30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread

One of the best ways to learn how to cook is to help out your parents and relatives as a kid while they’re busy in the kitchen. That way, you quickly pick up some great techniques, sharpen your veggie chopping skills, and get used to being around all the clanking and clattering pots and pans. It’s great! On the flip side, you also pick up some of your parents’ cooking misconceptions, too.

Their mistakes become part of your knowledge base. And it sometimes takes years and years for you to realize that your parents might not have had everything figured out when it comes to food. Redditors opened up about some of the weirdest and funniest things their parents taught them about cooking that ended up being completely the wrong way to go about making food.

From completely overcooking pork and salmon into dry inedible meals to undercooking mushrooms and not using any salt and beyond, here are the biggest misconceptions that they shared. Scroll down, upvote the posts that you think everyone should read, and if you have any food lessons to share with the rest of our dear Pandas, you can tell us all about them in the comments.

Bored Panda got in touch with Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin, a talented pie artist, food expert, and the author of ‘Pies Are Awesome,’ for a chat about where misconceptions about food come from and about food fads (like the dastardly sugar lobby vilifying fat in the 1960s).

“Culinary knowledge is usually passed down generationally. If that’s how your mum/dad/gran did it, that’s how you do it. There’s a lot of, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ mentality around the dinner tables of the world,” she told us. Read on for our interview with Jessica!

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30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread Their method for hard boiled eggs: start them in cold water, boil for 15 minutes, then wait til the water cools to remove them. Gross grey yolks every time

ETA: whoever downvoted me obviously makes eggs this insane way so I just wanna tell that guy specifically that you can boil a perfect egg in 12 minutes, less time if you prefer a jammier yolk. you do not need to waste an hour to make hardboiled eggs buddy

beastsinthebelfry , Upupa4me Report

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Pie artist and baking grandmaster Jessica told Bored Panda that if people haven’t tried the ‘correct’ versions of the dishes or ingredients, then they’ve got nothing to compare the versions they’ve always been served with.

“And even then, due to warm fuzzy nostalgic feelings the foods of our youth often invoke, some people may prefer the ‘incorrect’ version. Overcooked pasta just like mother used to make!” she noted that people’s nostalgia goggles might make an appearance.

“Of course, there is a line between ‘sub-optimal’ and ‘inedible’ when it comes to food. But if no one is puking up a lung or dying of obvious malnutrition, most busy parents don’t see much of an impetus to change,” she explained why most food mistakes don’t end up being fixed.

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread My dad always told me that mushrooms should be added to the dish at the very last minute and barely cooked. I always thought I didn’t really like mushrooms. When I finally ate mushrooms which had been sautéed golden brown I was blown away. Turns out they are way better fully cooked!

Sydney313 , Allrecipes Québec Report

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30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread When I lived with my parents, I didn't get the hype around steak. This was all around the context we lived in - My mum was feeding eight of us and brought cheap tenderized cuts that she could afford, would cook it to the consistency of cardboard, and tell us how lucky we were having steak for dinner. I was totally indifferent to it as a meal, but you eat what's in front of you and you don't complain.

It wasn't till I moved out on my own and had a really good steak at a restaurant that I realized I had misunderstood beef for 18 years. Now I love to cook and eat steak.

Glittering-Pomelo-19 , Chad Montano Report

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Jessica explained to us that society tends to go through fads and phases when it comes to its relationship with food. Some ingredients can end up being lauded or demonized, only for the tables to turn years later.

“When I was a kid, butter was the enemy, and muffins were the epitome of healthy diet food for the weight-conscious. A 1,000-calorie bran muffin slathered in margarine with a black coffee. That was where it was at,” the cooking expert explained how something that was taken very seriously in the past might sound silly from a more modern perspective.

According to Jessica, people tend to have very strong feelings about their favorite foods. It’s only later that we might learn that the ‘healthy’ items we were eating might not have been all that great for us.

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread Vegetables must be boiled. Particularly broccoli.

Maybe if we had roasted a few, I would have eaten more.

BriSnyScienceGuy , Sam Hojati Report

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30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread Putting oil in your pasta water keeps the pasta from sticking to itself.
This does nothing but waste oil. If you want to keep your pasta from sticking together stir it periodically and when it’s done drain it and put it right into your sauce.

