Whether you’re a cooking aficionado with a burning fire (and often, burnt fingertips) for everything food-related or, on the contrary, entrust your taste buds to your holy kitchen majesty, aka the microwave, you can always take your inner chef to a whole new level. And it’s easier than you’d think.
Thanks to the professional chefs of Reddit, who recently shared what simple things “we're probably all doing wrong in the kitchen” in this thread, we can roll up our sleeves and work on the actual things to improve them.
Think of simple things, like never adding an onion and garlic at the same time (so you don’t have that icky burnt garlic aftertaste in a meal you otherwise put your heart into) or having things, ingredients and tools ready at hand to avoid “someone, help me!”-kind of hysteria in the middle of meal prep. Take your notes, everyone, I already have mine.
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Using tongs, you must clink them together at least five times to channel your inner crab.
Let’s face it, regardless of how fast we binge-watched Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen, The Great British Bake Off, Masterchef in all countries it aired in, we didn’t actually learn to cook better. Instead, we now know all about the drama, about the blessing and the curse of being a chef, about nurturing your talent, dreaming hard and working harder… Wait, are we still talking about cooking?
So in order to take us all back to Earth, or rather our kitchen counter, and to find out what exactly we can do to improve our cooking game, since we nailed the watching part already, we spoke with Beth Moncel, a food lover and the founder of “Budget Bytes” where she has been sharing her passion for cooking and delicious recipes designed for small budgets since 2009.
Since I didn't see it in here: instead of adding more salt, try adding an acid. A splash of vinegar or lemon/lime juice can make flavors pop without over salting.
Never add garlic and onions at the same time.
Onions take about 8 minutes to saute and garlic takes about 30 seconds. If you add them together you're gonna have burnt, bitter garlic.
Clean as you go. Throw away trash, wipe up what you spill, get unnecessary utensils out of the way. If your kitchen looks like a tornado struck after you're done cooking, you f*cked up.
Between prep work and monitoring my cooking I usually don't have time to clean as I go without risking overcooking something. This advice isn't for everyone.
Yes it is....lol I used to say the same early in my career. Now, I always say if my work space is a disaster I'm in the weeds and in trouble. Trust me, add clean as you go into your groove, let it become part of your rhythm in the kitchen and you'll find you won't hate after dinner clean up...mostly, it'll already be done. You'll also notice your prep will be easier...more organized, and you'll actually have more time to monitor your food and make adjustments. I know, you're probably thinking just like younger me, this doesn't work with my cooking style....really work it in to your process and see how it changes your enjoyment in the kitchen. If you have time to lean, you have time to clean...heard in kitchens the world over! LOL
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🙄 you didn't f**k up. What's with the unnecessary drama? It's just gonna be a bigger pain to clean all at once. I like to clean as I go, but not doing that doesn't mean you f****d up.
Nope! You cook and clean how you see fit. You didn't f**k up unless the whole kitchen explodes. :)
Uh no comment but there's a fair chance my kitchen exploded.
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When I cook this is what I do. I'm actually making stir fry tonight and have everything prepped. Once the chicken goes in the wok I wash the bowl it was in. I add the peppers an mushrooms and wash that bowl. Then it's just a measuring cup and a few random things. My dishes are washed before I even eat.
Now this is actually helpful advice! That vague "clean as you go", which I always hated, isn't. (which is why I always hated it: zero help. Like *how* am I supposed to do that, at which point would I have the time.)
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My dear wife of 44 years couldn't boil water without scorching it. I was raised by a very talented, Southern Mother cook, so I had to start cooking if I wanted to eat properly. I hate doing dishes, she hates cooking, but doesn't mind doing dishes.... It has worked a charm for us.
I always do this. My wife and daughter leave the kitchen looking like Godzilla came round and made pancakes with every single utensil and pan in the cupboards and drawers :)
A generic blanket statement that doesn't always apply. The goal is to finish all the dishes together when cooking at home, so it's served at the peak of quality. If you are only making a simple main and a couple sides, no problem. If you are cooking something complicated, pay attention to your food first. You fxcked up if you serve bad food, not if the kitchen needs cleaning.
We can't all be perfect. Having a tornado kitchen and a eating good meal is totally okay.
