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We usually think about acquiring good cooking habits and ways to improve our masterchef skills by implementing novelties, tips and tricks, and going out of our comfort zone. In fact, we previously wrote a handful of useful posts just about that and you can find them here, here and here.

But the truth is, unless we earn our bread from cooking, most of us are pretty susceptible to daily kitchen mishaps, faux pas and questionable recipes that would make any chef’s hair stand on end. “What bad cooking habits get on your nerves?” asked one Redditor on the Cooking community and added “For me it’s when people use the highest flame setting to cook EVERYTHING. It is wasteful, overcooks food, overboils everything and it really does ruin pans.”

The thread immediately resonated with cooking aficionados who saw it as a perfect opportunity to spill all the bad cooking habits that totally annoy them. And it’s not looking pretty.

#1

"I can't get my lasagna to taste as good as yours."

"Did you follow the recipe?"

"Yeah, but I don't really like pork so I substituted chicken, and instead of salt, I added extra sugar, because I prefer sugar. "

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Bella10
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This makes me laugh when I read reviews on recipe blogs. They change so much of the recipe that it’s a different dish entirely

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#2

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves Putting no salt in anything and expecting the salt shaker at the table to do the job. Nothing seasoned at the table with a salt shaker will ever even approach the flavor of something that was seasoned throughout the cooking process.

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Kimi Tomminello
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some people have to cook family meals for people with dietary restrictions. I HATE not bring able to use salt when preparing certain holiday meals because my dad is sodium restricted.

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#3

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves Parents who only steam veggies and barely use salt or pepper on them and then act all shocked when their kids don't like it. Of course they won't like that, most adults would be peeved getting something like that.

Something as simple as roasting veggies with some basic herbs and a good olive oil can make a huge difference.

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Quaumsy
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Roasted Brussels sprouts and broccoli are so good roasted!

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#4

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves 10 years in kitchens here so bear with me...

crowding pans, moving/scraping cut ingredients with the sharp side of knife, knife in the sink, steaming most veggies, not salting pasta water, watering down beer for brats, way too much water when boiling pasta, adding garlic too early & burning it, not toasting buns, not letting leftovers cool before putting in tupper-ware & fridge, etc etc etc.

edit: add to that impatiently flipping/mixing around food while its cooking! whether it's burgers/steaks/veggies whatever! sometimes you need a lil color/char

but also if someone else cooks for me, i will love whatever it is sincerely and not say a word.

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#5

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves Boiling vegetables until they are mush. My husband didn’t eat vegetables for more than half of his life because he thought they were disgusting. I found out it was because his grandmother just boiled everything and then covered it in that nasty “0 calorie” spray butter. ROAST THEM. SAUTEE. GRILL. please don’t boil veg unless for something specific like potatoes or you need to blanch something.

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Huddo's sister
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Both my sets of grandparent did this, which meant for a long time my parents did too, because they didn't know how to do it better.

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#6

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves My mother’s glass cutting board. I lack the words to explain the torture of using a glass cutting board. Awful. I did finally buy her a couple good knives that she won’t use. This year I am getting her a nice wooden board for her to not use.

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Foxxy (The Original)
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh yes, my parents had a glass chopping board when I was a kid and I hated the sound out made.

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#7

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves Stop opening the oven. If you're looking, it ain't cooking!

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Jon Steensen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

especially for suffles and profiterolles, which will collapse and be spoiled by opening the oven too soon.

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#8

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves My husband “seasons the pan” instead of seasoning the food. As in, he sprinkles salt/pepper/Italian seasoning into a hot pan and then adds plain, unseasoned protein on top. He seems to think this accomplishes the same thing as seasoning the meat directly. It does not.

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Cathy
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah, I use this technique sometimes for Indian dishes. But only if you use something wet afterwards, for example coconut milk or (vegan) yoghurt or tofu scramble.. It makes the flavor of the herbs come out.

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#9

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves I can’t deal when they put the onion and garlic in at the same time and expect the onions to be caramelised. I need more time than the garlic will allow !

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#10

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves Following the recipe even when your food is clearly going to sh*t. Looks burnt at 20 mins? Maybe don't cook it for 25.