Reaver731 , Klaus Nielsen Report

Final score:

242points

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Matheus Oliveira 2 years ago

Besides wasting oil, the only other thing it does is to keep sauce from sticking to the noodles and pooling in the bottom of the plate after they slid off the sad uncoated pasta

135points

Nat 2 years ago

That’s where I THOUGHT the post was going at first. True.

4points

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memyselfandI 2 years ago

And makes the pot all oily and harder to clean!

1point

Diana Pahule 2 years ago

I have to bake my pasta in the sauce so they become one.

0points

Kathleen Berretta 2 years ago

I add a little oil to the boiling water and have NEVER had a problem with my sauce sticking to the pasta. I only add about 2 TBS

-2points

Sinead Kenny 2 years ago

NO NO NO there IS a reason... Not trying to be a smart a*s or correct anyone, just passing on experience and advice that has served me well... There is a reason.... By dropping olive oil in the boiling water it stops the the pan and pasta bubbles to boil over. It creates a layer on the top but also make the pasta roll underneath the oil and cook quicker with no mess. It has nothing to do with taste, practical.... just saying...

28points

Earl Grey 2 years ago (edited)

Disagree about that method, professional chefs would blanch in horror. You salt the water to eliminate the foam, but people do not know what that means. You want to bring the pasta water to a level of salinity that is similar to sea water. Not merely a pinch of salt, but a tablespoon full. And no, that salt doesn’t invade the pasta and pickle it. Try it next time and you’ll see. Oily pasta will cause your sauce to just run right off. And do stir the pasta right away until it gets limp, otherwise it will tend to clump.

11points

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Bunzilla 2 years ago

I've tried the oil in the water thing before, didn't stop my noodles from boiling over. Might depend on altitude? Or how much you put in? But, yes, it prevents your sauce from sticking to your noodles, which isn't worth it imho.

6points

Carman Davis 2 years ago

I totally agree with you. Although I put just a drop of oil into my water it does help

4points

Brook Schmidt 2 years ago

Correct! According to a chef of 20+yrs who went to culinary school: It prevents boiling over and doesn't "coat" the pasta. Salt is for flavoring. Rinsing the starch off of pasta after cooking is what prevents sauce from sticking.

-2points

Diemond Star 2 years ago

Just saying you are absolutely right!!!!

-2points

Andy C 2 years ago

I see this one debunked all the time, and they are right that oil isn’t the way to prevent sticky pasta. What I never see posted is that sticky pasta is caused by not enough water! The water in your pot should be twice as deep as the pasta itself takes up. Cook pasta where the noodles barely fit in the water? You’re gonna have a bad time.

24points

Theoretical Empiricist 2 years ago

It's also important to let the water get to a full boil before adding the pasta.

10points

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Weronika Kasperska 2 years ago

Oil is not for preventing pasta from sticking, it’s for breaking water surface tension and preventing from boil over. You need just a little bit.

11points

Kira Okah 2 years ago

Which still can coat your pasta and make the sauce slide off. Use a bigger pot and more water, same result without mucking up your food.

14points

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Elwood Schwartz 2 years ago

But it doesn't. I tried it a few nights ago. Boiled over. Annoying.

3points

Lyyyy 2 years ago (edited)

Actually, oil can break the surface tension completely only if you pour enough oil so that air and water are no longer in contact. I recommend just use enough water and a big enough pot. And don’t put a lid on the pot, and stir it once in a while. The teachings of one italian Nonna. Edit: Also, oil in water makes the sink a mess.

3points

AnnaBanana 2 years ago

Salt stops it from boiling over. Just don't have the temperature screaming.

-3points

Fenel F. 2 years ago

Never put oil in your pasta's boiling water. It will create an oily film on the surface of your pasta, what will prevent the sauce being absorbed. Worst thing, what can happen with a pasta-dish.

8points

Maurettis 2 years ago

Have sticky pasta? You didn't stir it while cookong, and you used too little water

6points

Cathrine Simone 2 years ago

This only matters if you making something that has no oil in the sauce or gravy. Nearly all Italian dishes of sauce and gravy will have Olive Oil in it anyway. Also Many Asian noodles will use a sauce with a peanut oil base. Hence... rendering this advice null and void. Personally I like my pasta to be pasta, and not soak up my sauce. That is part of the pleasing duality of the meal.