I have a handicap. Often, the cooking is all I can manage due to pain. To clean up will have to wait for a bit untill I have rested.
I have chronic pain and it makes everything take longer and some planning! I feel for you!
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It's nice if one can do this, but personally it's not a rule for me. I have exactly 40 cm (just over a foot) of counter space in my kitchen - that is where I have to cook, let the dishes dry, keep my kettle etc. So honestly it's easier to leave everything in the sink and do it later. Cleaning everything before I eat would be a hassle for no real benefit.
My husband cleans as I cook, placing every utensil I still need in the dishwasher and throwing food I have chopped in the garbage,
I always cleaned as I went while cooking, but now that I'm widowed and live with our daughter, sil, and grandchildren, they do all of the cooking and I must say they go with the "tornado" method! Lol! It literally looks as if they had a a big food fight or something, but I stay out of the way, thank them for such wonderful meals, and mind my business! Somehow the kitchen is magically clean in the morning! And before someone says anything; they won't let me clean up the mess, or help. And yes, I am grateful for their wonderful meals and being treated so well. Every single day!
Nope i disagree.i know i did my best work when my kitchen looks like s**t at the end lol if it looks too clean that means i dint care enough to make a good meal .but thats just me
I'm like f****d up all the time in the kitchen & I don't even doing the cooking 🤭
Or at least take a few minutes to tidy up once the dish is cooking on the stovetop or in the oven.
But, but… I Am a tornado when I’m cooking intuitively 😧 I am often cooking one thing and next thing I know, I’m deriving one to 3 other meals from what I was initially making to have decent food in the freezer for all those times I’m unable to cook. Since cooking for one, I often cook per ingredient and freeze them all per portion (babyfood containers, muffin trays, icecube trays, …). Once frozen you can take them out of whatever tray you use to freeze it in so you don’t have to keep like 10 trays or more. Since designing this method, I can mix and match. Highly recommend doong it this way for all those cooking for one or not able to cook often
That sentence has always annoyed me...it's vague and not very helpful honestly. It's also not something everyone can do, and that's okay. If your food is good and you're content, that's what matters. You haven't messed up.
My Mum is an amazing cook and I think it's only fair that she cooks so once we've eaten I clean the kitchen. You'd never believe that knowing that the sh*t storm I'm about to face in the kitchen can really spoil the enjoyment of my amazing meal. My brother is a chef and he cooked for me one night - I take it all back Mum. He's made a risotto for us and, after walking into the kitchen, I honestly believe he's also made a 10 course banquet for the Royal Family and dignitaries from every country in the world!
Bollocks. I will wipe as I clean, but leave dishes until after unless something is in the oven thus giving me time. My wife tries to do the whole clean as she cooks and as a result overwhelms herself and burns 90% of what is on the stove.
Cooking involving more than one pot takes all the attention I have, maybe more. My wife tries to help by washing stuff I haven't finished using. Anyway, we split the labor. Whoever didn't cook gets to clean up.
Whaaaaaaaaaat? So much work after so much work??? No way Jose!
Yes, and: I, a fellow neurodivergent, was taught this by my grandmother while growing up, and it keeps me from being overwhelmed in the kitchen!
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Place a wooden spoon across the top of whatever is boiling, and it won't boil over.
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I often wash prep dishes while waiting for cook times (like water to boil). It means I get to ENJOY my food, and there's little cleaning after.
So much this. I absolutely hate doing dishes, so I wash everything the moment I am finished with it. The food trash goes out instantly... My wife, lol not a chance. Kitchen looks like she has been in there a week throwing down cooking.
I always do that anyway. It makes things so much simpler in the long run.
Girlfriend always accuses me of taking to long in the kitchen, this is why =:p
I love how someone, for whom I presume you are cooking, says you are taking too long in the kitchen! Needs a gratitude adjustment! Lol!
Load More Replies... they never worked in a miniscule kitchen where you don't have a choice
I can't make myself eat food prepared where the counters and stovetop were not cleaned beforehand. I was raised that a vital part of the cooking process is beginning with a clean kitchen. I cannot get my current fellow housemates to wipe a counter or wash a dish. I'm not cleaning up after them like their mother, so I simply don't cook anymore. It's not what I would prefer, but they are not going to succeed in turning me into their unpaid servant.
