It’s pretty easy to start a fight over food, just say you enjoy some pineapple on a pizza or call that orange Kraft product ‘cheese,’ and you’ll find a handful of people ready to go blow for blow. But cooking doesn’t have to be about the extremes, sometimes it can be nice to discuss what underappreciated and humble ingredients more cooks should give a chance.
So one curious person asked the internet what were their ‘mediocre’ cooking opinions that they still stand by and got a heap of interesting answers. We reached out to chef Ben Ebbrell from the team at Sorted Food to get some tips for the novice home cook. So make sure you’ve eaten so scrolling won’t make you hungry, and be sure to upvote your favorite options. And if you want to see some more controversial food takes, you can find them here.
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I like water.
I don't need to add cordial, I don't need it to be fizzy, I don't need to add syrup or lemon/lime. Plain water is just fine.
The Whopper Theorem: Larger burgers should be wider, not taller.
Not every meal has to be a culinary adventure. It's fine to just eat something to not be hungry anymore.
We wanted to know how a novice cook should approach the ocean of information there is online without getting overwhelmed and Ben Ebbrell from the team at Sorted Food had a few tips. "Firstly, food needn’t be stressful. Sorted has always been about finding the JOY in food and cooking. We’re a group of life-long mates who are constantly learning when it comes to food, but the bit that makes the initial hurdle easier is that we’re not doing it alone."
"Find friends or family to learn with… the collaborative experience is far less daunting. Also, don’t just learn textbook-style… grasping the details of something you don’t care about just because that’s in somebody else’s cooking education agenda. Instead find a subject, topic, ingredient, or dish that you love and begin with expanding your repertoire around that."
When I say I like coffee, that means I like *all* the coffee.
I appreciate high end coffee, but I also like truck stop coffee, church basement coffee, reheated late afternoon coffee. I just like coffee.
Broccoli is the f*****g best.
I love broccoli, but cooked broccoli gets cold too quickly, and raw broccoli gets warm too quickly. If I have broccoli, I always eat it first, while it's the right temperature.
Butter on a grilled cheese.
I've tried mayo. It's just not as good.
I grew up with butter on grilled cheese. I like it just fine, so I doubt I'll ever taste it with mayo. If you like something, why change?
Ready-to-eat and pre-prepared meals and ingredients might get a bad rap. but as this list shows, reputation isn't everything. "The quality of products has come on a LONG way in recent years. In fact, they have outstretched some of their own reputations. Have a look for frozen, freeze-dried, or even canned/tinned options of the fresh versions. In many applications, not all, they end up just as good as the fresh. Sometimes, even better. Peas are a prime example… they are nutritionally better when frozen since that’s done within hours or even minutes of picking them, whereas the fresh ones you may buy in season could be days old!"
I will drink red wine with fish and white wine with beef. Who gives a s**t.
Never let a so-called connoisseur keep you from enjoying what *you* enjoy, the way you enjoy it.
Chicken tendies are tasty even if you’re a grown a*s person
Of course they're tasty. *steals a chicken tender and runs under the sofa to eat it* See?
99% of the time, dry generic brand pasta is just *fine* for dinner. I spend all of my culinary efforts on the sauce/topping.
I like my pasta cooked to just above mush. I know it's meant to be al dente and if I serve it to other people I know what to do, but when I'm eating it myself I cook it how I want and settle for the lectures about how it's overcooked.
"Fusion foods remain popular… why not try some of those. Begin with a pre-made element and twist it up with the addition of an extra ingredient or two. For instance, while tomato sauce is easy to make, sometimes you might just want to skip that step and buy one. But then add in a dollop of Korean gochujang and a spoonful of creme fraiche and you have a whole different approach… the spicy fermented tang turns it into a phenomenal sauce for pre-made potato gnocchi for example," Ben added, when we wanted to know how a home cook might improve a store-bought sauce or other items.
