This Simple Hot Water and Lemon Knife Trick Halves Clean-Up Time When Cooking Big Meals

Prepping big meals often means nonstop chopping, and even more time spent scrubbing sticky cutting boards and knives afterwards. From cheese to meat to starchy vegetables, residue builds up on knives quickly, slowing down both prep and clean up.

The solution is surprisingly simple: A bowl of hot lemon water to dip your knife into.

This small habit can cut cleanup time in half while making chopping faster and smoother. Here's why chefs love it, especially for simplifying post-Christmas clean-up.

The Lemon Water Knife Hack to Speed Up Festive Cleaning

It might sound simple, but dipping your knife into hot lemon water between cuts will mean that residue releases from the blade more easily, food slides off cleanly, and blades stay easier to work with throughout prep.

This chef-prep secret to change how you do holiday meals is a favorite of Joanne Gallagher, co-founder and recipe developer at Inspired Taste. She shares, 'When you dip the knife in hot water, the warm blade glides more easily through sticky or fatty foods like soft cheese, chocolate, caramel, or cold butter.

'The heat barely melts the surface to keep food from sticking. Adding lemon [from Walmart] helps break down fat and keeps it from building up on the blade, so it rinses off more easily afterward.'

This will also mean that if you dip your blade into the hot lemon water when you finish, then come back later to fully clean up after your meal, there will be less stubborn mess to get off. This saves you time scrubbing.

Cleaning with lemon is also a great non-toxic cleaning tip for removing sticky residue without having to scrub and without heavy degreasers.

Joanne continues, 'Fill a heat-safe bowl or mug with very warm but not boiling water, squeeze in some lemon, and dip or swish your knife in the water for a few seconds between cuts. Wipe the blade carefully with a clean towel after each dip, then keep cutting. For very sticky foods, repeat the technique to keep your knife warm and mostly clean.'

Repeating the step is the essential part, urges Rhonda Wilson, quality lead cleaner at FreshSpace Cleaning. 'Dipping a knife into hot lemon water does make it easier to cut sticky items, but it’s a short-lived trick.'

To counter this, dip between cuts. To avoid having to change the water constantly as it cools, Rhonda suggests keeping the water in a tall, insulated cup, such as a Stanley Cup from Walmart. Pick a cup that is the length of your knife so that the whole blade is coated with each dip.

Beyond this lemon water hack, it is best to also sharpen knives before prepping your meals. Investing in the best chef's knives and keeping them in top condition using whetstones, from Amazon, will do infinitely more for easy meal prep than any other hack. Besides, a dull knife is a dangerous knife, as you have to apply more pressure for the same results, increasing the risk of slips and cuts.

It can also help to have either a wooden cutting board from Walmart to prevent sharp knives from damaging plastic boards and risking contamination. Plus, wooden boards will reduce the speed at which your knives get dull from use, unlike glass ones, which are hygienic and non-porous but make your knives lose their sharp edge at speed.

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Meet the Experts

Joanne Gallagher

Joanne Gallagher is the Co-founder, Recipe Developer, and Chef at Inspired Taste.  She meticulously tests and refines each dish to ensure perfection.

Rhonda Wilson

Rhonda is the quality lead cleaner at FreshSpace Cleaning, which she joined in 2019. She has over 20 years of experience in the cleaning industry.

It is small prep hacks like this that will make cleaning up after a dinner party that little bit easier. It's so simple, it just makes sense.