onions, which is what endears them to many cooks, also makes them spoil more quickly if they are stored touching one another. To prolong their freshness, place on onion in the leg of an old but clean pair of pantyhose. Tie a knot in the hose, just above the onion. Repeat this process up the entire leg. Now stretch!

A water bottle is an aerobicizer’s staple, and it also comes in handy to quickly chill hot soups and stews to room temperature before sticking them in the fridge. Fill a large plastic bottle almost to the top with water, seal it, and freeze it; then use the frozen bottle to stir the soup or stew in the pot. The ice inside the bottle will cool down the soup or stew rapidly without diluting it. Speaking of cool downs…