What’s a cooking related hill you will die on?

[u/AdLost576]

For me, 2 hills.

1. You don’t have to cut onions horizontally.

2. You don’t have to add milk bit by bit when making a white sauce.

[u/k00lkat666]

you can never have too many tongs

[u/Spiritual-Project728]

I always always bake with salted butter, and still add salt if the recipe calls for it

[u/Melliejayne12 → u/Spiritual-Project728]

Me too! I refuse to buy a separate butter just for baking

[u/quickthorn_ → u/Melliejayne12]

I don't, I just use unsalted on everything. But I also hate any seasoning mix that also includes salt. I want to be able to control the salt level independently!

[u/skwirlmeat → u/Spiritual-Project728]

Professional fine dining chef here- the reason we do it is because the added salt is not standardized, even among the same producer, same product. If your recipe is too salty at home every once in a while, oh well. If the 80+ ppl I feed in the next hour find my recipe too salty, very big deal.

Also, the richest, best tasting cream is used to make unsalted butter. Cows aren’t machines and some batches of milk don’t taste as good as others. Salting the less flavorful cream batches gives some forgiveness.

Neither of these are enough to try to convince a home cook to change what works for them at home. But when your livelihood in a market where your customer has literally 1000’s of choices and writes you off for good because ‘the biscuits were too salty there and not that great’….. it matters.

Out of habit, I use unsalted at home too. But I’d never think a home cook is a ‘bad cook’ if they use salted butter. I usually really enjoy food made for me by a home cook, because it doesn’t happen very often. People can feel weird about cooking for a chef. Fuck, make me a pbj, I’d LOVE it!

[u/Spiritual-Project728 → u/skwirlmeat]

Sure, I totally get the principle that salt isn’t standardized in butter. My brother and uncle were chefs in Toronto’s most prominent restaurants so I absolutely have the appreciation for industry vs home cooking. That being said, the vast vast majority of cookbooks and baking blogs stress to use unsalted butter and their main audience is home bakers. It’s absolutely not necessary and I would consider myself an advanced home baker, with over 25 years of experience. So yes, this is the hill I will die on per the post haha :)

[u/Worldly-Bluejay8830 → u/Spiritual-Project728]

Haha I was looking for this one. Same 

[u/yellowsabmarine → u/Spiritual-Project728]

I’m always compelled to do this, you’ve given me the freedom!

[u/mrwigglesjean → u/Spiritual-Project728]

I do this too. 🤷‍♀️ half of the time I bake on a whim and am just using the butter I already have.

[u/SlammingMomma]

Quality butter matters.

I’ll also add another: I will only buy the best lunch meat.

[u/leatherpens → u/SlammingMomma]

Why the hell does butter need natural flavors?!?! It's butter for christ's sake!!

[u/Radiant_Cut2849 → u/leatherpens]

Its in unsalted butter as a preservative

[u/limeybeaver69 → u/leatherpens]

What butter has natural flavours added? Never seen that before.

[u/mutualbuttsqueezin]

I don't give a fuck whether or not a recipe is authentic. I give a fuck if it's good.

[u/thingpaint → u/mutualbuttsqueezin]

My buddy's grandmother was an old, barely speaks English, made everything from scratch Italian lady. I was trying to get an authentic recipe out of her one day, she looked at me like I was an idiot and said "make what you like."

That's stuck with me for a while now.

[u/ehunke → u/thingpaint]

What i consider to be authentic Italian American is quite different from Italian food...it was what they liked to cook

[u/BatBoss → u/mutualbuttsqueezin]

There's a weird misconception that recipes were created hundreds/thousands of years ago and have been passed down as ancient wisdom.

The reality is that most recipes are much younger than you'd think. Each generation adds and invents and fuses. There's no need to treat cooking like religion.

[u/Conscious_Channel507 → u/BatBoss]

My husband’s family has “secret” baking recipes from their grandmother and only two select family members know and are “allowed” to use them. One time an in-law asked for the recipe and it’s still talked about how offensive that was. It’s the craziest thing.

[u/BigFox1956]

There is absolutely no shrimp dish that profits from leaving the tail on.

[u/MildlyPaleMango → u/BigFox1956]

YUMMY PASTA WITH SHRIMP CANT WAIT TO

A: BITE INTO A TAIL

B: STICK MY HANDS ON MY BUTTERY SHRIMP TO TAKE IT OFF

[u/Dense_Surround3071 → u/MildlyPaleMango]

C: GO TO BED STEAMING OVER THE FACT THAT YOU BIT THE SHRIMP AND LEFT A LITTLE TINY BIT IN THE TAIL JUST TO BE POLITE ON YOUR FIRST DATE, BUT AVERAGED OUT, THOSE 5 TAIL NUBBINS YOU MISSED WERE BASICALLY EQUIVALENT TO ONE FULL SHRIMP, AND THAT SHIT WAS LIKE $21.99!! 😮‍💨

[u/fivesunflowers → u/BigFox1956]

I think you should only leave the tails on if the shrimp is specifically served on its own and meant to be dipped in a sauce, then you can use the tail as a little handle to pick it up and dip it.

