People often talk about the best cooking practices but sometimes, the tastiest dishes on the tables come from the most creative kitchens.
So, interested in switching things up, Redditor u/Suspicious-Account-9 asked other platform users, "What is one cooking 'rule' that you choose to always ignore?"
From measuring spices to crowding the pan, turns out, many home chefs have developed their own ways of going about the stove.
However, I think it's worth mentioning that this thread isn't meant to teach anyone as much as it serves as a reminder to never stop questioning what and how you are preparing. Experimentation is part of the game and what works for others won't automatically fit your taste buds as well.
With that said, continue scrolling to check out the most popular replies to u/Suspicious-Account-9's question!
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I make the food how I like it rather than how it's "supposed to be made". I also don't care how another person eats food. If my pal is over and wants a steak charred to a crisp, then enjoy that brick, my friend. Want to slather it in ketchup? Who am I to tell you no? Eat food how you like it rather than how others tell you to eat it.
Yes, I agree, but sometimes I'd like to be the one to introduce someone to a whole new flavor experience that they may not realize the potential of LOVING it because they may *think* they wouldn't like it. That's the frustrating part about people with picky eating habits, they just might not realize it could be their new favorite!
Measuring basically anything not associated with baking. I juust keep seasoning until the spirit of my great grandmother says "Enough, child."
Made a successful career of it!
I eat raw cookie dough, cake batter, etc., because while I understand that salmonella is a risk, it's a pretty small one and I am willing to live dangerously when cookie dough is involved.
‘Soften onions for five minutes’ man they always need longer if u want them browned and soft- also add garlic much later than they suggest.
Unsalted butter for baking. I’m not buying 2 different kinds of butter, salted in everything
We use unsalted for everything and add salt if necessary. Anything that comes in a package is loaded with sodium, even bread. Salted butter does not make sense to me at all.
I just plain don't like the taste of unsalted butter, and I have never had it adversely affect the taste of anything I made using salted butter instead.
Load More Replies...I know a woman who butters her toast with salted butter and then salts the toast as well. It's only a small amount but it really helps with the flavor of crappy, cheap, white bread. Salt makes your food taste more like itself. Unless you're hypertensive it's not going to hurt you.
Load More Replies...I use unsalted for everything. Gives more control over how much salt. But here's the thing: salted vs unsalted comes from a time where salt in butter was a preservative, and it was a LOT of salt. These days there's very little salt in salted butter.
Salted butter contains roughly 1.6% salt. That's not going to make your food too salty. Try eating low sodium canned vegetables. Yuck! Then try adding some table salt. Still yuck! Going through the cooking process with no seasoning??? You can't make up for that after your food is done. I've been cooking in restaurants and for my family for going on 50 years. Trust me. 1.6% is negligible.
I had to do a clinical nutrition rotation, and one of my assignments was to create a very low sodium meal plan... I think maybe one of the worst things I ever ate was unsalted canned spinach! OMG pond scum! Although I was supposed to use some canned goods, I mostly went with fresh veggies, because canned low sodium veg is just awful. Potatoes, cooked without salt will not have the same flavor, even if you salt them later. I am with you on this one, but I have to admit, these days I just do pretty basic cooking... with salt! I don't use much, but foods that need salt really need salt... eggs, potatoes, etc.
Load More Replies...Didn't know salted butter is a thing at all. I can add salt at will, so why buy salted butter?
It is a thing. Just as adding salt on top of food does not taste the same as adding it to the food while it is cooking...works the same with salted butter. Yes, you can always add salt, but when you cook with it already in the butter, it simply adds a layer of flavor and seasoning you simply do not get with adding it after. Nothing at all wrong with unsalted butter, but there is a reason some prefer it salted.
Load More Replies...Food tastes so much better using salted butter. I’m from the south though so I’ve always been raised using salted butter in everything!
Cooks Illustrated has done tests on butter and the amount of salt varies a lot from brand to brand. So using salted butter is fine, but you won't know how much salt you're adding along with the butter. Whereas butter with no salt is always the same starting point and then you can salt to taste. Having two types of butter (I keep mine in the freezer) is not really that hard.
Why did they have to do a test? Doesn't it state the amounts on the package?
Load More Replies...It's okay most of the times. Baking recipes anyway needs a pinch of salt. Just don't add that one, if you use salted butter.