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#11

There’s a guy I work with that makes me cry when he cooks a steak. Toss a cold steak in a cold pan and cook on med-low, flips it at 15 minutes for another round. Cooked meat should not be gray.

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#12

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves More of a lack of a habit than a habit, but not sharpening knives regularly is one of the worst things to do to your knives. And 9 out of 10 times, people cut themselves on a dull knife, not a sharp one. Its also just better for the food you are going to end up eating; your veggies wont be so bruised, your steaks wont be that little bit extra tenderized from forcing a dull knife through it. The dullest knife ive ever seen couldnt slice through the skin of a baked potato. So it is in your interest and the food's also.

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BorPand8
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I got my first Japanese knife recently. It's literally razor-sharp and so much fun to use

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#13

Every. Single. Thing. My. Dad. Cooks.

He puts good meat in a slow cooker with nothing but water. Slowly boiled meat. Yum.

Puts all ingredients in a pan before he heats the pan

He uses a glass cutting board

"As far as I'm concerned, the microwave is the best way to cook _____."

A thick layer of aerosol cooking spray on meat before grilling it.

Never give this man a ribeye.

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Lance d'Boyle
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My Dad cooked one meal a year and acted like it was going to be a gourmet experience for all. I remember him describing the best way to cook green beans: put them in a casserole, with french onion soup mix and water and cook slowly for an hour. My step mother and I looked at each other and said "uh, no". Steam them for a minute or two and put some butter on. Let the green beans be green beans and speak for themselves. I think my father was thinking slow cooked meat is yummy so slow cooked beans would be too.

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#14

I have had to teach so many of my friends to TASTE THEIR FOOD AS THEY COOK IT. Shocked me that apparently that wasn’t obvious to some people

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#15

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves Dirty cooks. Leaving the knife dirty, not wiping down the counter, cross contaminating everything.

"I don't cook with salt."

And people who only use shortcuts that get mad because they tried my recipe and it didn't work.

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#16

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves Putting the noodles into the water before it's boiled, like legit the water is straight out of the tap and the stove's not on yet. Read the goddamn instructions, boiling water takes longer than 3 minutes and thats why your ramen is fucking mushy.

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Cathy
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nooooo are people doing this?? Better not let the Italians read this 🤯

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#17

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves When people press down hard on everything they’re cooking...I am thinking of one person in particular that is an absolute dumpster fire in the kitchen. Making pancakes? She flips them and then mashes them down with the spatula! Fried eggs? Smash em!

Also when people don’t let meat rest after it’s cooked. Or cut with the grain.

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Al Christensen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For me, heat is part of the joy of eating meat. So what if some juices run from the meat when it's cut. The juices mix with other food on the plate anyway, so it all gets consumed.

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#18

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves My mother uses metal utensils when cooking in our Teflon pans, then complains that they wear so easily. Even AFTER I've explained you never use metal in the pans, she does it anyway and says she forgot.

We have gone through 3 non-stick pans so far.

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Hawkmoon
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've always heard that it's dangerous, like cancer inducing, to cook in a scratched teflon pan. Maybe a hoax, but I can't find a reliable source about that. Some sites even said that it's dangerous if you cook above a certain temperature.

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#19

Plating food, then moving a screaming hot pan to the sink and dumping cold water all over it. Had to explain to a friend why she couldn't do this to her roommate's brand new Le Creuset braiser.

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#20

Cross contamination. Whether it’s products or utensils with raw to cooked foods. Washing hands in there too... these things get on my nerves for real.

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#21

Margarine. It is NOT the same as butter. Got into a fight with my mom last Christmas over her wanting me to use margarine in the macaroni and the mashed potatoes.

Then she tried to cook asparagus in the microwave (with margarine) but I'm hoping that was just a her thing.

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Jon Steensen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't even think of a single place where I think the use of margarine is justified, exept for, perhaps, if you are cooking for a lactose intollerant person. Especially if you are making Danish pastry, you MUST use butter. Those substituting it width margarine, make a product where the fat just coats the upper part of your mouth in a thin film, that will not dissolve as you eat it.

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#22

When people f**k with the timer/burner when I’m cooking. I had some tomato sauce going at a nice even simmer, but apparently someone else in my household thought it should be boiling like pasta water, so they jacked up the temp to high and added more time to the timer...

