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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

Final score:
174points
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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

mah_ree , Isha Zubeidi Report

Final score:
134points
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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

Final score:
129points
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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

Final score:
128points
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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.

BridgetteBane , theroseperiod Report

Final score:
120points
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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.

gazhole , Craig Murphy Report

Final score:
116points
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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

Final score:
115points
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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

Final score:
110points
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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

Rabaga5t , Whitney Report

Final score:
98points
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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

Educational-Fan-8475 , Stephanie Report

Final score:
92points
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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.

Ass2DRegMan , A Yee Report

Final score:
86points
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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

Final score:
80points
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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

QQcumber , Fried Dough Report

Final score:
78points
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eileenkeller94 avatar
Metalhead Turtle 🇺🇦
Metalhead Turtle 🇺🇦
Community Member
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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Patrick Wilson
Patrick Wilson
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or if you don't feel comfortable doing any of that, just rip it off with your teeth and spit it out on the floor like a caveman.

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

Sure, and next you'll tell us not to use geese to clean our gooseberries

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

And really, if you can't pull the stem off easily, the strawb isn't ripe. Shop bought strawberries usually need the stem cutting off, my home-grown ones release the stem with a satisfying PLOP! And shop-bought are often dull and flavourless.

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Lily
Lily
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you're eating the berries whole, just use them to hold. No need to take off then. But for recipes, just clip the top.

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

Use a teaspoon with a keen (slightly sharp) edge. Gives a neat, curved cut.

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

I grow a bunch and just cut the top off as I am cleaning them and inspecting. Takes me like 10 minutes to do a couple lbs.

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

Cutting off the top can sometimes leave a bit of the tougher hull inside though. A paring knife is the simplest way to hull a strawberry properly.

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

I have very few gadgets in my kitchen, but one that I swear by is called a shark. It looks like a quarter-teaspoon measure with a serrated edge, and it's awesome for de-stemming strawberries and tomatoes, among other things. Think of it like a small sharpened scoop.

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Tracey Newman
Tracey Newman
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or use a straw it works well it’s quick and you get rid of all the hard centre.

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Lea S.
Lea S.
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've never dehulled a strawberry in my life. I just take off the stem and eat the whole thing.

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

My gram had a little metal pincher tool thingy (yup that IS the proper term for it) that we used for hulling strawberries....it pretty much just pinched the stem and pulled it off. Like fingers I guess but without the red stained fingertips. Or not AS red anyway.

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Quitethedilemma
Quitethedilemma
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've never heard of this. I sometimes just eat them when I can't be bothered biting them off. I know I'm an animal.

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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

Seriously, that is a hack? Never seen that done before.... I think not watching any tv anymore has saved me from a lot of stupid things I didn't want to buy anyway ;) Why would one do that anyway? You can just rip or cut them of easy.

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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.

the_nomads , Prem Sichanugrist Report

Final score:
73points
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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

Snorlax_Sprinkles , Chris Chen 陳依勤 Report

Final score:
65points
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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

Final score:
58points
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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

Final score:
54points
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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

PM_ME_SERATONIN , Marco Verch Professional Photographer Report

Final score:
49points
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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

Final score:
44points
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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

Final score:
41points
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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.

FearlessFreak69 , U.S. Department of Agriculture Report

Final score:
35points
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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.

MrReynevan2 , Joe Hall Report

Final score:
33points
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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

Final score:
30points
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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

NorthernAphid , Herry Lawford Report

Final score:
29points
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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.

SueBeee , Eric Sonstroem Report

Final score:
27points
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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.

Haephestus , Cheryl Report

Final score:
25points
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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.

Ineffable7980x , CJ Sorg Report

Final score:
23points
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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*

Citoyen_Riqueti , David Leo Veksler Report

Final score:
17points
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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

nattiecakes , Rebecca Siegel Report

Final score:
10points
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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

Final score:
-22points
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