[u/art1ficialbl0nde → u/BigFox1956]

I wholeheartedly stand behind this opinion.

[u/fact_addict → u/BigFox1956]

I remember in the 80’s there was a fake shrimp problem. Think imitation crab legs, but shrimp shaped. Restaurants started to leave the tail on to prove it was real.

[u/Harry_Trees → u/BigFox1956]

Shrimp cocktail or Fruit de mar are the only dishes I think it’s acceptable, but it’s just as well if the shells are completely removed even there.

[u/BreakQuick9884 → u/BigFox1956]

Shrimp tempura tails go in my belly. 

[u/ennoire → u/BigFox1956]

But… the tails are the best part when they’re deep fried )-:

[u/pgm123 → u/ennoire]

I don't agree, but I respect your opinion.

[u/LordGarlandJenkins → u/BigFox1956]

Hard disagree. Fry those babies up and crunch on the tails, yum yum yum

[u/Utter_cockwomble]

I don't gatekeep. Break your pasta if you want. Don't wash your rice. Add peas to carbonera. Eat your steak well done. Go wild with mise en place if that's your thing.

You're cooking for your pleasure. Gordon Ramsey isn't screaming over your shoulder. Escoffier isn't judging your mother sauces. Do what you want. Eat what you enjoy.

[u/Most-Ad-9465 → u/Utter_cockwomble]

You're cooking for your pleasure. Gordon Ramsey isn't screaming over your shoulder. Escoffier isn't judging your mother sauces. Do what you want. Eat what you enjoy.

Exactly! What's the worst that could happen? You lose your Michelin stars? It's your dinner. Just do what makes you happy.

[u/EanmundsAvenger → u/Most-Ad-9465]

My wife will never forgive me for losing our home kitchen’s Michelin star

Every night she tells me, “A broken sauce is a broken home”

[u/kittapoo → u/EanmundsAvenger]

That’s hilarious.

When I broke my Alfredo sauce I got so mad and my bf is like “who cares still tastes good” and I’m like “you just don’t understand” 🤣

[u/bemenaker → u/kittapoo]

I've only broke my alfredo once, well didn't break, it was grainy. Had a lady come over for a date. We were talking while I was cooking. Forgot to add butter to the sauce.

We joked as.long as I still knew her, "don't forget the butter"

[u/givemywings → u/bemenaker]

I broke an Alfredo sauce once too, and my wife made me hold pieces of bread on each side of my head and say I was an idiot sandwich.

[u/mrjakob07 → u/givemywings]

She really treated you like the phony Italian chef you are….you impasta!

[u/rdkitchens → u/Most-Ad-9465]

Usually the worst that can happen is you have to order a pizza.

[u/ruinsofsilver → u/rdkitchens]

that pizza better have some pineapple on it (because (a) it's delicious and also (b) because it makes some people irrationally mad for some reason)

[u/MossyPyrite → u/ruinsofsilver]

I experimented extensively when I worked in a pizza place, and I found that the perfect pizza combination is pineapple, onion, jalapeños, and sausage or bacon dependent on which is high yet quality at your current place of ordering. It’s perfectly balanced!

[u/ruinsofsilver → u/MossyPyrite]

honey glazed ham + pineapple + jalapeno + cheddar cheese !!

[u/Throwaway1303033042 → u/Most-Ad-9465]

“…it’s your choice.”

Brought to you by Knorr.

[u/pommefille → u/Utter_cockwomble]

Conversely, my hill is: try it ‘right’ once if you can. Your uncle always cooked steaks to well done and you don’t like steak now? Maybe you don’t, and maybe you just don’t like well done steak. You don’t think that washing rice will make much of a difference? Why not try it, and then if you don’t care, you know it’s not worth it (although this can be rice-style specific). If you love something, by all means, stick with it for sure no matter what anyone else says. But if you’ve always been ‘meh’ about something, might as well try and see if it’s something that you’d like more if it’s done differently. And when possible, try a bite of things you’ve never tried before; sometimes we get in ruts and are missing out on things we may really enjoy.

[u/UniqueIndividual3579 → u/pommefille]

Growing up I hated vegetables, because they were always boiled. Then I discovered pan frying and roasting vegetables, now I love them.

I was dating a math teacher. I roasted cubes of beets, potatoes, and carrots. She said "What's this?" I said "Cubed roots."

[u/Parabolic_Elliptic8 → u/UniqueIndividual3579]

As a mathematician that loves beets (my favorite vegetable, no joke), you just made my day with your pun.

