Learning how to cook is a never-ending journey. You can't perfect it. You just get better at it. If you are willing to put in the hours and burn a few pans, of course. However, eager students of the craft often run into a big problem: inconsistent or even misleading information. What makes matters even worse is that when you're just starting out, you can't distinguish it from practices that are actually helpful and develop bad habits. So in an attempt to straighten things out, Reddit user u/Swimmin_Duck made a post on the platform, inviting everyone to share what they think is overhyped and useless cooking advice.
In order to understand how we can find our way around the pots quicker, we also spoke with Kacie Morgan, the creator of an award-winning blog called The Rare Welsh Bit, where she covers, among other things, bespoke recipes, restaurants, local cuisines, and food travel destinations.
So continue scrolling to check out how Reddit users contributed to the discussion and Morgan's thoughts on the subject.
This post may include affiliate links.
Measuring things like chocolate chips, you measure that with your heart, not a spoon
"I have come across a number of instances of misinformation around cooking in the media in the past," Kacie Morgan told Bored Panda.
"Personally, I believe one of the issues that have caused this to spiral is the increasing prevalence of social media influencers claiming to be 'experts' in food or cooking, despite not having any real experience in the food and drink industry. While this certainly isn't true of all content creators and I don't wish to tarnish all of my peers with the same brush by any means, as an experienced food writer with over 11 years of experience in my field, I often pick up on flaws or inaccuracies in some of the claims made by others within my niche."
Some people discard the whole brick of cheese when there is mold on a bit of it.
I generally chop off the chunk of the mold with some buffer and carry on.
"Furthermore, misinformation around cooking in the media can also be linked to cultural appropriation, in the sense that an authentic dish from a given culture could lose its true essence or authenticity when prepared by a chef or cook from a different culture, who may not be aware of the traditional ingredients and cooking methods required to recreate the original dish," Morgan explained.
If you want to see this phenomenon in action, just open this YouTube video where master Italian chefs react to popular internet personalities and publishers making spaghetti carbonara. You'll immediately realize that buzzwords such as "classic" are often thrown around just to entice clicks. Viral videos produced by charismatic hosts can definitely inspire someone to cook, but they can also, for better or worse, make people form unrealistic opinions about dishes from all over the world.
"It's interesting to hear that Jamie Oliver has recently appointed cultural appropriation specialists to advise him on his new cookbooks," Kacie Morgan continued. "Only four years or so ago (back in 2018), I was completely astounded (as someone who has spent a few months living in Jamaica and exploring the local culinary scene) to hear about the launch of his microwaveable 'jerk rice'. In actual fact, this 'jerk rice' bore very little to no resemblance whatsoever to the concept of jerk. In fact, according to this BBC article, it didn't even contain any of the ingredients found in authentic Jamaican jerk marinade."
By the way, Oliver appears in the aforementioned YouTube video as well. I'm not saying he's a lousy cook. I just want to illustrate that those with multi-million followings are making mistakes too.
"cook onions for 3 minutes until translucent" lol ok, I'll comes back to you in 10 minutes when they start getting there
The biggest offender for cooking time in my cookbook is something we eat at Christmas with roasted duck: sauteed red cabbage with onions. Every recipe says saute it for 3-4 minutes. CABBAGE. It takes a LONG time for that to even start getting softer. In 3-4 minutes it doesn't even warm up. When I first encountered it I was sure it was a typo. But no, tons of recipes say the same thing.
"If you want to take your home cooking to your next level — while also ensuring that the medium you're learning from is both trustworthy and authentic — I recommend reading reputable, specialist cookbooks and/or niche blogs focusing on the cuisine you're looking to cook and following trusted, experienced food and drink bloggers, as opposed to the latest trending Instagram or TikTok influencers, who are often not the people who are really 'in the know' when it comes to food preparation," Kacie Morgan said.
"This isn't to say that you can't find trusted information around food or cooking on these platforms, but only too often, the information I come across on these channels is incorrect, poorly researched and published by people who lack any genuine credibility or expertise in what they say they do."
"If you're keen to improve your cooking skills, you could also consider enrolling in cookery classes, whether online or in person, ideally held by an experienced chef or cook within the cuisine you're looking to specialize in," the foodie added.
One of the joys of cooking is the thrill of eating dishes you created. But serving food to others and watching a smile take over their face feels just as (if not more) gratifying. The ability to prepare a tasty meal can take time to master but it's well worth the effort on so many levels. Setbacks are natural, but if you focus on the process, the results will eventually come. And hey, you're going through this post, so you're already on the right track!
When a recipe calls for “two cloves of garlic” I usually add 5-10.