I remember this experience, living with three roommates while in college, and it was extremely frustrating and definitely took some of the joy out of cooking for me. We eventually worked it out amicably, but it took talking and working out an agreed upon system; the cook doesn't clean, and the others clean without complaining! Peace!
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I am a tidy cook.. wash as I go etc..but not necessary a tidy person ( never open any of my drawers or cupboards in any room)
I was taught at a very young age from my nana that a good cook is a clean cook. She was the best!
Or you missed an actual tornado because of the fierce focus you have.
Without the tornado aftermath, my wife would ask who actually did the cooking for me.
This is really important. I learnt this in a cooking class. So what I do is, whenever I have a few minutes down time waiting for something to heat etc. I wash up so at the end I've just got like the last spoon I used.
And we need joie de vivre in the kitchen. https://youtu.be/kQHpomISnog
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Yes yes And yes, my mom is a cool, I am a cook by hers And school teaching And nothing boils my broth more than messy kitchen after cooking
I always do this. By the time the meal is ready the only thing still left to clean is the lot. I usually remove the food from the pots and place them in plastic bowls with lids and then wash the pots before I eat. Once everyone is finished eating and the food is cooled down all I have to do is refrigerate what's left. Who wants to clean up with a full belly. My husband on the other hand leaves the kitchen like a war zone. Things he didn't even use are filthy and disgusting. It's the only thing we ever fight about. My definition of clean is in a whole other class than his.
gorden ramsey would like to have a word with you. as well as my dad.
Load More Replies...When asked what are the most common cooking mistakes people tend to make, Beth said it’s assuming that if they swap out an ingredient, they'll still get the same result. “Changing ingredients often changes both the flavor and texture of a dish, and in some cases can drastically affect the chemical reactions needed to make a recipe work,” she explained.
If you want perfect roasted potatoes (oven roasted, chopped pieces) with crispy outside and fluffy insides then boil them for about 5-10 minutes in salt water first. Then roast them.
And if you want them extra extra crispy you should try the belgian double roasting technic. Wash them with salt water and dry them. then roast them on a lower temperatur very short then let them cool on a paper and roast them on higher temperatur until crispy
Most people suck at roasting vegetables. Brussel sprouts are the number one f*ck up and most people lose their sh*t when I serve them properly done brussels.
Toss with olive oil (more than you think), salt (more than you think), and any other herbs/spices (e.g. curry spices with cauliflower), lay cut side down on a baking sheet, and throw that sh*t into a 200C/400F oven until it's visibly browned. Depending on the veggie (e..g carrots) you'll probably want to turn over to the otherside and continue roasting for a bit. Once they're done you can toss with pepper or fresh/delicate herbs before serving (e.g. mushrooms with tarragon or parsley).
Just because it's fork tender and cooked through doesn't mean it's delicious. Yet.
Unfortunately, not liking brussels sprouts might be genetic: https://www.centreofthecell.org/blog/science-questions/why-do-some-people-hate-brussels-sprouts/. According to various studies, some people have a hereditary high sensitivity to phenylthiocarbamide, which leads to a very bitter taste even in trace amounts. If you have two of these genetic TAS2R38 markers, no preparation or seasoning can make brussels sprouts edible for you.
Beth reminds everyone that the best way to gain confidence in the kitchen is to practice. “Don't let a failed recipe keep you from trying again. Try new recipes often. The more you cook, the more you'll understand the nuances of cooking and you'll build intuition,” she said. “Before you know it, you'll be cooking freestyle and you won't even need a recipe!” Beth concluded positively.
There is a really simple rule when cooking a steak: Leave the steak alone. Stop f*cking with it. Stop poking and prodding and moving it an flipping it around. Let it cook. Let the heat do what it's supposed to do. Get to know your heat source and learn to trust it. Almost everybody I know violates this rule.
I leave my steak alone, put a timer on, used a meat thermometer, rest it and I still manage to f**k it up. Tried a few different methods and have only managed to get it right ONCE. Followed the same method a few more times without success. Have no idea what I'm doing wrong.
It is the fat that carries the flavor. If your going to saute something, put the herb and spices with the butter or oil that is in the skillet. Don't put them in the flour you're using to bread the food.
Not having things ready and in place.