I don’t know what the best dessert in the world is, but I know it’s something baked and served warm with vanilla ice cream.
If you live in a northern country, just buy canned tomatoes. I've wasted so much time grinding fresh but flavourless tomatoes into a watery pasta sauce
A very famous German cook once said "Never use fresh tomatoes for a sauce if you can use canned", because those are the only food that actually profits from being canned. They are more intensive in taste. To get the same flavour with fresh tomatoes, you would have to simmer and concentrate them for hours.
Sometimes a McDonald’s cheeseburger is the only thing I want in the world. Not often but that craving hits hard!
Lastly, Ben was gracious enough to share some other tips and tricks he found helpful as a professional cook. "Cooking at home needn’t be a chore… but it’s easy to understand why people might think so. There’s a lot of thinking, planning, and admin to be done upfront. Pick or choose some recipes for the week, work out the shopping list, cross-check it to make sure you don’t miss anything when you go shopping, then you have to swap up on the recipe to make sure you nail it in the kitchen. Even then you’ll likely end up with food waste since the recipe calls for quantities of fresh ingredients less that the packet sizes you have to buy. Our suggestion is to outsource all of that thinking to find a smart solution. We have one, it’s free to use for a month… it’s called Sidekick. It allows you to be the hero of your kitchen and just enjoy the fun bits and great results… without the stress or food waste."
chili has beans
Just listen to the name chili CON CARNE = Chile WITH MEAT. The meat is the "afterthought".
PB&J is a great sandwich
Over the years, I have shifted to open-faced, on toast. I confess that my motivation is more topping than filling.
We also reached out to Graeme Tomlinson, the Fitness Chef, and his team was kind enough to add their own thoughts. "If you’re just starting out cooking your own meals I recommend keeping it as simple as possible. One-pan recipes with few ingredients or slow cooker recipes are great for you to become confident that what you cook tastes good! Good-tasting food is often all internet seasoning so make sure you season it!"
"Cream of" soups are a terrific ingredient if used properly.
Food opinion- Italian American food is just as valid as Italian-Italian food. Just because some stuff had to me made with different versions of ingredients doesn’t mean it’s a radioactive evil sludge abomination. People get wayyyy too pissy about food cultures and trying to gatekeep it. Food is food. You need it to live. Who cares what shape of noodle it goes in your mouth? Either way, it’s gonna come out the same.
*pounces the meatball* 🎶 On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese. I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed. 🎶
🎶 It rolled on the table, and onto the floooor, and then my poor meatball, it rolled out the dooor.🎶
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Cook what you like, but don't say "my Italian cooking is sooo good and authentic" and then cry in Napoli because "they have non of the Italian food I like". Otherwise mix and marry whatever floats your boat.
There are plenty of people in Tuscany who are not keen on food in Napoli. Italy has strong regional differences, so blanket statements about ‘Italian food’ can often be inconsequential.
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I'm from Italy... a chinese friend told me that in china you will never find the foods you eat in Chinese restaurant of Italy, they are recipes adapted to Italian taste... i think the same, it's not Italian cuisine but Italian cuisine adapted to American taste,nothing wrong but I'll have to go to China if I want t o taste something original!
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Some of the best Italian food I've ever had was made by Italian-Americans. A friend of mine is the first generation born here; his parents emigrated here. His mom's cooking is *chef's kiss*. I dare you to go tell her that her food isn't authentic. She's about 145 cm tall, but she'll kick your culo.
I like spaghetti sauce on rotini. I wear way less sauce that way.q
Is it just a personal flavor preference? If so, what do you dislike about the flavor with salted water?
Load More Replies... Different sauces are used with different noodles because of how they stick to those noodles. You wouldn't eat soup with a fork, even though it tastes the same as with a spoon. It has nothing to do with being pissy about foods cultures.
