People Reveal Cooking Secrets They Swore To Take To Their Graves In This Viral Online Thread (35 Pics)
Why can nobody beat your uncle’s signature BBQ rib? What’s so special about your grandma’s lasagna that makes it the king and the queen of all the cheesy lasagnas? When a recipe is pushed to the max and there’s not a single drop or more love to add to the meal, cooking secrets come into play.
So take your notebooks out, everyone, we’re about to take our cooking skills to a whole new level thanks to this awesome bunch of people sharing their “I’ll never tell” cooking secrets.
After all, it’s such a nice feeling to be an unbeatable grand master in one dish that conquers the hearts of strangers and puts smiles on people’s faces.
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My husband says he doesn't like much garlic. I ALWAYS use a hefty amount in my cooking. He loves it. I just don't tell him. And he often says "it smells so good in here!" Yeah, I just added the garlic to the pan...
Whenever I bake something with chocolate, like brownies, I always add a little bit of coffee. It makes all the difference.
I add salt to hot chocolate. It somehow makes it more chocolate-y Everyone always says my hot chocolate is the best, but I just use prepackaged with milk and a dash of salt.
Bored Panda reached out to Charlotte de Grood, a spokesperson of Greenpan.co.uk, the cookware manufacturer that specializes in ceramic-coated pans for healthier cooking. Charlotte shared some useful insights about how having a secret recipe is the heart of the art of cooking.
“A secret ingredient or method can be the best possible weapon when showing off your skills in the kitchen,” Charlotte said and continued: “Of course, skills are important, and people will appreciate a dish that has been made particularly well according to technical standards.”
“But what people love is charisma and personality in cooking—steering away from following recipes ingredient by ingredient and understanding how different products and flavors blend well together,” she added.
I begged my grandmother for her banana pudding recipe and now people beg me to make it. It's the recipe from the back of the Nilla wafer box.
I'd never tell anybody how much fresh garlic I put in n anything.. Garlic is actually crack and I can't get enough.
Also I don't tell people when I use Greek yogurt in place of sour cream or mayo in some things. I feel like it grosses people out to think there's probiotics in the mashed potatoes or the pasta salad lol
That reminds me of some woman who posted a couple years ago about running a successful wedding cake business and being afraid someone would catch her buying carts full of cake mix at the grocery store
But she said that she made the fondant and the cake’s decor herself.
When asked if people should share their cooking secrets with others, Charlotte said that it depends on the secret. “If it is a hack to help with a tricky technique such as poaching eggs, there’s little risk in sharing that. Everyone can benefit from knowing how to cook things correctly.”
Having said that, she added that “there are some secrets you may wish to only keep within the family to ensure it is passed down within the generations. There’s something special knowing it’s unique to the individual who came up with the idea and can’t necessarily be replicated.”
Always brown the butter. No one ever takes the time to brown the butter
When making banana bread, I use overripe bananas, which I freeze and then thaw when it's time to bake. I read somewhere that freezing bananas make them sweeter. Try it. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Oh. I thought this was common knowledge! We always freeze mushy bananas for muffins, banana bread, etc.
I use jello vanilla pudding powder in all my cookies. It keeps them super soft for days and gives them almost a cake interior. Shhhh...
Sophia Zimmer from the personalized cake shop “Jack and Beyond” also told Bored Panda that experimentation is such an important part of cooking. “Even with baking, which tends to be more rigid, people are constantly coming up with new ways of doing things,” she added.
Sophia also said that finding your own cooking secret is not that easy. It “means spending a lot of time in the kitchen, exploring hidden cooking and produce shops in your area and even out of your area to source the best possible ingredients to work with.”
I add mashed anchovies or anchovies paste to my salad dressings, pasta sauces, and gravy. No one can identify the taste and everyone loves it!
When making homemade mac 'n' cheese, I season with a secret ingredient — mustard powder.
I use a little almond extract in all my baked goods (especially French toast) and a little espresso powder in anything chocolate.
Squeeze a lemon in your pot of chicken soup. Adds a nice brightness.
I use smoked paprika a lot and people lose their minds over my cooking.
Something I usually don't share--I make really great burgers, but my secret is I don't do much to them. I use a good quality ground chuck with 20% fat and I keep the meat very cold and handle it as little as possible and don't salt it except for the outside right before cooking, and I make a divot in the middle to keep the patty from swelling. Perfect, juice burgers every time, very little work.