That's because garlic these days is s***. I come from a country that used to be famous for its onions and garlic before our agriculture was destroyed. Now if I go to a store I have to look very closely to find garlic that did not come from f*** China. Not that I don't think China can produce some wonderful stuff but garlic sure ain't one of them. It's weak, has barely any flavour. I can't wait for the weather to let up a bit so I can plant my own and enjoy some proper garlic again.
"save the bones for stock"
Nah man, I ain't got room for that in my freezer. I like Ice cream.
I never ever add garlic at the same time as my onions to saute. I only saute garlic for 30 seconds.
When you render fat from ground beef or something and use the same pan to cook something else, they always say "drain the fat". f**k that! fat is flavor! when I make chili I always cook my celery and onions in beef fat.
Times for meat on the stovetop. "Cook the chicken for 2 minutes, then turn and cook for 2 minutes more...." What kind of stove do you have, guy? My burners at home certainly aren't going to cook a breast all the way through in 4 minutes.
I always use salted butter, I find that it tastes better, specially in sweet baked goods.
I always take away 1/3 of the sugar in cake recipes, i find that gives more of a balanced flavour and the finished cake is less sickly sweet so you can eat more of it
When cutting onions, I do not make the horizontal cross-cuts on the “face” of each onion half. I only make the vertical cuts and then the final, perpendicular chopping cuts. I figure those face cuts are redundant because the onion is layered already. Right?
Mise En Place. I'm just going to get the water boiling/pan heating/oven preheating and then prep as I go. Separate little dishes for all of the components? Do people cook on the weekdays? Do people do dishes?
Sometimes mise en place is necessary. If you have a recipe that is fast and you need to add real quick.
When making cow au vin, for instance, this works best as prep isn't bad, it all goes in one after the other for the most part (although I tend to put all the wet ingredients in with the stock), then while it's simmering I can deal with the washing up. No drama
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As a cook, I have to say yea. I'm doing mise-en-place, when I'm cooking at home. First, I'm used to it, second: you can concrete entirely at cooking, nothing will be under-or over-seasoned, overcooked or burned. The time, what it takes preparing, you get back in the cooking process, and you'll have also time for cleaning, washing the dishes. So, when you are done with cooking, your kitchen will be also clean.
Exactly. I was taught as a child, prep first, then clean as I go!
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Depends on what you are cooking. Anything that will cook for more than 20-30 minutes you can probably get away without Mise En Place. Try cooking a quick stir fry without it though and you'll go insane.
I have a huge cutting board for that specifically. Cut everything, keep it on little piles and then just scrape it in as needed.
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Mise en place is essential for complex, ingredient dense recipes. From my recent beef osso buco. miseenplac...54caa0.jpg 
Yes, as soon as I have my own prep cook and kitchen cleaner, I'm going to do it like this.
It really depends on the recipe. If I have to weigh and measure things that go in the pan in quick succession then I definitely do mise en place. But if I have time to chop inbetween, then I just have the ingredients ready on the counter but prepare as I go.
Upvote a million times. Julia Child literally had like five people hiding in the floor behind her cooking station handing her premeasured and plated ingredients on her French cooking show
mise en place doesn't mean separate little dishes for each ingredient. It just means get everything out and ready to go. Because it sucks being halfway through a dish and oh s**t you're out of butter.
You've got to be kidding me. I had to look up what it meant. The only time I prep anything is to measure stuff out when I'm baking, and even then, I weight most of it directly in the mixing bowl and reset the scales each time. Anything else I cook doesn't usually have enough ingredients in to bother!
I just get the ingredients nearby, I don't bother measuring them out beforehand. Who has that many tiny bowls?! Then I clean as I go. Done with an ingredient? It goes back away.
Right? I just chop everything on my chopping board and then cook it.
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I do it when I bake. Last time I didn’t I forgot to add sugar!!!
When I was in cooking school I said that mise en place at home was simply opening your cupboard / fridge. If you read a recipe through before starting, you know where everything is that you need. In a prof kitchen, stuff can be two rooms away or deep in the walk-in
Those cooking shows should be required to include air time to show all those bowls and little dishes having to be washed.
I prechop veggies, but have square bowls and can usually fit 3-4 things in the same one by pushing them into the corners.
big cutting board with room for all your veg and herbs you cut. Cooking shows have prep people to prepare and clean all the extra dishes after. I don't
Use parchment paper -- lay it across a plate or form a cone in a cup. Measure things into the cone(s) or rest spoons and utensils on the plate. Throw away after use. It's cheap, doesn't leak. Make your life EASY!
People have dishwashers. If you are cooking for yourself and your family, you don't need the same rigour in doing mise-en-place as in a professional kitchen, but some planning ahead does help. A lot.