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Kainaath Khan
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same thing happened to me, difference they reduce the flames when I wanted to boil something. I kept wondering why on earth won't this water boil realised it 10 mins later.

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#23

Starting a big cooking project with dirty dishes in the sink. Not cleaning while you go.

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#24

Refusing to use salt when seasoning a dish. My friend thinks that she has "discovered" how to season food with herbs and spices and that she doesn't need to use boring old salt. It is kind of pretentious and her food is very bland.

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Bella10
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you only eat natural, unprocessed foods, it is very hard to have too much sodium by seasoning as you cook. I don’t understand why people are so afraid of cooking with salt

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#25

When you make the effort to do a BEAUTIFUL roast dinner for someone for the first time and they immediately drown it in cheap sh*tty tomato sauce. Happened to me last week. It cut a little bit, I’ll admit.

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Huddo's sister
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If that's the way they are used to and they enjoy it, why is it a problem. It's not a reflection on your cooking, it's just about different tastes. Wouldn't it be worse if they turned their nose up at it and refused to eat it because they didn't like it plain?

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#26

Nonstick pans don’t hold heat well. So if you’re trying to get a sear on meat, as soon as you put the meat in the nonstick, the heat transfers and the pan temp goes down. So getting consistent browning and crust is impossible.

I’ve had really expensive pans of all kinds, and nothing has outperformed my $18 cast iron skillet. Everything from searing meat, to browning veggies, to baking pizzas and breads. Nothing compares. If it’s the Maillard Reaction you’re trying to achieve, it’s the best option in my opinion. If you prefer carbon steel or stainless steel, I won’t argue with you because the differences aren’t super noticeable. But from my taste buds and experiences, it’s cast iron.

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#27

This is burned into my memory: I was at a friend's house and she was making guacamole. Her idea of pitting the avocado was wielding the chef knife in a stabbing motion directed point first at the pit, while she was holding the avocado half in her other hand. I thought I was watching a slasher film. I was TERRIFIED.

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Nikki Sevven
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You don't need to use the knife at all. Just quarter the avocado from top to bottom, and you can pop the pit right out of the one quarter it sticks to. Without the knife.

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#28

Not seasoning food. Unless for health reasons. Also, salting a plate before tasting.

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Kainaath Khan
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate it. Why add something to a plate without tasting. To get my revenge I added a tad extra salt before serving and my family member added salt without tasting. You knw what happened.

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C Hendrix
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or not using complementary seasonings. I grew up with a Mom who only used four seasonings for just about everything: salt, pepper, onion flakes (not re-hydrated) and parsley flakes. I was in my 20's when she finally discovered the joys of dill. She did have spices in her spice rack, but most of them were from her honeymoon, 25 years previously, and I highly doubt any of them had been used more than twice (most likely by Dad.) I finally threw them away when I realized they all smelled like dust.

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john fleming
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My parents weren’t keen on spices. Being of Irish heritage on my mothers side the only things added to food were salt and butter. I grew up eating pork chops cooked in water. There was always a grey jelly like sludge surrounding the chop. Mashed potato’s were highly viscous due to a large amount of skim milk added. Chinese food meant LeChoy (sp). Unseasoned Boiled chicken with bisquick blobs. Spaghetti was ready whenever dad sat down. It never mattered how little or long it cooked. At times it just was mush. But you could spice it up with a glass of tomato juice or butter or both. I got into trouble nightly because even at a young age I detested what I was served. Ahhh good times

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Klaatu Verrata (Cough)
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm going to call foul on the "salting the plate before testing". Some of us have very low blood pressure (in my case, due to a medical condition called dysautonomia), and we HAVE to have lots of salt in our diets. My autonomic specialist (who is one of the most respected in the entire east coast) recommended i eat 6-7 GRAMS of salt every day to keep my blood pressure above 70/40. Turns out, I've been self-medicating with salt my entire life because I would salt EVERYTHING, even already seasoned foods. A lot of people with low blood pressure crave salt and potassium. You can't get offended if someone intuitively treats a medical condition they may not even know they have by salting food you made. Having someone pass out from low blood pressure when they get up from the table would probably be MUCH more disturbing than witnessing them grabbing the salt shaker before tasting your food.

