Learning how to cook is a never-ending journey. You can’t perfect it. You just get better at it. If you are willing to put in the hours and burn a few pans, of course. However, eager students of the craft often run into a big problem: inconsistent or even misleading information. What makes matters even worse is that when you’re just starting out, you can’t distinguish it from practices that are actually helpful and develop bad habits. So in an attempt to straighten things out, Reddit user u/Swimmin_Duck made a post on the platform, inviting everyone to share what they think is overhyped and useless cooking advice.
In order to understand how we can find our way around the pots quicker, we also spoke with Kacie Morgan, the creator of an award-winning blog called The Rare Welsh Bit, where she covers, among other things, bespoke recipes, restaurants, local cuisines, and food travel destinations.
So continue scrolling to check out how Reddit users contributed to the discussion and Morgan’s thoughts on the subject.
#1
Measuring things like chocolate chips, you measure that with your heart, not a spoon
Image source: lysthequeen, Anton
#2
Some people discard the whole brick of cheese when there is mold on a bit of it.
I generally chop off the chunk of the mold with some buffer and carry on.
Image source: squeevey, Alexander Maasch
#3
“cook onions for 3 minutes until translucent” lol ok, I’ll comes back to you in 10 minutes when they start getting there
Image source: Adelineslife, Simona Sergi
#4
When a recipe calls for “two cloves of garlic” I usually add 5-10.
Image source: lavender_salamander, team voyas
#5
“save the bones for stock”
Nah man, I ain’t got room for that in my freezer. I like Ice cream.
Image source: DragonLass-AUS
#6
I never ever add garlic at the same time as my onions to saute. I only saute garlic for 30 seconds.
Image source: BelliAmie, Dennis van Lith
#7
When you render fat from ground beef or something and use the same pan to cook something else, they always say “drain the fat”. f**k that! fat is flavor! when I make chili I always cook my celery and onions in beef fat.
Image source: Waterstealer, Andy Melton
#8
Times for meat on the stovetop. “Cook the chicken for 2 minutes, then turn and cook for 2 minutes more….” What kind of stove do you have, guy? My burners at home certainly aren’t going to cook a breast all the way through in 4 minutes.
Image source: 9_of_wands, Krzysztof Hepner
#9
I always use salted butter, I find that it tastes better, specially in sweet baked goods.
I always take away 1/3 of the sugar in cake recipes, i find that gives more of a balanced flavour and the finished cake is less sickly sweet so you can eat more of it
Image source: Frequent_Artichoke, Sorin Gheorghita
#10
When cutting onions, I do not make the horizontal cross-cuts on the “face” of each onion half. I only make the vertical cuts and then the final, perpendicular chopping cuts. I figure those face cuts are redundant because the onion is layered already. Right?
Image source: Transgojoebot, Caroline Attwood
#11
Mise En Place. I’m just going to get the water boiling/pan heating/oven preheating and then prep as I go. Separate little dishes for all of the components? Do people cook on the weekdays? Do people do dishes?
Image source: Remy1985, Rudy Issa
#12
I can’t be bothered to rinse my rice. I know, I know, I’m going to hell.
Image source: yels0, Quiet Hut
#13
My mom used to be the operations manager at a culinary college. They specifically told the students not to use expensive wine. They recommended boxed wine like Franzia because the wine stays sealed from the air and stays good for longer. By the time you’re done cooking with it, anything that would make an expensive wine taste better will be destroyed, and your expensive wine will be ruined.
Image source: PlanetMarklar, drinkdivino
#14
Most recipes online targeted at an English audience (e.g. U.K./USA) which originate from elsewhere are extremely stingy with herbs and spices. “Half a teaspoon of oregano”, “a pinch of paprika” etc. bollocks to that. My Italian wife calls it “Italian food for English people”. It takes a lot of experience to know herbs and spices intuitively but start by increasing the amounts they suggest if they’re small and go from there.
Image source: stesha83, Andy Holmes
#15
I use cornstarch as a thickener. I’m never too fancy for cornstarch.
Image source: mariners2o6, sunny mama
#16
No use of soap on cast iron !!
That one is a classic, “no soap” thing is an old rule from way back when soap contained lye and other harsh stuff
Image source: electric4568, Helinton Fantin
#17
Most measurements, especially where garlic or salt is concerned.
And whatever color the onion needs to be since I plan on using whatever onion I have available.
Image source: Anitsirhc171, Kelly Common
#18
“Don’t cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink”… honey I’ll drink pruno if that’s what you’ve got, it’s not a high bar
Image source: EatBangLove, Klara Kulikova
#19
My spices get poured from the jar. Sometimes it ends up as an “oops, guess this one’s gonna be extra paprikaey”
Image source: Dartser, Darío Méndez
#20
For any spices in my dishes, a teaspoon is some in my palm, a tablespoon is more in my palm, a pinch is whatever I pinch, and anything less than a teaspoon either doesn’t exist or gets rounded up to whatever I pour out into my hand.
People rave about “how well seasoned” my cooking is, so who the hell even cares. The only thing I’m careful about is salt because oversalting is a thing and will ruin a dish. MSG though…I’ve never heard anyone call my dishes too umami!
Image source: Straydapp, Karin Hiselius
#21
The number of servings. As I usually cook one main dish, if the recipe says it serves 4 people, it usually serves 2, if it serves 6 and we’re 3 there might be a chance of “some” leftovers… sometimes.
Image source: Yupyup_o_O
#22
Adding oil to your pasta water will not prevent the noodles from sticking. The oil will remain separated from the water instead.
Image source: ClashBandicootie
#23
Salad dressing recipes will tell you to stream in the oil while whisking. Nah, just throw it all in a jar and give it a shake
Image source: prawn69, Alexis Antoine
#24
I rinse my mushrooms with water
(Comes from prep in commercial kitchens. If you are using them right away, rinsing with water is fine. If they’re going to sit in a pan for hours or days before being used, they’re going to get slimy and gross.)
Image source: ow_my_balls, Waldemar Brandt
#25
I’ve heard to never wash your mushrooms in water and instead wipe off the dirt. I also know that mushrooms are grown with animal feces… I always wash my mushrooms.
Image source: Superb_Geologist_474, Joanna Kosinska
#26
Using pre-shredded cheese isn’t always going to ruin whatever you’re making.
Image source: allmilhouse, Willis Lam
#27
Follow the recipe. My opinion: it only really matters in beginners baking. Once you get the feel for the food and how you want it to taste, the rest is up to you.
Image source: wordsinverse, Dan Gold
#28
Sugar measurements. I routinely use half or a third of what is called for and NEVER miss it.
Image source: Mezcalier, Sharon McCutcheon
#29
I refuse to omit salt, ever.
I know every baby boomer mom and cardiologist is probably frowning at this comment too.
Image source: kimberdots, Anastasia Zhenina
#30
I rarely bother making my own stock. It’s just not practical for me; I don’t have the space to freeze big batches of it and I don’t have the time to regularly make smaller batches of it.
Most of the time, I find stock cubes work fine. They taste fine in most applications. The only thing I tend to miss in stock cubes is the gelatin, but in cases where I want that I just sprinkle some powdered gelatin into the stock.
Image source: ConsiderablyMediocre, Tom Small
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