I learned the concept of mise en place the hard way when I was making a lemon meringue pie. The best advice is to read through any recipe first to make sure you understand what you're going to need.
You can mise en place without a hundred little dishes! You just need to have things "in place" - as in accessible. So if you are going to need certain spices, have them at hand, if you need to cut things, do it ahead of time- you don't need a ton of dishes!
Depends on the recipe I have in mind, but these days I mostly prepare mise en place, otherwise things start to burn or shrivel waiting for me to finish peeling and chopping. Too stressful. I use the time slots between cooking steps to clean the dishes I used. Minimizes the clean-pocalypse anxiety after the meal.
I've tried it both ways and I prefer mise en place. The advantages are knowing I have everything needed and knowing it's right in front of me. If 2 or more ingredients are added to the pot at the same time, I put all in one bowl, reducing washload thereby.
I find there are times when mise en place is very helpful, especially because I have a tiny amount of workspace.
this is trick so you can only see sponsored brands - nobody cooks like this at home
When I cook without mise en place, it's not such a good experience. Take the time, it's worth it
and it doesn't need its own dish if it goes in at the same time to the same pan as something else (unless it has to sit for a while and the flavors get weird if blended)
It does make cooking so much easier though. If I have the time, I'll get as much ready as possible before starting, so I'm not running around like a crazy woman as things are cooking. All about being organized.
I have back problems and can only work in 5-10-minute spurts. I go out to the kitchen at 2 pm and start getting everything prepped, pans out, plates, everything. It helps.
I think it makes everything go much smoother. Like in many things, it takes longer when you don't take the time up front to organize and plan.
Only when it's really necessary. And when you have kitchen for yourself. I tried it at my parents house and my mom started yelling that I make mess.
That's still mise en place, itis preparation, whatever order you do it in..
It doesnt necessarily to be this neat. I use big plastic cutting board with separated heaps. Of course eggs need dish :)
Get a bigger cutting board! I mise en place but my cutting board is big enough that everything just sits in piles on the board until I use them
With a house full of kids, dogs, Amazon at the door, mobile calls, friends in and out of the house, and a husband who can't keep his paws out of my kitchen; if it wasn't for mise en place, I would forget what I added, didn't add, or where I was. Sweet cheeks, its called a dishwasher. Yes, we cook weekdays.
It makes everything a lot easier if you make complex dishes
Mise En Place is necessary if you are making a dish with many different components to it. It makes the cooking process much easier.
Answers: Do people cook on the weekdays? This practice is used on TV more than my home so your good.... Do people do dishes? Not people on tv.... SO YOUR GOOD AGAIN!
I find it helpful. It doesn't necessarily mean every single component in separate little dishes. It can mean just letting components rest on a cutting board for example. To me, it makes cooking more relaxing and helps me taste the flavor as I go.
depends what Im doing. If on wok I need everything ready. But any shortcuts or adding stuff as it cooks if possible
My grandma would haunt me from the Beyond if I prepped as I went. Other than a very few dishes, prep first!
IF I have the time, I like to do it. Pretend I'm a chef and all that :-)
I can't be bothered to rinse my rice. I know, I know, I'm going to hell.
My mom used to be the operations manager at a culinary college. They specifically told the students not to use expensive wine. They recommended boxed wine like Franzia because the wine stays sealed from the air and stays good for longer. By the time you're done cooking with it, anything that would make an expensive wine taste better will be destroyed, and your expensive wine will be ruined.
Most recipes online targeted at an English audience (e.g. U.K./USA) which originate from elsewhere are extremely stingy with herbs and spices. “Half a teaspoon of oregano”, “a pinch of paprika” etc. bollocks to that. My Italian wife calls it “Italian food for English people”. It takes a lot of experience to know herbs and spices intuitively but start by increasing the amounts they suggest if they’re small and go from there.
Oh yes. My grandmother taught me how to cook Indonesian food. The so called recipes are for "white" people. When she cooked she used original indonesian recipes and the taste was incredible. She herself learned in Indonesia from friends and family. Some of my best memories are in my grandmothers kitchen ...
I use cornstarch as a thickener. I’m never too fancy for cornstarch.
No use of soap on cast iron !!
That one is a classic, “no soap” thing is an old rule from way back when soap contained lye and other harsh stuff
Most measurements, especially where garlic or salt is concerned.
And whatever color the onion needs to be since I plan on using whatever onion I have available.
