From washing raw chicken to throwing out stale bread, there's a lot of terrible cooking advice out there. Covering everything from the simply unhelpful to the downright dangerous, here we reveal the cooking tips you should always ignore, counting down to the riskiest of all.
Click or scroll through our gallery to discover 33 cooking tips you should never listen to.
Peeling kiwis is a fiddly job and, more often than not, a fair amount of the flesh is lost in the process if you attempt to peel the fruit whole. But there is another way – slice the kiwi into coin shapes, then pick off the furry skin with your fingers. It comes away easily and none of the fruit is wasted.
It’s far better to use a spoon to peel ginger than a knife – simply scrape the skin off this knobbly root with the tip of the spoon. This way you don’t lose lots of the flesh while trying to remove the skin.
Most spices should be added to heated oil at the beginning of the cooking process, to help release their aromas and infuse the oil with flavour. The exception to this is garam masala – this fragrant spice is traditionally added towards the end of cooking, as it heightens the overall flavour of the dish.
For perfect scrambled eggs, you need do nothing more than give your eggs a vigorous whisk, before cooking them slowly in melted butter. Adding more liquid such as milk, cream or water will give you runny eggs with a diluted flavour – not the soft, fluffy eggs you’re hoping for. For lovely creamy eggs don’t agitate the mixture; instead, let parts set and fold the egg over and over, taking the pan off the heat before the eggs are fully cooked, allowing the residual warmth to finish the job.
Often ignored, celery leaves (or celery tops) can be thought of as a herb in their own right. Chop them as you would any fresh herbs and use as a garnish – the leaves work well in place of coriander or parsley – or stir through stocks, soups and stews. They also add flavour and a health boost to green smoothies and pesto.
Tomatoes are just one of many foods that somewhat surprisingly shouldn't be refrigerated – both the texture and taste are badly affected by the cold. Instead, keep tomatoes on the kitchen worktop out of direct sunlight; once they're ripe, eat them within three to five days. To speed up the ripening process, place the tomatoes in a paper bag with an apple or banana. To extend the life of a ripe tomato, you can keep it in the fridge.
For the perfect poached egg, you need a deep pan and the freshest eggs you can source. Add a dash of vinegar to the water, stir to create a vortex, then crack in the eggs. Take the pan off the heat and leave the eggs to poach for up to five minutes.
Whisking batter too enthusiastically can overwork the gluten and remove air, meaning you end up with tough, chewy pancakes, rather than light, fluffy ones. Take care to combine the wet and dry ingredients just enough so no floury streaks remain and don’t let the odd lump concern you.
Using ingredients straight from the fridge might seem like the sensible, fresher option, but that’s not always the case. With products like eggs and butter, it really depends upon what you’re ultimately going to make. For cakes, eggs and butter that have had time to come to room temperature contain more air, so result in a lighter bake, whereas pastry and biscuits are best made with cold butter.
Non-stick pans aren't always the best option. They don't heat up as quickly as their cast iron counterparts, so browning takes longer and food runs the risk of being overcooked in the process. Non-stick pans are better for fragile foods such as delicate fish or dishes that are cheesy or contain eggs. For more robust dishes such as steak and stir-fries, use a seasoned cast iron pan.
Despite what you may think (or have been told), authentic paella doesn’t contain chorizo; it’s made from meat or seafood, vegetables, saffron and bomba rice – a short grain from Spain. Arborio (risotto rice) can be used as a substitute, but it doesn’t absorb as much liquid, so you'll end up with a slightly different texture as a result.
Potato skin is a great source of nutrients and fibre. The skin also adds texture and colour, so there’s little reason to peel. Instead, give your potatoes a quick wash to remove dirt, then pat dry. Still worried? Opt for organic to be certain there's no pesticide residue. Choose waxy Anya, Charlotte or Jersey Royals for boiling and use in gratins, soups and salads, and opt for floury potatoes such as King Edwards or Russets for baking, mashing and roasting. For chips, try an all-rounder such as Maris Piper or Yukon Gold.
When cooking meat on the stove, it’s tempting to flip it over more often than is actually necessary. But turning meat too much while it’s being grilled or seared prevents it from browning properly and stops the skin from crisping up – this not only impacts the colour and texture, but the flavour, too. Don’t flip too soon, either and remember: one or two turns is enough.
Contrary to popular belief, adding salt to water only serves as a flavour enhancer – it doesn’t make the water boil any quicker. It’s simple chemistry: the boiling point of salted water is higher than the boiling point of water, so while salted water can get hotter, it will actually take more time and energy to come to the boil.
It might seem like a time-saver, but adding raw potatoes to boiling water results in the outside of the potato cooking faster than the inside. For an evenly cooked potato, place in salted cold water and bring to the boil over a steady heat. If you’re baking potatoes in the oven, wash and dry the potatoes, prick the skins, rub with oil and season with salt. Arrange on a wire rack set over a baking tray to enable the air to circulate and allow the skin to crisp up.
Mushrooms are harder to get right than many people realise. Overcrowding the pan and not using the right fat causes mushrooms to steam and turn slimy and rubbery. Heat butter and olive oil until very hot, then cook one layer of mushrooms at a time, occasionally moving and turning them. This sears and browns the mushrooms to perfection.
