19 Foods People Hated But Because They Were Cooking It Wrong

Sarah Kester
cooking
USA Today | ABC

No one just wakes up and becomes a professional chef

It takes a lot of skill, practice, knowledge of curse words (looking at you, Gordon), and more. 

If you’re struggling more than normal, one thing that may be standing between you and great food is the very way you cook food

So come get a free cooking class by learning how to properly cook these 19 foods. Aprons on!

Stirfry

stirfry
Unsplash | Clem Onojeghuo

While the name implies to stir, this Redditor learned that the key is to stop stirring it so much and to let it brown a little. They said that this helped make the flavor so much better.

Corn tortillas

Friends
Refinery29 | NBC

"This applies to both corn and flour tortillas. Cook your tortillas, y'all. Throw them on a comal, a cast iron skillet, a flat top, an open flame. Whatever it takes. It makes all the difference in the world." - u/bobfnord

Rice

Rice
Unsplash | Pille R. Priske

This Redditor learned a lot about cooking from dating a man who lived in Japan. Once he taught her about the importance of washing rice, she wrote that it's been night and day ever since. She doesn't mess with a rice cooker; she simply washes the rice several times and cooks it on the stove with enough water to rest above the rice.

Pork chops

yum
Giphy | Schitt's Creek

"I always cooked them until they were straight rubber because the fear of trichinosis had been hammered into me from a young age. I just use a meat thermometer now." - u/RubyRogue13

Caramelized onions

Caramelized onions
Unsplash | Simona Sergi

This Redditor used to make caramelized onions the old-fashioned way i.e. low and slow for 30+ minutes. But their life changed once they started to add a few tablespoons of water to the pan and covered on med-high heat to steam the onions. They wrote that once all the water cooks off and the onions start to fry, they'll already be extremely soft and the caramelization process gets sped up.

Pasta

Alton
Giphy | First We Feast: Hot Ones

"Literally learned from Alton Brown on his show 'Use as MUCH water as possible, the pasta needs to move around.' Saw him live a few years later and when asked if he could take back a piece of advice what would it be? He said 'cooking pasta. When cooking pasta you should only use enough water to just cover the noodles. ' I have to admit, less water does a much better job." - u/Turboginger

Ground beef

Ground beef
Giphy | Saturday Night Live

Is your ground beef not browning when cooking it in a pan? It could be that you're crowding the pan, which is a mistake this Redditor used to make.

The trick is to treat it like a burger; let it sit on one side of the pan until it's like a cooked burger and then flip to get a similar crust on the other side.

Mushrooms

Gilmore Girls
Refinery29 | The WB

"I always cooked them in oil until I saw a video. Nope... dry pan, medium-high heat. Cook mushrooms until they sweat their moisture (stir, stir, stir). The flavors are super intensified. Umami off the charts." - u/KaneHau

Sausages

Sausages
Unsplash | Rachel Clark

People usually cook sausages dry in the pan. Well, this Redditor wrote that you're actually supposed to add water to the pan and let the sausage cook in it until the water evaporates. Then, you fry it to a golden brown since they're already cooked inside from the water.

Poached eggs

cooks
Refinery29 | Netflix

"It wasn't until I watched Julia and Julia that I realized that I should place the cooked poached eggs on paper towels for a few seconds and gently dab dry (top and bottom) and then place on toast. DUH - NO MORE SOGGY TOAST!" - u/Sunshine_Tampa

Fried potatoes

Fried potatoes
Unsplash | Clark Douglas

If you want some of the best fried potatoes of your life, preparation is involved. This Redditor wrote that restaurants blanch the potatoes and then put them in the fridge or freezer to cool down. When you cook them later, they are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and way tastier.

Steak

steak
Giphy

"It took me 35 years, cooking for nearly 31, to make a steak less than shoe leather. I had to get a thermometer and have culinary science tell me flatly 'I know it looks weird and bloody but its safe to eat.'" - u/TurkTurkle

Brussel sprouts

Brussel sprouts
Unsplash | Sebastian Coman Photography

We're going to blame our parents for this one. Since they boiled Brussel sprouts instead of roasting them, they've tasted horrible all of our lives.

Spaghetti carbonara

Spaghetti carbonara
Unsplash | Rob Wicks

"I did it like most people, with cream, eggs and ham, until I learned, that real Carbonara doesn't contain cream, but out of grease from the bacon, egg yolk, cheese and a little water from the boiling noodles, you make an emulsion, that looks just like cream, but the taste is a whole other world." - u/Buerste85

Cheese sauce

cheese
Giphy | CBC

While David and Moira from Schitt's Creek were busy arguing over how to "fold in the cheese," they should've been more focused on making a roux. This is what this Redditor calls a much better way of making any type of cheese sauce.

Taco shells

Taco shells
Unsplash | Jeswin Thomas

"I would eat out of the box and wondered why they were always stale until many years later a friend told me you have to bake them before serving. I found love for taco shells." - u/InternationalArmy991

Grilled cheese

cooking
USA Today | ABC

A good grilled cheese calls for lots of cheese, bacon... and mayo? Apparently so! According to this Redditor, putting a bit of mayo on a grilled cheese before cooking is a game-changer.

Fried eggs

Fried eggs
Unsplash | Charisse Kenion

"My good fried egg tip I picked up is using a good amount of oil and when your whites are setting, just basting the yolk to help set the outside. Gives you that nice set whites with a beautiful runny yolk." - u/JustARandom

Stocks/broth

broth
Giphy

"I always threw everything in after an initial simmer on the bones, come to find out veggies start to add bitterness after about an hour, so my stocks were never really clean tasting. Throw in your veggies in the last 45 minutes and never let it come to a fully boil. Game changer." - u/CrossFox42

H/T: Reddit

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