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Members Of This Online Community Are Debunking Cooking “Hacks”, Here Are 30 Of The Worst Ones
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
"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.
Torrey Walters 2 years ago
I mean it still tastes good, but it not a "hack" it's literally a recipe lol
RELATED:
#2
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
Bubbles and sparks 2 years ago
Oh yes, and then seeing done by a socalled influencer with nails so long it's actually gross ;P
#3
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.
#4
Cooking things in the dishwasher. That started in the 70s, now it's a tik tok thing, but it's always stupid.
Headless Roach 2 years ago (edited)
Cooking in what? Like in "I like to have pieces of yesterday's pasta in my today's steak"?
#5
Those tiktok people who think cutting cake with a wineglass is somehow easier or convenient.
#6
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.
#7
Using a plastic water bottle to separate egg yolks. And by extension, using any tool to separate yolks. Just use your hands.
#8
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
Aisling Raye 2 years ago
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?
#9
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
Green Tree 2 years ago
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.
#11
That the hole in the center of the spaghetti spoon is a single serving. If I wanna eat a whole box I will.
Aisling Raye 2 years ago
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?
#12
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.
#13
Using a straw to de-stem strawberries by poking a hole through the bottom of the berry.
Just rip it off
Metalhead Turtle 🇺🇦 2 years ago
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.
#14
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.
Bubbles and sparks 2 years ago
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.
#15
Breaking eggs with one hand. Get out of here with that black magic b******t
#16
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.
N Gregory 2 years ago
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?)
#17
Peeling garlic by shaking it in a container, doesn't work for me. Slicing cherry tomatoes in half by placing a plate on top.
Benita Valdez 2 years ago
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
#18
Making milk froth for coffee in an empty foaming hand soap bottle. Just BUY A MILK FROTHER they are like $10 at target
Metalhead Turtle 🇺🇦 2 years ago
Wait, that's not a prank? Sheesh. I don't do this, but I'd spend the $10.
#19
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.
#20
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.)
#21
Those dumb videos where people dumb dry pasta and slices of cheese and milk in a casserole dish and cook it all at once.
#22
"Use your garlic press to quickly press ginger as well"
Would not recommend.
#23
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.
EvilNob 2 years ago
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.
#24
Putting cream in risotto
Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
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.
#25
premade marinades almost always suck. My only exception to date is Soy Vay veri teriyaki.
#26
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.
#27
Cooking in the microwave. I just don't do it. The microwave for me is for reheating or defrosting only.
#28
Ok Kenji, I’ll concede brining shrimp in baking soda makes a difference, but this m**********r be putting baking soda in *everything*
Metalhead Turtle 🇺🇦 2 years ago
That's a new one. I've heard of using baking soda for cookies, but not this.
#30
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.
What do you think ?
BlackestDawn 2 years ago
As some have already said here, some of these show some level of snobbery. A lot of these are perfectly fine for people who have limited capabilities, range of motion, and/or finances. Heck, many of them are even fine for people with full range of motion and capabilities. It simply comes down to preferences and/or mood.
Asteríx Viking 2 years ago
I dont like the hate microwave ovens get. I love cooking in one and have for at least 3 years, all my food. And it works perfectly. There is a few things, it is not like using the oven and to get color on the food there is a few tips that needs to follow etc. So ❤️ to the microwave, I love you. 😄
the quickening 2 years ago
What can you cook in microwave? I've never seen anybody cook anything other than instant oatmeal or frozen veggies, and I've thought a microwave IS honestly just for melting (when you've forgotten to take the frozen thing out of the freezer in advance) and (re)heating stuff. Am legit curious.
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BlackestDawn 2 years ago
As some have already said here, some of these show some level of snobbery. A lot of these are perfectly fine for people who have limited capabilities, range of motion, and/or finances. Heck, many of them are even fine for people with full range of motion and capabilities. It simply comes down to preferences and/or mood.
Asteríx Viking 2 years ago
I dont like the hate microwave ovens get. I love cooking in one and have for at least 3 years, all my food. And it works perfectly. There is a few things, it is not like using the oven and to get color on the food there is a few tips that needs to follow etc. So ❤️ to the microwave, I love you. 😄
the quickening 2 years ago
What can you cook in microwave? I've never seen anybody cook anything other than instant oatmeal or frozen veggies, and I've thought a microwave IS honestly just for melting (when you've forgotten to take the frozen thing out of the freezer in advance) and (re)heating stuff. Am legit curious.
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