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Shina Tina
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I usued to sleep eat when i was young and would go for salted butter of all things, i later learned at 18 i needed to have a, what the doctors called "lethal amount of salt" so they prescribed me a horse tablet salt pill. I hated it and go for a big bag of sunflower seeds if i start getting dizzy now, it normally does the trick

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Smarty Panda
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Confession - until 6 months ago when I made scrambled eggs I wouldn't use salt except for a sprinkle at the end. Now I use a bunch and whisk it in and they are AMAZING!!!!

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Klaatu Verrata (Cough)
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A small sprinkle of msg is divine, as well. I also always use a bit of garlic salt in my eggs. Total game changer.

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Todd Dedrick
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I guarantee I need to salt my wife's cooking before eating it.

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Tobin-Christine Butler
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When Ford would interview people to work at his car factory, he would take them to lunch. If they salted their food prior to tasting it, it was a deal breaker bc they did things out of habit.

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J Matz
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Taking your social behavior advice from a known anti-semite racist? Probably not the best idea, but hey, that's just me

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Boreddd
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I do the last one, but mostly when it's food which I already know

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Susanne B
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That last I consider bad manners. I knew a guy who ALWAYS did so. One time I decided to teach him a lesson and put plenty of salt on the steak he was having. He actually never again salted without tasting first.

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Evelyn Haskins
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

WHY???? I prefer my food salty. We live in a hot climate and suffer more from salt loss than too much. I even like to put a pinch of salt in my drinking water, Makes it taste SO much wetter and quenches the thirst, instead of feeling gloopy after a glass of water.

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Celtic Pirate Queen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I HATE that! I have very carefully cultivated this dish to be about as perfect as you can get, seasoning-wise. And you have the GALL to add salt before even tasting it? ASSH*LE.

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Maria Mendez
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My parents would do that so I gradually started to glue the salt holes, 2-3 at a time.

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Linda baby
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People w high blood pressure are afraid to use salt in cooking or on the table. That is NOT the enemy. Processed foods of every kind is. From meats, cheeses, to condiments to Soda/ pop are the culprits.

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Klaatu Verrata (Cough)
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

On what are you basing your opinion? Salt CAN be dangerous for people who have high blood pressure because it causes exogenous/extracellular water retention. That's a biological fact. However, that said: carbohydrates are a much more significant factor in causing water retention than most people realize. That's the REAL reason people lose so much weight the first week or two that they go low-carb and keto. Protein is a neutral diuretic, while carbs naturally cause water retention.

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Billy Allen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depends, some vland foods are not originally bland but thanks to mass production farms younendnup with a crap product. Red delicious apples are a prime example of What a tasteless mass produced hybrid food product can taste like.

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Laura French
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My ex always salted his food before tasting. As a joke, I ordered a pizza for him with just anchovies and green olives. Joke backfired. He loved it 🙄😂

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Lorie Shewbridge
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My husband adds salt before tasting it every time. Bothers me SO much. 😖

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Klaatu Verrata (Cough)
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is he prone to low BP? Maybe he's self medicating and not just being a dïck. Not everything is a statement against a cook's cooking.

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Nat Jones
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Extremely rude! It's polite etiquette to taste the meal first before slamming it with salt. Ignorant! 🤔🥘🍽️

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Klaatu Verrata (Cough)
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You clearly have ZERO understanding of medicine or the manifestations and dietary solutions for low blood pressure and/or chronic electrolytic imbalance (usually caused by an autonomic disorder).. You should probably educate yourself on those things before you start throwing down judgments about people's decisions to salt before tasting. A lot of people who do so are actually intuitively self-medicating their low blood pressure or electrolytic imbalance, Mr. Judgy-pants. .

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#29

Pots on the stove with the handles sticking out. It’s so easy to elbow-bump one and have boiling water on your knees. Don’t cook barefoot!

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#30

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves When they put 5 grains of salt instead of a good pinch.

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Awsomemom52
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A friend puts a tiny pinch of salt in his pasta water (and oil😖)... and then complains, that the pasta tastes so bland, when he cooks a pasta dish.

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#31

I have many but adding garlic on the pan too early and burning it to bitter. Looking at you, Facebook videos I end up watching even when I haven't subscribed.

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#32

30 Bad Cooking Habits That Get On Everyone’s Nerves People cutting up things one at a time. Example: celery stalks. Grab a few at a time!!!

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