Making Life Easier in the Kenyan Kitchen
Cooking in a typical Kenyan home is an essential part of daily life—from preparing ugali and sukuma wiki to simmering a hearty beef stew or chapatis for the weekend. But with busy schedules, rising food prices, and the need to make every shilling count, every Kenyan home cook needs smart kitchen hacks that save time, reduce waste, and make cooking more enjoyable.
These practical, locally relevant hacks will change how you cook—whether you’re in a Nairobi apartment, a Mombasa family home, or a rural kitchen in Nyeri.
1. Extend Your Tomatoes’ Life by Storing Them Upside Down
In Kenya, tomatoes are a cooking staple—but they ripen (and rot) fast, especially in warm cities like Mombasa. Storing them upside down, with the stem side facing down, slows down spoilage. This reduces air exposure and keeps them fresh longer, saving you trips to the kiosk.
2. Soften Tough Meat with Pawpaw (Papaya)
If you’ve ever bought tough nyama from the local butcher, here’s a natural solution. Rub raw pawpaw (papaya) paste on the meat and let it sit for 30 minutes. The papain enzyme in pawpaw breaks down meat fibers—perfect for tough goat meat, oxtail, or beef cuts popular in Kenyan stews.
3. Reuse Sukuma Wiki Stalks in Soups or Broths
Don’t throw away sukuma wiki stems! Boil them into vegetable broth or add them to githeri or minji stews for added flavor and nutrition. It’s a smart way to reduce food waste and stretch your meal budget.
4. Use Airtight Containers to Keep Unga Fresh
In cities like Nairobi and Kisumu where pests like weevils are common, storing your maize or wheat flour (unga) in airtight containers or sealed jars will prevent infestations and keep the flour fresh for weeks.
5. Peel Ginger with a Spoon—Not a Knife
Instead of slicing away half your ginger using a knife, scrape the skin off gently with the edge of a spoon. This simple trick reduces waste and is safer, especially for new cooks.
6. Freeze Your Fresh Herbs in Oil
Kenyan herbs like dhania (coriander) and terere can spoil fast. Chop and store them in ice cube trays with a bit of cooking oil, then freeze. Pop one out when cooking to instantly add flavor to your soup, stew, or rice.
7. Use Salt to Clean Greasy Pans
Run out of steel wool or detergent? Sprinkle salt on your oily sufuria and scrub with a sponge. Salt acts as a natural abrasive, removing grease from pans after cooking heavy meals like pilau or wet fry.
8. Avoid Tears While Cutting Onions
Freeze your onions for 10 minutes before cutting. This reduces the release of the gas that causes tears—a great trick when prepping for chapati stew or nyama choma marinade.
9. Boil Githeri with Baking Soda for Faster Cooking
Githeri lovers, this one’s for you. Adding just a pinch of baking soda while boiling maize and beans cuts cooking time in half. Just be careful not to overdo it—too much can make your food taste soapy.
10. Make Homemade Cleaning Paste with Lemon and Bicarbonate Soda
To clean stubborn stains on kitchen surfaces or your gas cooker, mix lemon juice with bicarbonate soda into a paste. It’s cheaper, safer, and smells fresh—ideal for eco-conscious homes in Kenya.
Cook Smarter, Not Harder
Kenyan kitchens are full of potential—not just for delicious meals, but also for clever time- and money-saving tricks. These 10 kitchen hacks can help you reduce waste, improve food quality, and make cooking less stressful.
Try one or two of these hacks this week and see how they improve your daily kitchen experience. Share them with fellow home cooks and help make every Kenyan kitchen more efficient!