I have a secret for my burgers. Prepackaged lipton onion soup mix. I take a good gound beef, add one egg, a cup of oatmeal, a package of onion soup mix, and a good shot of bbq sauce. Mix it all together, use the divot trick in the center, grill them, and delicious. Everyone that tries them loves them.... here's one from Saturday PXL_202106...a7c921.jpg 
I worked in a high-end restaurant that was well-known for its cheesecake. It was just cream cheese and marshmallow fluff blended together, then placed in store-bought graham cracker crusts.
my salsa
its just big can of whole toamotes, big sweet onion cut into fourths, one jalapeno with seeds cut up, cilantro and lime juice everyhting into a food processor for aobut 30ish secs add dash of salt at the end.
everyone thinks is so good which it is but i keep telling them its so easy but they dont think it is lol
Good luck finding sun baked tomates that dont cost a fortune here in Spain... Ironic, I know
I tell everyone, but citric acid in bread dough. Making it a bit acidic makes the yeast go nuts and even "heavy" breads rise more than you'd expect. You could use lemon juice or vinegar I suppose but citric acid (in granules) is easy to find (Indian section of supermarkets, or "gourmet" store), and will hang out happily in your cupboard forever.
My mom is obsessed with sour dough since lockdown began and makes so much bread right now, so I'll have to tell her this!
Stop using corn starch or flour to thicken stew. Grab a pouch of instant mashed potatoes (I use Idahoan buttery herb or roasted garlic flavor). Add that, stir it in, and thank me later.
Instant mashed potatoes is an evil brought upon the civilization by a sick and disturbed mind. Spread your evil somewhere else heathen!
Half sour cream, half greek yogurt for tzatziki - so much richer.
My snickerdoodle recipe. People love them. They are chunks of Pillsbury sugar cookie dough, rolled in cinnamon and sugar. Stupid easy. I will never tell.
I don't even know what a snickerdoodle cookie is but that name is fun to say. Snickerdoodle lol. Although I just realised something, doodle is a child like term for penis and quite often young kids would snicker when they hear the word doodle haha.
I add pickle juice to tuna or chicken salad. Gives it just the right amount of tartness.
Pickle juice is so underrated! Especially when home-made. Best hangover cure, too.
I've never been the type to have a secret like this, but if people knew how much cinnamon I used they might have questions. I add it to a lot of dishes to add some earthiness and depth, but not in amounts where you can actually taste cinnamon.
Nutmeg is my secret for spinach, cream sauces, onions, added to hazelnut latte. Freshly grated, just a little, right at the end.
I worked at Jimmy John's and they had us use a little soy sauce in the tuna salad. I've been making it that way ever since.
Instead of milk, I use full fat vanilla or plain yogurt in my bathing mixture for French toast. It turns out perfectly every time.
If I boil dry beans to rehydrate and cook them, I'll throw in a marrow bone at the very beginning. The beans soak up the fat and have a luxurious, creamy texture.
I add a dash of cinnamon sugar into any red meat dish or red sauce. Or tomato soup for that matter.
Try putting a decent amount of butter in a red sauce. It will taste twice as good and no one will be able to guess the secret.
My wife came back from Norway in love with a MAGIC spice we searched for everywhere. It's MSG.
The seasoning of those who can't season, was the way one of my former bosses refered to that.
Well, glutamate is basically the taste of broken-down protein. You get it whenever you ferment (soy sauce, fish sauce) or simmer (broth) a protein-containing ingredient over a long period of time. The food made by good cooks absolutely does contain loads of glutamate, too, the difference is that they obtain it through long cooking processes. If you don't have the time and/or patience to do that type of cooking, it won't turn up naturally so either you'll have to eat blander food - or you add it.
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Well, I'll be.... I was curious how MSG was made, so I wikied it. Turns out it's found in cheese and tomatoes in fairly high amounts. Also: It is a popular belief that MSG can cause headaches and other feelings of discomfort, known as "Chinese restaurant syndrome", but blinded studies show no such effects when MSG is combined with food in normal concentrations, and are inconclusive when MSG is added to broth in large concentrations."
Not a fan either. I have a bad night’s sleep every time it’s used in my dinner.
Load More Replies... MSG will trigger a migraine for me. "The mechanism behind MSG-induced headaches is not fully understood. MSG is an excitatory amino acid that binds to MNDA receptions in the brain. This activation leads to the release of nitric oxide, which then leads to the dilation or widening of blood vessels around the skull"
FYI: a quote means nothing if you don’t cite the source.
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I think your wife was the only one who never heard of it. It can cause allergic reactions in some
Please be careful! MSG is a common allergen that can cause anaphylaxis. By law, if it's in something, it needs to be listed as an ingredient, with an allergy warning. Please don't hide it in something you're feeding to guests!
