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10 Coca-Cola Life Hacks That Will Make You Buy More
The 132-year old Coca Cola is undoubtedly the world’s favorite soda. Besides being a party staple, movie-time treat and a delicious summer thirst quencher, Coca Cola has many alternative uses. Check out our ultimate list of 10 Coca Cola life hacks that will have you running to the store ASAP!
10. Eat an outrageously delicious Coca Cola deep-fried funnel cake!
You may think that using Coca Cola in recipes is an unusual way of consuming it. But believe it or not, Coca Cola has been used in various culinary preparations for a long time. In fairs, markets, carnivals, bazaars and festivals across North America, Coca Cola has featured in creative dishes like cakes, shakes, barbecue marinades, cookie and cupcake frosting, ice-cream, etc. Some more unusual fair or carnival treats that use Coca Cola are doughnuts, fried pickles, ice cream, jelly, and meatballs too! But one of the most delicious ways that you can eat this yummy soda is in the form of a funnel cake. For the uninitiated, funnel cakes are round deep-fried cakes made with cake batter and dropped into hot oil by means of a funnel. If it’s difficult to get your head around the thought of deep-frying Coca Cola, you wouldn’t be alone! Unlikely as it may sound, Coca Cola funnel cakes are very popular items at fairs and carnivals. The Coca Cola in the recipe of the funnel cakes is what gives them a rich flavor and delicious sweetness. And the process of making these impossible sounding Coca Cola funnel cakes is just as easy as making a regular cake, probably even easier! All you need is flour, baking powder, eggs, oil and a can of Coca Cola. Just mix up the ingredients into a smooth batter and begin to drop it into a pan of hot oil by means of a funnel (a turkey baster will work too), to form a circle. Fry this circular cake disc for some time till the baking powder works its magic and makes the cake puff up! Drain on a paper towel and enjoy with a dollop of Coca Cola flavored whipped cream and a tall glass of ice-cold Coca Cola! Serve this deep-fried sweet and spongy delight at your next bake sale or party and watch the crowd go wild!
9. Enjoy Coca Cola chicken wings
Chicken wings are the ultimate game night crowd pleasers, bar favorites and kid-friendly appetizers. Everyone loves a good plate of deep-fried, sticky and sauce-covered chicken wings. But chicken wings are not just bar or restaurant staples anymore, they’re becoming very common on the menus of gourmet dine-in cinemas, business class flights of many airlines, etc. And the variety of chicken wings available out there is just mind-boggling! Barbecue chicken wings, Buffalo chicken wings, Korean chicken wings, Teriyaki glazed chicken wings, Southern fried chicken wings, and so many more options to choose from. But if you’ve tried them all and wondering if there is any other way to make chicken wings, then you’re right, there is one more way – Coca Cola chicken wings! Although Coca Cola chicken wings have been around since the 1990s as an Asian-American recipe, they’re back in vogue again. What sets these wings apart from others is that they have deep Coca Cola flavored sticky glaze, which makes for a plate of outrageously delicious chicken wings. Simple and easy to make, this one-pan dish only needs cleaned chicken wings, soy sauce, vinegar, some spices and a can of Coca Cola. And all you have to do next is lightly brown the wings in a hot pan with some oil in it, add Coca Cola and the other ingredients, bring to a boil and then reduce to a thick sticky sauce that coats each and every wing. Serve these Coca Cola chicken wings to your game-night crowd and watch the compliments roll in!
