People Online Trashed These Well-Known Food Hacks That Are Useless In Real Life (28 Responses)
Interview With ExpertCooking is so much fun, and it will nourish your body and your soul, too. The interesting part is that people always share all kinds of amazing cooking hacks that are supposed to make the process easier.
The problem is that not all of the hacks are good. Some of them are pretty unnecessary and might even make cooking more complicated. That’s why when someone online asked about the weirdest food hacks that don’t make sense in real life, many netizens were quick to share.
More info: Reddit
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Cauliflower pizza crust. Whoever invented this healthy alternative should be jailed.
Handy for people who are sensitive to gluten or celiac. Otherwise, I would rather have regular crust.
No! We make our own pizza dough (beecause of celiac) and it gets perfect! Thin and light ans crunchy. NO to this abomination.
Load More Replies...The first time I had cauliflower pizza crust was at a restaurant and it was fantastic!...and then we bought one at the grocery store and it was merde 💩 We basically learned that it only tasted good in a restaurant where the chef knows how to zhuzh it up because they know cauliflower pizza crust tastes like a s s
Safeway's Open Nature cauliflower crust Pizza is very good! I get the margherita and add my own mushrooms and shallots to it. My non-celiac friends agree it's delicious.
Load More Replies...Slander. That s**t is the BEST. I think I might like it better than normal crust.
Ahh, the old cauliflower pizza crust "hack" 🙄. This is an opinion, not a cooking technique found "useless".
Smells like feet that have been in army boots for 6 months without a wash.
Cauliflower rice.
It's not rice. It will never be rice. Literally worse than nut juice.
Am I the only person who actually loves cauliflower? I've never tried the pizza crust or the cauliflower rice whatever that is.. but yeah no I love cauliflower. Sometimes steamed sometimes with a little cheese definitely cut in small pieces for salads and shocking but I actually like it on pizza. You cut it up in very small pieces cover it with some garlic and cheese and it's delicious
I love cauliflower. This is no reason to eat it as 'rice' or 'pizza crust'. I have no idea what this nonsense is about and why it's meant to be 'healthy'. Make your curry, cook your rice, serve it with a portion of cauliflower.
Load More Replies...cauliflower rice is just what it says. it is cauliflower. they've "riced" it to make it that shape. It is just cauliflower that has been cut into tiny pieces. It is just cauliflower. Just say you don't like cauliflower and be done with it. I LOVE cauliflower
I love cauliflower, too. Steamed, boiled, roasted, with cheese, in curry, mashed with butter and salt & pepper; my favorite combines roasted cauliflower with sauteed dates, garlic, and pine nuts. I *hate* cauliflower rice. It feels gritty in my mouth, gets caught in the area between my teeth & inner cheek, and doesn't have the proper rice texture. So gross.
Load More Replies...Think it’s Almond milk according to another post on here
Load More Replies...A whole cauli, steamed then slathered in thick, creamy, cheesy sauce, breadcrumbs sprinkled on top then grilled until crispy is frigging awesome! I grew up eating it, I made it for my kids and now I make it for my Grandkids.
Load More Replies...It isn't cauliflower rice. It is riced cauliflower, so called because of the way it is finely chopped. The method is called ricing. You can look the term up in a dictionary.
Nothing will top the disappointment I felt after swapping out butter for mayo on a grilled cheese.
I follow the rule 'If it sounds disgusting, it probably is disgusting'.
This rings true. It reminds me of Duke Ellington's statement about music: "If it sounds good, it is good."
Load More Replies...As a person who has been on many diets, I have to say: Calories make food delicious. Fact!
Funny, I have no problem with using mayp in place of butter. It spreads easier, and browns the bread more evenly. (Just for the record, I use Duke's mayonnaise, if that makes a difference. Also, my grilled cheese sandwich consists of thickly-sliced sharp cheddar, sourdough bread, and off-the-bone ham when I have it.)
Paul Bocuse said thst you should never, never ever, use something else when butter is required.
His statement is the Way, the Truth and the Light. All would do well to heed it.
Load More Replies...Cooking can be extremely fun or tiring, depending on whether you enjoy the process or not. A Gallup and Cookpad study of cooking across the world found that Northern, Southern, and Western Europe cooked the most, with an average of 7.8 home-cooked meals a week. That’s a lot of tasty dishes being prepared!
A survey about cooking habits of people in the United States found that 50% of the respondents were okay with spending 30–60 minutes cooking a weekday meal. Creating a meal from scratch can be time-consuming, especially if you have to wash the dishes afterward. Culinary hacks can make your life easier, but this list shows that not all tips are useful.
Peeling garlic by shaking the cloves around in a (covered) bowl. I exhausted myself and the cloves are just sitting there in their skins, mocking me.
Cracking eggs on flat surfaces. I can't for the life of me get a clean horizontal crack. I just get a circular web of smashed egg shell, and the inner membrane is still intact. Every time I try this technique that everyone says is superior to cracking on the edge of the bowl, I inevitably decide to go back to that trusty bowl edge that almost* never gives me the problems those same people say it does. (* Only almost, that's why I keep trying the flat surface thing.).
I tried the shaking method to little success. But, if you cover them individually with the flat of your knife and smash down with the heel of your hand, the skins slip right off.
And it's very satisfying to beat the snot out of the cloves in advance.
Load More Replies...I'm glad I'm not the only one with the "eggs on a flat surface" thing. *EVERY* cooking show is so adamant about this one, but I've never had it work well when I've tried it.
I do 99% of the cooking and baking in my household, but every time my husband sees me cracking eggs he tries to correct me, because all the experts say to crack on a flat surface. No. I crack on the edge of a bowl and neatly drop it in. I try to crack it on a flat surface and by the time it's actually open I'm holding a handful of scrambled eggs and a million broken bits of shell.