5points

Leo Domitrix 2 years ago

Just. Stir. The. Pot. OMG. are people this lazy they can't stir a pot?

3points

Francisco Manuel Teruel Gutiérrez 2 years ago (edited)

Pasta doesn't stick if you 1) water is already boiling, 2) you put enough water and 3) you stir the pasta (not continously, only 2-3 times is OK). Oil is irrelevant.

2points

Lili Octopus 2 years ago

Italian viewpoint here: no no no oil. Just cook pasta in salted boiling water

2points

DC 2 years ago

The damned oil does not only not do any good there, but a lot of undesrable things, like preventing the sauce from sticking to the pasta and stuff. And waste oil.

2points

Jack flick 2 years ago

Salt the water👍😁

2points

John Baker 2 years ago

I've heard that old saw about how oil keeps the sauce from sticking my entire life. Never had it happen.

2points

Henrik 2 years ago

The reason to put a tiny amount of oil in the water is to keep it from boiling over. And when I say tiny amount I really mean TINY.

2points

Elwood Schwartz 2 years ago

It doesn't prevent boil over. Just tried it. It literally made no difference.

2points

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Norman Woelk 2 years ago

Some celebrity chefs claim it prevents the water from foaming. Yuck, I would rather it foam than waste the pasta.

1point

Niall Mac Iomera 2 years ago

I never use oil, and I never stir. I also never have pasta stick

1point

Alex Travous 2 years ago

Salt is what keeps it from sticking and you only need a pinch of it.

1point

Adrienne Mcginley 2 years ago (edited)

Match your pasta to your sauce, or vice versa. Thicker sauces call for larger pasta, but pesto goes with everything.

1point

jevais 2 years ago

Don't forget the salt in the water.

1point

Kristi Wozniak 2 years ago

Sometimes I use oil. A tad. Sometimes I don’t. Depends how I’m eating my pasta… many many times I don’t use sauce at all… so oil works for me. Growing up with poorer grandparents, we had noodles w a scoop of cottage cheese and a dash of chili powder. Now- everyone will say yuck- but every single friend I have had over - during the last 20 years- tried it. Liked it. And even makes them a plate of it that way. Lol. Everyone has an opinion- not all are wrong. Try diff things diff ways and shock your palate!

1point

Carol Emory 2 years ago

Also..don't drain that pasta completely..leave a little to put in the sauce. It will thicken the sauce up and leave it shiny!

1point

brukernavn340 2 years ago

I found it keeps it from sticking to the pot though. I've ditched the oil sometimes because I learned it was a myth, but then the pasta stuck to the pot again.

1point

Rob Normand 2 years ago

I always put a little sauce from whatever we're having in and stir it up, it helps them not stick, plus the noodles soak up the flavor of the sauce.

0points

Mickie Shea 2 years ago

Okay

0points

Remi 123 2 years ago

Nailed it 👌

0points

Earl Grey 2 years ago

And this is why I love cooking! No matter what opinion or recommendations you find expressed here, you will discover cookbooks and professional chefs on YT to back you up 100%. But above all… enjoy your food!

0points

Jay Weigel 2 years ago

And lots of salt in the cooking water, plus save just a little cooking water to add to the sauce, or if you have to put the drained pasta back into the pan for a couple of minutes.

0points

April Pickett 2 years ago

I add a little oil to the boiling pasta to keep it from overflowing the pot.

0points

Yayheterogeneity 2 years ago

My mom did that, too!

0points

Tt 2 years ago

I just put them in cold water

0points

marianne eliza 2 years ago

That coating of oil on your pasta prevents the water from cooking it evenly.

0points

Michael Se 2 years ago

The dash of oil keeps the starchy foam from boiling over.

0points

Dave Sturtz 2 years ago

I agree with most of these, but I have always put a small amount of oil into the water, to minimize boiling over AND sticking. I've never had a problem with my sauce sliding off. I am going to keep doing it.

0points

Smellsliketeenspirit 2 years ago

I use salt to prevent sticking. And drain but keep about a cup full of pasta water to add to your sauce ✨💅

0points

Beck 2 years ago

I love sticky pasta. I like it better eating it the next day.

0points

Dawn Depietro 2 years ago

It is a sin !!! No itaialn started that c**p! Water at FULL BOIL and stirring occasionally 8 minutes

0points

Kayjunmoon 2 years ago

The time depends on the type of pasta, also whether it is fresh or not.