"Don't cook with a wine you wouldn't drink"... honey I'll drink pruno if that's what you've got, it's not a high bar
My spices get poured from the jar. Sometimes it ends up as an "oops, guess this one's gonna be extra paprikaey"
For any spices in my dishes, a teaspoon is some in my palm, a tablespoon is more in my palm, a pinch is whatever I pinch, and anything less than a teaspoon either doesn't exist or gets rounded up to whatever I pour out into my hand.
People rave about "how well seasoned" my cooking is, so who the hell even cares. The only thing I'm careful about is salt because oversalting is a thing and will ruin a dish. MSG though...I've never heard anyone call my dishes too umami!
The number of servings. As I usually cook one main dish, if the recipe says it serves 4 people, it usually serves 2, if it serves 6 and we're 3 there might be a chance of "some" leftovers... sometimes.
Adding oil to your pasta water will not prevent the noodles from sticking. The oil will remain separated from the water instead.
I found that adding oil kept the sauce from clinging to the pasta properly.
Salad dressing recipes will tell you to stream in the oil while whisking. Nah, just throw it all in a jar and give it a shake
I rinse my mushrooms with water
(Comes from prep in commercial kitchens. If you are using them right away, rinsing with water is fine. If they’re going to sit in a pan for hours or days before being used, they’re going to get slimy and gross.)
I'm with the op on this one. Wash them in running water quickly, wash off any dirt, job done, into the pan they go. No water sucked up unless you let them sit in water for a long time. When I was a kid I was also taught that you're supposed to peel them. As in break off the stem, then with the back of a knife hold a piece of the their outer layer to your thumb, and peel it off. Repeat until all the "skin" is off. My mom hated doing it because it takes forever so I was the "lucky" one to always get this task. When I started cooking myself I got brave one day and said fudge the peeling! Nobody noticed the difference. So I never peeled again and later started thinking my mom actually got this wrong, misunderstood something when she started learning to cook or something. But no, I recently asked a bunch of people who are my mom's age and they all peel to this day. Some of them were quite socked when I told them it's totally unnecessary.
I’ve heard to never wash your mushrooms in water and instead wipe off the dirt. I also know that mushrooms are grown with animal feces… I always wash my mushrooms.
Contrary to popular belief mushrooms are not grown in manure. ... Mushrooms are in fact grown in a pasteurized substrate, which yes does contain manure, but once the whole process is finished it is not even close. But yes, always wash them and all fruits and vegetables before use.
Using pre-shredded cheese isn't always going to ruin whatever you're making.
Follow the recipe. My opinion: it only really matters in beginners baking. Once you get the feel for the food and how you want it to taste, the rest is up to you.
Sugar measurements. I routinely use half or a third of what is called for and NEVER miss it.
Baking is chemistry though, no? I don’t bake because ima clutz and favor savory over sweet, but sugar is n a ton of non-baked foods. I love food.
I refuse to omit salt, ever.
I know every baby boomer mom and cardiologist is probably frowning at this comment too.
I rarely bother making my own stock. It's just not practical for me; I don't have the space to freeze big batches of it and I don't have the time to regularly make smaller batches of it.
Most of the time, I find stock cubes work fine. They taste fine in most applications. The only thing I tend to miss in stock cubes is the gelatin, but in cases where I want that I just sprinkle some powdered gelatin into the stock.
I've never seen stock cubes with gelatin, why is it in there? I make my own stocks usually overnight in a slow cooker. Meat bones from a roast, bacon rind, washed veg peels, water and seasoning. Slow cook overnight, strain and freeze. Old leftover bagged salad like coleslaw is perfect for this and better than throwing it out. If I have some, I'll chuck in leftover wine. I keep veg peelings, bacon rind, meat fat etc in small food bags in the freezer just to make stock. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I also buy reduced veg when I can and blanch and freeze them for winter soups. Saves me lots of money and I know what's going in my meals.
My cooking changed for the better when I started using the Better than Bullion stock concentrates. Tastes so much better than carton stock and cubes in terms of flavor, takes up no space in the fridge, and lasts pretty much forever. I’m vegan too, so I love that they have vegan versions of their chicken and beef stock. They also have some especially unique flavors like sautéed onion and roasted garlic!
I put as many spices as I feel like regardless of recipe. I know what works for me
When they say mix dry ingredients in one bowl and mix wet ingredients in another bowl and slowly combine, it's a nope. I mix dry ingredients and then plop in everything else. I'm not dirtying an extra bowl.
Despite what Gordon Ramsay says about it*, I add salt to eggs before cooking them because, not only does it no toughen eggs and make them runny, it actually does the opposite, making the finished eggs more tender.
*Technically what Ramsay says can be true, but only in a professional setting where a large amount of eggs are prepped and used over an entire service. For a home cook adding salt to eggs a few seconds or minutes before will have zero negative effect.