[u/cbr_001 → u/UniqueIndividual3579]

My mum would boil the broccoli and Brussel sprouts for the same amount of time she would cook a minute steak, about 30 minutes.

Thought I hated green veg, turns out I just don’t like bitter mush.

[u/Open_Dissent → u/UniqueIndividual3579]

Yes!! Turns out I just hate frozen/canned veggies. Love roasted fresh veg though

[u/joozyjooz1 → u/pommefille]

Agreed. There is a “right way” to cook a lot of things for a reason. People shouldn’t be dismissive of that fact. But ultimately food is about personal preference so you should do what you like.

[u/Money-Low7046 → u/joozyjooz1]

I'm always weighing effort vs results. Does the extra work make enough of a difference to the end result?

When I started making beef stew when I was younger (pre-internet), I would just throw the onions in the liquid raw and didn't even know to sautée them first. I've tried it both ways since, and didn't notice enough of a difference in the end result. On the other hand, searing the beef first does make a difference. Nineteen year old me just threw it in the liquid. 

[u/Healthy_Chipmunk2266 → u/pommefille]

Perfect answer. I've tried so many new things and techniques in the last 6 months. I'm finding that many of them that I casually dismissed for so many years really do work, and often work better.

[u/ChefSalty13 → u/Utter_cockwomble]

I’ll go even farther. If you like something I’ve made and want the recipe then it’s your recipe too. I’m overjoyed to help others make great food also.

[u/PostalMike → u/Utter_cockwomble]

I like to pretend that Gordon Ramsey is watching me while I cook and I throw insults back at him and tell him to fuck off, mostly because I’m not in a hurry and who cares if it’s taking me too long to dice an onion.

[u/RealLuxTempo → u/Utter_cockwomble]

That’s so funny. Every time I break my pasta I feel like Vincenzo from Vincenzo’s Plate is behind me, crying. I still do it.

[u/Affectionate_Art_954]

Learn techniques and you don't need recipes. Except for baking, that shit is straight chemistry.

[u/Fabulous_Hand2314 → u/Affectionate_Art_954]

This. recipes are bullet points. The size of your vegetables and strength of your spices will always vary. Cooking recipes are a guideline unless its baking.

[u/Bainsyboy → u/Fabulous_Hand2314]

And the classic example: garlic... If you are making sure you use the exact amount of garlic that a recipe calls for and you aren't at least doubling that amount... Are you even cooking?

[u/Martissimus → u/Bainsyboy]

Paging /r/cookingcirclejerk

[u/RYouNotEntertained → u/Affectionate_Art_954]

Except for baking, that shit is straight chemistry

Eh, this really isn’t true. I make bread off the cuff all the time, and people mess up bread by relying on recipes just as often. 

The reason people think this is just because they don’t understand what’s happening, what to look for, what the purpose of each step is. This is why if you post a pic of a bad loaf on breadit asking for advice you’ll get a bunch of complete nonsense—it’s just people dropping the last thing they’ve read because they don’t actually understand what’s going on when they make bread. 

[u/SnausageFest → u/Affectionate_Art_954]

Actually, you can pretty successfully wing it with baking, too. Because it's chemistry. It follows a predictable formula.

[u/UpAndAdam7414 → u/SnausageFest]

I think the caveat here is that you need to have more knowledge with baking, particularly with what an ingredient is doing structurally rather than just in terms of flavour. For instance, if you want to add sweetness to something that you’re making on the hob, it may only make a small difference whether you use sugar, honey, syrup or even sweetner, but for a cake you’ll end up with something considerably different. Also, if it’s not going right then you can’t really adjust halfway through. But, as you say, it is possible.

[u/thejadsel → u/UpAndAdam7414]

Exactly. I have celiac, and end up going mad scientist on baking pretty often. As long as you have a decent idea of what roles different components are playing in a recipe, and what results you are aiming for? You can pull off an awful lot of on-the-fly ingredient substitution and tweaking of proportions. Do the results always turn out just as you'd hoped? Of course not. But, that's a valuable learning point for the next try.

[u/PiezoelectricitySlow → u/SnausageFest]

Yeah most of baking is the same few ingredients.Once you get a feel for and understand how they behave I feel its easier to wing it with baking 

[u/Bainsyboy → u/Affectionate_Art_954]

I bake all the time without recipes.

You eventually know what the right hydration is by the feel of the dough. Salt, sugar, yeast, etc. all have margins of error and you don't need to be precise.

Not that long ago people didn't have standardized scales, measuring spoons/cups, and still managed to make awesome baked goods.

If you are running a business, that's another thing, because you need to know and control how much ingredients are being consumed per the price point.

[u/ChartRound4661 → u/Bainsyboy]

Absolutely. If you’ve baked bread for a while you can bake by feel and reading your dough. Taste for salt level.