When you bake yeast bread, the salt called out in the recipe controls fermentation, tightens and strengthens the gluten strands (which are what gives bread it’s form), improves the crust colour, and modifies the flavour. It’s added to bread dough at approximately 1.8 to 2% of the weight of the flour. This ensures there’s enough salt present in the dough to take care of everything. If your recipe calls out unsalted butter, the amount of salt in the recipe is set accordingly. if you use salted butter instead, the amount of salt to be added should be recalculated.
Load More Replies...Incorrect. While this is fine for non-baking recipes, baking is chemistry and presumes that you're adding a specific amount of salt yourself, if it's even called for at all. Salt changes the texture of baked goods as well as the crumb (density) and rise. While you can adjust the salt to account for the amount in butter, its not exact, and most people won't even bother. Thus, you're better off using unsalted and adding it as directed or to taste after the fact.
Unsalted is smarter. Cause you can just add the salt, where as the salt content in the butter is basically set. Not all baking recipes can even have salt in them cause it'll ruin the item.
Ehh you can't use salted butter with icing. My mum made that choice once and it was and upsetting eat haha
Unsalted butter for baking makes no sense as the recipe often calls for a pinch of salt, if using salted butter just omit the extra salt.
There is no salted butter in Poland lol it's a weird concept for me to buy butter that is salted, like why??
I began using unsalted butter for everything because of health issues. It's much easier to add salt when needed, but usually isn't.
This one right here. I'm a baker and I have never bought unsalted butter or margarine. I just reduce the salt that the recipe asks for. And they are usually fine.
The whole "unsalted butter" thing is because baking usually asks for salt in the recipe. If you use salted Butter, don't add the salt later. Simple as that
The whole "salted butter" thing is actually because the recipe usually asks for salt later on. If you use salted butter, don't add the salt. Simple as that
Unsalted butter makes zeros sense to me. I am a professional baker. When we run out of unsalted butter we use salted and it makes zero difference in the taste. Absolutely none.
I agree with only buying one kind of butter. Unsalted. If I'm cooking or baking, I control the salt.
Am I wrong? Salted butter is a condiment for the table, not an ingredient for cooking. Why would I let my butter determine how much salt goes into a dish? That's madness.
I only buy unsalted because it is healthier. I hate seeing foods with so much salt!!! So bad for humans!!! Butter is one food that needs no salt!!!
Nobody force anyone to buy kosher salt either. Use any kind of salt. If you already know how things works, use at your own wisdom.
Almost all baking suggests salt anyway - it's a flavour enhancer so salted butter just means you don't have to think about it
Can't understand when they say use unsalted butter then on the next line add salt to taste?
I am also not buying two kinds of butter: unsalted for everything. If I want salt, I have salt to sprinkle on.
Unsalted butter needs to be refrigerated or it goes bad. Salted butter is less prone to do so, therefore it can be left unrefrigerated so you can spread it, mix it, etc.
Agreed, but it depends on the region. Where I grew up, unsalted butter is the norm, you can buy salted but it is smaller and more expensive. I first had salted butter in England and Brittany and I like it in some instances. But for everyday use unsalted is the way to go.
Load More Replies...NO! Use unsalted butter for everything and sprinkle salt on if you want it.
That is absolutely horrible on toast because TEXTURE. The salt you sprinkle on makes the toast gritty. Not a problem with salted butter as it's blended beautifully.
Load More Replies...Not really a rule, but almost every damn recipe that calls for caramelizing onions lists the time necessary to perform that at like 5-10 min. Either these people don’t know what caramelizing means or they’re intentionally lying to people to make the recipe seem like it takes less time than it actually does.
When I want caramelized onions, I set aside at least 45 minutes. I want them mostly tender with crispy browned bits.
I don't throw pasta at a wall to see if it sticks. Seems like a waste to me. I just eat it to see of its ready.
"one clove of garlic"
I defrost my chicken on the counter instead of the fridge, 30 years I've been doing this, still fine
I don't leave my scrambled eggs wet. I mean, I don't cook them until they are rubber or anything, but I want them dry not wet.
spices that are "old". Not so much regular spices, but some blends I had acquired. When I feel they aren't as fresh, rather than throw them away I use them as additives to a salad dressing.