Load More Replies...I crack eggs on the counter top and get a perfect crack ever time. Whenever I try it on the bowel edge, I get egg shell everywhere. I guess some people just can't do it one way, and other people can't do it the other.
If you hit two eggs against one another, only one of them will crack. So I use eggs to crack eggs..
Shaking garlic...doesn't work. Bowl edge or if you're clumsy like me, edge of a spoon for eggs. I'm at home, I don't need to look fancy lol
I've discovered a great way of using the "cracking on a flat surface" I crack the egg, put my thumbs in the crack, with cracked side up, then pull the shells into half with my thumbs. It keeps the tiny pieces of shell on top, attached to the membrane. Simple. I taught myself that after hearing that you should never crack on the side of the bowl, because you could just push shell and stuff up into the egg.
One of the first "tricks" I learned in a professional kitchen was peeling garlic with two metal shallow 9th pans, top to top and vigorously. It does work but it has to be that specific way. It's not gonna happen with a plastic bowl covered with plastic wrap, that's just ignorant. Cracking eggs, to each their own. Jaques Pepin "taught" me to crack eggs on a flat surface, that's how I do it.
>And, don’t get me started on microwaving potatoes. A microwaved potato will never compare to a real, baked potato.
To my mind they're 2 different things for 2 different times. A microwaved potato is for a quick Wednesday dinner when I've got zero energy, I'm absolutely starving, and I wasn't to avoid ordering takeout. Potato in the microwave, tin of baked beans heated up, some grated cheese. A hot, filling, reasonably nutritious dinner in under 15 minutes.
But if I want a baked potato as a show stopper or as part of a bigger, nicer meal then it's going to be done in the oven.
Microwave until mostly cooked and finish in an oven/air fryer. Saves energy.
Yes, this exactly. Fully microwaved potatoes are a bit sad, but starting them in the microwave then putting in the oven for the last 20 or 25 minutes drastically cuts cooking time without sacrificing quality.
Load More Replies...This is one I disagree with. The baked potatoes I make in the microwave come out perfect. Just wash them, put a few fork holes around it and put in the microwave for 5-6 minutes. Perfect.
Alton Brown's baked potato technique has become my way. Poke holes with a fork on two sides, rub in olive oil, season with salt and pepper, place them directly on the center rack (meaning no sheet tray/pan/foil, etc.), bake at 350 for an hour. Perfect every time.
Proper oven baked potatoes make great mash. Keep the skins intact, don't prick them, and as you bake them, the insides stay moist. Once baked, scoop out all the flesh, dump cheese and bacon and back in the oven for 10 minutes. You end up with loaded potato skins and a big portion of mashed potato-because it was baked, you don't get the watery spuds that you get with boiling, its creamy without having to add heaps of butter.
Of course, it's never incorrect to add heaps of butter :-)
Load More Replies...We had microwaved sweet potatoes last night. It was just a quick weeknight side dish though. (And I didn't cook) :)
They are two different things. I don't know who is claiming they can substitute each other, but I was brought up on them as different meals. Jacket potatoes are great, quick, and you can put so many toppings on them. Roast potatoes are great on their own or with gravy.
I don't see the point of keeping a bottle around to hoover up egg yolks to separate eggs. We don't have soda or bottled water around usually anyway, and any tool that was made to do this is now an extra thing to clean. Using the shell or my hands is just fine w/ me and faster tbh after do so often and with lots of eggs in a bakery when I was younger.
I find that if you slip even a tiny bit, the shell can puncture the yolk and it's game over. Straining through fingers is a lot more reliable. More gross, yes, but also a lot less margin for error.
Load More Replies...Ancient Tupperware egg separator in harvest yellow. I can’t do hand to hand or shell to shell. The feel of the whites heebs me out.
My mum always had a ceramic egg separator shaped like a cup, with a slit in it for the white to go through. I just use a regular cup and my finger.
I use an egg cup. Crack the egg onto a saucer, put the egg cup over the yolk and pour the egg white into a bowl. I get a bit icky with the texture of raw egg so I don't like using my hands to separate them, but the eggcup works well.
I just crack a bunch of eggs in a bowl and pluck the yolks out. If some yolk breaks in the whites, use some shell to get it out. Weigh what you need and put the rest away to use later.
Bored Panda reached out to Eb Gargano, the creator of Easy Peasy Foodie and a professional blogger and foodie. She shared examples of food hacks that didn’t work for her, along with great cooking hacks and tips to make the process simpler. One tip she didn’t like was: “Peeling ginger with a spoon: It’s super fiddly, and there’s absolutely no need – just leave the skin on and grate your ginger on the small side of a cheese grater! (Much cheaper than buying it pre-chopped, too!)”
Another interesting example that Eb Gargano shared was, “Removing the stone from an avocado with a knife: I’ve nearly sliced my hand so many times trying to do this until I realized that you can just cut lengthways down the middle of the remaining half avocado and the 2 avocado quarters just come right off. I reckon I’ve probably saved myself a trip to A&E (The ER) by avoiding this hack!” It’s shocking to note that there have been 50,413 avocado-related knife injuries from 1998 to 2017.
I tried making one of those viral recipes for pasta that involved putting a block of Feta in a baking dish, with cherry tomatoes, garlic, thyme, and enough olive oil to make the US Military invade my apartment on the pretense of harboring WMDs.
Well…the feta didn’t really melt too well. I kept adding pasta water, mashing…no dice. It looked like vomit, had the acidity of vomit, and smelled like garlic and thyme flavored vomit.
Of course I tried to still eat it. Of course it tasted like salty, oily, lumpy, chunky vomit with pasta in it. It was revolting!
I relented and had a hot pocket for dinner.