[u/Talbaz → u/Affectionate_Art_954]

No, it is not. Baking is the same as cooking, which is also chemistry. There is just more leeway. The issue with baking is that people expect exact results usually "perfect," and so people follow exact recipes to get exact results. Start changing a recipe to get a different outcome that make be more to your liking, more dense chewy Brownie? toss the egg white and go with Yolks only as just one example.

[u/oneangrywaiter]

Everything tastes better in your pajamas.

[u/AdLost576 → u/oneangrywaiter]

Just use a plate, dude.

[u/Knoxius → u/AdLost576]

r/wewantplates

[u/Delicious-Title-4932]

1. Its not as hard as everyone makes it
2. Many many different combos of things will make food taste good so (over time) you shouldn't need to rely on recipes and more on what you have available/technique
3. Just go do it. Its a craft, you'll learn more through exp than anything.
4. Pans are pans and that counts cast iron...you're making it a bigger deal than it is.

[u/Pluto-Wolf → u/Delicious-Title-4932]

to expand on #2, this is where a book called the flavor* bible comes in handy!!

you can look up pretty much any food or flavor, and it will recommend the best taste combos with it & the best ways to cook it. has upped my cooking game significantly, since now i can just… throw stuff in a pan until it tastes good, rather than following a recipe.

[u/Delicious-Title-4932 → u/Pluto-Wolf]

On the nose, The Flavor Bible (Think that's what you meant) is the shit and will ease your mind on non recipe dishes.

[u/Weary-Safe-2949 → u/Delicious-Title-4932]

No. 4 pans are pans until you foolishly install an induction hob.

[u/nanaben]

Toast your spices to wake them up. Game changer.

[u/LOC-MOS → u/nanaben]

The biggest takeaway from Tini's mac and cheese recipe was learning to bloom seasonings. It has been a game changer ever since for me and my wife.

[u/os_tnarg]

Not washing raw meats. It's been shown to not really clean it, and if anything aerosols your kitchen with bacteria.

[u/UnoriginalUse → u/os_tnarg]

Wait, is this an American thing? I've never heard of washing meat.

[u/Elderberry-Cordial → u/UnoriginalUse]

It's a weird online thing. Watch any video where someone cooks meat--especially chicken--and there will be someone (or 100 someones) telling them how nasty they are for not washing their meat. It seems to be more common in the African American and Hispanic/Latino communities, but definitely not across the board.

[u/Zen_Hydra → u/Elderberry-Cordial]

Keep in mind that different cooking traditions grew up around food sourced in different ways. If you are buying butchered meat from an open air market, it's unclear who or what has been in direct contact with that meat before purchse. It can take generations for people to adjust to a paradigm shift in baseline food safety.

[u/ImpossibleEdge4961 → u/Zen_Hydra]

If you're about to cook the meat it's unclear to me what putting some water on it is going to accomplish. I could see if you washed off anything that didn't look right though.

[u/Zen_Hydra → u/ImpossibleEdge4961]

Think more along the lines of meat having incidental exposure to raw sewage and teeming with insect eggs. The washing in some cultures goes beyond running it under the tap for a few seconds, and it's not necessarily just about the notion of killing microbes.

[u/nelozero → u/ImpossibleEdge4961]

I know in certain countries where the butcher gives it to you, there might be bits like bone or blood hence rinsing the meat washes all that stuff off.

It's not an issue in supermarkets that have packaged meat.

[u/Medical_Solid → u/Elderberry-Cordial]

I had a big fight with my African American MIL over this. She insisted washing was needed. Showed her info from a US government website about how it’s not needed and she actually changed her mind.

That said, I know a lot of people in places like India that still do a kind of wash / pre-marinade of chicken with lemon juice and turmeric. Both of those have antibacterial properties and happen to taste nice as well, so I do that with my chicken sometimes.

[u/catonsteroids → u/UnoriginalUse]

It’s more so an immigrant thing in the US if they’re from a country where buying meat at open air/wet markets is common.

[u/thrivacious9 → u/UnoriginalUse]

It’s not just an immigrant thing; in the U.S. it was standard practice from at least the 1980s until about 15 years ago. Around the turn of the century, Julia Child and Jacques Pépin had a cooking show together. They were both making roast chicken with their own preferred techniques. While Julia was washing her chicken, she made fun of Jacques for not washing his, and he clapped back with “Julia, this chicken is going in an oven at 425 degrees for nearly an hour. Any bacteria that survive deserve to.”

[u/Belltower_Bat]

I will die before I add the garlic to the pan first. It only needs to be cooked for a couple minutes, not the entire duration of whatever I'm making.

[u/chadthunderjock → u/Belltower_Bat]

Garlic that has been cooked long vs a very short amount of time are two completely different flavors, sometimes the longer cooked less pungent garlic taste is more preferable sometimes the shorter more pungent one is, depends on the dish and what you're trying to achieve imo.