Upvote this to the max! What rubbish that spices need to be discarded after 6 months. I’ve got some big spice containers that are years old. Yeah, maybe I have to use 2 tablespoons instead of 1 - but no way am I going to waste the product or the packaging. No loss of flavor in my dishes.
I rinse mushrooms. That whole "wipe them gently with a paper towel" bulls**t is bulls**t. Take 2-3 mushrooms, hold them under lukewarm running water and roll them around between your hands, then set them on a rack to drain off any water. They scrub themselves.
It depends. If you use them right after washing, it's okay. But if you plan to store them for a few days, don't wash just before the use, otherwise will go bad in one day. Although the most commonly used mushrooms, champignons doesn't really need to be washed. And of course, there is an exception:chanterelle. They always has to be washed, because sand is edible, but not really tasty, and they are growing on sandy ground.
1 garlic clove means one head of garlic! Don't tell me how to garlic!
I always double the spices when using a recipe. They don’t know me!
That whole “how to properly cut an onion” business. I get that in a restaurant kitchen it minimizes waste but I’m just gonna lop off both ends and remove like 1 layer.
Minced garlic (the stuff in jars) is NOT blasphemy! It's handy and tasty when used properly.
Lots of great take-out places use minced garlic in their dishes, so if you're trying to recreate a favourite dish, it could be the secret ingredient you're missing.
I still use fresh garlic often, but I've gotten off my high horse about the other stuff.
Beer/wine pairings. I know them, I understand them and I get it. However, at home, I believe that regardless of what the world says, to me, the very best beer/wine to go with meal X is whatever my personal favorite beer/wine happens to be. Does this drink "go" with this meal? Who cares? It's my favorite, of course, it does!!!
Cooking with olive oil.
I really don't see the point. It cost a lot more and it has such a low smoke point, it's way too easy to burn your oil and then everything tastes weird.
I use vegetable oil for cooking. I keep a bottle of very nice olive oil to drizzle on top of things to finish them after they are cooked or to make the marinade, but i don't cook with it.
Why do I ALWAYS have to write this one down. Olive oil comes in three types. Refined for frying, Refined and Virgin (and the extra virgin variant marketing thing). Refined olive oil has one of the highest smoking points because the pulp that'd give it taste and lower the smoking point is not in it. That also means it's taste neutral.
Not mine, but my wife's…
Adding salt to a finished plated dish without tasting it first. Cringe every time.
In some countries, like Japan, it's considered bad manners to put anything on your food without tasting it first. It means you don't trust the chef.
Still flabbers my gasts that people rinse off the chicken.
Steak must be undercooked, so says all the hype…. I will eat mine how I like. Sometimes pink in the middle, sometimes cooked right through but never raw/rare.
Frozen pizza:
Preheat the oven...
If I'm eating frozen pizza it's because I'm too busy/lazy to eat real food that evening.
Turn on the oven, unwrap the pizza, "OK google set timer for (recommended time +4 minutes)"
Whenever I made frozen pizza directly from freezer to oven, the middle was still cold and outside would get burnt. Now I defrost it in the fridge and once it is soft in the middle, off it goes. Never failed me! (Dr. Oetker pizzas are delicious.)
I know risotto looks better when made with white wine but try a mushroom risotto with red wine and elevate it to something richer and more satisfying
I never bother to sift flour. I haven’t had a sifter in over 40 years.
“Add a 1/8 teaspoon.” I’m sorry but a 1/8 tsp isn’t going to do anything.
Use grams for pete's sake. It's so much easier than parts of teaspoons of the content of an 18th century midwife's snuffbox.
Searing meat when I make pot roast in an instant pot/crockpot.
I have done it and not done it enough times and it’s not a noticeable enough flavor for me to bother with anymore. I’m content with how it tastes.
Searing colours/caramelises the meat so the sauce ends up looking a nicer, darker brown. But if that is not an issue, don't bother
I never rinse canned beans
Note: this post originally had 79 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Title was terrible, almost all of these cooking tips were not "to be avoided at any cost" but ones that people feel are unnecessary and are free to ignore.
Simple tip: Cook with your nose. Use your sense of smell to guide you. (In baking, use a recipe and experiment *carefully*, but again, your nose knows!)
Nope. I have almost no sense of smell. If I cook to smell, I can't even eat it.