Gatekeeping food might not be disrespectful but it's annoying af
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"Frozen fruit and vegetables might not be great to eat on their own compared to fresh counterparts, but they are much cheaper and also last longer. Frozen veg can easily be added to stews, casseroles, curries, and many more dishes easily. Some microwave-ready meals get slated for being bad for you, but in moderation, these can be a convenient way to get energy in when you have limited time," they added when we inquired about ready-to-eat meals.
Frying at home isn’t worth it. It’s messy, time consuming, and uses too much oil. My southern ancestors are rolling over in their graves as I type.
This will get me roasted because I think people will think it’s not even mediocre. More like awful lol
I like to use buttered bread for my sandwiches. All of them. Ham and cheese, chicken salad on toast, etc. butter is the first condiment I use.
Pretty much all of my unpopular food opinions boil down to "your food elitism is stupid."
American cheese tastes good, including kraft singles.
Spam tastes good.
Ketchup tastes good.
Who cares if someone likes their steak well done?
Nothing wrong with using minced garlic from a jar.
Nothing wrong with using pre-made spice blends.
Instant mashed potatoes taste good.
Sure, you can get better results with fresher and higher quality ingredients. But if someone doesn't have the time, money, or patience for that, who caaaaaaares.
Lastly, we asked about some ways beginners can improve the basics, like sauces. "Homemade sauces are quite straightforward to make at home. Your best friend here will be google. For example, you can make your own satay sauce with 3 ingredients, peanut butter, soy sauce, and water. I guarantee it will taste better than the shop-bought version. In the case of Japanese cooking, adding rice vinegar, garlic, lime juice, and soy sauce can spruce up the taste considerably."
Burgers should be very flat and overly cooked. I don't want a giant meatball of a burger wiith some artisan cut of beef. If i wanted beef I'd have a nice steak. My burgers are just the textural middle of a magical blend of condiments.
I like my burgers well done, despite every tv chef in the world extolling how wonderful rare burgers are. Only a decent quality steak qualifies for medium rareness.
You will have to pry my iceberg lettuce out of my cold dead hands.
I can't imagine homemade Mexican/New Mexican/TexMex food without its cold refreshing thinly shredded crunch.
And I will never give up my "1950s" salad with iceberg, canned pickled beets, and blue cheese dressing. I'm fine if that's gross. More for me.
Refreshing thinly shredded crunch - which of the fashionable lettuces give you this
There are actually some really excellent frozen pizzas (Screamin' Sicilian).
Fries dipped in mayo! I like ketchup but mayo is def better.
A lot of “generic” or store brand products top the name brand. Lookin at you my sweet, sweet Frosted Mini Spooners.
I eat canned ravioli a few times a year.
I loved it as a kid and crave it sometimes now as 44 year old adult.
I still crave chef boyardee ravioli sometimes, but it doesn't even remotely taste the same as it used to, always disappointed.
I like food. Food tastes good.
Goddämn, what a terrible and unpopular opinion this is. Everybody knows that all food sucks and the best feeling in the world is hunger. Duh.
Fried Bologna with mustard on white bread is a delicacy.
Beef Wellington is overrated. Give me a juicy ribeye any day of the week.
As a Mexican, Taco Bell, Chipotle, Burrito Beach, and Qdoba are absurdly fire. I hate when I have pretentious mexican family or friends say “ew that’s not even real Mexican food” like no s**t Sherlock, I didn’t think a Doritos locos Supreme taco, or my burrito bowl was the real deal on authentic Mexican eats. I don’t crave Mexican food and say “damn, I need some Taco Bell”. When I crave Taco Bell I get Taco Bell. It’s good damn it, and I’m tired of pretending it’s not. Diablo sauce> anything else
Asian culinary just tastes better in restaurants. No amount of effort will fix the lack of flavor in homemade asian food.
In complex foods, it takes a lot of time and a ton of ingredients to reproduce at home the dishes that the restaurant can throw together almost effortlessly. Most of us can't afford a pantry filled with ingredients we only use occasionally.