Not sure why the recipe was telling them to add loads of oil and pasta water, but I am guessing that may be the issue (and something sounds off about the feta). I basically make this on a regular basis as it's a quick easy dinner, but just roast the tomatoes and feta with a light drizzle of oil, then mix through the pasta when it's ready. Never had an issue of having to try and mash the feta, or had to add any additional liquid other than what came out of the tomatoes
I've made this as well, but not from a "viral recipe" (I swear half the time people make thoae recipes up with zero understanding of the chemistry behind cooking) I'm with you on the feta thing sounding weird. Feta isn't generally a "melty" cheese. It softens and you can get it a bit "creamy" but it's never going to be like brie or Gruyère. It sounds like the OP didn't really understand the cheese they were working with because pasta with roasted tomatoes and a bit of feta & olive oil is 🤌
Load More Replies...i've seen a similar recipe to this and tried it myself with similar outcome however after that disaster i saw the recipe again but they actually moved the feta tomatoes etc. into the blender and blended it to make a sauce. I haven't tried it yet but maybe that would make it better
there are lot of different" feta " cheese, some are more creamy and some more crumbly, more or less salten or made of sheep, goat,cow milk. I love the creamy one,cut to pieces,marinated in herbs and garlic and airfried in a panade of sesame.
I squeeze out the piths and seeds in cherry tomatoes, leave the feta as a whole block in the middle, few whole cloves of garlic,drizzle of olive oil and black pepper. Let it roast properly. Remove garlic and herb stalk, add pasta to the dish, a splash of pasta water and mix. Feta will sort of crumble, not melt. Also, buy proper greek feta.
Perfect spot for my Kale tip. When cooking Kale, add a teaspoon of inexpensive cooking oil. Makes it much easier to scrape into the garbage when finished cooking!
Lol I like most vegetables but I gotta agree with you on this kale is disgusting! Can't stand the taste or texture!
Load More Replies...Maybe - in addition to the already given answers - she accidentaly used low fat feta?
Ever see the weird thing where you put spaghetti noodles through hotdog bits and then cook them and it looks cool?
Yeah, you know how the spaghetti inside of the hotdog gets cooked? It doesn't. Enjoy your needles.
Looks disgusting. That picture makes me very uncomfortable! ;)
Load More Replies...I had never heard of this before, sounds stupid to put spaghetti noodles inside something that would prevent the whole strand from cooking evenly. And hot dogs should never be added to anything that is supposed to be delicous.
Why would you pair spaghetti with hot dogs in the first place? Both are tasteless food in the first place.
Add sauce and spices, and it's a quick and simple meal. If it's coming out tasteless, check your seasoning.
Load More Replies...i cant believe this person thought that "hack" was being serious. it was a joke to begin with haha. so many people think the 5-minute-hack type c**p is real and intended for real life use. it's all "funny" entertainment.
Not exactly a hack, but I’ve watched so many tutorials on how to cleanly filet a whole fish and I am convinced they are all CGI. Mine always come out looking like they were filleted by feral cats. 😆.
Fileting takes a lot of time to develop the skill. I was really good at it and I still had pieces that looks like it was done by feral cats. I will say however, technique, a very very sharp knife (preferably a filet knife for the shape) will help greatly. Also, larger meatier fish would have a cleaner finish.
Ever wonder why you see the Chef sharpen the knife right before they cut something? Don't underestimate the power of a sharp knife! Sharp Sharp Sharp!
Load More Replies...It's definitely a skill that there is a learning curve to. I've been fishing since I was a kid, and filleting fish still sometimes goes bad. A sharp, actual fillet knife (as in a thin flexible blade) helps a lot. Depending on the fish, it's pretty impossible to get a decent fillet without one.
First get a proper filet knife that you use ONLY to clean the fish. Start on the belly just under the head and cut down, scoop it out the guts and then cut the opposite side along the spine. Remove the meat then rub your blade just under the skin to free it. Flip the dish over and do the same thing on the other side. No need to scale or skin the fish first that's just a waste of time and meat. Yes this works on every species of fish.
Eb had a few more examples to share with us, like: “Peeling chickpeas to make smoother hummus: Who on earth has time for that? Just invest in a decent blender, use canned chickpeas, and follow a good recipe… and you can make really great homemade hummus in 5 minutes.”
“A garlic press: Just why? They are so annoying and fiddly to use… and just about impossible to get clean! Again, just grate it on the small side of a cheese grater. Much cheaper than buying it pre-chopped, and you can just throw the cheese grater in the dishwasher afterwards… and it actually gets clean,” she stated. If you love cooking, you’ll probably also agree with most of the examples she shared.
After you boil chicken breast you can throw it in the kitchen aid mixer to shred it.
Makes a mess, the chicken clumps up, and you end up with more dishes to wash. I prefer to shred by hand and/or using two forks.
I would never boil nor "poach" chicken, especially the breast. Sheet tray, little rub down with olive/blended oil, salt and pepper, minced garlic, 375 at 25 minutes, call it a day. Moist and flavorful but still a blank canvas for whatever you want to use it for. Shredded/pulled is always best by hand, especially when you know how to go with the grain.
I just did crock pot chicken in the mixer and honestly it was a game changer for me. I hate shredding it by hand. Just use the paddle attachment.
Shredding by hand with the forks is really nice and you get long strands rather than chunks.
We bought a set of Bear Paws and have never looked back. They make shredding so easy.
I've shredded with a hand mixer and a stand mixer (w/ paddle attachment) and they both work great on roasted or poached chicken. Soooo easy!
I bake my chicken in the oven like normal and then use a mixer to shred. Works every time.
Not necessarily a hack, but any and every "easy sheet pan dinner" I've tried turns out awful. Something is always overcooked or undercooked, the meat texture is off, etc.
I found one sheet pan recipe that is now a staple - even my kids love it. But different veggies cook at different rates so you have to find ones that will cook correctly together. Onions, bell pepper, broccoli, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and chicken. 450°, 20 minutes. Perfection.