I never measure out water when cooking pasta. I also don't measure the ingredients for Kraft Mac and Cheese. I just estimate it.
As a Korean American- I add more than 3x the amount of garlic and spices. Then top with sesame oil lol
Salt related things
I have kosher, sea, iodized, fleur de sel, and Himalayan pink salt at my house and I will use whichever one is within arms reach for any application
Flouring the meat cubes before browning it for a stew is just asking for a pot full of stuck burnt crud, especially once you get done searing five batches of it. I add flour after you've added the onions to loosen the fond and just before adding the wine.
Yes, if I’m making a beef stew I cut the beef into cubes, then season both sides with salt and pepper. After that I get a pan on the stove, turn on the gas, then add grape seed oil once the pan starts heating up, then I add the beef cubes a bit at a time ( never overcrowd your pan) after they are browned I add them into the slow cooker or a big pot before I add the other ingredients.
Sorry. I’m not going to put baking soda on my onions to caramelize them faster.
"Sift the flour"
Aye right. So I can end up with a kitchen like the Swedish Chef?!
Drain off the grease and return meat to pan. Umm, no thank you. I keep my delicious drippings.
Rinsing my pasta in cold water once cooked. Idc It's going straight in my mouth, i don't want cold pasta.
Always use more vanilla extract that what a recipe calls for. People writing recipes normally have higher quality ingredients than the average person. A teaspoon of one dollar vanilla flavoring isn't going to do much compared to a teaspoon of high quality vanilla
Don't thaw in water.
Sorry, it's my salmon and I want it now.
If it's in some form of tight packaging (f.i wrapped) then having a slow stream of cold water running over it will speed up thawing a huge amount. Alton Brown tested this on Good Eats and iirc it was on par with or even better than submerging in lukewarm water.
Pepper - Salting your food i mandatory, but black pepper is just a spice. Not all people like it, and I don't find necessary in most dishes.
I don’t think I’ve ever rested meat as long as directed. I like my food hot
I never crack my eggs on a flat surface to prevent bacteria. I am about to cook this puppy, not worried about the 5 seconds of bacteria growth I'm inviting by using the edge of my bowl.
Less "advice" and more of a "direction". One of the cooking channels I'm subscribed to never uses sugar to activate yeast when making bread. He says there's enough sugar in milk to do the job. I thought it was mental until I tried it. Now I know it is mental. So I tend to ignore recipes from him that use yeast.
I generally ignore washing basmati rice - I know the brand I buy is fine if I don’t wash/soak it so I cut out that step
I'm not convinced adding pasta water to the sauce actually does anything besides make the sauce more watery
I salt straight into whatever I'm cooking not into the hand
I never make simple syrup on the stovetop. Just microwave some water then swish in the sugar until dissolved. Bonus points if your microwave vessel is also your storage container-- I hate extra dirty dishes.
i usually just stand there in my haze and stir it into tap water till it's dissolved
Claire saffitz calls for warming a few tablespoons of milk in a saucepan in order to proof the yeast for her bread recipes. I am not willing to wash a saucepan for 2 tablespoons of lukewarm milk when the microwave is faster and easier.
I bought ground white pepper for a recipe once and have yet to use it all up because I'd much rather just grind pepper fresh when I want to use it. So what if there are visible pepper flecks in white sauces?
Salt your pasta water until it tastes like the ocean. It's way too salty for me.
Any measurement that is given to me in 'spoons' (table, tea) I assume isnt important and just eyeball that s**t or add to taste.
Except maybe baking powder or soda, but its exceedingly rare that I use either of those.
In cakes and desserts I usually go down 1/3 of the sugar. It's not about calories, it's about tasting better. Most people I know are not used to extremely sweet food, so they enjoy tastier, less sweet desserts.
Anything an Italian says.
"You can't use that pasta with that sauce!"
"You can't put that on a pizza, the base is also too thick!"
"That's not the right cheese for that dish!"
"You can't use bacon, you must use pancetta!"
While I agree, I put whatever I want in that dish, it's my kitchen, I can also relate to that poor Italian. I'm Hungarian and every time I hear a foreigner talk about how they prepare "Goulash" I'm just outraged with patriotic fervour LOL. What you're preparing is NOT gulyás. It might taste good to you, but it ain't gulyás and stop calling it that! :) Recently saw a recipe that called for spinach in it... Spinach... I almost got a heart attack.
I preheat my cast iron until it starts to smoke somewhat heavily. I haven't noticed any ill effects and hotter pan = better sear
Using a meat thermometer. I use the Gordon Ramsey method and the eyeball method. If it isn’t pink (Chicken/turkey/ground beef) it’s good to eat. I’m almost always spot on and I’ve never gotten sick once. Plus my meats are usually cooked perfectly!