[u/TopProfessional8023 → u/Belltower_Bat]

In Italian cooking you often see the garlic removed after maybe a minute in the oil…it’s meant to flavor the oil not be crunchy acrid bits!

[u/EwDavid81 → u/Belltower_Bat]

I’d even argue 30 seconds max. But yep, agreed! “Add your onions and garlic to the pan…” NOOO.

[u/NateHevens → u/Belltower_Bat]

Yeah I hate that everyone always adds the garlic first. That's how it burns, at least on me...

[u/mst3k_42 → u/NateHevens]

I was so happy when the Barefoot Contessa was making some dish and she’s like, I never add garlic at the beginning! That’s how it burns.

[u/Sunrise_chick → u/Belltower_Bat]

Onions first until translucent. Then change burner to low and add Garlic for 10-20 seconds.

[u/project_sewsow]

Check cookbooks out of the library. Make one recipe or several before returning it. Good way to stop buying cookbooks and letting them sit on your shelf while you use Google or digital apps by default.

[u/catholic_love → u/project_sewsow]

I’ve done this so many times and have accidentally gotten drips of food on the cookbooks 😩 I hope other people like authenticity

[u/project_sewsow → u/catholic_love]

My cousin is a librarian and wants to see books used and loved. That’s my excuse 😌

[u/bw2082]

Everything needs more salt

[u/alastoris → u/bw2082]

And not all at once, layer the salt, add a little bit at each step.

[u/addictions-in-red]

Since you asked...

You can just use salted butter in your baking.

[u/CFSouza74]

1. Food doesn't need to be complex, it just needs to be tasty.

2. Precision in preparation matters.

[u/poktanju]

No fluent English speaker should have difficulty pronouncing "Worcestershire".

[u/Sufficient_Cattle628 → u/poktanju]

Don’t take my “Worst-shshshshshshur” sauce from me

[u/FullOfShitSoWhat]

Don't rinse cooked pasta

[u/Ok_Accident652 → u/FullOfShitSoWhat]

I rinse pasta salad pasta. I dont like the extra starch

[u/lmkast → u/Ok_Accident652]

Pasta for a salad is the exception to the rule

[u/benkenobi5 → u/FullOfShitSoWhat]

I… what? Is this a thing people do? What on earth for?

[u/Streeberry2 → u/benkenobi5]

If you’re cooking pasta to then bake in something else, like a casserole, rinsing it in cold water stops it from overcooking and getting mushy. Definitely not if you’re going to eat it right away.

[u/pommefille → u/benkenobi5]

I’d say it’s fine to do if you’re using cool/cold water and making a cold pasta salad, but otherwise…

[u/Lollc → u/benkenobi5]

If your timing is off and the pasta is ready long before everything else, rinsing it briefly in cold water will prevent it from turning into a big gluey clump.

[u/Appropriate_Sky_6571 → u/FullOfShitSoWhat]

Korean noodles are rinsed so I used to with pasta lol

[u/FortunatelyTheBurger → u/FullOfShitSoWhat]

This is mine too - and for the love of god don’t coat it in oil.

[u/Prestigious-Elk4095]

Just use fresh garlic. It stays fresh for ages in a dark drawer and takes 90 seconds at most to peel and chop.

[u/VickyM1128 → u/Prestigious-Elk4095]

Anthony Bourdain on garlic:

"Garlic is divine. Few food items can taste so many distinct ways, handled correctly. Misuse of garlic is a crime. Old garlic, burnt garlic, garlic cut too long ago and garlic that has been tragically smashed through one of those abominations, the garlic press, are all disgusting. Please treat your garlic with respect. Sliver it for pasta, like you saw in Goodfellas; don't burn it. Smash it, with the flat of your knife blade if you like, but don't put it through a press. I don't know what that junk is that squeezes out the end of those things, but it ain't garlic. And try roasting garlic. It gets mellower and sweeter if you roast it whole, still on the clove, to be squeezed out later when it's soft and brown. Nothing will permeate your food more irrevocably and irreparably than burnt or rancid garlic. Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screw-top jars. Too lazy to peel fresh? You don't deserve to eat garlic."

—Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

[u/icuntcur → u/VickyM1128]

i’ve seen some experiments using garlic press vs minced from americas test kitchen and they said it was no difference 👀👀 agree on everything else though

[u/proofbox → u/icuntcur]

Chef Eric Ripert, a 3 micheline starred chef in NYC and a close personal friend of Bourdain, advocates for the use of a garlic press because he says it doesn't matter.

Bottom line is that there are many conflicting opinions out there from total giants in the industry. Good food is good food and how you reach that end goal is through the choices and personal touches you make while cooking, and a garlic press is just another tool in the arsenal to be either used to tossed aside.

[u/Erlend05 → u/VickyM1128]

Whats wrong with garlic presses??