I have one I really like, but it tells you to add everything to the same sheet at different times. Turns out amazing every time
Load More Replies...I saw a monstrosity where there were layers of chili, beans, jarred cheese goop, biscuits, and corn cobs. I got diarrhea just watching it. I could feel the stringy tendrils of undercooked, soggy biscuits that were slightly burned on top--just enough to taste the charcoal. The corn cobs... Those haunt me. They were tucked on the sides...and baked for as long as the rest... Considering the depth of the poop-inducing mire of wet, meat-bean glop under the biscuits, I can't imagine heat penetrating into its abhorrent heart. This was supposed to be a game day dip. There was so much--not even ten people with a hearty appetite and a self-destructive disregard for their intestines could have finished that.
The only one I do is sliced kielbasa with roasted veggies (russet, sweet potato, brussels sprouts) roasted at 400 20 minutes at a time, stir, then back in until done to my likeness. Then I drizzle balsamic glaze over it all.
The issue with sheetpan cooking - or any cooking, really - is timing. You either cook things together that take the same temp/time, or you add ingredients at different stages. Something gets over or under done if you try to cook it all at once.
Anything to do with peeling garlic is a crock of s***.
I find the crush under the knife works pretty well actually. Once you hear the crunch, not to break it too much, it pretty much falls off. Or maybe I'm lucky lol
100% this method every time! There is a specific "garlic pressing" knife in my kitchen.
Load More Replies...I have a little cylindrical rubber thing, that looks kind of like a cannoli, where you put the unpeeled cloves inside and roll it back and forth on the counter. It works great.
I've recently had a lot of success peeling garlic. I take both ends firmly between my fingers and twist them in the opposite direction (similar to shrimp head). then it can usually be solved almost completely. Sometimes I tap it with the flat side of the knife and the shell is loose and the rest can be loosened with the help of the knife. After preparing garlic, wash your fingers and the knife in water, rubbing your fingers on the knife and then they won't smell afterwards
All of these food hack examples might seem absurd when you actually think about it, but there are certain gems that you should definitely try. For example, meal prepping is something that can save you time and energy so that you don’t have to constantly plan what to cook. Research has found that nearly 9 out of 10 Americans have meal prepped at least once, and 44% tend to meal prep on a regular basis.
Boiling potatoes first then peeling.
It takes me much less effort to just peel the potatoes at first, rather than boil then either wait until the potatoes cool or burn my hands to peel off the skin, either way getting skin that come with large chunks of potato still attached.
I haven't peeled potatoes in years. Just keep the skin on. (mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, roasted potatoes, potato salad--I can't think of anything that really needs peeled potatoes, but examples welcome)
Me too. I never peel. So much better to leave the skin.
Load More Replies...Maybe it'll depend on the type of potato. I much rather peeling before though.
I don't peel large ones either. The only time I peel a potato is if it's getting old and the peel has started to wrinkle.
Load More Replies...Just brush them, cut spots off, and eat them. Peeling potatoes is a faff and reduces nutrition.
For what I know, it's not about what it's easier but about what you have to use boiled potatoes for. Boiling them with the skin keeps a lot more starch in them, so it's better this way for some kind of dishes. For some other uses it's not a big deal, so if you are more comfortable in peeling them before boiling them, it's more than fine
When I was 16 I worked at a place called Hot Chicken. Ha. The owner would boil potatoes, put them in large buckets and make us peel them by hand while hot. I quit and told him to kiss my a**!
Self taught cook, and I nevet developed the technique of curling your fingers when chipping vegetables. I'm pretty quick with a knife, and in 20+ years of cooking can't recall a single time I've ever cut myself. When I finally tried the technique a few weeks ago I sliced the tip of my thumb off within 10 seconds.
Same, I don't need chef speed so I go at my own pace and I'm careful. I just find it hard to control my thumb...opposable not only in direction.
I've seen good cooks/chefs that don't finger curl but it's just safe practice and something you're better off learning and doing from the start so it's in your muscle memory and habit to do so. It's like typing on a keyboard. You can get fast finger pecking if that's how you've always done it but there is a proper and better way if you learned it from the start.
Idk why people keep downvoting reasonable comments.
Load More Replies...I took a knife skills class once and the next day tried to cut an apple all fancy like they taught - also sliced off the tip of my thumb. Slow and steady ftw
Those cooks on TV, they go so fast. I have no need to do it that fast, absolutely no need.
That's not a stupid hack though - it is you making a mistake and cutting yourself
My Mom uses this technique quite efficiently, and she keeps trying to teach it to me because I'm so much slower than her at cutting up veggies... But honestly, I'm too scared to try. With my dumb luck, the veggies would get seasoned with human skin. And how does that saying go? Slow and steady wins the race ;-)
Any mango cutting hack just doesn't work.
Just got to eat it and have mango juice all over your face, hands and clothes. Ask any Caribbean kid. Lol
Or Mexican kid XD (I'm adopted, grew up in a Mexican family.) We just got handed a half of a mango (or a papaya) and were told "have fun" XD Some days the adults would just score the skin of the mango (so we could peel it off a bit easier) and we got handed the whole mango XD It was TONS of fun to gnaw at it and make an absolute mess of our faces and clothes! I especially loved gnawing at the pit/seed to get EVERY LAST SCRAP of mango off of it XD This is also how persimmons were doled out to us kids - "here, go at it, have fun." XD
Load More Replies...To be honest, the different varieties of mangos have different textures. Some are super stringy, some aren't. Depending on which variety you have the "hacks" do actually work.
Slice the cheeks off and run a wine glass gently along the inside of the skin. The whole flesh of the cheek cleanly drops into your glass.
Yes. Caribbean family. If you don't want to rub it all over your face, the edge of a glass is the only way to skin it. Also catches the juice ;)
Load More Replies...I have a foolproof method that works for all mangoes: I get my friend Liz to cut them. Everyone needs to have a friend Liz.
Just remember they are called man-go for a reason, don't eat them on a work day, do eat them if you need a laxative.
