This story was originally published on November 29, 2016.

Bear with me while I have a minor existential crisis here, but do we even know what a hack is anymore? The word is used so often that most of the time we have no clue what we're getting ourselves into when we click on something that promises a "life-changing tip."

That said, we still love a good kitchen trick that saves us from food prep. We just want to make sure it's actually helping us out in the long run. Yes, you can absolutely make whipped cream by shaking it nonstop in a mason jar until your arms feel like jello. But, if you have a hand or a stand mixer available, said genius hack is, in reality, creating more work. Although the workout might be worth it.

In an effort to cut out some of the bullshit, we've rounded up 14 cooking hack videos that are truly worth trying. They'll save you time, make you wonder why you didn't already know them, and even give you an "aha!" moment or too. Check them out ahead, and tell us your faves in the comments.