"Don't salt your eggs before scrambling". People say it makes them watery but I've never noticed a difference.
If the eggs are watery then they haven't been cooked long enough. I always add salt, pepper and chives to my eggs before I scramble them and they have never been watery.
I ignore recipe say use a whole chicken to make a stock.
I will debone chicken drumsticks and thighs and keep the bones. Then I buy 1 whole stewing chicken (Basically an old chicken where the skin is more fibrous and the meat is more dry) and 1 whole yellow chicken. Put them in water and cook until both chicken are just cooked.
I take the chicken out and debone them and keep the carcass, feet and neck and use the chicken drumstick and thigh bones to make the stock, while the meat are either used for Cantonese white cut chicken or shredded to make salads or cubed and frozen for when I make chicken noodle soup.
Instead of making one dish with all the meat more or less wasted - I made a stock and two to three other dishes.
Removing the sprouted core out of garlic - apparently, it gives indigestion but I’ve never had a problem with it!
My veg shop gave me two sprouted bulbs of garlic to plant. I still haven't confessed that I used them....
I avoid it if I can but I’ll admit it… I be letting my cast iron soak
Microwave on HIGH for.....
Water is the only thing I'll microwave on high. If it takes 3 minutes instead of 1 and it doesn't have a cold spot in the middle, it was totally worth it. It's not like you have to stand there watching it anyway.
My microwave stays on high. The temperature never gets adjusted.
I do not need a bigger pan to make a five egg omelet. Y'all internet cooking instructors just need to learn some subtlety.
Once I was cooking a steak shirtless and when I went to flip it in the pan I accidentally slammed it and I got searing hot oil all over my chest/stomach. Had the dumbest looking burn scars for a summer. Wife says I can never cook shirtless again.
...I cook shirtless all the time when she's not around
"Let stand in microwave for one minute" f**k that, I'm hungry!
This is more of a safety / don't sue us tip than anything to do with the flavour or quality of the food. Most of the time improperly microwaved food explodes within a minute of being taken out of your microwave (any of you who've ever microwaved a Heinz soup then stuck a cold spoon into it will know what I'm on about). So I guess it depends if you want to be showered in scalding hot tomato soup really..
Cooking instructions on frozen food.
I defrost it in minutes in the microwave and then cook it on a hot griddle.
If I'm cooking things like garlic bread, sausage rolls, pies etc that are frozen, I will cook in the microwave first and then into the oven to crisp up. Saves so much more time.
I don't drain beef for tacos. I put in enough water to end up with decent thickness by the end with seasoning. About half pound, and use entire one pound package seasoning. But I try to get 85 or 90% lean. The fat tastes good and seasoning seems to still shine through.
I never sear the meat before roasting it or putting it into stew. Ive tried it, supposedly it "locks in flavor" but it didnt make a big enough difference in the taste for me to dirty another pan over it.
I only recently started to sear roast beef before I cook it and I definitely notice a difference. Not necessarily in taste but the roast isn't dry coz it locks in the juices.
I've never rinsed my rice and almost never soak my beans, and both turn out just fine
I don't rinse rice. I do soak (dried) beans because otherwise they take a million years to cook. Maybe that's just me.
Bread recipes that tell you to “bloom” the yeast. You might have needed to do that in the early 1900’s, but not now.
I overcook my pasta. Whether it is pasta I make fresh at home, or dried pasta bought at the shops, I tend to cook it 2x or 3x longer than suggested. I much prefer it that way. The pasta goes really soft and tender - almost melt in the mouth. Any texture in my pasta dishes comes from additions to the sauces itself (al dente veggies, small chunks of parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.). And when making a carbonara, the starchy water I get from overcooking and concentrating the cooking water down makes such a lovely creamy sauce.
Overcooked pasta tastes slimy to me so... umm... no. Overcooked pasta reminds me of preschool lunches when half the kids would throw up after lunch on pasta day.
I don't use double boiler, or the bowl and pot method. I do use a lighter pot so I can more easily control the heat however.
Don't put the pasta in till the water is boiled.
I do not have the attention span or time for that Mr kraft.
American cheese belongs in more things than people care to admit.
If you are talking about real cheese made in America I agree. If you mean that orange stuff wrapped in plastic slices the only place it belongs is in the bin.
don't use salt!
I grew up in a salt-free household due to my grandma's health issues.
Admittedly, I've been cooking for a very long time, but it doesn't matter whether I'm baking or stewing or roasting or any other kind of cooking, I really don't bother with recipes or amounts. I've been doing it long enough to know when it looks/feels/smells/tastes right. And nobody ever complains about my cooking, so I guess I'm doing something right.