PSA MSG is not bad for you!!! This whole 'MSG is not good for you' is a myth!!! If anybody has heard the podcast 'This American Life' there is a whole explanation about it talking to the families of the guy who first published an article about 'Chinese Restaurant Syndrome' and started the whole thing. Also the FDA says it's fine (in the US, I don't know specifics about other countries). If you get symptoms from Chinese takeout, it might be something else in the food and/or an ingredient that causes a reaction that seems bigger than it is because of the placebo effect, if you think you ate msg or you think it is bad for you. You could also be allergic to msg, but that doesn't mean it's bad for everyone just like how if you have a peanut allergy, it doesn't mean everyone in the world should stop eating peanuts.
terrible stuff!! Gives me migraines and I avoid it like the plague. it's a chemical
There is a spice that tastes like MSG: lovage (Levisticum officinale)
In the UK I've noticed that most of the Chinese take-aways taste inferior since they stopped using MSG.
We have a similar in Sweden called "Aromat". Glutamate is included in both and thats s**t is scary, once you've got in in your body, it will never leave... sooooo I don't eat that since discovering that.
Just don't over season or your guests moght have a killer glutamate headache.
Uncle Roger approves of MSG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjgg7rvEz30
I buy Costco cashew clusters and use the crumbs at the bottom of the bag as part of my flour when making cookies. People always go crazy for them.
This sounds yummy but I will add that it is secret tricks like this that make food so dangerous for people with nut allergies
I make my potato salad for most family gatherings and there’s a few secrets:
Onions are often argued about with potato salad, but a quarter of one that’s minced til it’s basically water (or grated I guess) is what I use and no one is ever any the wiser. That plus the chives garnish makes it delicious even to people who hate onions.
Use huge potato chunks and over cook them, so that when you mix they disintegrate a bit into the mayo and stuff, and you’re left with now-regular sized chunks. Takes some time to find the perfect amount of overcooked, but you learn quick.
Two benefits: the potatoes seem to soak up more of the sauce (so make sure you fridge it and then add more the next day) and the sauce tastes more integrated. Plus now your chunks are normal sized and feel more naturally shaped.
That plus horseradish to balance out the savory without thinning the salad and you have a winner
Oh my goodness. Sushi rice. Microwave. I’m embarrassed to admit it. It always made such a mess in the pot, would stick or overflow, crunchy or mushy, I could never, ever get it right - even following packet instructions to the letter. I almost gave up on making sushi.
Then on a whim, I tried it in the microwave. Sushi rice, water from the top of the rice to first knuckle of my index finger. Sensor cook - White rice - Start. My life was changed. Perfect texture, no starch all over my stove, no burnt pot.
As a bonus, I even just use regular home brand white vinegar to season it. For every cup of uncooked rice, 1/2c vinegar, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Everybody loves my sushi.
If I cook anything that requires bread crumbs, I use chicken-flavored StoveTop stuffing instead
Mayo instead of butter on the outside of grilled sandwiches.
Note: this post originally had 50 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
That was a wrong post for me to read without having eaten
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When making bread, it always has to rise on a warm spot. We don't always have nice, warm spots in the house, but I had just used the microwave to warm up milk. So I put the dough in a bowl in the still warm microwave. It works great!
You can also put a jar of hot water into the microwave along with the dough, to maintain a warm temp.
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My husband has been known to add peanut butter to beef stew or chili. It actually gives it a more earthy flavor and makes the beef stand out better.
What i like to do with pasta instead of just draining the pasta and then putting it on the plate. I like to drain it then, put some butter in a frypan and toss the pasta in, add a little bit more butter and then cook it for like 30 seconds, just makes the pasta not so dry, especially if you don't like putting on sauce or too much sauce. Learnt this from an Italian restaurant when i was a picky eater as a kid. just awesome. Also if you like fancy but don't want to shell out a heaps you can get cheese that's like brie but has a small percentage of truffles in it that is just delightful on pasta.
I got this umami seasoning for christmas last year (I believe its a copycat of the trader joes mushroom umami seasoning) and its great. I put it on unseasoned stuff like ramen, rice, or mac and cheese.
For those who love food science and haven't seen it yet, check out seriouseats.com. Some fantastic recipes and quite a lot of good information on the "why" behind the things recipes call for.
