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Cooking is one of those last few things that sometimes gets passed down, word of mouth, from generation to generation. People, without the slightest idea if it works or not, insist that their way must be the right way. But the fact is that for every great, hand-me-down recipe, there are whole casserole dishes of misinformation.
A netizen asked “What misinformation about cooking, that a lot of people seem to believe, bothers you the most?” and people detailed the examples they keep encountering. So get comfortable, take some notes if you need to, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
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#1
People freaking out about expiration dates. Use your senses. Food can't read a calendar. 99% of the time you will KNOW that something has gone bad. Mold, slime, stinks, etc. It seems like half the posts in all the food subs are someone asking how to use something because "it expires tomorrow". No. It doesn't.
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#2
Gatekeeping food.
Why get mad when someone uses bacon in their cabonara? I don't like prosciutto and I'm not going to go searching the city for guanciale to make one pasta dish. Bite me.
#3
The prep time in any recipe is generally severely understated.
Kathy Dragonfly 4 months ago
for me it's not so much the prep time, but the dealing with the aftermath - scraps, spills, dirty dishes and tools!
#4
My pet peeves are all ingredient related.
- Low fat is NOT necessarily healthier, especially not low fat high sugar
- GMO does not mean its bad for you
- Frozen does not necessarily mean its low quality.
- Many "organic" products are in fact terrible quality. Use your common sense when selecting produce.
#5
Using gloves for everyday cooking/food prep. What are we doing, people? Just wash your hands.
Auntriarch 4 months ago (edited)
Except if chillis sting your hands. But I just use my marigolds
#6
That you only salt/season at then end of cooking. I've seen this hundreds of times, but seasoning throughout completely changes the end result as opposed to only seasoning at the end of cooking.
#7
People who still hang onto the idea that fat is bad. Fat is a vital nutrient necessary for cellular function. Its terrible we have given this nutrient the same name as bodyfat. Which I might add is ALSO important to have.
Patricia Steward 4 months ago
Fat also makes you feel fuller, and many types of fat are very low in carbs.
#8
The sanctity of recipes. For baking, yes you should follow it very closely because changes could ruin the meal. But for cooking you can riff, double certain spices, omit others. Trust me you cannot ruin a chili by doubling the suggested paprika.
Owen 4 months ago
For cooking... Just find out how to cook things so they are edible, and then add herbs and spices that you like. And cook with butter. It really is that simple. Just play around with cooking and you will learn what works and doesn't. Add sauces, pies or exotic ideas whenever later when you feel comfortable. But learn how to cook eggs.
#9
That msg is bad for you. Point blank.
Oh. And that it's added solely to make you hungry again so you order more? (That was the tale in my parts of canada, anyways),.
#11
That cooking at home costs more
No. You went to the store and bought every ingredient new, of course that costs a lot. People don't cook like that every meal. You need to use the leftover ingredients you bought for the cost saving to kick in.
#12
Not to store bread in the fridge. Sure if you're eating it fresh the fridge does change the flavor and texture some, but if you're toasting the bread like I do 99% it makes absolutely no difference. I'd rather have my fresh baked bread last over a week by putting it in the fridge than have it go bad in 3 days.
#13
Washing chicken… unless you’re in a country with very low safety standards for butchers, most meat is perfectly safe to cook without being cleaned, you’re just wasting time and potentially contaminating your kitchen sink and counters with pathogens.
Kathy Dragonfly 4 months ago
the process of cooking will k**l all bacteria anyways, so unless you drop it in the dirt it's unnecessary to wash meat.
#14
You cant fry in Olive Oil, you absolutely can and anything potato related tastes godly.
(Talking about panfrying not deepfrying).
Janissary35680 4 months ago (edited)
I agree but you do have to mind the temperature. As long as you don't see smoke, you're fine.
#15
People in general have very skewed ideas about food safety. No, leaving a freshly cooked dish on the counter for two hours will not poison you. .
Nils Skirnir 4 months ago
Leaving cooked foods out for two hours in the summer may not k**l you, but you might wish it would.
SouthernGal 4 months ago
Especially potato salad or other foods with mayonnaise.
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spacer 4 months ago
the food should be cooled before you put it in a fridge or freezer. leaving something out over night tho.....