I rarely follow the rules. I don’t follow recipes, I don’t measure, I follow my tried and true methods, I know how things should taste, I know what flavors work well together. I don’t need other people to tell me those things. Cooking is an art, art shouldn’t have rules.
I agree with you with a small, personal caveat. I needed to learn the basics first, needed to understand the rules so I knew how and when to break them.
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One of the things that my mom suggested was buy what the locals buy. As in, in India, many make rotis daily. Most people who probably have shifted to the city or are too busy or something choose to go to big brands selling the flour.... My mom told me to speak to the cook who made my food. What can she recommend? She told me of a local brand that is good, priced well and does not make the rotis chewy. If you want to make say Indian food, ask the Indian friend where he or she gets his local stuff. You get the good stuff at good price.
I was taught that if you live in a country where markets are the norm, don't shop for fresh produce in grocery stores. (I did it once and got food poisoning for my troubles. I know correlation is not causation, but the experience made me not want to chance it.) The reason I was given was that food gets brought in fresh to the markets daily, but you never knew how long the stuff in the stores had spent on the shelf.
Load More Replies... I find recipes more as a guide than a hard and fast set of rules. I tend to find that you usually need twice the amount of herbs and seasoning they often ask for. It's like when TV chefs say "add a teaspoon of olive oil to the pan" and then proceed to empty half the bottle into it!
Whatever temp it says in the recipe, it's going in at 180 degrees. And I have tested 'rested' meat and 'unrested' meat and the only difference I could tell is that one was hot whilst the other was luke warm.
Agreed. I tried that resting stuff once and I guess it's all right if you like cold meat. Every steak house I've been in brings your steak to you still sizzling.
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I've been cooking for almost 62 years, having been taught by both my parents when I was 8 y.o. I don't bother with recipes except the first time I make a pastry. Other than that, I know how to cook, I know what I like in the way of spices and salt, I know I can't stand super sweet anything, so I just go by sight and feel. Haven't had any complaints in the 40 years since I divorced my jerk of a husband (he wanted everything to be made the way his Mommy cooked it 🙄).
Can I fly the flag for DON'T PUT VINEGAR IN THE WATER WHEN YOU'RE POACHING EGGS. I've had to send poached eggs on toast back because they were tainted with vinegar.
Just like a lot of recent articles, this is yet ANOTHER article copied directly from a Buzzfeed. What the hell is going on?!
I refuse to soak beans. I used to. Read somewhere it does nothing but reduce flavor, so I tried it, and I agree.
I always rinse my beans but because I use my crock pot I don't soak them either.
Load More Replies... One of the most useful cooking podcasts I've ever listened to is Bon Appétit: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat episode.
Wash your chicken. There's always a "film" on it. I wash the sink afterwards, so save your "spreading germs" comment. Only an idiot does not realize you can wash the sink.
Same here, thank you! And if a person wants to be extra cautious, they can spray the sink with a bleach solution, let it sit for 10 minutes, then rinse.
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I never invested in an electronic hand mixer. I need to do so as I like to make homemade sweets on occasion. I've made marshmallows, meringue cookies, and baked goods a without electronic prep equipment. Yeah just a whisk/spoon and bowl for like a loooong time. I'll admit it's a good arm workout. They all turned out very good and folks liked them too. I need to stop being so darn cheap.
Please do not cook lasagne separately each by each, just put it raw with the rest of lasagna and make sure that the rest is super juicy so the pasta soaks that water during baking. I saw people doing lasagne for 4 hours cause they were making pasta one by one in water
When I read stuff like this I swear the single thing that puzzles me most is, what do people in other countries pay for electricity? Or are gas burners more widely used than electric? Why are people boiling water on a stove? Or cooking something for 30-60 minutes on the stove when you can cook it in the microwave for 10-15 minutes? If something needs boiling water, I boil it in the kettle. Pasta, rice, and potatoes all go in the microwave. If I used my stove for cooking every day I would spend half my salary on electricity.
I don't own a microwave. My mother would serve up every dish cooked in a microwave. We had micro-chips, micro-vegetables, micro-meat - you name it. I now refuse to have one in my house.
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I stuff my turkeys. And not once or anyone else has gotten sick. You have to be patient on cooking your turkey, don't assume the recommended times and temperatures. They are just ideal times to get it done quicker. You can a cook a turkey that is moist with stuffing. Screw you phony's on food network...you are just lazy.