The only hack I know to cut a mango is to just HACK at it!
Here are a few tips from Eb that you’ll actually find useful when cooking: “Traybakes: just throw a bunch of ingredients into a tray and then let the oven do all the hard work! Using plain microwave rice for egg fried rice: This saves so much time and palaver! You need rice to be cold to make good egg-fried rice, which means you either need to cook and cool rice or magically have some you made yesterday in the fridge… Instead, I use plain microwave rice, and it means I can have a really authentic-tasting egg-fried rice on the table in under 15 minutes.”
One I've tried and have a better way of doing. Putting heavy cream in a jar and shaking it till it turns to butter. It takes forever even if the cream is room temp. I put mine in a food processor and it takes minutes, if that.
If you have ever watched some churning butter, in an actual churn, you know that it is not something that is done quickly, you EARN that butter. The only met I've seen done, in a way that doesn't require a ton of time and lots of sore arm, is in a stand-mixer with those really big whisks. There's still work to be done once it's separated from the buttermilk.
Boyfriend and I did the "hand-shaken butter in a jar" thing once, just for funsies. Once was enough. XD We had one of those giant Kitchenaid stand mixers with the whisk (a hand-me-down from my mom, who buys WAY too many appliances) and it was a LOT easier to make butter in it, though still a lot of work, as you say! XD It's very satisfying to do, but exhausting.
Load More Replies...I loved doing this when i was a kid, we would shake it for like 2 hours, and then add salt or sugar and then just eat bits of it with bread~
I remember doing this in 1st grade class, passing the jar around the circle. It. Took. Forever.
In this day and age, who needs to make their own butter? there are a number of good ones at the grocery store. Just make sure it is actually real butter with nothing else added to the cream (but maybe salt for some applications)
Is homemade butter that much better than store bought? Is it one of these things? Never had it.
It actually depends on the quality of the cream. If you have store bought cream it's not worth it.
Load More Replies...My parents gave us that to do once as kids just to keep us occupied for a bit…
All my life I’ve been told: “don’t whisk too much, it’ll turn into butter”, when making whipped cream. Every single time.
Far too much effort for a small amount of butter. Just buy a good quality butter and be done with it. Cabot Creamy Butter has just been named the best butter on the market; I'll buy it. I value my time far too much.
This chef on tv lined up lobster legs and used a rolling pin on them. All the meat just popped right out in perfect pieces. Absolute shenanigans.
Well, chefs on television are often wrong. Don't believe their lies!
a lot of those shows fall under the category of "food p o r n" according to wikipedia: Food porn (or foodporn) is a glamourized visual presentation of cooking or eating in advertisements, infomercials, blogs, cooking shows, and other visual media
"A pinch of baking soda to help onions caramelize faster"
Maybe I have a heavy pinch, but every time I've tried this I get onion glop instead of caramelized onions.
If you're making caramelized onions just be prepared to take the time to do so and stop worrying about stupid hacks that don't work. The water and natural sugars that escape during the process are no friend to baking soda so it's no wonder you'll end up with "onion glop". If there's any "hack", keep a squeeze bottle of water around to deglaze and bring out the color in the onions. Other than that, be patient. Good food takes time.
Cut out onions, put in slow cooker, do something else for 8 hours
Load More Replies...Hmmmm. I just do low and slow and make a large batch. Tried and true for over 30 years.
Yuck - I've never heard of that. You carmelize onions with heat, oil, and time. And maybe a touch of sugar to get it going - but just a pinch.
same here...i don't trust half those hacks from america's test kitchen...they never work for me...just do it the tried and true way an it's right almost every time
A poll of 2000 adults found that 31% didn’t have enough time to cook, 24% didn’t have enough knowledge of cooking, and around 15% worked too late to be able to cook fresh meals. People find it daunting to start cooking, and many don’t even know what to begin with. To help beginners in the kitchen, here’s what Eb advises, “Find a good recipe book or website (ahem, like mine) that has simple, straightforward recipes that are written in plain English and just have a go!”
“Start with simple recipes, like traybakes, soup, egg fried rice, pasta dishes and easy cakes. And don’t be afraid of making mistakes. In fact, don’t think of them as mistakes at all, but rather ‘experiments’… you won’t love everything you cook, but that’s part of the fun! You learn through experimentation,” she says.
Using a fork to remove the tendon from chicken tenderloins. Firstly, this has never worked for me anytime I've tried. The tendon is stuck in there good and I end up making a mess of the chicken and my hands. Second, I just cooked and ate the tendon for years before I realized I was supposed to do anything with it. Does it actually need to be removed? I dunno. I've stopped trying.
This one i actually do at home. The game changer was someone saying to use a paper towel to hold onto the tendon while you pull thru the fork. Otherwise its too slippery!
I also cut around the tendon to get enough of it to grip. That helps a lot to scrape the rest of the tendon out of the tenderloin. I use the back of the knife to do the removal as the tines of most forks are too round.
Load More Replies...Sharpen your knives, again! But yeah if the texture doesn’t bother you just eat it.
knife. just use a knife. not everything needs a "hack"... sometimes a shortcut is longer than the original route.
Even the cheaper, commercially processed and packaged chicken tenderloins should be void of anything you'd have to remove yourself. Aside from that, any proper butchering/part removal should be done with a knife so the fork is irrelevant.
I tried this. It only works sometimes. And isn't worth the heartache. Just leave it and spit it out if you can't handle it.
yeah, this is what I'd do, especially at home where Miss Manners won't be there to admonish you!
Load More Replies...I've had moderate success doing this, but I use a pair of pliers to pull it through the fork. Obliterates the chicken though.
If you're not texture-sensitive, there's really no reason to remove it unless you want to. I just take a knife to the part I can get at and leave it at that.
