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Who doesn't love a good trick? Sometimes life can get a little too hectic, and simplifying everyday things might leave you with some much-needed time on your hands. Nowadays, people come up with some of the most inventive hacks that sincerely work wonders – however, with the number of ideas skyrocketing online, sometimes it's hard to tell whether any are worth trying at all. 

Many of us find prepping meals a tad bit too time-consuming, and we're constantly on the lookout to make this whole process more manageable. We're willing to try out those "genius" hacks that promise to make kitchen time much less stressful – yet, let's face it, most of them either overcomplicate things or are downright pointless.  

"What cooking 'hack' do you hate?" – this netizen turned to Reddit's r/Cooking community to start an open discussion. They revealed their most dreaded cooking tricks; for instance, store-bought herb pastes, anything that’s supposed to make peeling boiled eggs easier, and any microwaveable recipes, such as mug cakes. The post has managed to garner over 5K upvotes and 3.1K comments discussing so-called life-changing kitchen hacks that, in reality, don’t work. 

More info: Reddit

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#1

Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones "Level-up your instant ramen" by cooking an entire f*****g meal from scratch and then incorporating the noodles.

This isn't a hack. This is just cooking.

HeyItsMau , Thirteen Of Clubs Report

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torreywalters avatar
Torrey Walters
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean it still tastes good, but it not a "hack" it's literally a recipe lol

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    #2

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones My pet peeve is the 'one sheet pan dinner' recipe videos where they spread everything out on the pan, THEN add oil and seasonings AS UNEVENLY AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE and just shuffle around poorly with their hands.

    just toss it all in a big bowl beforehand, goddamn

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    Bubbles and sparks
    Bubbles and sparks
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh yes, and then seeing done by a socalled influencer with nails so long it's actually gross ;P

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    #3

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Any hack that appears on TikTok gets an instant NO from me. I swear that place makes everything more complicated than it should be, or validates some people's horrific food ideas.

    Chopping board, chef's knife, peeler, mixing bowl, frying pan, saucepan/stockpot- 90%+ of kitchen jobs can be solved with these. Good quality ones - you use them every day, so invest in them.

    Source: ex-chef from a 2 Michelin star kitchen.

    Lt_Forks , nordskovmedia.dk Report

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    #4

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Cooking things in the dishwasher. That started in the 70s, now it's a tik tok thing, but it's always stupid.

    TheLadyEve , Joanna Bourne author Report

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    ola_n avatar
    Headless Roach
    Headless Roach
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    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Cooking in what? Like in "I like to have pieces of yesterday's pasta in my today's steak"?

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    #5

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Those tiktok people who think cutting cake with a wineglass is somehow easier or convenient.

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    #6

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones It's not really "cooking" but I saw one that made peanut butter sandwiches 'easier'. It involved creating frozen slices of peanut butter between two small sheets of selophane, which could then be taken out of the freezer and put between bread, and would then melt creating a peanut butter sandwich.

    I have no idea how that was less time and effort than just making them the normal way, and it doesn't really extend the shelf life of peanut butter in any meaningful way, and with the added drawback that you can't eat them right away since the peanut butter needs to melt.

    Blew my mind for all the wrong reasons.

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    #7

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Using a plastic water bottle to separate egg yolks. And by extension, using any tool to separate yolks. Just use your hands.

    Ok_Chapter8131 , ebrunar Report

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    #8

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones For me it's people saying to use mayo instead of butter on their grilled cheese. Mayo just doesn't provide the flavor or crunch I want. Butter is the way

    waitthissucks , Joel Kramer Report

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    Aisling Raye
    Aisling Raye
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I try my best not to judge others BUT I judge the ever living he!! out of the mayo is better than butter people. Honestly mayo people, who hurt you?

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    #9

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Not that I hate them, but I've tried loads for hummus that don't work.

    Blend with ice, blend when chickpeas are hot, used dried/ canned chickpeas, cook them more, take all the skins off, blend the tahini and lemon juice on its own first, soak with baking soda, etc.