Load More Replies...There are so many repeating tooics in this list. BP should edit them all together.
The only tip I have a problem with is cooking with "vegetable oil" while treating olive oil as a condiment. What is even meant by vegetable oil? There are literally dozens of plant based culinary oils that could be used instead of olive oil as could animal products like butter, ghee, and lard. They all have different tastes and properties, but none of them are directly comparable to olive oil. Also, although olive oil has a relatively low smoke point, most foods taste better when cooked low and slow. Furthermore, most residential ranges don't produce enough BTUs for extremely high temps anyway so there is no reason to reject olive oil based on it's supposed low smoke point. I think there are two reasons that olive oil has a reputation for scorching. One is not using enough oil. If your food isn't well enough coated with oil, the drier parts will burn before the food is evenly cooked. The other is adding garlic at the same time as onions. Garlic will scorch way before the onions are soft.
Time to start a fight! Charcoal BBQs. I have an electric hot plate and I can’t taste the difference when I cook food for a BBQ. I understand if you are adding wood chips for flavour but mines instant, easier to control the heat and easier to clean. I prefer my burgers cooked, not engulfed in uncontrollable fire.
I've never noticed any flavor difference with wood chips. I like charcoal though cause you've got nothing to do but drink beer until the coals are hot enough.
Load More Replies...would have been nice to know what the ignored 'rules' are. All I see are pictures that don't represent any rules to me. For example is the 'rule' don't pour white wine beside your food?
So, according to title, preheating oven before putting frozen pizza in it, is "bad cooking tip". Aha.
I don't know if this was on there (I clocked out around number 40, this list is massive), but I hate the trend of adding pasta water to your sauce. Over on BF, when I said I tried this and found it made absolutely no difference, someone even told me "just make your sauce thicker than you want it and then add pasta water". WHY. Why would I make my sauce wrong just to have to correct it in some half-assed way?
I do that solely when the pasta will be finished IN the dish and the sauce is too thin so the starch will help thicken it.
Load More Replies...Title was terrible, almost all of these cooking tips were not "to be avoided at any cost" but ones that people feel are unnecessary and are free to ignore.
Simple tip: Cook with your nose. Use your sense of smell to guide you. (In baking, use a recipe and experiment *carefully*, but again, your nose knows!)
Nope. I have almost no sense of smell. If I cook to smell, I can't even eat it.
Load More Replies...There are so many repeating tooics in this list. BP should edit them all together.
The only tip I have a problem with is cooking with "vegetable oil" while treating olive oil as a condiment. What is even meant by vegetable oil? There are literally dozens of plant based culinary oils that could be used instead of olive oil as could animal products like butter, ghee, and lard. They all have different tastes and properties, but none of them are directly comparable to olive oil. Also, although olive oil has a relatively low smoke point, most foods taste better when cooked low and slow. Furthermore, most residential ranges don't produce enough BTUs for extremely high temps anyway so there is no reason to reject olive oil based on it's supposed low smoke point. I think there are two reasons that olive oil has a reputation for scorching. One is not using enough oil. If your food isn't well enough coated with oil, the drier parts will burn before the food is evenly cooked. The other is adding garlic at the same time as onions. Garlic will scorch way before the onions are soft.
Time to start a fight! Charcoal BBQs. I have an electric hot plate and I can’t taste the difference when I cook food for a BBQ. I understand if you are adding wood chips for flavour but mines instant, easier to control the heat and easier to clean. I prefer my burgers cooked, not engulfed in uncontrollable fire.
I've never noticed any flavor difference with wood chips. I like charcoal though cause you've got nothing to do but drink beer until the coals are hot enough.
Load More Replies...would have been nice to know what the ignored 'rules' are. All I see are pictures that don't represent any rules to me. For example is the 'rule' don't pour white wine beside your food?
So, according to title, preheating oven before putting frozen pizza in it, is "bad cooking tip". Aha.
I don't know if this was on there (I clocked out around number 40, this list is massive), but I hate the trend of adding pasta water to your sauce. Over on BF, when I said I tried this and found it made absolutely no difference, someone even told me "just make your sauce thicker than you want it and then add pasta water". WHY. Why would I make my sauce wrong just to have to correct it in some half-assed way?
I do that solely when the pasta will be finished IN the dish and the sauce is too thin so the starch will help thicken it.
Load More Replies...