The cherry tomatoes between two plates method works, I’ve seen it many times. However, it’s been in professional kitchens and not with serrated knives. Just really sharp, well maintained Japanese knives. Does it save time? Yes. I found the results were mixed. Not all cherry tomatoes are the same size, so they would end up cut in a weird way. To a home cook, does that matter at the end of the day? Probably not. In a high volume restaurant does it matter? Maybe not. But in a higher end restaurant it matters, and knife skills are an incredibly important thing to develop if it’s you’re trade.
Yeah, I've seen, attempted, done this, too, and it's something you're either good at or you're not, really. Definitely safer and more common to use a serrated knife to do so and your hand and a cutting board are all you need if you have the skill. Professionally, I just cut each tomato individually for better consistency and quality control. When care and the "higher end" attitude matter it's best to process each tomato to make sure the bad squishy ones aren't being served. At home, whatever.
I don't want bad squishy ones at home either though 😅
Load More Replies...If your knives are properly sharpened, you can cut anything without much effort, including ripe tomatoes. I use a 10-inch, sharpened chef's knife for nearly everything with no problems.
I've done it when I just don't feel like slicing each and every one of those little red b@$tards. It's faster, but it takes practice.
At home, I have no need to do any time-saving hack for something as simple as slicing cherry tomatoes. In a typical home kitchen, how long does it take to just do each cherry individually?
I tried cooking hashbrowns in a waffle maker, and I just can’t make it work.
Why though? You make hashbrowns in a skillet, great spuds and you just have to wash one skillet. The above method, too much left to chance and cleanup is more complicated than it needs to be.
I've seen this method used to make "sandwich bread" with tater tots or hashbrowns. Though it never worked for me, either
Load More Replies...other than mcdonalds, hashbowns don't come in a shape. They are just done ina a skillet with cut up or schredded potato. the potatoes have been hashed. Why would anyone make more work for themselves dealing with a waffle iron if they don't have to?
this is just stupid. make waffles in a waffle maker. make hashbrowns in an oven, fryer, or air fryer.
Why would you use a device for something other than its intended use? Don't sound very smart to me.
Cooking is an incredibly useful skill, and you should enjoy it with the help of the right food hacks. Eb Gargano also shares “Cooking is like a muscle – the more you do it, the stronger/better you get at it… and the more you’ll learn about your own tastes and preferences. (And the more useful hacks you’ll pick up along the way!)”
Let us know what weird cooking hacks you’ve tried and which ones definitely don’t work.
Swirliing the water before dropping in eggs to poach. I just get egg white bits everywhere in the pot. I've had much better luck bringing the water to a simmer, shutting off the heat, and waiting until it's still before dropping in the eggs.
My dad used the swirl method, and vinegar in the water. He made them perfect EVERYTIME. He was, however, a chef. Me, I use poach pods. I've tried his method, and I can't do it. Lol
I finally made a good poached egg this way yesterday. Took a few times to learn this method.
Load More Replies...I did try one way from a cookbook, don't remember whose. Break the egg onto a piece of plastic wrap make a kind of bag and place it in the water. But the easiest way for me is to use my electric egg cooker. I know a lot of people down-mark them but I really like my. I got my first as a wedding present about 42 years ago, I thought it would never get used but one day about 2 years later I tried it, works great. I used my first one until about 4 years ago when it started leaking, it had a metal base. I've had 2 since then but they were/are plastic. The only time I don't use it is when I want the shell to look good, you do have to puncture the shell.
do not drop it in boiling water.... start by using a thumbtack, or a safety pin to poke a tiny hole on the bottom of the egg. bring water to a boil. then using a slotted spoon lower the egg in the boiling water for about 10-15 seconds, and remove and set aside. then reduce heat to medium. add vinegar. once the water becomes still, and is simply hot and steamy that's when you put the egg in. swirl the water, drop the egg in the middle. voila.... source: i make eggs benedict every weekend. EDIT: crucial detail, approx. cooking time is 2minutes
can't you just use a circle cookie cutter to drop the eggs into in the water?
Taking the pit of an avocado out with a knife. Everytime I've tried, I've nearly cut off my finger. I'd rather just scoop the seed out with a spoon and waste some of the meat.
Plus, so many people go to the ER for avocado accidents!
I always use the knife to twist the pit out of an avocado.... never cut myself.... ever. People cutting themselves doing this probably 1) don't have great knife skills to begin with, 2) have super dull knives, 3) are using way to much force when thwacking the blade into the pit, and 4) are probably not letting the avocado ripen enough - the pit should twist out easily if it doesn't your avocado is still to green. These may not apply to everyone.... but have done this for 30+ years to 1,000's of avocado's.
Nothing you said is wrong. There is a small technique modification I'll add and that is when you pit an avocado you shouldn't be using the blade at all, rather just the tip of the butt end near the handle. Just that little corner of the end of the knife to pierce the pit, should pull right out.
Load More Replies...With practice you can just thwack the avocado half on the chopping board. No need to cut it on your hand. Once successfully thwacked then you twist. 🙂
yeah they have ACTUAL NAME for the injuries from avocado knives / pits, It's called "Avocado Hand"
quarter the avocado, separate the quarters, pit is in one quarter and pulls out easily, remove the skin from each quarter.
Putting roasted peppers in a paper bag to easily peel the skin off. Never works, never has.
Seal it in a plastic bag, not paper. Paper lets the heat and moisture out and it's the steam created that makes the peeling easy. Provided you've roasted your peppers for long enough it works every time.
I agree. It needs to be a plastic bag, and it definitely works.
Load More Replies...My husband puts roasted peppers in a bowl, covers with plastic wrap, and then waits (no idea how long) to peel off the skin. This tends to work.
That's what I do too. It works well. How long? I dunno... a little while.
Load More Replies...I was going to ask this. I've never peeled a pepper in my life. Aren't most of the vitamins in the skin ?