    Just blend everything together, and make sure there's enough liquid in the blender that it blends properly to get it smooth. Then add salt until it tastes really good

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    monscul avatar
    Green Tree
    Green Tree
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Simple hummus that always gets compliments: 1-1-1-1. One each lemon (juiced), garlic clove, can of chickpeas and spoonful of tahini. Blend with olive oil till smooth and season.

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    #10

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Food hacks that show up on 5 Minutes Crafts

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    LuckyL
    LuckyL
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Because they are just 5-minute-lies. But somewhat entertaining...

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    #11

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones That the hole in the center of the spaghetti spoon is a single serving. If I wanna eat a whole box I will.

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    aislingraye avatar
    Aisling Raye
    Aisling Raye
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Pasta is measured with your heart. Also, don't buy extra dumb kitchen stuff you don't need - why does anyone need a dedicated spoon for spaghetti?

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    #12

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Peeling ginger with a spoon. I just use a knife and square it off. I’m okay with losing a little bit of it if it means not grabbing a spoon and spending twice as much time prepping it.

    Also, a new one I’ve seen is using a cooling rack to dice avocado, mango, egg, etc. whoever came up with that has either never cleaned a cooling rack or doesn’t own a knife.

    Agree with the veggie scraps one.

    gustriandos , Kjokkenutstyr Net Report

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    EvilNob
    EvilNob
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I used teaspoons for peeling ginger even before it was "cool". Spoiler alert: I also get rid of fishscales with a tablespoon. There is nothing wrong with it.

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    #13

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Using a straw to de-stem strawberries by poking a hole through the bottom of the berry.


    Just rip it off

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    eileenkeller94 avatar
    Metalhead Turtle 🇺🇦
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And if you can't rip it off, use a paring knife. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, there's a little device called a strawberry huller (or corer, I think it's called) and it works. I've tried that straw "hack" and I can confirm that it doesn't work.

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    #14

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Putting olive oil in when the pasta is boiling so it doesn't stick. Give that pasta a stir when you put it in the pot and once every few minutes and save your olive oil for salad dressing. If you don't stir the pasta when you drop it in, no amount of olive oil will keep it from sticking anyway.

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    striepy avatar
    Bubbles and sparks
    Bubbles and sparks
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Pasta needs to be a bit sticky, its made that way so the sauce will stick to the pasta ;) It's all about timing, so you have your pasta sauce ready when your pasta is done and then serve it.

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    #15

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Breaking eggs with one hand. Get out of here with that black magic b******t

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    #16

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones I hate any gadget that a decent knife and a modicum of coordination can replace. I cook multiple times most days but my wife couldn’t make a wish sandwich if you stacked to pieces of bread on a plate for her. So she always shows me videos of kitchen gadgets she thinks I need. 99 times out of a hundred you can do the same thing with a knife in less time and don’t have an extra hard to clean gadget.

    Match_Specialist , Chris Hoare Report

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    ngregory avatar
    N Gregory
    N Gregory
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Gee. Good for you for having "a modicum of coordination" and not rheumatoid arthritis. I would like to get rid of about five gadgets in my kitchen but then I wouldn't be able to cook half the meals I enjoy. Maybe, just maybe not *all* gadgets are useless. (Also - what's a wish sandwich?)

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    #17

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Peeling garlic by shaking it in a container, doesn't work for me. Slicing cherry tomatoes in half by placing a plate on top.

    Competitive_Dress671 , Rebecca Siegel Report

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    Benita Valdez
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Garlic hates me and does whatever it can to make sure I have a hard time peeling and cutting it; always have a green center that I have to cut out

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    #18

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Making milk froth for coffee in an empty foaming hand soap bottle. Just BUY A MILK FROTHER they are like $10 at target

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    #19

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Pulling stems of cilantro through a hole (in a microplane, grater, colander, etc) to get the leaves off. Has never worked for me. It's much faster for me to just pull the leaves off by hand.

    okokimup , Jason Bachman Report

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    EvilNob
    EvilNob
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Or do not have clintaro at all, because it tastes horrible (like dirty dishwater). And no, I'm not picky. I just have an extra gene and better smelling sense that lets me smell and taste the real clintaro. (Google it.)