0points

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pink_panda 2 years ago

I am learning much about cooking pasta this day.

0points

Luna Crow 2 years ago

But you can add oil after the pasta is drained to keep it from sticking

-1point

Brook Schmidt 2 years ago

It prevents it from boiling over, not from sticking together.

-1point

Rolands Majors 2 years ago

Actually they stick together because they keep cooking. When you drain them, wash them with cold water to stop the process if you're not planning to serve imediately.

-1point

Roxy Eastland 2 years ago

And if you're going to use it cold, or in a dish later, keep it in the colander and run cold water through it to stop it sticking together

-1point

Kaya Thompson 2 years ago

The reason for the oil in the water is not to keep noodles separated. The oil on top of the water helps break the surface tension and keep your water from boiling over. A wooden spoon sitting over you pot will do the same thing. Although neither will keep your noodle from sticking together..

-1point

Elvira Kreft 2 years ago

Or put the oil ( a litle ) over after you draind your pasta this wil help it from sticking

-2points

Don't even 2 years ago

I always just put a few drops of olive oil as to prevent it from boiling over? Have never worried about my pasta sticking while cooking, but I also stir far more than necessary so there's that lol

-2points

jpaul 2 years ago

totally false a drop of olive oil prevent the pasta from sticking. a drop suffices

-2points

Kayjunmoon 2 years ago

Not needed. Just the occasional stir.

3points

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Dammian 2 years ago

Well, actually some use oil to avoid foam on boiling water and not to avoid sticking to itself.

-2points

wihowo4474 2 years ago

I've made $64,000 so far this year working online and I'm a full time student. Im using an online business opportunity I heard about and I've made such great money. It's really user friendly and I'm just so happy that I found out about it. Heres what I do. :) AND GOOD LUCK.:) HERE====)> 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦

-3points

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Love my mom, but she was an awful cook. As a teen I started to cook for my family once or twice a week. My father grilled on the weekend nights. The other 3 nights of the week were hers. She tried, she really did, but she was just not good. She would see a recipe she was interested in, but instead of trying it out as is, she would make adjustments to it the first time out. And her adjustments were not necessarily sensible. For example, she would see a recipe that calls for 2 cups of shredded cheese which she saw as too much cheese, so she would replace one cup of cheese with a cup of shredded carrot because it looked like shredded cheese. Stuff like that.

When I grew older and was at Girlfriend's house for dinner one night, she decided to make enchiladas, which I absolutely detested growing up. Of course, there are times in life when you just swallow what's offered to you and smile. They ended up being the best enchiladas I had ever tasted. Amazing. And of course I huge kuddos from her, A for eating them, B for asking for seconds, and C for the smile on my face.

Turns out, most enchiladas don't have 2 cans of diced olives mixed in. Yet another adjustment my mother made without thinking it through. You know diced olives bare a resemblance to ground meat when you cook it. And so, at the age of 22 I learned that I don't hate enchiladas. Lesson learned.

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“There are certainly some historical food misconceptions that have done a lot of harm. The vilification of fat by the sugar lobby in the 1960s is a big one that springs to mind, as well as the whole ‘eating a giant bowl of glorified marshmallows is a-ok for breakfast’ phase,” she told us.

“Outside of broad societal attitudes towards certain foods and diets, there are a number of common everyday cooking mistakes that people make in the preparation of their food—our handling of rice and pasta are high on the list here—but outside of food safety violations, I tend to be pretty sanguine about these things,” the expert noted that not cooking something ideally isn’t always the same as making the food item dangerous for consumption.

“No one ever died from over-cooked pasta, or vegetables boiled within an inch of their life. Sure, they’re missing out on a heightened culinary experience, but do you really want to be ‘that guy?’ I know I’m not going to tell my grandma how to perfect her pasta boiling technique (and if you knew my grandma, you wouldn’t either!),” Jessica said that, at times, it’s best to be diplomatic and dig into the meal without comment.

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread That meat has to be cooked to a point of total shoe-leather dryness in order to be "safe" to eat. Neither of my parents would touch a piece of chicken that wasn't dessicated through and through nor a piece of beef with a touch of pink.

DerHoggenCatten , Paul Hermann Report

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30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread My entire childhood we had margarine. I thought restraunts had some special technique to make their butter taste good. Turns out it was just regular salted butter.

