Home Chefs Are Sharing The Biggest Cooking "No-Nos," And We Could All Learn From Them
"It's just like my grandma always told me..."
With a little bit of practice, cooking isn't so hard. But there are some mistakes you'll definitely want to avoid. So redditor u/markoserqwq asked, "What is a big NO-NO in cooking?" Here are some responses.
1. "Overcrowding the pan if you're trying to brown something."
2. "Letting knives sit in the sink. When the sink is full of dishes, dirty water, and soap, you won't see them."
3. "Using too high a flame. Too much heat leads to burnt food or food that's undercooked at the center."
4. "Scraping your knife blade down on the cutting board."
"It dulls knives quickly and you can ruin them. If you're going to scrape with your knife, use the back of the blade." —u/Spidersandsparrows
5. "Using too many spices."
6. "Over-salting. Sometimes when you think you need more salt, you really need to add acid."
7. "Adding fresh garlic too early when frying."
8. "Using your cutting board without washing it thoroughly after cutting raw meat or fish."
"This just puts any bacteria from the raw meat into your fresh food." —u/Daizelkrns
9. "Walking away while boiling milk. Don't do it unless you're willing to start over."
10. "Never take something out of the oven using a wet towel or mitt. The moisture will turn to steam instantly and burn you."
11. "Don't adjust a baking recipe unless you really know what you're doing."
12. "You can always add more seasoning but you can never take away."
13. "Not practicing a recipe before making it for company."
14. "Frequently opening the oven to check on your food. Stop peeking and just let it cook!"
15. "Rushing to finish a recipe. Taking enough time to cook things properly is the magic ingredient."
16. "Always cooking with extra virgin olive oil."
"It burns too quickly. Regular olive oil or other oils (vegetable, canola, avocado) have a higher smoke point and are better for cooking with." —u/sheepsleepdeep
17. "Putting food in the pan when the oil is still cold."
18. "Rinsing pasta after you boil it. This gets rid of all the flavor and starch, which helps the sauce coat the noodles."
19. "Not doing the prep work before you start cooking. It makes cleanup much easier and allows you to focus more on the recipe."
20. "Trying to roast damp ingredients. Pat dry meats and dry veggies before adding fat to roast. Otherwise you're just basically steaming them in the oven."
21. "Not letting your meat rest before slicing it."
22. "Reheating everything in the microwave."
"My mother-in-law spends hours cooking an incredible meal, but then she puts everything in the microwave to 'warm it all up' before serving. It ruins perfectly good food." —u/background-character
23. "Not checking to make sure to have all the ingredients before starting a recipe."
24. "Adding corn starch to hot liquid to thicken it. You need to mix the starch with cold water and then add it to the hot liquid."
25. "Cooking with wine you would never drink."
26. "Not sharpening your knives. You are more likely to cut yourself with a dull knife than with a sharp one."
27. "Not heating up a cast iron pan before cooking."
28. "Using metal utensils with a non-stick pan. It completely ruins the pan and all your food will start to stick to it."
29. "Stirring or constantly moving food around when you're trying to sear or brown it."