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    #20

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Any microwave plate or tray that is supposed to "cook" an item better. Anyone remember the "Bacon Wave" that came out in the 80's? It was a tray that was supposed to cook bacon crisp in the microwave and drain the fat at the same time. Problem was that it splattered grease all over your microwave and took about the same time as it does to pan fry it.

    I've seen these for every type of egg dish, bacon, coffee, ramen noodles, steaks, and just about anything else. A pointless waste of money.

    And Foreman Grill types of presses. It's an over glorified sandwich press and only good if you have no other cooking options. (I admit I had one when I lived in the barracks and had no access to a kitchen.)

    atombomb1945 , wEnDy Report

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    JMil
    JMil
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The one microwave device I like is the "potato pocket". Makes a pretty decent "baked" potato in a small fraction of the time it takes in the oven.

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    #21

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Those dumb videos where people dumb dry pasta and slices of cheese and milk in a casserole dish and cook it all at once.

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    ola_n avatar
    Headless Roach
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The dry pasta is for that extra crunch to chip your tooth or what?

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    #22

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones "Use your garlic press to quickly press ginger as well"

    Would not recommend.

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    #23

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones I'll go first. I hate saving veggie scraps for broth. I don't like the room it takes up in my freezer, and I don't think the broth tastes as good as it does when you use whole, fresh vegetables.

    Honorable mentions:

    Store-bought herb pastes. They just don't have the same oomph.

    Anything that's supposed to make peeling boiled eggs easier. Everybody has a different one--baking soda, ice bath, there are a hundred different tricks. They don't work.

    Microwave anything (mug cakes, etc). The texture is always way off.

    secret-snakes , citymama Report

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    rzsanyerges avatar
    EvilNob
    EvilNob
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Saving veggie scraps for broth helps you to save money and being more eco friendly at the same time. It doesn't take up too much place in your freezer (except if you have a tiny one) and you can make it as soon as you peel the vegetables. I usually make the veggie meal, then the broth, put it for one night in the refrigerator and the next day I make a yummy soup or other meal out of it.

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    #24

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Putting cream in risotto

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    Nikki Sevven
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Why would you? The whole point of risotto is the process, which creates the creaminess from the rice's starches. If you need cream, you've done it wrong. Or you've used the wrong type of rice.

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    #25

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones premade marinades almost always suck. My only exception to date is Soy Vay veri teriyaki.

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    #26

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Somebody once told me to try using one of those wire egg-slicers to slice mushrooms. I gave it a shot and ruined my parents' egg slicer. Would not recommend.

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    beth_landers avatar
    Beth L
    Beth L
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    1) that is not a mushroom, and 2) that is not an egg slicer

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    #27

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Cooking in the microwave. I just don't do it. The microwave for me is for reheating or defrosting only.

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    #28

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Ok Kenji, I’ll concede brining shrimp in baking soda makes a difference, but this m**********r be putting baking soda in *everything*

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    #29

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones Making pesto with a hydraulic press

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    EvilNob
    EvilNob
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hydraulic press?! 😂 What kind of videos did OP watch?

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    #30

    Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones In the same vein as your example of using veggie scraps for broth/stock, I also think that using cooked chicken carcasses (looking at you, rotisserie chicken) always makes an inferior broth/stock when compared to that made with raw chicken carcasses.

    96dpi , espring4224 Follow Report

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    jihana avatar
    Jihana
    Jihana
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have the feeling this one is more for poorer folks. Rotisserie chicken is very inexpensive. And an inferior broth is better than no broth at all. It's an additional meal that costs next to nothing.

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