Load More Replies...For peppers in general, there's no need to peel. This is specifically about roasted peppers. I've done "roasting" under the broiler, over a gas flame, or on a charcoal grill. It's just for a few seconds, maybe a minute, to char the skin and lightly cook the pepper's "shell." Afterwards, we remove some of the skin so that the charred flavor doesn't overwhelm the rest of the dish. But you do want a little charred flavor, so leave some of the charred bits in place.
Load More Replies...Your doing it wrong (paper!?).. plastic bag or any sealed container 100% works!
Put them in a bowl covered with a tight-fitting lid, a plastic stretch cover, or a plate that fits. Works every time.
It always works for me....you probably have not roasted your peppers long enough if it doesn't work. Paper bag, plastic bag, makes no diff if you have thoroughly blackened your peppers.
I’ve been seeing a lot of “healthy” or “high protein” desserts/breakfast where they use egg and something. It’s disgusting. Every recipe I’ve tried doesn’t hold together and it just mostly tastes of egg.
Real "mousse au chocolat", yum! 6 eggs, 8 ounces of good dark chocolate, and nothing else.
Oh, this recipe should be much, much higher. Yum!
Load More Replies...Also sick of recipes that "substitute" baking powder with more eggs. That doesn't work unless you separate out the yolks, and they never tell you to do that.
Is it the least concerning to anyone else that the pic illustrates pudding (chocolate?) topped with pomegranate?
Not in the slightest. I love pomegranate and that looks delicious.
Load More Replies...um...i don't understand this one...egg -- or more precisely egg white -- is what holds most desserts together...and the yolk adds yummy extra fat to the product...so, you are not bumping up protein or cutting down fat to any cake, custard, etc. by leaving it out...
I tried adding sodium citrate to Mac and cheese (following the SE recipe). Instead of rich and creamy it turned out hard and dry. Didn’t work *for me* but I’m guessing I accidentally skipped a step or something.
Sodium citrate is kind of a black magic in cooking. It's pretty much only good for making cheese sauce, and it only works in a VERY specific configuration. If you add too much or too little of anything, it won't turn out right. I've gotten it to work I think 3 times? Usually I just use milk + cornstarch as a thickener instead and add a bit of extra salt. Much more consistent, results are still plenty creamy.
I add cream cheese to my mac & cheese. Plain works fine but the flavored ones most people get for their bagels are my go-to.
Load More Replies...Why aren't people just making a basic flour + butter roux?! What the hell is sodium citrate?!
Macaroni cheese is one of the simplest dishes going. Why complicate it?
if you want creamy mac and cheese you either need to make a roux or melt the cheese in evaporated milk (w/o flour or starch)...i recommend the evaporated milk method b/c it is easier, waaaaaaay creamier, reheats better, and will not ever "break" (i.e., separate into oil and curds)...evaporated milk can also be used to make creamy, reheatable cheese sauces, nacho sauce, quick fondues...TRY IT!...it will be lifechanging
I was excited to try it, and the results were pretty good, but I'm back to using a beaten egg as the binder for my emulsion. I was hoping it would be "cheesier" without the addition of an egg (or flour if using a roux,) masking the flavor of the cheeses, but it made very little difference. Whatever your technique for macaroni and cheese, you can only be as good as your cheeses, so get the best quality you can.
Using the proper amount of sodium citrate and only water to dilute it will give you a very, genuine cheese flavor. I make this regularly just for chips and dip.
Load More Replies...Dissolve the sodium citrate in a tablespoon of hot water. 1/8 tsp is plenty of sodium citrate. Make a roux. Add your cheese to the appropriate cheeziness. Whisk in your sodium citrate. Adjust as necessary. Should be stable. Sodium citrate isn't there to make things creamy. That's the roux. Sodium citrate is the emulsifier and stabilizer.
Kenji Lopez Alt (who I usually trust) has you soak risotto rice and add the starchy soaking liquid during the cooking process and also cook the rice without stirring.
I have tried it several times and never enjoyed the results.
I'm no chef, but I'm Italian, so risotto is one of the dishes I grew up with, and it's done in almost every Italian household regularly. And you know that the rice for the risotto shouldn't be rinsed. This because rinsing it (even if you add the starchy water later) takes away the starch in every grain that is needed for the creamy texture that risotto is supposed to have. While in other rice dishes it's better if you have the grains easily separated, in risotto it's nicer when you have them in a more integrated way, because that it is how the texture is supposed to be.
I never rinse my rice no matter what I do and it always tastes fine, no idea why I should do it anyway. It's not like my pelted rice was dirty anyway
Load More Replies...This varies wildly depending on what kinda rice you use, but this IS generally the way. Risotto is finicky though, even seasoned pro chefs fck it up sometimes. Source: I am one of those professional chefs.
I have never tried this method, but Kenji is a legit chef, the dude knows his stuff. He probably just makes it look so much easier than it really is.
never heard of Kenji, but i am a Lombard, and risotto is our tradition. The method described by OP is horrible, I'm not surprised it wouldn't work. Plus, it means extra pots to wash afterwards. LilliVB got it right.
Load More Replies...Soaking rice removes the wonderful starch that IS what rice needs. Starch is one of the actual components of rice. That texture matters.
I have never rinsed any rice, ever. And cooking it without occasionally stirring? Sounds like a bad idea to me....
It depends on what stage of cooking you stop stirring. In a slow cooked in a pan rice dish (eg risotto or paella), if you don't stir it after most of the liquid has been absorbed, it will develop a creamier consistency and a crust on the bottom
Load More Replies...
Tried waffling stuffing. Disappointing mushy mess.
I have no idea what this is, but it sounds as though it should be a English name, “Have you met Lord Waffling-Stuffing?”
I looked it up - it's using left over stuffing to make a waffle. Personally, I like Blue Bunny Of Happiness' comment!
Leftover stuffing? You layer it with leftover meat, cheese and mashed potatoes and bake that baby until it's crispy on top!
