15 "Bad" Cooking Habits You Need To Stop Doing, And 14 Good Ones That'll Make You A Professional Chef
We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the worst cooking mistakes people make in the kitchen and which good habits they should have instead. Here are the must-read results.
Some responses also come from Reddit.
1.Bad habit: "Stop pressing/smashing your burger patties (or any food, really) while they cook. That literally squeezes all the juice out, and you'll be left with a dry burger."
"Leave it the hell alone, and let it cook."
2.Good habit: "Always cook your meatloaf on a baking sheet instead of in a loaf pan. Loaf pans trap all the grease and fat and will make your meatloaf soggy."
"Just free-hand form a loaf on a baking sheet so everything drains away and the meat can actually get nice and browned."
3.Bad habit: "There really is such thing as too much garlic. Adding a little more than the recipe calls for is fine, but adding 10 times as much just makes everything taste like garlic. It's a dead giveaway that the food is not good and that the garlic is trying to make up for it."
"I love garlic, but there is such a thing as too much (and it can be especially strong in dairy-based sauces). So many people add too much and think they're professional chefs, but actually, every single meal they cook tastes exactly the same (i.e., garlicky), and it gets boring reallllly fast."
4.Good habit: "Slice your chicken before cooking it. Not only will it cook faster, but everything will cook at the same time. No more overcooked or dry pieces."
"I always butterfly the breast, pound it to equal thickness, and cut it into fillets. Otherwise, the small end of the breast will be overcooked and dry by the time the larger side is cooked. It’s an easy extra step, makes a huge difference taste-wise, and looks so much better when plated."
5.Bad habit: "NEVER put oil in the pot when your pasta is cooking — it makes the sauce slide off later."
"Also, pasta should never, ever be rinsed for a warm dish because the starch in the water is what helps the sauce adhere to the pasta. The only time you should ever rinse your pasta is when you are going to use it in a cold dish, like a pasta salad, or when you are not going to use it immediately."
6.Good habit: "Please. Add. Acidity. If there is one aha moment I've had in the last 20 years of cooking, it's that when salt isn't 'helping' a dish, what's missing is acid. Lemon juice, vinegar, or citric acid (if you have some) transforms a dish in a surprising way."
"My grandma was a chef who specialized in Asian and East Indian cuisines. When she cooked these dishes, a dash of rice vinegar and a few drops of ~lime~ juice (not lemon juice) was always so important. Acid/pH is crucial to bringing out the individual flavors in any dish. Start with two drops of lime juice first, and then adjust it as you learn. It's a secret ingredient."
7.Bad habit: "Don't use the blade side of your knife to scrape up food. That dulls it super quickly. Instead, use the top of it (the nonsharp side)."
"My grandpa is a classically trained chef. I asked his advice about why my knives (even though I sharpened them regularly) were still dull and had chips. He told me to stop using plastic cutting boards and to stop using my blade to scrape stuff off my board. Both things will destroy your knives."
8.Good habit: "Always let your meat dry on a paper towel and come to room temperature before you put it on the stove. This allows for an excellent texture and a nice sear."
"Also, let the stove and pan come to heat before putting the meat on. Otherwise, you won't get that nice sear you're looking for."
9.Bad habit: "Stop using a glass cutting board. The surface will ruin the hell out of your knives. The glass has no give against the edge of your knife, unlike wood, which will dull and roll the edges."
"Also, if a bottle of oil tips over and falls onto the glass cutting board, it could possibly break it, and you'll get glass everywhere. Food will also more easily slip around on a glass board, making it an accident waiting to happen."
—vileroses and MitcheyMitch
10.Good habit: "Go to a restaurant supply company to buy some long-lasting kitchenware at more affordable prices."
"Years ago, I went to one and bought a bunch of things (small pans like the ones I'd seen in the backs of restaurants, a white chef’s apron, plastic squeeze bottles, a fine sieve for straining, and a universal-size pan cover). They were all relatively inexpensive and have lasted FOREVER."
11.Bad habit: "Stop overmixing your pancake and waffle batter. In addition, you should let the batter sit for 15-ish minutes after you're done mixing. You'll get fluffier, lighter pancakes and waffles this way."
"And even if the recipe doesn't call for it, refrigerate your cookie dough for a minimum of 30 minutes. This keeps the cookies from spreading all over the pan, and I've found that it also holds the flavor better."
—[deleted]
12.Good habit: "Always deglaze your pan. You can use wine or stock, but water works great too. Not only will it pull all the beautiful, caramelized flavors from the bottom of your pan, but it'll also magically become spotless when you go to clean it, which will now take only about five seconds."
"Deglazing with water works especially well for onions. You can even caramelize onions more quickly by using a higher heat, then deglazing as necessary. It also works great for when you're making your own broth, such as a veggie broth. Be sure to salt as necessary. If I’m making a quick pan sauce after searing meat, though, then I’m a lot more likely to use wine or broth."
13.Bad habit: "Stop using measuring spoons for baking. Instead, use a kitchen scale. Baking is a science, so you need to measure things out exactly. Measuring spoons are not as accurate as the scale, and it can affect the result."