HungryJacque , Sorin Gheorghita Report

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30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread My parents boil any meat that they’re going to “cook” on the grill because it won’t cook all the way through on a grill. And this is why I thought I hated BBQed chicken. Few years ago I threw a BBQ for them, my Dad insisted I was going to kill them by just grilling the chicken and pork. Then they said, best grilled chicken and pork they ever had. I also grilled the corn on the cob which they thought was some kind of miracle.

SeaOtterHummingbird , Daniel Hooper Report

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A lot of these misconceptions probably come from a place of love. For instance, some parents might not cook with salt because they know that an excess of it might be harmful to health. Others might overcook food because they’re overly worried about killing off any germs.

Sure, that might kill the flavor, but these aren’t misconceptions that harm you much apart from leaving your taste buds unsatisfied. It’s the mistakes related to hygiene in the kitchen that you should be worried about.

Some kitchen mistakes are worse than others. Food expert, pie artist, and author Jessica recently told Bored Panda all about food hygiene.

#10

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread No more than three eggs per week, or you'd die of heat failure from the cholesterol.

rc1024 , Tom Chance Report

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#11

It took me an entire summer of owning my own barbecue to learn that barbecued does not mean charred past recognition.

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#12

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread In this vein - spinach! Boxed fish sticks, rice, and canned spinach was in the regular rotation when I was a kid. I didn't realize spinach was tasty until I had a tasty fresh spinach salad at my in-laws' place.

Reading the Harry Potter books, I always just straight imagined gillyweed as canned spinach. Slimy and revolting.

Snap__Dragon , Eva Elijas Report

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"The worst thing that can be done in the kitchen in terms of hygiene is treating the 'dangerous' ingredients in the same fashion as all the other ingredients in your food prep. Pathogens (the little things in food that can make us sick like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and microorganisms) thrive in certain foods more than others," Jessica explained to us in an exclusive interview.

"Raw chicken, raw egg, unpasteurized milk, seafood, and raw flour (people often forget that one!) in particular are fertile breeding ground for nasties and need to be treated differently than other foods,” the food expert warned.

According to Jessica, everyone should keep in mind the food safety acronym ‘FATTOM’ to remember which foods spoil quicker than others. The acronym stands for “Food supply (protein), low acidity, time, temperature, oxygen, and moisture."

#13

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread If you don’t have a potato then it is not an actual meal. It wasn’t exactly true then but that was what they knew.

Bluemonogi , Monika Grabkowska Report

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#14

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread Not exactly my parents, but my grandmother had some... Unique views on food. For example:

Enjoying foreign food makes you almost traitor of your country

Never washed her vegetables because dirt toughens you up

Only she knows the correct recipes and experimenting in kitchen in unforgivable (direct insult to my mom)

If something had gone bad, she didn't throw it out, but boiled till it literally dissolved and then got upset that noone ate it

Hentai-hercogs , Ian Sommerville Report

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#15

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread My mom just told me to completely omit salt when cooking.

a_frayn , Thomas Brueckner Report

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The expert said that you can use ‘FATTOM’ as a quick rule of thumb to determine how dangerous the ingredients you’re working with actually are.

“For example, if you are working with something with a very high acid content like lemons, jam, or pickles, or something with a very low moisture content like crackers or rice cakes, you really don’t have to worry about them sitting out on the counter for hours or touching other food. They just don’t have enough of what the pathogens need to grow,” she said.

"On the other hand, something like raw shrimp which has a high moisture content and lots of protein for pathogens to eat really needs to be carefully monitored for how long it is left out in the open air in 'danger zone' temperatures and kept far away from other food and utensils,” she told Bored Panda that temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees F (4 to 60 degrees C) are the danger zone for pathogen growth.

#16

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread My dad, whose mother is from Sicily, he was really offended when my future SIL sweetened her Bolognese sauce with carrots. I did a little research on a standard Italian sofrito, and it includes carrots. I've since modified my recipe, swapping sugar for carrots, and I think it improves the flavor.

Scapular_Fin , Gary Barnes Report

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#17

Most of these differences are simply preferences, rather than strictly advantageous, incorrect or correct. Two cooks can use vastly different techniques for the same dish and make an end result that is equally delicious. That is why it is best to regard all recipes as advice and suggestion, not gospel.