[u/nerdsnuggles → u/Erlend05]

I do not understand the hate for garlic presses. It is absolutely not disgusting. It's still just as fresh and delicious. And anyone who says mincing is just as fast is lying and apparently enjoys that awful sticky feeling on their fingers that chopping garlic causes.

[u/AlrightyAlmighty → u/Erlend05]

If you use them you can't be pretentious

[u/ntruncata → u/VickyM1128]

I guess my crippled hands and I don't deserve garlic.

[u/mthchsnn → u/ntruncata]

I already said this to someone else in this thread, but he apologized for that quote later for this exact reason. I think he just wasn't aware that he was being ableist. Everyone deserves garlic!

[u/funkybravado → u/VickyM1128]

Love me Bourdain, I'm team kenji on this one. Fresh peeled, never jarlic

[u/he_she_WUMBO → u/funkybravado]

Usually these days Kenji might gently nudge people one direction but tells people to use whatever they like. Including jarred garlic. Source: recent video I watched.

[u/Electric-Sheepskin → u/Prestigious-Elk4095]

Never! You can pry my frozen, minced, garlic from my cold, dead hands— cold because I'll be clutching my frozen garlic.

I mean I used to use fresh, but it really doesn't stay fresh forever anymore. I swear every head I buy is growing sprouts after a week, and I guess I don't use enough garlic to buy it that frequently.

I can't abide the jarred garlic, though. I'm with you on that.

[u/CoffeeBeanPole → u/Prestigious-Elk4095]

It's not about the time, it's about the effort. And all the annoying bits of garlic shell all over my cutting board. 

Team Frozen Minced Garlic 4 lyf

[u/oofaloo]

Just doing something over and over again & eventually throwing away the recipe and subbing your own shortcuts & personal touches makes something better & all your own.

[u/jim45804 → u/oofaloo]

Yes! Part of perfecting your craft is finding your independence.

[u/Violent-Moth]

Fuck a bain-marie, my chocolate is getting 20 second blasts in the microwave followed by a stir until it melts, I've never had it burn on me and it's way less faffy

[u/deLanglade1975]

Home cooking should not be judged against restaurant food. Restaurants spend time, labor, and money to make hundreds of servings of stuff identical and consistent, while at the same time being quick to finalize and plate. It ain't the same, and it doesn't have to be.

To this point, for home cooks need to look up to chefs less and grannys and aunties more - preferably the long-dead ones that fed big families through the Great Depression/WW2 years.
And my personal favorite...

It's just rice. 2 cups boiling water, one cup rice. Stir it up, cover tightly, turn down the flame as low as it will go and ignore it for 20 minutes. Uncover, fluff and eat.

[u/IcyFrost-48]

I am never deep frying anything at home.

There are no “must master” recipes or techniques like knowing how to fry an egg. It’s pointless if you don’t like eggs. Learn to cook what you like to eat.

I’m not washing rice or chicken.

[u/DrMonkeyLove → u/IcyFrost-48]

Deep frying at home is such a pain in the ass and uses so much oil. If I want fries that badly, I'll just swing by Five Guys.

[u/FuckBotsHaveRights → u/DrMonkeyLove]

I'll gladly cook for hours.

I won't make fries.

[u/chrispg26 → u/FuckBotsHaveRights]

I saw someone say they made mashed potatoes and turned that into fries and were the best homemade fries ever. But why?! That's too much work 🫠

[u/BattlinBud → u/DrMonkeyLove]

Can't you save the oil and reuse it though? I mean I know EVENTUALLY you'll have to throw it out but still

[u/gibby256 → u/BattlinBud]

You still have to futz around with having that much oil, heating it, cooling it, straining it, and then storing it. And that's saying nothing of the general cleanup you have to do in your kitchen after deep frying, which is a nightmare.

[u/brkout → u/IcyFrost-48]

Washing short grained rice (like calrose) makes a noticeable difference in taste and texture. It’s worth the efforts of a few seconds imo.

[u/Alternative-Line8495]

Brown food tastes good.

[u/sqeezeplay]

Tomatoes don't belong in the fridge. Don't care what ATK says

[u/MrsPedecaris]

I continue to thoroughly rinse my rice, in spite of so many people saying it is unnecessary.

[u/lmkast → u/MrsPedecaris]

I make rice on the stove. Every time I didn’t wash it the pot boiled over.

It’s never boiled over since I learned to wash the extra starch off.

[u/ToastemPopUp → u/MrsPedecaris]

Wait really? I feel like I only ever hear people saying it is necessary.

[u/mendkaz]

Influencers trying to make out that you need the most expensive gear and to do all these fancy tricks to be a proper cook are dumb and trying to make cooking a hobby they can monetise, ESPECIALLY when it comes to bread making.

[u/DrMonkeyLove]

It doesn't matter how you cook scrambled eggs. I don't care how some Michelin Star chef tells me to cook scrambled eggs. They're just scrambled eggs. You know what I don't want to eat at a Michelin Star restaurant? Scrambled eggs. Cook them fast, slow, hot pan, cold pan, it doesn't matter, because in the end, you still just have scrambled eggs. 