"I remember reading some advice years ago that stuck with me and remains true: When cooking, the recipe is a guideline, and you should adjust it according to your tastes. When baking, the recipe is absolute...follow the damn recipe."
14.Good habit: "If you want to impress guests or just feel extra fancy, you can make your own flavored butter in no time at all. Just soften a pat of butter and then add in herbs, garlic, chiles, or whatever you want. Shape it, freeze it, and then just slice off a portion with a warm knife whenever you want some."
"It's great to use on meat, veggies, pasta, or really anything. I have about five different flavors in my freezer at the moment."
"You can do this same thing with olive oil in ice cube trays, too!"
15.Bad habit: "Stop 'ruining' things with apple cider vinegar (and especially, do not add it to gravy — it will taste spoiled). Instead, this is literally what cooking wine/sherry is for."
"Sherry is wonderful for gravies, especially at Thanksgiving — it's delicious. If you do decide to add a splash of apple cider vinegar and the taste is off, it's probably because the vinegar itself is of low quality (or has gone bad), so, for this, buy the better-quality stuff."
16.Good habit: "Keep a note of your recipes and rate them. Mark the exact quantities of ingredients, serving sizes, the process, etc. — you'll be able to improve it by adjusting a few variables at a time."
"Make your notes as you'd give them to someone who has no ingredients and has to go buy everything and then prepare the dishes. When you make the dish again two years later, you'll know exactly what you need and how to do it."
17.Bad habit: "Stop using water when cooking your grains. Instead, use broth for grains that don't need to be strained (like quinoa, rice, couscous, etc.). If you only have water and need to use that, make sure you season it thoroughly so the grains absorb all those flavors."
"You should be adding all of your flavor while cooking instead of after, so seasoning beforehand is always important!"
18.Good habit: "If you're standing around and waiting while cooking, your process must be reviewed. Instead, time everything out. For home cooks, mise en place (prepping, cutting, measuring ingredients, etc.) can be done while something else is happening, rather than all at once in the beginning."
"Mise en place is good for complicated recipes, but it's an inefficient use of time for everyday cooking. Get the slowest thing to cook on the heat first, and then prepare the next step while it's cooking. If you want to get dinner on the table in half an hour, you don't want to be spending 20 minutes chopping everything and then just standing around waiting while the various stages cook."
19.Bad habit: "Don't throw all of your veggies and other food in a pan at once and expect them all to cook at the same time and temperature. Garlic, carrots, onions, celery, and so on ALL cook differently. No one wants to eat overcooked mush or tough, stringy cardboard."
"Carrots and bell peppers, for example, take FAR longer to cook than mushrooms and onions, so read your recipes ahead of time!"
—Mo
20.Good habit: "Always let your meat rest for 5 to 10 minutes (or more if it's a roast, whole chicken, or turkey) so the juices can properly redistribute. Cutting the meat as soon as it comes off or out of the heat drains all the juices."
21.Bad habit: "Don’t rinse or wash your raw chicken or turkey. When you rinse meat, you're only splashing germs around the sink and counter. There’s no real point in doing it. Chicken doesn't show up full of dirt the way leeks do, so just cook it."
If you're curious, here's a more detailed look into why experts say you shouldn't wash raw chicken.
22.Good habit: "I always rinse my cutting board with water before cutting onions, and I never get tears when I do that. It's my favorite hack!"
"And when you're cutting an onion, cut through the 'hairy end.' It's not there for a handle — it's there to help keep the onion together as you dice it."
23.Bad habit: "Stop draining your pasta with a colander over the sink. The best way is to use tongs to directly transfer the pasta into the sauce from its cooking water. That way, you can keep some of that starchy cooking water and give the sauce some creaminess and moisture."
"Otherwise, you'll have dry pasta that no amount of sauce can fix."
24.Good habit: "Clean. Up. As. You. Cook."
"No one wants to clean while the food goes cold or after you eat and have a full stomach! It's definitely better to clean as you go, and so much nicer to see a clean kitchen before I eat."
25.Bad habit: "Stop instantly running your hot pot or pan under cold water. It can lead to cracking and warping."
"This is one of those things that you can easily miss because you just don't think about it. My parents always ran hot pans under cold water, and I just assumed it was normal until my husband explained that doing that could very easily ruin a good pan."
26.Good habit: "I work in a kitchen, and to prevent guacamole from browning, we press a layer of plastic wrap against the entire top layer. Just push all the air out while you press down, because any parts that are touching air will turn brown. Then just cover it and refrigerate."
27.Bad habit: "Don't buy herbs that aren't fresh. Fresh herbs make a world of difference to the dish, and they should be added toward the end of cooking (except for heartier herbs, like thyme and rosemary)."
"Using fresh herbs is the easiest way to elevate all of your dishes. Trust me."
28.Good habit: "Use a meat thermometer instead of just trusting the temperature display on your oven. This will make a huge difference, especially when baking cakes. Most ovens are never accurate and will alert you that they're preheated before they really are."
"A cheap meat thermometer will be way more accurate!"
29.And one final bad habit: "Never take something out of the oven using a wet towel or mitt. The moisture will instantly turn to steam and burn you."
"I've learned this the hard way."
Do you have an even better (or worse) cooking tip (or mistake) that everyone should follow (or not)? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.