Ace 4 months ago
1. Be aware that cooling is really only to stop the heat from whatever you're putting in the fridge from warming up surrounding items, it's not a safety issue for the food you're actually preparing. 2. As long as it's covered, for many types of food, like meat-based casseroles, it's perfectly fine to leave it until the morning to put it away in the fridge.
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iseefractals 4 months ago
And a whole bunch of people don't actually understand the basis of food safety. The so called "danger zone" exists when food is between above 40f and below 140f. Within this range, bacteria growth THRIVES....which is ::::checks notes:::: dangerous! "Well i'm gonna reheat it anyway, doesn't matter" Ignorant and incorrect! Many food borne bacteria produce waste byproducts called exotoxins and endotoxins....even if the bacteria are killed during the cooking or reheating process, those toxins will still f**k you up. Yes, food should be cooled before putting it in the fridge or freezer....and that is best accomplished by putting the food in a bag or container and placing it in a pot of cold water. That YOU personally have not gotten sick, or have not connected the dots as to why you often feel sick, doesn't negate the fact that you're recklessly encouraging something that is provably stupid.
B 4 months ago
I regularly cook twice as much as needed, then eat and watch a movie while the leftover food cools, maybe take a shower, etc. Three hours later the remainder food is cooled, I bung it into a container and then into the fridge (or freezer for down the line). We have never yet (18 plus years doing that) had any health issues.
Philly Bob 4 months ago
Hot foods should be held at 140°F (60°C) or higher, while cold foods should be kept at 40°F (4°C) or lower. Leaving food in the "danger zone" (between 40°F and 140°F) for more than two hours (or one hour if the temperature is above 90°F) can lead to bacterial growth and potential foodborne illness.
Uncle Panda 4 months ago
I'm still chuckling at the idea of color coordinated cutting boards. That was a brilliant way to clear the colored cutting board warehouses. Oh, I know, I know, you spent money. It HAS to work!
blue_molly 4 months ago
Most likely not, but if you have pets who can get on the bench it might poison them.
Sarah 4 months ago
Cooked breakfast for a friend who stayed over. I set the table as the fry was on—- he told me to put butter back in fridge as it’ll go off? Breakfast was abt to be cooked in 15 mins tkme. Wouldn’t mind.. I don’t even eat butter- boight it for him as he a guest
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 4 months ago
Butter doesn't even need to be refrigerated unless you live somewhere hot enough that leaving it out will melt it. I never put butter in the fridge.
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#16
"Bone broth". You are not a culinary genius. We have had a perfectly serviceable term for "bone broth" for many years now. We call it "stock".
And the distinction isn't really that important for home cooking - I don't care that you made your hamburger helper with *beef broth* instead of *beef stock*. Yes, if you're making something that's stock-forward, like, say, pho, you absolutely need to crack a few cowbones. But generally speaking, boxed broth or boxed stock are both (a) fine for home cooking, and, (b) fairly interchangeable if you don't need the collagen.
Calling stock "bone broth" tells me a lot about your tick tock habits.
Patricia Steward 4 months ago
Hah! Look up Bobby Flay's Rich Chicken Stock recipe -- I use bones I've accumulated in the freezer and some vegetables I usually have on hand. It'll change your bone-stock life!
#17
My family calls margarine butter and uses it in recipes that call for butter exclusively. They absolutely will not use real butter and it WILD to me. Mashed potatoes? Margarine. Brownies? Margarine. Baked potatoes? Margarine. Biscuits? Cornbread? BUTTERCREAM ICING????
Ace 4 months ago
Some quite traditional UK home bakers, indeed cookbook writers as well, used to (still?) swear by margarine in cakes and stuff. It can be easier to use, softer so incorporates more easily, but mostly it's based on post-war rationing and higher prices for real butter, so people just convinced themselves that the substitute was just as good. It is not.
#18
That tomato sauce needs sugar or else it’s too acidic. No it doesn’t. Traditional sauces don’t use it. Add a carrot or something if you’re that worried.
