Tree shaped wine corks on green background
Food - Drink
The Last Thing You Should Do Before Throwing Your Wine Cork Away
By SYLVIA TOMCZAK
Wine bottle and corks
Though you may typically throw away your wine corks after using them once or twice to reseal bottles, there's a clever way to put these plugs to good use as a cooking hack.
Pot on stove boiling over with lid on
Since many metal pots and the accompanying lids can become quite hot, touching them barehanded isn't wise, so affixing a cork under the pot lid’s handle can come in handy.
Red wine pouring into glass from bottle
Wine corks can provide an easy-to-grip and cool-to-the-touch handle to avoid coming into direct contact with a scorching lid, but some corks work better than others.
boiling pot billowing steam on the stove
Traditional corks are ideal in comparison to synthetic corks, which are less aesthetic and result in a grip that's not as secure due to the material they're made with.
stack of wine corks
You can use a standard wine cork, but a sparkling wine cork will be your best option due to its much thicker shape, which will fit under the handle more snugly.