This Simple Trick Saves Food From The Summer Heat When Eating Outside
As the months begin to heat up and more time will inevitably be spent outside, you may find yourself hosting and/or attending a plethora of cookouts. Though kicking back with a cold drink and grilling in a backyard is an ideal way to spend those summer days and nights, one thing that can dampen the mood is always having to run back and forth to the kitchen to grab fruits, veggies, and cold food out of the fridge. But leave it to TikTok to save the day yet again with tips on how to avoid this scenario.
If you're one who tirelessly scrolls through the social media site to find new kitchen hacks or just for entertainment purposes, then you might have stumbled across a recent popular video guaranteed to make your backyard hosting days a little easier and become the top-notch host that you've wanted to be in summers past.
While many people may think you need a fancy ice bucket packed to the brim to keep your chilled dishes cool while you're outside, TikTok user @livingonlife101 proved us all wrong with her genius trick. Beginning the short video by saying, "Watch me blow your mind," she does just that by creating a portable cooling unit using a few disposable aluminum roasting pans and water.
Filling one of the pans a third of the way with tap water, she then places the pan in the freezer for some time to let it freeze. There's a few more steps, all of which are super easy to follow.
The portable cooler trick is so easy and cost-effective.
In a second, clean pan, the TikTok video poster suggests to place your fruit, veggies, or meant-to-be cold dish inside. After the water in the first pan has frozen, you'll then use that as your bottom tray and place the second pan with the food you want to stay cold on top of it. And, voila! You have an easy and affordable way to keep your food fresh without any water spillage or mess to be cleaned up after all of your guests have left for the evening or as you pack up from a picnic.
As a backup — because the ice could melt quicker than you anticipate — you could also make several frozen pans to use so that it'll be easy to switch out as they melt.
Although the video shows the user demonstrating the hack using fresh vegetables, it can pretty much work on anything that should remain cool. Another hack that you could potentially use instead of this ice pan trick is to bring your food out in the order that it will be eaten. That way, everything will still be fresh until it's time to serve it.