Admittedly, I've been cooking for a very long time, but it doesn't matter whether I'm baking or stewing or roasting or any other kind of cooking, I really don't bother with recipes or amounts. I've been doing it long enough to know when it looks/feels/smells/tastes right. And nobody ever complains about my cooking, so I guess I'm doing something right.
I rarely follow the rules. I don’t follow recipes, I don’t measure, I follow my tried and true methods, I know how things should taste, I know what flavors work well together. I don’t need other people to tell me those things. Cooking is an art, art shouldn’t have rules.
I agree with you with a small, personal caveat. I needed to learn the basics first, needed to understand the rules so I knew how and when to break them.
Load More Replies... One of the things that my mom suggested was buy what the locals buy. As in, in India, many make rotis daily. Most people who probably have shifted to the city or are too busy or something choose to go to big brands selling the flour.... My mom told me to speak to the cook who made my food. What can she recommend? She told me of a local brand that is good, priced well and does not make the rotis chewy. If you want to make say Indian food, ask the Indian friend where he or she gets his local stuff. You get the good stuff at good price.
I was taught that if you live in a country where markets are the norm, don't shop for fresh produce in grocery stores. (I did it once and got food poisoning for my troubles. I know correlation is not causation, but the experience made me not want to chance it.) The reason I was given was that food gets brought in fresh to the markets daily, but you never knew how long the stuff in the stores had spent on the shelf.
Load More Replies... I find recipes more as a guide than a hard and fast set of rules. I tend to find that you usually need twice the amount of herbs and seasoning they often ask for. It's like when TV chefs say "add a teaspoon of olive oil to the pan" and then proceed to empty half the bottle into it!
Whatever temp it says in the recipe, it's going in at 180 degrees. And I have tested 'rested' meat and 'unrested' meat and the only difference I could tell is that one was hot whilst the other was luke warm.
Agreed. I tried that resting stuff once and I guess it's all right if you like cold meat. Every steak house I've been in brings your steak to you still sizzling.
Load More Replies... I've been cooking for almost 62 years, having been taught by both my parents when I was 8 y.o. I don't bother with recipes except the first time I make a pastry. Other than that, I know how to cook, I know what I like in the way of spices and salt, I know I can't stand super sweet anything, so I just go by sight and feel. Haven't had any complaints in the 40 years since I divorced my jerk of a husband (he wanted everything to be made the way his Mommy cooked it 🙄).
Can I fly the flag for DON'T PUT VINEGAR IN THE WATER WHEN YOU'RE POACHING EGGS. I've had to send poached eggs on toast back because they were tainted with vinegar.
Just like a lot of recent articles, this is yet ANOTHER article copied directly from a Buzzfeed. What the hell is going on?!
I refuse to soak beans. I used to. Read somewhere it does nothing but reduce flavor, so I tried it, and I agree.
I always rinse my beans but because I use my crock pot I don't soak them either.
Load More Replies... One of the most useful cooking podcasts I've ever listened to is Bon Appétit: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat episode.
Wash your chicken. There's always a "film" on it. I wash the sink afterwards, so save your "spreading germs" comment. Only an idiot does not realize you can wash the sink.
Same here, thank you! And if a person wants to be extra cautious, they can spray the sink with a bleach solution, let it sit for 10 minutes, then rinse.
Load More Replies... I never invested in an electronic hand mixer. I need to do so as I like to make homemade sweets on occasion. I've made marshmallows, meringue cookies, and baked goods a without electronic prep equipment. Yeah just a whisk/spoon and bowl for like a loooong time. I'll admit it's a good arm workout. They all turned out very good and folks liked them too. I need to stop being so darn cheap.
Please do not cook lasagne separately each by each, just put it raw with the rest of lasagna and make sure that the rest is super juicy so the pasta soaks that water during baking. I saw people doing lasagne for 4 hours cause they were making pasta one by one in water
When I read stuff like this I swear the single thing that puzzles me most is, what do people in other countries pay for electricity? Or are gas burners more widely used than electric? Why are people boiling water on a stove? Or cooking something for 30-60 minutes on the stove when you can cook it in the microwave for 10-15 minutes? If something needs boiling water, I boil it in the kettle. Pasta, rice, and potatoes all go in the microwave. If I used my stove for cooking every day I would spend half my salary on electricity.
I don't own a microwave. My mother would serve up every dish cooked in a microwave. We had micro-chips, micro-vegetables, micro-meat - you name it. I now refuse to have one in my house.
Load More Replies... I stuff my turkeys. And not once or anyone else has gotten sick. You have to be patient on cooking your turkey, don't assume the recommended times and temperatures. They are just ideal times to get it done quicker. You can a cook a turkey that is moist with stuffing. Screw you phony's on food network...you are just lazy.