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#18

For my entire childhood I thought mashed potatoes came in a box.

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#19

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread Everyone loves their Moms cooking but don't they all have this one dish that you learned later does not taste like it is supposed to? Mine for example will leave pasta in the water until it's time to serve it, even if it's practically starting to dissolve by that time. Then she will drown it in butter so it won't stick.

thegoldensnitch9 , Kyle T. Report

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#20

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread Salmon. My mom was a decent cook but I thought I detested that nasty dry stuff until I had salmon at a restaurant once and was like holy sh*t, THIS is salmon??

PolarsteeleMGB2 , Oxana Kolodina Report

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#21

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread I was allowed to eat eggs, sunny side up, omelette, whatever, only once or twice a week.

Supposedly unhealthy.

G00bre , snickclunk Report

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108points

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#22

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread My mom used to overcook pork chops all the time because she didn't believe it was safe to have any pinkness inside. I thought I didn't like pork chops very much because I thought it wasn't juicy enough until I finally had one that was cooked to medium doneness.

Darwin343 , stu_spivack Report

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104points

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#23

Bacon. I assumed it was the solid food equivalent of coffee when I was a kid - smells amazing, tastes like bitter, burnt ashes. My parents err on the side of burnt, and sometimes they err hard. When I was 12 my buddy made us some for breakfast after a sleepover and pulled it off the heat almost still pink and my mind was blown.

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#24

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread You can't drink milk while eating anything with lemon or it will *curdle in your stomach* and make you *severely* sick!

FourCatsAndCounting , ~Pawsitive~Candie_N Report

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100points

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#25

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread My mom is a great cook. People offer to buy her stuff all the time. And when my friends come over, they leave at least 5lbs heavier. HOWEVER, there is one thing that she does that hella bothers me- she leaves soups and stews on the stove top for a couple days. She boils it every day and claims it removes the bacteria. Luckily, no one has gotten food poisoning yet. It still freaks me out. And I’ll only eat it when it’s freshly made or from the fridge.

curryp4n , Uwe Conrad Report

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98points

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#26

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread When baking, stir everything clock wise or it will be bad.

pumpkabooooo , Klaus Nielsen Report

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98points

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#27

My parents always had their big meal in the evening. Only as an adult living in Germany did I learn that a big lunch and a light supper are much healthier (for me at least). Much better sleep for one thing.

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#28

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread Eggs are bad for you.... That was before we heard about cholesterol. Then butter, here use this congealed artery spackle instead

Later they got into the whole low fat thing

blkhatwhtdog , Ben Kolde Report

Final score:

92points

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#29

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread Spinach is desgusting. Its NOT. I eat it every day as an adult. But they ALWAYS bought Canned Spinach which is... not good. Really bad. Green, slightly grass tasting slime. Fresh Spinach? Crunchy! No Slime! Good. They came up poor and lived on an island so I don't think they quite understood that, one we had moved west, they now lived with 500 km of 1000 farms and didn't need to buy it in a can anymore...

bobo76565657 , miguel Report

Final score:

91points

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#30

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread A pinch of salt = only a few grains

Breakfastchocolate , Bank Phrom Report

Final score:

80points

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Note: this post originally had 67 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

Storytelling, journalism, and art are a core part of who I am. I've been writing and drawing ever since I could walk—there is nothing else I'd rather do. My formal education, however, is focused on politics, philosophy, and economics because I've always been curious about the gap between the ideal and the real. At work, I'm a Senior Writer and I cover a broad range of topics that I'm passionate about: from psychology and changes in work culture to healthy living, relationships, and design. In my spare time, I'm an avid hiker and reader, enjoy writing short stories, and love to doodle. I thrive when I'm outdoors, going on small adventures in nature. However, you can also find me enjoying a big mug of coffee with a good book (or ten) and entertaining friends with fantasy tabletop games and sci-fi movies.

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I'm a visual editor here at Bored Panda and I enjoy a good laugh. My work ranges from serious topics related to toxic work environments and relationship difficulties to humorous articles about online shopping fails and introvert memes. When I'm not at my work desk, checking if every single pixel is in the right place, I usually spend my free time playing board games, taking pictures, and watching documentaries

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What do you think ?