Kraft Mac and cheese is the superior boxed Mac even if it’s mid.
Especially with cut up hotdogs in it. Maybe even some barbecue sause on it aswell
I like to judge people on whether they like McDonalds or not.
Is McDonalds fine dining ? Absolutely not. But if they honest to god say McDonalds is nasty and inedible, I don't think they are capable of thinking about food objectively. Cause that s**t is delicious from time to time as long as you stick with the classics.
People who universally say it's disgusting are just regurgitating what they think they are supposed to say.
Kraft Parmesan Grated Cheese is a multifaceted kitchen ingredient that tastes good and serves as a fantastic thickener for a variety of sauces. Anyone who complains about it being "wood pulp" or "literal cardboard" is an ignoramus who has no idea about the role or use of cellulose in vegetables or cooking in general.
Boxed cake mix is the way to go - just add an extra egg, use milk , butter instead of oil, homemade frosting, and so on..
This one I'll never understand. 250 gr flour (selfraising), 250 gr sugar, 250 gr unsalted butter, 4 eggs... and you have the best 4/4 cake. What's the difference with boxmix?
Mushy, sticky rice is delicious.
Not everything is better topped with a fried egg.
Salmon skin is gross.
Salmon Skin Roll at even the most mediocre sushi joint is awesome, and I'll die on this hill.
Totally with you on the american cheese. Everytime someone on the internet mentions american cheese, someone chimes in saying it isn't really cheese. Well so what? I can still like it.
Liquid Smoke works well for a lot of things. Not every bbq chicken dinner at home has to smoke for 10 hours. It's also great for adding to dips and sandwich condiments.
Hamburger helper is delicious and Spam is only good when fried/griddled.
Mmm..Spam. Cut super thin then fried til it's like meat candy. Spam tacos are delicious too
Ketchup belongs on hot dogs
According to my kids ketchup belongs on just about everything.
In a lot of dishes, like American-style Bolognese, powdered garlic and onion powders are just as important if not better than using the fresh minced onions and garlic. You can add up to a whole tablespoon of each, as well as the freshly chopped stuff. Don't skimp on the dried Italian seasoning either.
Costco hot dog is the best quick lunch in the USA.
Not all burgers fulfill the same craving. There are like four stages of burger and each meets a different need.
S****y fast food burgers like Jack N the Box or Wendy's.
Still fast food but less s****y like In N Out, Five Guys or White Castle.
Sit down chain burgers like Red Robin, The Habit, etc.
Restaurant burgers which are typically thick and "fancy" in some way like special cheeses or sauces.
Personally I almost never go for a restaurant burger because I prefer thin pattied smash burgers. But I can crave a burger and mean something different on this list every time.
I like jarred pasta sauce (with some additions to make it tastier) and imo it's not worth the hassle of making sauce from scratch. (tomato sauce only, not alfredo, homemade alfredo is THE BEST.)
Sometimes the Little Caesar’s pepperoni hits just right.
(Pizza pizza)
powdered buttermilk is totally legit. Now I only buy a carton of buttermilk if I run out of powdered.
Also if I'm not feeling like it , I have no problem using pre ground spices.
Cream cheese on hot dogs is good. Shout out to Seattle for teaching me the dark arts.
I dunno about burgers- not big on cheeseburgers in general- but it surely is the only way to have a struggle meal toasted cheese sandwich. On cheapo buttered white sandwich bread.
The best vessel for emulsifying salad dressings is a shaker bottle with a ball whisk (you know, the ones made for mixing up protein powder).
Mayonnaise is versatile
You can use it in place of vegetable oil & eggs for cookies!
Again, talking about Hellman's I suppose? I dare you to try it with Belgian mayo...