Have you ever been halfway done with a dish and realize you didnt have the cheese grated? Now everything is on hold (and over cooking) while you grate cheese?
Having everything ready to go at the start lets you add the things when they need adding and helps put dishes out at the appropriate time.
Don’t stare at a toaster, it will jumpscare you. (Learnt this from personal experience)
Putting oil in the pot when you're boiling pasta. If you do that, the sauce will just slide right off your pasta. The starchier the water, the better the sauce will stick.
Nah, I finish cooking the pasta in the sauce. Makes it so much tastier.
Sharp knives. Makes things a million times easier, and is actually sooo much safer in the end. Combined with the proper grip and a bit of practice, and suddenly cutting things for prep goes from the most hated step of everything to just another step, maybe even becomes fun for some people.
Cooking too hot to speed things up. If the recipe calls for something to cook for one hour at 350 degress, cooking it at 425 degrees for 35 minutes is not a substitute. Some things just need to be cooked slowly and gently.
You're more likely to undercook the inside and over cook the outside if you do that.
Crack your damn eggs on a FLAT surface, not the side of a bowl or pan. Cracking on a flat surface makes it easier to open as well as preserving your yolk. If you crack it on an edge it pushes shell inside the egg and is more likely to break the yolk (which sucks if you are making it sunny side up, poached or separating whites) Also, if by some chance there is bacteria or icky gross stuff on the shell it is more likely to contaminate the inside when shell gets pushed in.
After 50+ years of cracking eggs on the side of the bowl, I’m good. Doing it on a flat surface for me just makes a mess, actually. 🤣
My chef brother-in-law taught me how to deglaze a pan to make a sauce like a boss. Leave it hot, and douse it with a cup or more of wine, stock, or water, and you can turn even basic things into an amazing pan of goodness! The stuff in your pan that you're scrubbing off after you're done cooking is all the good sh*t, so learn to deglaze!
It is not even about LEARNING to deglace, the key is just doing it and realizing that the pan residue is your friend. You can make amazing sauces with it, often you do not even need to thicken them. Of course, this only is true if none of the ingredients are burnt, and deglacing works best with cast iron or steel pans. Sorry, but your easy-to-clean-teflon-coated skillet simply is not suitable.
-Under salting your food!
Everyone is so afraid of sodium but the vast majority of sodium in your diet is coming from processed snacks and fast foods not home cooking.
-Also dry your meat before you sear or sauté it. You’re steaming it if not.
-Taste as you go.
Being afraid of fattier cuts of meat. People are so used to that boneless skinless chicken breast that they sub them out for recipes that are 10,000x better using chicken thighs instead. If your primary concern is to reduce fat, sure, but if you're eating in moderation or going for flavor instead of low-fat, thighs thighs thighs my friend.
Practice your recipes. Don’t find one risotto you like and never make a different one. Cook 10 different risottos two or three times each over a long period of time. Doing this helps you understand the basics of how to make it and allows you to spot bad recipes, recognize good ones, and improvise without one.
Idk if this will get buried but my dad is a chef and I know what he would say here.
Always keep trying new things, in different preparations, with different ingredients to compliment them. And if you think you hate a specific meal or ingredient but you haven't tasted it in 10 years, give it a try again.
We were never picky eaters as kids because we were always encouraged to just try things we were unsure about and it opened me up to so many great foods as an adult!
So many people get stuck with what they know for sure they like, not even realizing how much it limits you.
Unless it Marmite! If you didn't like when you tried it 30 years ago, you're still not going to like it!
Leave your meat out to go to room temp before you cook it.
My dog would snatch it off the counter the second I turn my back!
Way too many people over clutter their kitchen and think they need a gadget for everything. In reality, a well-crafted, sharpened French knife, a pairing knife and a peel can get you a long way.
MISE EN PLACE! Everything has a place and everything has a purpose.
Also, steak should never be cooked to more than medium.
Nothing wrong with a well done juicy steak. Some people know how to cook well done steaks and keep them juicy, tender and flavorful.
Not sanitizing your hands and work area after handling raw meat, especially chicken.
Can't count the number of times I've been cooking with friends or family and have to stop them from chopping salad veggies on the same cutting board as raw meat, or running their hands under cold water for a second to 'clean them' before going to grab stuff out of the fridge or drawer or even just going about their day.