8. Use it as a multi-purpose cleaner
While drinking Coca Cola straight out of the can and the bottle, or eating dishes made from it are the most obvious things to do with this flavorful soda, there are plenty of other uses for this versatile drink. You would be shocked to learn that the world’s favorite soda is also a very effective multi-purpose cleaner. It can be used to clean a variety of objects and surfaces in and around the house, like windows, blackened pots and pans, tile grout, stained carpets and clothes, and even toilet bowls! What makes the humble Coca Cola such a powerhouse cleaner? The answer lies in certain ingredients present in this soda. For example, the phosphoric acid in Coca Cola is a very good solvent that easily dissolves most stains on ceramic surfaces like a toilet bowl. All you need to do is pour some Coca Cola around the rim of the toilet bowl, just like your regular toilet cleaning liquid, and leave it for an hour. Then, flush the toilet and watch all the stains disappear! The citric acid in Coca Cola is marvelous for giving a sparkling clean look to your home, office or car windows. Just pour some Coca Cola on the windows, rub a bit and wipe clean! Similarly, remove tough blood or grease stains from your clothes by adding Coca Cola to your wash cycle, along with your usual detergent. Coca Cola also makes for an excellent dishwashing solution for blackened and stubborn burnt food stains on pots and pans. Rejuvenate your carpets and kitchen tiles with just a brush and a can of Coca Cola. Coca Cola truly is a multi-purpose cleaner!
7. Make a lip-smacking BBQ sauce
One of the most popular dipping sauces in the world is a good quality barbecue sauce. There’s something irresistible about that sweet, spicy and sticky barbecue sauce that just makes you go on reaching out for more! While there are several great barbecue sauces available on the supermarket shelves and farmer’s markets, it is certainly very easy and a whole lot of fun to make your own barbecue sauce. What’s more, you can even customize it to suit your tastes. Most families have their own recipe of making a great barbecue sauce, some that are handed down from generation-to-generation. You can also create your own family recipe of barbecue sauce with one secret ingredient – Coca Cola! It may sound surprising, but adding Coca Cola to a barbecue sauce recipe not only amps up its flavor but also adds to its shelf life. To make Coca Cola barbecue sauce, bring a saucepan full of Coca Cola, ketchup, vinegar, mustard, spices and salt to a boil, and simmer until the liquid is reduced to a thick sauce-like consistency. Store it in a jar in the refrigerator and enjoy with various chicken, beef or pork dishes. This unique Coca Cola barbecue sauce would also make a great homemade hostess gift or something to take to a potluck party.
6. Use as a fertilizer, composting agent or pesticide in the garden
One of the most uncommon uses of Coca Cola is in the garden. It is a very useful fertilizer for many different varieties of trees and flowering plants. The sugars in Coca Cola break down when added to the soil and promote the growth of microorganisms. This, in turn, increases the acidity of the soil and results in a more fertile soil that boosts the growth of various plants. The plants that benefit the most from the addition of Coca Cola to the soil are pretty gardenias and multi-hued azaleas. Coca Cola is also a very beneficial composting agent. Add a can of Coca Cola to your compost bin every week and watch it accelerate the growth of microbes. The microbes in the compost love the sugars in Coca Cola just as much as we do! They feed on these sugars and this helps the compost develop faster. It is also widely believed that in some parts of the world, farmers use Coca Cola as a pesticide to protect their crops from bugs, pests, and insects. Coca Cola is apparently cheaper than pesticides and does the job just as effectively as a pesticide. Allegedly, the sugars in Coca Cola are helpful in keeping the pests at bay. But this claim has been vehemently denied by Coca Cola. Who knew that the humble Coca Cola was so beneficial for plants as well!
5. Your trusty new rust remover!
Coca Cola is not just a tasty drink, a yummy cooking ingredient, an effective gardening aid, and a multi-purpose cleaner; it has many other wonderful uses that most people are completely unaware of. One such hidden Coca Cola life hack is its rust removal power! Coca Cola is a very effective rust busting agent; it can not only loosen rusty nuts and bolts but also break down the caked up rust on your heavy-duty tools like hammers, screwdrivers, pliers, etc. The phosphoric acid in Coca Cola is the main component responsible for giving this miraculous soda its rust fighting powers. It loosens stubborn rust spots to aid in their quick and effective removal from the rusty object. To de-rust any instrument, just soak it in Coca Cola for a few hours, preferably overnight, and thoroughly scrub it thereafter. For larger tools, apply a Coca Cola soaked cloth to the rusty area for a couple of minutes, and scrub off for a rust-free look! To remove rust spots from a chrome-finish object, just gently rub the spots with a Coca Cola soaked cloth and watch the spots disappear after just a few applications. Coca Cola can also be used to remove tarnish from old pennies by soaking them in a cup of Coca Cola; they’ll be shiny and new again in no time at all! One more rust-removal uses of Coca Cola is in the swimming pool. Pour two liters of this soda in the pool and watch the accumulated rust clear up in just a few hours.