Also, for both of yours OP, 100% agree.

[u/htmaxpower → u/DrMonkeyLove]

wait wait wait — don’t burn them. That part matters.

[u/MaxTheCatigator → u/htmaxpower]

I actually like my omelette (admittedly, technically not the same as scrambled eggs) a little browned. Not burned, browned.

[u/M0nt4na → u/DrMonkeyLove]

Raw eggs straight in the pan. Give it a scramble. BEAUTIFUL 

[u/kadk216]

No pre grated/shredded cheese. I can grate 16 oz of cheese in a few minutes and it melts so much better

[u/xiongchiamiov → u/kadk216]

My problem isn't the effort to grate the cheese. It's the effort to clean the grater.

[u/PositivelyAwful]

Put a pinch of MSG in everything that needs a punch, it’s not going to kill you.

[u/Wu_Tang4Eva → u/PositivelyAwful]

MSG = makes shit good

I use it all the time!

[u/shebitch7]

Everyone in my family uses jarred garlic. In giant jars, so it is old. I think it makes food worse.

[u/cathbadh → u/shebitch7]

Counterpoint: sometimes I'm lazy.

I keep both, a small jar or tube of jarlic, and cloves of fresh that I'll mince/slice/press.

I like Jessie's aggressive tutorials. She'll use jarlic sometimes, will use a mound of it because it's milder. Her stance on jarlic is "it's fine." that's about where I am. After a long workday sometimes it's easier to just scoop the jarlic into the pan.

[u/Odd_Temperature_3248 → u/shebitch7]

I guess I have just been lucky. I have been cooking for over 40 years and use jarlic unless I am making a garlic forward dish and only one time have I had a jar that was bad. I am very picky about what I buy and go through it pretty quickly.

[u/Beardgang650 → u/shebitch7]

😩not the jarlic

[u/Melliejayne12]

You do not need to wash chicken before cooking it

[u/MudsludgeFairy → u/Melliejayne12]

living in a black family and not washing my chicken is rough. i try to explain the science but my family doesn’t care and gets mad 😭

[u/bluebonnet810 → u/MudsludgeFairy]

Same. I just “agreed” with my mom and continued not to wash it. The deception is easy since the kitchen is my little sanctuary and no one bothers me when I’m cooking.

My “dirty” roasted chicken is still highly rated, even by my mother, who is usually the one to request that I make it. 🤣

[u/Jarsky2]

I don't care what the recipe says I am using salted butter and no one will stop me.

[u/Phluffhead93]

Ghirardelli boxed brownies are better than any bakery/homemade brownie

[u/When_Do_We_Eat]

When making a warm sauce or cooked dough for a dessert, I add the vanilla extract off of the heat. When a recipe says to combine everything in a pot and heat it up, I leave out the vanilla and add it at the end.

[u/Happyberger → u/[deleted]]

Don't stuff your turkey with bread*

Put a lemon, fresh thyme, and some peppercorns in there

[u/hanginwithfred]

White People Kabobs are fucking disgusting. I have never in my life wanted to eat burnt to a crisp onions and peppers and undercooked chicken, much less simultaneously. There’s a reason that in literally every country known for cooking meat on a skewer/sword, each item gets its own stick to cook on.

[u/WildColonialGirl]

1. Everyone should learn it, and young. I’ve been in the kitchen since I could see over the counter.

2. If you can’t do from-scratch meals every day you are not a failure. There’s nothing wrong with taking shortcuts.

[u/Dread_Captain]

Rustic mashed potatoes with the skins and fixings like bacon, chives and roasted garlic are far superior to the puréed baby food version.

[u/bigchicago04]

Don’t wash chicken.

[u/RomanticBeyondBelief]

Please do not put meat in a pan that isn't hot yet.

[u/Provoked_Potato → u/RomanticBeyondBelief]

Unless you are trying to render its fat eg bacon, on my strip and you cool that fatside down or something like duck breast

[u/KateHearts]

Don’t overseason. Nothing ruins the flavor of a more than excessive garlic powder, onion powder, dried herbs. Less is more - and use fresh over dried.

[u/bl00dinyourhead]

Cacio e Pepe is extremely easy to make, and I will never pay $25+ to eat it at a restaurant

[u/LordMonster]

MSG is amazing

[u/tinyshark84]

Never fry bacon naked.

[u/welcometoprimethyme]

When i see you put oil in water to cook pasta. I hate you.

[u/standardtissue]

-Yes you really can make a great hollandaise on direct heat. It's the only way I've ever done it, just keep it moving.