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Patti Vance 2 years ago

i had a single mom raising 3 kids with a father that didn't pay child support. so, she was creative in her cooking. some of the things she did would sound weird but they worked. best thing that happened was there was a little corner market owned by an asian couple. while they didn't allow credit for 99% of their customers they did for mom, probably because they saw her struggling to feed three kids. one day they showed up at our apt w/veggies and meat and things i had never seen as it was all asian. mr. lou explained in broken english that his wife was going to teach how to stir fry & make meat go far & lots of veg. this was early 60s so way before stir fry was common. such kind people.

42points

Xenon 2 years ago

Wonderful people.

11points

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AnnaBanana 2 years ago

That's awesome! You must have grown up eating some fantastic food.

5points

A dragon within 2 years ago

Oh my gosh! What a thoughtful couple!

0points

John Baker 2 years ago

Some of these sound more like superstition than "cooking errors." Most of the rest are just personal preference, neither right nor wrong.

13points

Auntriarch 2 years ago

And some of them had good reason historically

11points

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nini 2 years ago

Preparation. There are so many veggies I hated (asparagus, spinach, eggplant, cauliflower just to name a few) because of the way my parents wanted them cooked. Generally really uninspired, bland cooking, no spices, not even herbs were to be used. Now, that I live with my bf, who really loves cooking and experimenting with flavors, a whole new world of tastes opened up to me 🤩

12points

Seabeast 2 years ago

My mother didn't think vegetables were properly cooked until they were boiled into a flavourless grey mush. She just didn't understand why we wanted to sneak out to the garden and eat raw veggies.

9points

Karolína T. 2 years ago

Until I knew my mother-in-law, I was convinced I hate Christmas sweets. My mum was the same sort of some people above - six eggs in recipe, no only twoo, 250 g of butter, hell its too much, give 100 g - and the result was dry, crumbly, no savor. Everything was prepared "healthy" - no fat, no cream, no milk, meat was boiled slowly until fragmented to sarcomers for better chewing and digestion. When I was 12, my parents applied for school cantine cause they were oversaturated with my "anorexia" and exhausted from forcing me to eat. Then, I almost doubled my weight during one year.

8points

Patti Vance 2 years ago

oh, one thing i wanted to add here is kind of an homage to my mom's creativity. since my dad didn't pay child support he would occasionally drop off things like a case of tuna or a case of chicken noodle soup. at one point i was having tuna for lunch so often that i was getting teased at school. we had a field trip & i told my mom i didn't want a lunch because i would stink up the bus and get teased. the next morning there was my lunch & she told me it was chicken salad. it was damn good chicken salad! was it really? nope. mom had drained and rinsed the tuna, seasoned w/chicken bouillon & spices. that's what moms do!! i sure miss her.

7points

OkieDonut 2 years ago

I used to think I hated lasagna but it turns out my mom would always buy the cheapest frozen lasagna and cook it too long (and burning it). The first time I had home made lasagna I was mind blown. Also now my husband and I frequently have frozen lasagna but we choose the best brand and don't overcook it lol and it's my favourite meal

5points

Kira Okah 2 years ago

I'm seeing superstition, following advice thought to be vital but now known to be myth, and results of growing up poor. Less errors, more unfortunate.

4points

Tiffany Marie 2 years ago

I only eat eggs now twice a week because of Inflation Costs 🤣😂

3points

DC 2 years ago

Hm, there are some rules that appear to be silly at first sight, but might be worth a try. If you're cooking tomato sauce, listen to Black Sabbath while doing so. The original line up. The sauce will be a lot better than compared to any other music that was being listened to during cooking. Just try it out ... works!

3points

Vicky Zar 2 years ago

My MILs version of Spagetti Bolognese: put too much ground meat in a too small pan with too much oil. Cook it in it's own juice. Add Ketchup (because that's of course the same as tomato paste).

3points

Dr. Carlos Dangercat 2 years ago

My mom is convinced that eating off a plate or drinking out of a mug with a chip in it is extremely dangerous and the lurking bacteria will probably kill you. I understand that you shouldn't eat off a cracked plate, but within the last year she confiscated one of my favorite mugs that had the teensiest chip in it, even though I told her I drank from the opposite side!

3points

Diemond Star 2 years ago

After reading this I'm ready to go eat.