My then-6-year-old son agreed with me that Alfredo Mac'n'Cheese was so much better than cheddar, even white cheddar. He found the secret ingredients very simply: he read the box. Now we add basil and a touch of garlic to home-made cheese dishes, too. Yes, including pizza, and not just the sauce.
A few of my own: (1) Pam allows you to oven-fry anything with a very moderate amount of fat. Or seal in the moisture of roasted foods. (2) Chocolate liqueur and/or molasses make your cookies and other baked goods awesome. (3) For almost any food cooked in a skillet, always get the pan hot, but unless you like rare, cook slow. (4) In fact, if possible, always seat meat in a skillet before roasting.
I add 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and 1-2 squares of baking chocolate to chili. It gives a deeper, richer taste and makes the chili powder pop without adding heat.
See my comment about Kahlua chili, it's amazing and probably very similar. Most people think it's chocolate they are tasting.
Load More Replies... I haven't made plain chili in over 30 years. When I was a young whippersnapper I bought a bottle of Kahlua and it was their anniversary or something so it came with a recipe book. My favorite recipe in there was for Kahlua chili. My Kahlua chili has one me quite a few chili cook offs. My sons won't eat regular chili anymore, they only like it with Kahlua. I entered into a contest once and everyone thought chocolate was the mystery ingredient, not far off! The Kahlua brownies are divine too.
I was standing in line once behind an elderly lady and overheard her telling the cashier that whenever she bakes a cake using a mix she does two things. She uses milk for the liquid and adds an extra egg. She swore it made her cakes taste wonderful. I've tried it since and sure enough my cakes are very popular!
My grandmothers would rise from the grave and haunt me if I did half these, and haunt me if I didn't do the other half already, LOL!
Here's a culinary trick I learned that I don't think is widely known: turmeric enhances the flavor of garlic and onion, but only once they've been cooked. Before that it will just taste like a somewhat bitter addition, but after cooking it really ups the flavor a lot.
Red Hots and Atomic Fire Balls, the candies, are basically just cinnamon sugar balls
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Before I mash potatoes I add a dollop of sour cream, a tablespoon of butter and a bit of milk, usually about a 3/4 of a cup.Everyone loves my mashed potatoes!
I mix breadcrumbs with coarsely mashed nachos (Barbecue or chili flavor), mixing ratio 2 to 1. My Schnitzel and chicken nuggets are awesome ... always!
Jeeze, no wonder I get ill when eating things that shouldn't have mammal protein in it. People are adding stuff w***y nilly! I can't digest a protein in red meat (all mammals are red meat) and I have a very specific reaction. Seriously, secret recipes are scary.
Big Secret I've never shared. When you make a pumpkin pie, add just a pinch of black pepper. it's astounding how it brings out the tang and pumpkin flavor. You'll never taste "pepper"...it just enhances and ties everything together.
A little worcestershire and creamy horse radish to red sauces. Hmm now I want pasta
Horse radish is harvested by scraping the Devil’s armpits.
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My mom and I are the best salmon cookers around because of little secrets like those, which I may or may not share later lol <3
Use Ritz crackers instead of breadcrumbs or saltines in meatloaf or meatballs. It elevates the flavor and gives them a lighter texture.
I use shop bought pasata as a base for all of my soups and add garlic, mixed herbs and stock cubes. Tomato ketchup, mayo, splash of shop bought lemon juice and voila! Easy seafood sauce.
I make "homemade" tomato soup using store bought pasta sauce and chicken broth. My kids like it better than a lot of restaurant (except Panera, they love Panera)
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Great. Now thanks to this fantastic MMJ blend I just smoked called "Vanilla MindF*cker" and reading these posts, my munchies have reached the Heights of Golgotha...
Some very clever ideas from skilled home chefs as well as some uninspired cooks who think they're getting away with passing off commercial foods as their own. Those cooks will never know the joy of serving wonderful food to appreciative family or friends.
That was a wrong post for me to read without having eaten
Load More Replies... When making bread, it always has to rise on a warm spot. We don't always have nice, warm spots in the house, but I had just used the microwave to warm up milk. So I put the dough in a bowl in the still warm microwave. It works great!
You can also put a jar of hot water into the microwave along with the dough, to maintain a warm temp.
Load More Replies... My husband has been known to add peanut butter to beef stew or chili. It actually gives it a more earthy flavor and makes the beef stand out better.
What i like to do with pasta instead of just draining the pasta and then putting it on the plate. I like to drain it then, put some butter in a frypan and toss the pasta in, add a little bit more butter and then cook it for like 30 seconds, just makes the pasta not so dry, especially if you don't like putting on sauce or too much sauce. Learnt this from an Italian restaurant when i was a picky eater as a kid. just awesome. Also if you like fancy but don't want to shell out a heaps you can get cheese that's like brie but has a small percentage of truffles in it that is just delightful on pasta.