#19
My current pet peeve is "red velvet" cake that's nothing but regular cake with food coloring added. That's not red velvet cake at all 😤😤.
iseefractals 4 months ago
Real red velvet cake requires having unprocessed (undutched) cocoa powder. An acid, such as lemon juice or vinegar is added to the batter which reacts with the untreated cocoa powder and causes a SLIGHT reddish color to develop. To compensate for the acidity, extra sugar and sweet frosting was added giving birth to the decadence of shame we've come to know and love. During WWI as rationing was in effect, untreated cocoa powder was hard to come by, which gave way to rhubarb or beet juice being used as a natural food coloring, rationing again went into effect during the second world war, and the trend continued....by the 1960's food coloring was more widely available and more importantly, more widely trusted and the traditional method was all but abandoned. I made a traditional red velvet cake for my wife's last birthday, there is ZERO comparison between traditional and modern. Trad red velvet infinitely superior
#20
“Sauté the minced garlic for a minute or two” PLEASE DO NOT DO THAT. Burnt garlic smells gross and lasts forever. 🥲 saute it until it smells good. Like 15 seconds. Tops.
Robert Beveridge 4 months ago (edited)
Western chefs: "never put garlic in until the onions are almost ready, if it burns it'll get bitter." Indian chefs: "Once your kadai has achieved the surface temperature of the planet Mercury, the first thing you will add is three metric tons of garlic."
#21
Adding a single bay leaf to a gallon of stew isn't gonna do anything.
A single clove of garlic isn't enough. Whatever the recipe says, double it.
#22
As a cajun, my pet peeve is people making random recipes and just slapping “cajun” on the front of it as if using any sort of seasoning beyond salt and pepper makes a dish cajun.
Cajun cooking includes a huge swathe of recipes that have been passed down through our culture for hundreds of years and is more than just cayenne pepper.
Howl's sleeping castle 4 months ago
I once watched a 5 min youtube video of a 'chef' cooking Cajun style potatoes. He boiled baby potatoes, smashed a little and topped it with a store bought Cajun sauce. I have wasted a lot of time in my life but I will always be angry about those 5 mins.
#23
Oh man the natural sugar people. Sugar is sugar is sugar, avoiding sucrose (table sugar) to then eat maple syrup or agave nectar is a rather negligible difference and as far as your blood glucose is concerned, identical.
Also the juice/smoothie crowd. Eating an orange and having a glass of water is infinitely healthier than a glass of OJ.
Lastly, protein deniers, is what I like to call them. No, two eggs isn't enough protein for the day, it's actually about half as much needed for one meal. It's important to prioritize in your meals, it's what actually satiates you,.
Nikki Sevven 4 months ago
Also, can we bash the anti-carb people? Carbs are an essential nutrient for your body, helping you to use fats and proteins efficiently. Carbs break down into glucose, which is your brain's exclusive energy source. The fiber feeds your health gut bacteria. Complex carbs help to regulate your blood sugar. Eat your carbs!
#24
The not washing your cast iron pans with soap irritates me so much. Wash your pans and don't be gross. I wash mine with soap, water, and chainmail then I throw it on the stove top with a dab of oil and heat it up until it smokes. Never had problem with rust or my seasoning failing.
#25
Ingredient gate keeping in general, with my biggest pet peeve being "You should only use salt and pepper to season your steak."
Sorry, but rubs and seasonings are absolutely delicious (looking at you Spade L). So don't be afraid to branch out from the norm and try some stuff even though that's not the "right way" to do it.
#26
Cooking to time instead of doneness or temp.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 4 months ago
YES! When I moved into a shared house at uni, my friend was forever asking questions like "How long do sausages take to cook?" and my answer was always the same "Until they're done".
#27
My mother always tells me microwaving "k**ls 100% of the nutriments and gives cancer".
#29
That a “well seasoned cast iron/ carbon steel pan is just as non stick as non-stick”. It’s not. It never will be. It’s a bit more forgiving than stainless but unless you have it heated nearly as hot as you’d need for stainless it won’t be stick resistant. What makes non stick useful is that it’s nonstick at ANY temperature which makes it useful for various things that should not be cooked at super high heat.
#30
Searing meat to “seal” in the juices. Saying “bone broth” at all. Believing a potato is a magical salt sponge. Any and all superfood health claims (I think it’s beets now maybe? It was acai and coconut oil for awhile). Oil in the pasta water. MSG - but the “Yeah I know the science, but it’s true for meeeee!” Mail-order food allergy test believers. .
#31
Not sure about the most, but it annoys me that people buy large air fryers when they already have a perfectly fine convection function on their oven.