Same goes for giving your slimy raw-chicken cutting board a quick scrub to wash it using the same sponge you use for everything else.
If it's touched raw meat, it needs to be throughly cleaned and sanitized with hot water and either soap (your hands) or bleach (everything else).
Don't buy tomatoes that are pink and have no smell. Fresh, good heirloom tomatoes should have a distinct smell and be nice and red/solid yellow. The walmarts and safeway's of the world are selling you these horrific non-tomato tomatos....devoid of flavor and frequently unripe. Don't do it.
If you have to drain your rice after cooking it, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!
You should be measuring your rice:water as 1:2 ( 1 cup rice : 2 cup water. Get proper measuring cups, don't use a coffee mug...) and you should no liquid left if cooked properly. Simmer on low after initial boil, lid closed, fluff with a fork about 3/4 of the way, that's it.
And wash the rice until water runs clear. Othersie you're eating dust and bug poop ( Basmati and Jasmine rice mainly...don't wash arborio rice)
MY entire process is:
-Wash rice thoroughly under cold water
-Place washed/drained rice in clean pot and set on stove on low-med heat to slowly dry and toast the rice.
-Add 2bsp oil to the hot dry rice and make it sing, but should not get any color!
-Boil water in your kettle; add salt, pepper and other seasoning(Chicken stock powder is great for rice..or you know, MSG) to your measuring cup, dissolve with the water.
-Dump all the liquid in the pot; it will boil virgorously for like 5 seconds, don't be scared.
-Lower heat to a simmer, cover with the lid ( Big plus if it has a small vent)
-Fluff with a fork at 10mins in, then about 5mins later it should be ready to serve.
Pressing/squashing burger patties down as they cook on the BBQ (you're just making them drier by squeezing out the juices IMHO)
Ex-chef here, and this is a dumb one but I've seen it so many times in student halls. Don't microwave a f*cking steak, or eggs, to cook it.
Pouring water into a grease fire. That's actually SUPER dangerous.
NOT using a mandolin for all your veg. A good one, not the cheapo plastic ones.
Where it can take a good 45 minutes to matchstick fine dice your carrots, courgette, red onion, garlic, red, green & yellow bell pepper & ginger.... All this will take about 15 minutes with a nice quality mandolin.
Make sure you get a finger guard and use it, and always use the utmost caution with the beast & go slowly until you gain confidence through repeated uses.
Once you've mastered the mandolin, your knives won't leave the butcher block as often as they used to.
Get one with the V configuration, not one that's just a slant, those are rubbish.
Seriously, mastering the mandolin changes everything in terms of prep time. It's amazing how fast tomatoes get sliced, how blissfully paper thin fine you can get your onions in just a few seconds!
I love that thing. I have one with a handle & a knob that adjusts the depth of the blade, all in one. I think it cost about 70 bucks.
Toss your hardboiled eggs in an icewater bath right when they're done to make them peel easier.
Note: this post originally had 64 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
My grandmother taught me to always put a little bit of salt in sweet things and a little bit of sugar in savoury things. It does really help bring out the flavours of both.
My mum (rip) always put 2 chocolate chips in with any beef-based sauce. She was the best.
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Heart disease runs in my dads family, so grew up on a low to no salt diet. I continued this into my adult hood. As a consequence I now have a salt deficiency that is worse than someone who has too much salt. I have to take a prescription grade tablets of a type of sodium chloride daily since my system can no longer absorb and maintain sodium levels.
I can relate, but my doctor figured out what was going on before I had to take pills. Just adjusting my diet.
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My grandmother gave me these five rules for cooking and they have served me very well my entire life: 1. Sharpen your knives; 2. Fresh is best; 3. Season high; 4. Taste everything at every stage; 5. Clean as you go.
All the comments about salting foods. My Dad has had several strokes, salt is a major no no, food should reflect dietary needs and health concerns but you see all these television chefs cooking "healthy" food and throwing in handfuls of salt.
The latest research shows that salt doesn't have that much effect on health after all. In terms of heart disease, strokes, blood pressure, etc. the difference between a low salt and a high salt diet makes <5% difference.
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One of the important ones I didn't see listed, NEVER TRY TO CATCH A FALLING KNIFE!