I got this umami seasoning for christmas last year (I believe its a copycat of the trader joes mushroom umami seasoning) and its great. I put it on unseasoned stuff like ramen, rice, or mac and cheese.
For those who love food science and haven't seen it yet, check out seriouseats.com. Some fantastic recipes and quite a lot of good information on the "why" behind the things recipes call for.
My then-6-year-old son agreed with me that Alfredo Mac'n'Cheese was so much better than cheddar, even white cheddar. He found the secret ingredients very simply: he read the box. Now we add basil and a touch of garlic to home-made cheese dishes, too. Yes, including pizza, and not just the sauce.
A few of my own: (1) Pam allows you to oven-fry anything with a very moderate amount of fat. Or seal in the moisture of roasted foods. (2) Chocolate liqueur and/or molasses make your cookies and other baked goods awesome. (3) For almost any food cooked in a skillet, always get the pan hot, but unless you like rare, cook slow. (4) In fact, if possible, always seat meat in a skillet before roasting.
I add 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and 1-2 squares of baking chocolate to chili. It gives a deeper, richer taste and makes the chili powder pop without adding heat.
See my comment about Kahlua chili, it's amazing and probably very similar. Most people think it's chocolate they are tasting.
Load More Replies... I haven't made plain chili in over 30 years. When I was a young whippersnapper I bought a bottle of Kahlua and it was their anniversary or something so it came with a recipe book. My favorite recipe in there was for Kahlua chili. My Kahlua chili has one me quite a few chili cook offs. My sons won't eat regular chili anymore, they only like it with Kahlua. I entered into a contest once and everyone thought chocolate was the mystery ingredient, not far off! The Kahlua brownies are divine too.
I was standing in line once behind an elderly lady and overheard her telling the cashier that whenever she bakes a cake using a mix she does two things. She uses milk for the liquid and adds an extra egg. She swore it made her cakes taste wonderful. I've tried it since and sure enough my cakes are very popular!
My grandmothers would rise from the grave and haunt me if I did half these, and haunt me if I didn't do the other half already, LOL!
Here's a culinary trick I learned that I don't think is widely known: turmeric enhances the flavor of garlic and onion, but only once they've been cooked. Before that it will just taste like a somewhat bitter addition, but after cooking it really ups the flavor a lot.
Red Hots and Atomic Fire Balls, the candies, are basically just cinnamon sugar balls
Load More Replies... Before I mash potatoes I add a dollop of sour cream, a tablespoon of butter and a bit of milk, usually about a 3/4 of a cup.Everyone loves my mashed potatoes!
I mix breadcrumbs with coarsely mashed nachos (Barbecue or chili flavor), mixing ratio 2 to 1. My Schnitzel and chicken nuggets are awesome ... always!
Jeeze, no wonder I get ill when eating things that shouldn't have mammal protein in it. People are adding stuff w***y nilly! I can't digest a protein in red meat (all mammals are red meat) and I have a very specific reaction. Seriously, secret recipes are scary.
Big Secret I've never shared. When you make a pumpkin pie, add just a pinch of black pepper. it's astounding how it brings out the tang and pumpkin flavor. You'll never taste "pepper"...it just enhances and ties everything together.
A little worcestershire and creamy horse radish to red sauces. Hmm now I want pasta
Horse radish is harvested by scraping the Devil’s armpits.
Load More Replies... My mom and I are the best salmon cookers around because of little secrets like those, which I may or may not share later lol <3
Use Ritz crackers instead of breadcrumbs or saltines in meatloaf or meatballs. It elevates the flavor and gives them a lighter texture.
I use shop bought pasata as a base for all of my soups and add garlic, mixed herbs and stock cubes. Tomato ketchup, mayo, splash of shop bought lemon juice and voila! Easy seafood sauce.
I make "homemade" tomato soup using store bought pasta sauce and chicken broth. My kids like it better than a lot of restaurant (except Panera, they love Panera)
Load More Replies... Great. Now thanks to this fantastic MMJ blend I just smoked called "Vanilla MindF*cker" and reading these posts, my munchies have reached the Heights of Golgotha...
Some very clever ideas from skilled home chefs as well as some uninspired cooks who think they're getting away with passing off commercial foods as their own. Those cooks will never know the joy of serving wonderful food to appreciative family or friends.