Whatever is in that pan in the above picture, looks like toasted vomit.
"Put some fine oil in the boiling water with your pasta!" - absolutely not. An Italian once said to me that, if he'd do that at home, he'd happily turn himself in to have a set of concrete boots adjusted. It literally deserves a lot of purposes, makes nothing better and is, at best, irrelevant. There are a lot of things that may be improved, even, by adding oil atop the traditional ingredients, but this case, just ... no. Also - any device that makes small bits of garlic by forcing it through some kind of gutter. No. Cut that stuff, even if you reduce the amount out of laziety, still better to have a bit less, but not that yikes'ish sad remains of garlic any and every garlic press leaves you with.
The only time I put a bit of oil in my pasta water while cooking my pasta is when I'm using too small a pot for some unfortunate reason. The teaspoon of oil helps prevent boil over. The pasta comes out better using a large enough pot with enough water for the amount of pasta you're cooking and no oil. Either way, salt your water.
Load More Replies...A lot of these are just opinions of flavor. It isn't that he trick didn't work, you just didn't like the food. A lot of people don't like broccoli but that doesn't make broccoli a "fail."
Well said and pretty much what I said about the cauliflower pizza crust. Had absolutely nothing to do with cooking nor "fail", just someone complaining about cauliflower pizza crust.
Load More Replies...I enjoy the act and process of making a meal. Chopping, seasoning, cooking, tasting…. Take your time. Enjoy the process of making fuel for yourself and anyone that's going to enjoy your creation. Eating is one of the few common threads of humanity. Everyone needs sustenance.
Wasted opportunity to use the word 'roasted' instead of 'trashed' in the title.
Many people love some shortcuts and don't understand why I avoid thermomix and lifehacks making you reach your meal faster. Take your time, enjoy to cut tomatoes one by one,caramelizing onions,stirring risotto,peeling garlic. It feeds your senses long before it feeds your stomach. If you don't have the time too cook slow,plan some meal prep days, so you have frozen portions of meals or prepped ingredients. I also use no dishwasher, just wash by hands and sing to the radio or listen podcasts. Was a great metime for 30 min. when the kids were young and avoided the kitchen,cause they didn't want to help here.
Very well said and good advice for those that find themselves short on time. As I stated in my comment on the caramelized onions, good food takes time. If you want quality results you have to spend quality time getting there. Cooking should be fun, an experience and treated like an art because it is and can be even for those that only do it at home for themselves or their family. One of the best chefs I've ever worked for that made me the chef I am today once said "I want it done right, not right now".
Load More Replies...How about ANY hack for hard-boiling eggs to make the shell come off easier? I've tried them all and I'm here to report: THEY ARE ALL LIES.
Cooking hack 101… peeling garlic, pay a chef. chopping anything finely or into batons or chiffonarde or into regular cubes, pay a chef. making a five course fine dining dinner for two, pay a couple of chefs. in fact anything kitchen related simply employ a couple of chefs, they’ll soon have it all sorted. Simple!
"Put some fine oil in the boiling water with your pasta!" - absolutely not. An Italian once said to me that, if he'd do that at home, he'd happily turn himself in to have a set of concrete boots adjusted. It literally deserves a lot of purposes, makes nothing better and is, at best, irrelevant. There are a lot of things that may be improved, even, by adding oil atop the traditional ingredients, but this case, just ... no. Also - any device that makes small bits of garlic by forcing it through some kind of gutter. No. Cut that stuff, even if you reduce the amount out of laziety, still better to have a bit less, but not that yikes'ish sad remains of garlic any and every garlic press leaves you with.
The only time I put a bit of oil in my pasta water while cooking my pasta is when I'm using too small a pot for some unfortunate reason. The teaspoon of oil helps prevent boil over. The pasta comes out better using a large enough pot with enough water for the amount of pasta you're cooking and no oil. Either way, salt your water.
Load More Replies...A lot of these are just opinions of flavor. It isn't that he trick didn't work, you just didn't like the food. A lot of people don't like broccoli but that doesn't make broccoli a "fail."
Well said and pretty much what I said about the cauliflower pizza crust. Had absolutely nothing to do with cooking nor "fail", just someone complaining about cauliflower pizza crust.
Load More Replies...I enjoy the act and process of making a meal. Chopping, seasoning, cooking, tasting…. Take your time. Enjoy the process of making fuel for yourself and anyone that's going to enjoy your creation. Eating is one of the few common threads of humanity. Everyone needs sustenance.
Wasted opportunity to use the word 'roasted' instead of 'trashed' in the title.
Many people love some shortcuts and don't understand why I avoid thermomix and lifehacks making you reach your meal faster. Take your time, enjoy to cut tomatoes one by one,caramelizing onions,stirring risotto,peeling garlic. It feeds your senses long before it feeds your stomach. If you don't have the time too cook slow,plan some meal prep days, so you have frozen portions of meals or prepped ingredients. I also use no dishwasher, just wash by hands and sing to the radio or listen podcasts. Was a great metime for 30 min. when the kids were young and avoided the kitchen,cause they didn't want to help here.
Very well said and good advice for those that find themselves short on time. As I stated in my comment on the caramelized onions, good food takes time. If you want quality results you have to spend quality time getting there. Cooking should be fun, an experience and treated like an art because it is and can be even for those that only do it at home for themselves or their family. One of the best chefs I've ever worked for that made me the chef I am today once said "I want it done right, not right now".
Load More Replies...How about ANY hack for hard-boiling eggs to make the shell come off easier? I've tried them all and I'm here to report: THEY ARE ALL LIES.
Cooking hack 101… peeling garlic, pay a chef. chopping anything finely or into batons or chiffonarde or into regular cubes, pay a chef. making a five course fine dining dinner for two, pay a couple of chefs. in fact anything kitchen related simply employ a couple of chefs, they’ll soon have it all sorted. Simple!