Pineapple is fine on pizza The 2 main arguments I have heard are that it is a fruit (so is tomato) and that it is not native to Italy (neither is tomato)
I would like to see the same people enjoying Azorean speciality blood sausage with grilled pineapple XD sweet and salty has many combinations, pineapple on pizza is one of them
Load More Replies... Perhaps I just have a terrible palate but the whole snobbery around wine baffles me. I'm not a huge fan but I have a glass occasionally and since I don't know much about it I usually go with recommendations from "connoisseurs". But every time I've tried ones that apparently have tastes of 'apple, grapefruit, hints of cinnamon and oak etc' it still just tastes like wine to me, a glass from a £100 bottle tastes basically the same as a glass from a £10 one.
I lost faith in the connoisseurs when a group of wine students found berry flavours in a white wine that had been colored with a food dye, and found honey and peach in the same wine uncoloured
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The mush was so tasty, as tasty could be. And early next summer, it grew to a tree.
The tree was all covered with beautiful moss. It grew great big meatballs and spaghetti sauce.
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One of my absolute fav things is fried chicken, peeled off of the bone & stuck on a peice of white bread. Nutritious? Not in the least. Tasty? Yes!
I used to be into mediocre food till I learnt to cook and could afford decent restaurants, would never go back. Will sacrifice anything except food quality. Sorry.
Everything I cook and bake is fresh and made from scratch . If I going to eat outdoors, I can't enjoy it as before. I don't cook with fancy products, everything budget and cheap, and I like to have a lot of flavour in my food.
Load More Replies... I'm fine with cheap wine, so I'm not the best judge, but American wine tops fancy, expensive European wine in blind taste tests CONSTANTLY, even when judged by the world's top wine judges. Oh, and French wine has relied on varieties of grapes from America for ages.
That whole mystical ritual about cooking steak. I tried all that and went back to dry it, season it and fry it. Tastes just as good. The only "rest" it gets is waiting for the toaster to pop up . I see no difference in the juicy parts and I don't have a lukewarm steak.
Pineapple is fine on pizza The 2 main arguments I have heard are that it is a fruit (so is tomato) and that it is not native to Italy (neither is tomato)
I would like to see the same people enjoying Azorean speciality blood sausage with grilled pineapple XD sweet and salty has many combinations, pineapple on pizza is one of them
Load More Replies... Perhaps I just have a terrible palate but the whole snobbery around wine baffles me. I'm not a huge fan but I have a glass occasionally and since I don't know much about it I usually go with recommendations from "connoisseurs". But every time I've tried ones that apparently have tastes of 'apple, grapefruit, hints of cinnamon and oak etc' it still just tastes like wine to me, a glass from a £100 bottle tastes basically the same as a glass from a £10 one.
I lost faith in the connoisseurs when a group of wine students found berry flavours in a white wine that had been colored with a food dye, and found honey and peach in the same wine uncoloured
Load More Replies... The mush was so tasty, as tasty could be. And early next summer, it grew to a tree.
The tree was all covered with beautiful moss. It grew great big meatballs and spaghetti sauce.
Load More Replies... One of my absolute fav things is fried chicken, peeled off of the bone & stuck on a peice of white bread. Nutritious? Not in the least. Tasty? Yes!
I used to be into mediocre food till I learnt to cook and could afford decent restaurants, would never go back. Will sacrifice anything except food quality. Sorry.
Everything I cook and bake is fresh and made from scratch . If I going to eat outdoors, I can't enjoy it as before. I don't cook with fancy products, everything budget and cheap, and I like to have a lot of flavour in my food.
Load More Replies... I'm fine with cheap wine, so I'm not the best judge, but American wine tops fancy, expensive European wine in blind taste tests CONSTANTLY, even when judged by the world's top wine judges. Oh, and French wine has relied on varieties of grapes from America for ages.
That whole mystical ritual about cooking steak. I tried all that and went back to dry it, season it and fry it. Tastes just as good. The only "rest" it gets is waiting for the toaster to pop up . I see no difference in the juicy parts and I don't have a lukewarm steak.