#32
I worked as a server and a cook for many years. SOOOOO many people would say they were lactose intolerant and needed things to be "dairy free" .... but then would complain that there was mayo on their sandwich ???
I guess they thought this is white and creamy so it MUST be dairy! ?
The Scout 4 months ago
This misunderstanding is kind of U.S. specific, as American regulations require eggs to be pre-washed, so they have to be stored in a fridge. They are stored beside the dairy products, so they must be dairy... If you do not pre-wash the eggs, leaving their protective coating intact, there is no reason to put them into the fridge, so they are seen as a separate thing.
#33
I think how hard it is to cook chicken breast and it to not be dry is severely overblown. At best I'm "adequate" at cooking and I haven't cooked a dry chicken breast since college.
If you prefer dark meat, cool, but if the reason you don't like chicken breast is because it's dry, that just means you can't cook a very simple thing.
#34
You shouldnt wash mushrooms because it will absorb water. No it won’t!
Ace 4 months ago (edited)
Depends on the mushroom and the cooking, normal open field mushrooms will indeed retain quite a lot of water in their gills if you immerse them which can make them cook qute differently if you're grilling them, for example.. More importantly, unless you've done something particularly weird when storing them there should be absolutely no need to wash mushrooms at all. I little wipe with kitchen paper if there's a little compost adhering is all that you need.
#35
That cooking at home is always healthier than eating out. Let me tell you, when I have control over my own food, I am definitely not skimping out on the parts I like.
#36
That it takes like 15 minutes to caramelize onions when it takes AT LEAST an hour, closer to two.
#37
That if the pan sizzles a lot, it means it's turned up too high! Honestly IDK how many people believe this but my mom always gets on my case about it when I visit. No mom, that's called a sauté, and it's fine!
WorkAholic1 4 months ago
I haven't heard this one before. I was taught if you drop a droplet of water in the pan and it sizzles, it's ready for whatever you want to cook.
#38
I often wonder with so many recipes if the writers have ever cooked anything in their life.
And AI recipe bots are probably training off this, so the future will be even worse for new cooks.
Luke Branwen 4 months ago
I'm so grateful I've learned all skills I regularly use before the age of AI.
#39
That we don't have access to fresh bread or "real" cheese here in America. Even in my parents town of ~40k people there are bakeries, the grocery store also has its own bakery producing fresh bread and their cheese section has a ton of domestic & international cheese.
#40
When my ex-gf told me food needs to be a little burnt to be cooked... yeah OK!
#41
Here's a controversial one: there is empirical evidence that the mussels that do not open after cooking are not necessarily bad to eat, contrary to received wisdom.
Verena 4 months ago (edited)
Mussel country here: Mussels do live when you buy them. To be on the safe side, mussels when washed with cold water should close. If they don't, give them a little wakey-wakey tik on the kitchen counter and wait a minute. Still not closed? Dead. After cooking, they need to be open, at least a tad. If not, either sand mussel or dead.
#42
"Pasta water should taste like the sea." No, it should not. The salinity of ocean water is a measurable quantity and if you cook pasta at the same concentration, it will be inedible. I know, I tried it.
What these people mean to say is the pasta water should taste more salty than you expect. Of course this is horribly imprecise. Imprecision is my biggest pet peeve in cooking and cooking instructions. Good instructions and good tools make for reliable results. Not "cook over medium heat, not too hot, until it looks right.".
#43
I’m surprised I’m not seeing that most people think you have to wrap potatoes in foil to bake them when in fact that makes them taste terrible comparatively.
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What do you think ?
Extinct Animal 4 months ago
Over the years iv'e had... "How long does that take to cook?" The answer is "cook it til it's done". Everyone's ovens are different...It's ready when it's ready so get your finger out and test it?1?
Auntriarch 4 months ago
It's nice to have an idea when you start, for example "20-25 minutes" you need some guidance before you get to the stage where you know about temperature and timings and different qualities of ingredients.
Load More Replies... Extinct Animal 4 months ago
Over the years iv'e had... "How long does that take to cook?" The answer is "cook it til it's done". Everyone's ovens are different...It's ready when it's ready so get your finger out and test it?1?
Auntriarch 4 months ago
It's nice to have an idea when you start, for example "20-25 minutes" you need some guidance before you get to the stage where you know about temperature and timings and different qualities of ingredients.
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