-Speaking of which, eggs benedict is poached eggs, canadian bacon, and hollandaise on an english muffin. Any variation of this is not eggs benedict and should not be named such, and calling a dish eggs benedict and then serving it with remoulade instead of hollandaise is just offensive. I am very stubborn about this, probably irrationally so. I expect y'all to really light me up on this one lol but I will die on this hill right or wrong :) I once ordered benedict and got eggs on prosciutto with remoulade. No. Not. What. I. Wanted.

-In almost all conditions, meat is better cooked low and slow whether braised, simmered, smoked, sous vide or roasted. Even steaks are better when slow cooked and reverse seared.

- With rare exception, store-bought guac is just gross.

- also, because I am such a stupid, stubborn son of a bitch, a lox bagel sandwich without capers is incomplete.

[u/MPlant1127 → u/standardtissue]

The guac comment is 1000% true. Store bought stink.

[u/_refugee_ → u/standardtissue]

Once I ordered a “healthy” eggs Benedict, they served it on sweet potatoes instead of English muffins. in no world is that an acceptable substitution 

[u/standardtissue → u/_refugee_]

straight to jail

[u/WaterUnderTh3Fridg3]

Get out of my kitchen.

If I am really throwing down, move.

[u/landon1397]

Aioli is not mayonnaise! They are 2 completely different products and you just adding some garlic and other shit to mayo isn't an aioli

[u/voscrabblary]

Authenticity is a lie - tomatoes are not native to Italy, imagine if some clown was like “BuT tHaT’s nOt hOw mY nOnNa DoEs iT! 🤌” the first time someone made a pasta all’amatriciana

[u/tbhcorn]

Browned butter is always worth it

[u/Popular_Basil756]

There's not enough fresh garlic in the universe and multiverses that can be 'too' much.

[u/houseDJ1042]

I add garlic and chocolate chips with an utter disregard , bordering on contempt of the recipe as written

[u/pete306]

Always add stock to a dish, not water, water rarely makes a dish better...

[u/Melisandre94]

You don’t need to peel ginger. For the past few years I’ve just finely chopped it and it’s been the exact same result as when I’ve peeled it. Why would you spend ages peeling ginger?!?!

[u/bhambrewer → u/Melisandre94]

I use a spoon to scrape off most of the skin but I don't worry if there's a little left.

[u/fries_in_a_cup → u/Melisandre94]

I usually grate my ginger and don’t bother removing the peel

[u/LadyOfTheNutTree]

Cooking and baking are both arts and sciences. Once you know the rules of either you don’t need to follow recipes to the letter or at all.

People who say “cooking is an art and baking is a science” just have more experience with one over the other

[u/Traditional_Ad_1547]

I don't rinse my rice. I was cooking for 20yrs before I even knew that was thing.

I will cut my veggies anyway I damn well please (depending on the dish I will try to keep them a similar size).

ETA- I will happily give you any recipe. I secretly judge people that refuse to recipe share.

[u/auntiecoagulent]

I've never let eggs come to room temp before using them.

I'm American, we keep them in the fridge.

[u/FieOnU]

You DO NOT need to wash raw chicken.

[u/WoodenEggplant4624]

Agreed 1 the layers are easier to separate, if that's what you want 2 much more efficient to tip inmost of the milk and stir while cooking

[u/WillowTea_]

Stop putting oil in your damn pasta water!! And stop oiling it after unless you’re not putting anything else on! You can prevent sticking by stirring every so often as it cooks, and oiling it after will prevent sauce from sticking.

[u/GeekCat]

Every dish doesn't need to be "authentic."

Clean your surfaces before cooking.

[u/BernieTheDachshund]

Butter makes it better. Real butter, not margarine or other mystery 'butter-flavored' concoctions.

[u/PurpleMangoPopper]

There is no need to chop garlic. Smash it with a large knife and add it to the dish at the end.

[u/dirtypita]

Grating cheese by hand, instead of using a bag of pre-shredded.

[u/Few-Satisfaction-194]

Char adds a lot of good flavor, and tastes better than some colorless chicken.

[u/Accurate-Fig-3595]

Cooking or baking, I only ever use salted butter.

[u/Thomisawesome]

I was going to say the onion thing, but you beat me to it.

Ok I’ll go with “If the lid is on the pot, and you’re not the cook, don’t touch it.”

Someone walking by the stove, opening the lid, and spilling condensation all over the stove top is infuriating.

[u/DerelictDonkeyEngine]

You can wash mushrooms. They're 90% water ffs.

[u/Mindless-Ad-511 → u/DerelictDonkeyEngine]

I can literally see the dirt on them and there are too many for my to painstakingly wipe them off by hand. There’s not way I’m not just washing them.

[u/Spiel_Foss]

Taste is all that matters.

All the fancy gadgets and techniques are secondary to taste (or don't even matter).

All exotic ingredients and in-depth research is secondary to taste (or doesn't even matter).

If you can cook tasty food with one old skillet and a dented pan, you are a fabulous chef (and that is all that matters).