And don't take a perfectly good nicely seasoned cast iron skillet and ruin it with dish soap and steel wool
Don't blame it on the salt while you are eating like 10 burgers/day! Salt is a very important for our health, specially iodine in it .Keeps our organs to funktion properly.
This list is presented as objective facts from professionals, but for the most part they're just differences in style or taste preferences.
Seems like Liucija is having writer’s block. Wasn’t this very same thing posted just a few months ago? And the one about different architecture? Usually there’s some new content, but it all looks the same to me
I like the one about trying thing you didnt like before again. My coworker (also a chef) didnt eat fish. He and his wife didnt like it so they never ate it. When cooking fish at the restaurant he was always unsure about it. When we had leftover fish, he ate it and realized he actually likes it. Makes creating new dishes a whole lot easier
As a chef myself I find these useless rules are meant for regular folk who don't know how to cook. Or maybe for 10 year Olds.
"Regular folk who don't know how to cook" is redundant. --A Regular Person
Load More Replies... The difference between a meal that's taste "meh" and great is often salt and seasoning.
I grew up on salty, Spicy (but not hot spice) foods - Hungarian - and I can tolerate salt very well. I’ve never had heart disease or high blood pressure and I eat salty food everyday.
Would've been better without half of the chefs swearing unnecessarily like unsupervised preteens. Makes it hard to take one seriously.
Would have been a much better article without all the profanity. Not sure the cooking mistakes rose to the level requiring so much anger and vulgar language.
My grandmother taught me to always put a little bit of salt in sweet things and a little bit of sugar in savoury things. It does really help bring out the flavours of both.
My mum (rip) always put 2 chocolate chips in with any beef-based sauce. She was the best.
Load More Replies... Heart disease runs in my dads family, so grew up on a low to no salt diet. I continued this into my adult hood. As a consequence I now have a salt deficiency that is worse than someone who has too much salt. I have to take a prescription grade tablets of a type of sodium chloride daily since my system can no longer absorb and maintain sodium levels.
I can relate, but my doctor figured out what was going on before I had to take pills. Just adjusting my diet.
Load More Replies... My grandmother gave me these five rules for cooking and they have served me very well my entire life: 1. Sharpen your knives; 2. Fresh is best; 3. Season high; 4. Taste everything at every stage; 5. Clean as you go.
All the comments about salting foods. My Dad has had several strokes, salt is a major no no, food should reflect dietary needs and health concerns but you see all these television chefs cooking "healthy" food and throwing in handfuls of salt.
The latest research shows that salt doesn't have that much effect on health after all. In terms of heart disease, strokes, blood pressure, etc. the difference between a low salt and a high salt diet makes <5% difference.
Load More Replies... One of the important ones I didn't see listed, NEVER TRY TO CATCH A FALLING KNIFE!
And don't take a perfectly good nicely seasoned cast iron skillet and ruin it with dish soap and steel wool
Don't blame it on the salt while you are eating like 10 burgers/day! Salt is a very important for our health, specially iodine in it .Keeps our organs to funktion properly.
This list is presented as objective facts from professionals, but for the most part they're just differences in style or taste preferences.
Seems like Liucija is having writer’s block. Wasn’t this very same thing posted just a few months ago? And the one about different architecture? Usually there’s some new content, but it all looks the same to me
I like the one about trying thing you didnt like before again. My coworker (also a chef) didnt eat fish. He and his wife didnt like it so they never ate it. When cooking fish at the restaurant he was always unsure about it. When we had leftover fish, he ate it and realized he actually likes it. Makes creating new dishes a whole lot easier
As a chef myself I find these useless rules are meant for regular folk who don't know how to cook. Or maybe for 10 year Olds.
"Regular folk who don't know how to cook" is redundant. --A Regular Person
Load More Replies... The difference between a meal that's taste "meh" and great is often salt and seasoning.
I grew up on salty, Spicy (but not hot spice) foods - Hungarian - and I can tolerate salt very well. I’ve never had heart disease or high blood pressure and I eat salty food everyday.
Would've been better without half of the chefs swearing unnecessarily like unsupervised preteens. Makes it hard to take one seriously.
Would have been a much better article without all the profanity. Not sure the cooking mistakes rose to the level requiring so much anger and vulgar language.