4. Use Coca Cola as a yummy meat marinade
Coca Cola is a very versatile cooking ingredient, especially in meat preparations. It makes for an excellent beef, chicken or pork marinade. The combination of sugars and citric acid in Coca Cola imparts a sweet, rich, lustrous and slightly tangy flavor to the meat. While there are many ways to use Coca Cola as a marinade, the easiest method is to marinate pieces of chicken in Coca Cola and a few other spices for two-three hours, and then cook them on the stovetop till you get a smooth caramelized finish. Another popular method is using equal amounts of Coca Cola and barbecue sauce as a marinade for any type of meat dish. The flavor of a baked ham is immensely enhanced when you baste it continuously with Coca Cola during the cooking process. Coca Cola is also an excellent meat tenderizer as the sugars in it work quickly to break down the tough bits of meat and add a subtle sweet flavor to it. It is especially effective a beef tenderizer in a pot roast recipe.
3. An effective bug, bee or jellyfish sting pain reliever
This may sound very improbable to most people, but some of the ingredients in Coca Cola are very helpful in relieving the pain of various types of insect stings. A bug bite or a bee sting is indeed very painful and while you may not have instant access to an anti-sting lotion, it would be quite easy to get hold of a bottle or can of Coca Cola. Just drench the affected area in some Coca Cola and experience instant pain relief! Coca Cola is just as effective on jellyfish stings as it is on bug or bee stings. The pain from a jellyfish sting is almost unbearable and the easiest method to quickly neutralize the pain is with the help of some Coca Cola. Pour this fizzy soda on the affected part of your body and wait for a few seconds. The pain is neutralized almost instantaneously. So, the next time you head down to the beach or step outside in your backyard, be sure to keep a can of Coca Cola handy!
2. Coca Cola – the odor neutralizer!
While Coca Cola is a very handy cleaning agent, its corresponding odor-killing abilities cannot be ignored. Once again, the unique concoction of ingredients in Coca Cola gives it the ability to kill strong smells and odors from clothes, hair, and bodies. The phosphoric acid and carbonic acid in Coca Cola enables it to get rid of the strongest of smells, even fish and skunk sprays! While we’re on the topic of skunks, people who live in skunk-infested areas are constantly vary of these smelly creatures and their disastrous sprays. The smallest of perceived threats can incite a spray from a skunk, but the absolutely ghastly stink from the spray is one that you or anyone near you will never forget! No amount of perfumes, deodorants or showers will completely eliminate the smell, and it can be quite sometime before your clothes, hair, and body manage to get rid of the offensive odor. Should you be unfortunate enough to ever be sprayed by a skunk, the quickest and most effective method of ridding yourself of the horrible smell is to stand in the shower, pour Coca Cola all over yourself, give it a few minutes and then wash it off. You will be squeaky clean and completely de-odorized! As an added benefit, your hair will also benefit from the Coca Cola conditioning treatment!
1. Give a vintage look to your photos and documents
Vintage photographs and documents have become trendy home décor items in recent times. A collage of such vintage photographs lends a unique charm to any home, office or work desk. But not everyone is lucky enough to inherit old photographs of their family or friends that they can display in their homes. Fret not, for Coca Cola has another amazing life hack for you! One of the most fascinating uses of Coca Cola is its ability to give an ‘aged’ look to photographs, documents or just about any piece of paper. Simply soak the photographs or papers in Coca Cola for a few seconds. Then, lightly pat them with a paper towel and leave them out to dry. The end result will be a beautiful antique photograph or paper that you can now frame and proudly display in your home. Adorn your walls, work desk or any other personal space with your very own homemade Coca Cola vintage photographs and documents!