It might be quick and easy, but microwaving frozen vegetables can make them soggy and limp. To keep them nice and tender, cook in a steamer basket over boiling water. If you're adding frozen veg to another dish such as pasta or risotto, you can throw them straight into the pan towards the end of the cooking time. However, watery ingredients like spinach might need to be thawed first to avoid adding too much liquid.
Talk to any self-respecting Italian and they’ll tell you that spaghetti Bolognese is not an authentic Italian dish, but a corrupted version of tagliatelle al ragù, which is a meat-based sauce traditionally served with tagliatelle.
If a pan is crowded, the contents steam rather than fry and won’t brown properly. Cramming the pan may cause ingredients to cook a bit quicker (without browning), but the results won’t be half as good – for an even cook with colour it's much better to fry in batches
The advice that leftovers need to gradually cool down to room temperature before being chilled is outdated, a hangover from when food was stored in iceboxes. To prevent bacterial growth, it’s now recommended that hot food is cooled down and transferred to the fridge as quickly as possible. To ensure food stays fresher for longer, always store in lidded, airtight containers too.
Arborio rice greatly benefits from being lightly toasted. Next time you're making risotto, cook the rice in a little hot olive oil for a couple of minutes until it turns opaque, then add a ladle of stock or white wine to stop the rice burning. Toasting the rice infuses it with a nutty flavour and helps it to absorb the liquid.
It's generally agreed that the original recipe for carbonara didn’t contain any cream. For an authentic version, the dish should be made with bacon (or lardons, pork cheek or pancetta), eggs, pecorino cheese, black pepper and spaghetti. A little Parmesan is acceptable and even some crushed garlic, but cream makes the dish too rich and should be avoided.
Know your knives and cooking gets a whole lot easier. A serrated (bread) knife is great for cutting soft fruit such as tomatoes and strawberries, as well as bread and pastries. A paring knife is just the thing for tricky jobs such as deveining prawns, removing seeds and peeling fruit and veg. Meanwhile, a chef’s knife with a broad blade is ideal for cutting through tougher root vegetables and for chopping, dicing and slicing and a meat knife is best for cutting steak, chicken or other meats.
Pasta doesn’t need a thin layer of oil to prevent it from sticking. Oil stops the sauce from coating the pasta properly and, if overdone, can make the pasta slimy. Instead, use a large pot with plenty of water and only add salt once the water is boiling. After draining pasta, keep aside a couple of ladles of the starchy, salty liquid – it will make the sauce you're serving the pasta with silky, creamy and rich and helps it cling to the pasta too.
Adding garlic to the pan at the same time as onions is a common mistake. Garlic cooks very quickly, and the smaller it’s been chopped or minced, the faster it will cook. Avoid the bitter taste of burnt garlic by adding it once the onions have softened (if the dish contains a sauce or liquid which will then prevent it from burning), or towards the end of the cooking time.
Not only can stale bread easily be rescued by popping it in a preheated oven for a few minutes, it can also be used in countless dishes, think bread pudding, French toast and panzanella for a start. Stale bread is also great for making croutons and can easily be turned into breadcrumbs. In short, only throw bread away if it's mouldy.
When using garlic, don't ignore the recipe: if it calls for minced garlic, mince it; if it needs to be chopped, chop it. It's important to follow instructions as the intensity and flavour of the garlic depends on how it's prepped and cooked. Crushed garlic is more potent, while sliced or chopped is milder. Whole garlic cloves are the mildest of all, taking on an especially sweet flavour when roasted.
Reheated rice is a common cause of food poisoning, but only when it’s handled incorrectly. Cooked rice needs to be cooled within an hour, stored covered in the fridge for no more than a day, and reheated thoroughly so that it’s piping hot. Follow those guidelines and it’s safe to eat – just remember never to reheat rice more than once.
Unless you leave it to rest, meat will never taste at its best – this is particularly true of steak and larger joints of meat. This is because allowing meat to rest relaxes the muscle fibres and helps the juices to be reabsorbed, resulting in tender, more flavourful meat. Leave the likes of steak or chicken loosely covered in foil for five to 10 minutes (thin cuts won’t require as long), while items like legs of lamb and whole chicken can be left for 15-30 minutes.
It may be tempting to give all your dirty pans a good scrub with soap, but using any kind of cleanser on a non-stick surface can damage the coating over time. Instead, let any fat in the pan cool before wiping with a paper towel, rinsing with warm water and then drying. Make sure to never pour oil or fat directly down the plug as when it cools it solidifies and could block your pipes.
For an even cook and a perfectly browned exterior, it’s much better to let meat sit at room temperature for a short while before cooking. However, temperatures between 4°C and 60°C (40–140°F) are optimum for breeding bacteria that cause food borne illnesses, so never leave steak and poultry out for longer than two hours – 20 to 30 minutes should be long enough to make a difference.
Assuming that it makes no difference whether you give your pans and oven time to get up to temperature is a rookie error. Food cooks more evenly and will be ready in the time stated in the recipe if you use a preheated pan or oven. When using a pan, it’s important that the fat is hot before ingredients are added and you can ruin a bake if your oven isn’t hot enough.
Rinsing chicken in water before cooking doesn’t get rid of any nasties; in fact, splashing water might actually spread bacteria around your kitchen. Cooking meat thoroughly to an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F) will kill any bacteria present.
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Last updated by Dominique Ayling.