30 People Reveal The Cooking Hill They’re “Willing To Die On”

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Pineapple hates me and tries to burn my mouth.

Same!!

Wholeheartedly agree, same with sweetcorn

Technically I only like it on a Hawaiian

Agree, it enhances flavour and ruins it if you put in too much.

I couldn't agree more. I just have to watch the amount of salt I put in, due to health reasons.

I don't think they're saying it's a flavour: it's the champion *of* flavour.

💯 agree!!!

YES!! Lowery's Seasoned Salt is my favorite to put on so many things.

When I make beef stew, I let it sit in the fridge for a day or two before I eat it.

That and some of the moisture evaporates helping to intensify the flavors.

Especially lasagna...

dips too...

Exactly. Cooking is an art. Baking is a science.

I actually modify in baking (but mostly sugar and flavoring not flour) for example I added less sugar into my pecan pie and replaced some of the sugar with honey. or I will add coco powder to random recipes to make them chocolate lol

Any sort of dough needs to be adjusted to the temperature and humidity level on the day you are making it though. So that requires a lot of feel to get it the right texture.

I did take note that you said "usually." As a child, we cooked on a coal stove and baked in an oven whose thermometer only read things like warm, medium and hot. No numbers. Mom used coffee cups and regular teaspoons and tablespoons to measure. She baked the greatest cakes. That's how they did it in the Olden Days. It's better now, but not the only way.

Not even for baking. As a professional baker I find that most recipes need to be tweaked. People who post recipes online tend to, for whatever reason, leave ingredients or steps out. My favorite example is the toll house recipe on the package. If you follow the package directions you get a flat, lumpy cookie.

That advice actually dates all the way back to Leviticus in the Bible. You're right.

They do if you don't know what's going on in the oven. Since I learned more about chemical processes in baking, I started to tweak those recipes too, and I'm getting better results. I assume that professional bakers take those recipes as guidelines too.

To a degree. Once you know what you're doing with the chemistry of baking (how leaveners work, how different fats emulsify), you can vary things quite a bit. I have notebooks full of recipes I've improved with study and experimentation. Then again, I've pretty much memorized The Food Lab and the Art of the Cake, and I bake a few times a week. Unless it's a delicate French confection or pastry, you can usually reduce the sugar without having a problem. NEVER forget the salt... it serves a chemical purpose. The altitude and humidity matter for more delicate recipes. You can vary pie crusts by adding seasonings to them or replacing some wheat flour with almond flour. Once you learn the "feel" of proper bread dough, you can play with different flour blends, though some will require more leavener. Always soak your raisins before putting them into raisin bread, or they will suck up all the moisture. I could go on, but you get the picture.

also, by weight, not volume

Cooking is an art, baking is a science.

Right. Chemistry is one thing. Physics is another.

As a baker, I concur.

Agreed. Baking is chemistry. Cooking is alchemy.

I call BS on that. It can't be exact when a recipe calls for "3 eggs". As if all eggs have the same composition.

This, 100%.

fa & fo??

I've basically trained my dad that he can eat my experimental recipes or make something for himself. He's moved beyond salt and pepper for seasoning now and actually likes some herbs and spices.

Even cheap butter doesn't taste like butter

Then you get a hold of real Amish butter and it ruins you forever

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A friends of mine once said 'there's only two things in the world that smell like fish. And one of them is fish'.

If you haven't then I think you should.

I put it on the un frosted side and cut slits with the butter knife so it fills up as well... I can't eat them dry!

They were likely talking specifically about the fully vegetable-based products sold as "vegan butter". Vegan "butter"'s consistency, fat content, and melting temperature have been made to mimic butter baking sticks, which makes it a 1-1 subtitute for butter in any baking recipe. Adding "butter" clarifies (ba-dum-TSS!) "This is good for baking" when making choices at the grocery store. A LOT of margarines, both vegan and non (lots of margarines still contain the dairy by-product "whey" which means they aren't vegan/dairy allergy/intolerant safe), are made to stay soft for spreading, which changes how they interact in baked goods.

Interestingly, Mr Auntriarch finds that smooth mash initiates his gag reflex, and prefers rough mashed