13 Common Cooking Myths Get Debunked

Published 4 years ago in Ftw

Common cooking mistakes can come from anywhere, such as passed-down recipes, or ill-advised "best practices".

1
Adding vinegar to your cooking water makes your hard-boiled eggs easier to peel. Vinegar doesn’t do much, but there are a few things that can help you peel hard-boiled eggs. The older an egg is, the easier it is to peel. For another easy trick, submerge eggs in cold water immediately after cooking.

2
Wear goggles, chew gum, etc., to prevent crying while chopping onions. Your tears are caused by an enzymatic reaction when the membranes of the cells are cut. The sharper your knife, the less of a reaction, so keep those blades crisp.

3
Whipped cream flattens when you stop whipping it. It’s not the air it’s the temperature, so keep your bowl and whisk super cold by putting them in the freezer before you whip it, whip it good.
4
Adding oil to pasta water prevents the noodles from sticking. If you add oil it will prevent the sauce from properly sticking to the noodles and nobody wants that. Use a pot with plenty of water and stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

5
You can season food at any time during the cooking process. Season as you go, tasting along the way. If you only season at the end of cooking the flavors won’t be as developed and rich.
6
Milk makes fluffier scrambled eggs. Again, temperature is the key here. Milk can make your eggs rubbery, instead cook eggs slowly and take them off the heat just before they’re done so they finish cooking from the residual heat of the pan.
7
Only flip your steak once during cooking. It all comes down to the temperature of your pan. Keep it nice and hot, and you can flip multiple times for an even sear from edge to edge.

8
Sticking a potato in an overly salty dish will absorb the salt and make it less salty. A potato can absorb some salt because it also absorbs liquid, but it’s not going to change your ratios. Instead, try to correct with a dash of acid, like vinegar or lemon juice. It’s about balance.
9
Storing bread in the fridge prevents staleness. The fridge will pull the moisture out of the bread and cause to stale faster. If you need to preserve it, freeze and defrost at room temperature.
10
Keeping a pit in your avocado keeps the avocado from browning. The browning comes from oxygen exposure. Rub a little lemon juice to create a barrier and wrap tight in plastic for best results.

11
Cooking with frozen vegetables doesn’t provide the same nutrients and flavor as fresh vegetables. Frozen veggies are flash frozen at their peak ripeness which ensures their quality. It’s science.
12
Fresh tomatoes are better than canned tomatoes to cook with. Similar to the frozen veggies debate, canned tomatoes are canned at peak ripeness, while fresh tomatoes are only truly at their peak for a short time. If you can get the good stuff, go for it, but if you’re out of season go canned.
13
Microwaving robs food of its nutrients. It isn’t the microwaving that reduces the nutrients, it’s the application of heat in general. So, the same reaction happens if you’re microwaving just as it does if you’re baking, grilling, frying, or doing anything else to cook. In some instances, microwaving can actual preserve more nutrients because of the short heat exposure time.