2points

Lisa Hewes 2 years ago

My maternal grandmother was a terrible cook and she knew it, but, bless her, she tried her best anyway and just wanted to feed her family. Can't say the same for my other grandmother. She sucked and I don't miss her. My maternal grandmother was wonderful. The only thing she could make was Portuguese sweet bread, using her mother's recipe (which is now mine and I intend to keep it in the family) every year on Easter Sunday and us grandkids would dye the eggs that she would then bake in the bread. I absolutely loved it.

2points

Helderder 2 years ago

I prefer the taste of real butter tbh.

1point

Thomas Moore 2 years ago

Margarine gets a lot of hate. I personally prefer it to butter, as I feel at least that it is less heavy, and if you look at the ingredients list it's not that out there.

1point

Sharlene McNeill 2 years ago

I'd like to weigh in on this and agree that I thought I hated a LOT of veggies because my grandmother would boil them to mush. In my 20s I discovered that I loved them cooked differently, lovely and crunchy with so much flavour! Now in my 40s with sore teeth, I have to wonder if she just cooked them down to mush because she had no teeth and sore gums - eep.

1point

Lily Mae Kitty 2 years ago

my dad was a chef and I grew up in a restaurant so I know a lot about cooking food. Baking is not something I am good at b/c it's just too precise. Cooking is easier b/c it's not an exact science. He was old school Italian American so did like his meat well done but cooked it however people ordered it, but made ours a bit too well done. I still don't like rare meats, but no longer want them overcooked either.

1point

Marco Richter 1 year ago

Ah yes the old eggs are unhealthy because of too much cholesterol myth. The original study actually found out that too much cholesterol can kill... a rabbit. (They didn't test it on humans though) Also chicken has to be cooked through or else you risk a salmonella poisoning.

0points

celery g 2 years ago

Canned tuna is disgusting, but a grilled tuna steak is the bomb!

0points

A dragon within 2 years ago

I must have cooked it wrong because my fresh tuna steak tasted the same as canned so that's why I get canned. 🤷‍♀️

0points

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Monica Pryts 2 years ago

I hated mashed potatoes as a kid. Now I realize that my mom would make them either too lumpy or too runny with no flavor like butter or sour cream.

0points

A dragon within 2 years ago

Garlic, sour cream, chives and/or cheddar are always fun additions. :)

1point

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Iapetos 2 years ago

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M Rob 2 years ago

So how do you fertilize and pollinate your vegetables? Do you hand pollinate and use chemicals to fertilize?

0points

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d bradley 2 years ago

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wihowo4474 2 years ago

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Patti Vance 2 years ago

42points

Xenon 2 years ago

Wonderful people.

11points

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AnnaBanana 2 years ago

That's awesome! You must have grown up eating some fantastic food.

5points

A dragon within 2 years ago

Oh my gosh! What a thoughtful couple!

0points

John Baker 2 years ago

Some of these sound more like superstition than "cooking errors." Most of the rest are just personal preference, neither right nor wrong.

13points

Auntriarch 2 years ago

And some of them had good reason historically

11points

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nini 2 years ago

12points

Seabeast 2 years ago

My mother didn't think vegetables were properly cooked until they were boiled into a flavourless grey mush. She just didn't understand why we wanted to sneak out to the garden and eat raw veggies.

9points

Karolína T. 2 years ago

8points

Patti Vance 2 years ago

7points

OkieDonut 2 years ago

5points

Kira Okah 2 years ago

I'm seeing superstition, following advice thought to be vital but now known to be myth, and results of growing up poor. Less errors, more unfortunate.

4points

Tiffany Marie 2 years ago

I only eat eggs now twice a week because of Inflation Costs 🤣😂

3points

DC 2 years ago

3points

Vicky Zar 2 years ago

My MILs version of Spagetti Bolognese: put too much ground meat in a too small pan with too much oil. Cook it in it's own juice. Add Ketchup (because that's of course the same as tomato paste).

3points

Dr. Carlos Dangercat 2 years ago

3points

Diemond Star 2 years ago

After reading this I'm ready to go eat.

2points

Lisa Hewes 2 years ago

2points

Helderder 2 years ago

I prefer the taste of real butter tbh.

1point

Thomas Moore 2 years ago

Margarine gets a lot of hate. I personally prefer it to butter, as I feel at least that it is less heavy, and if you look at the ingredients list it's not that out there.

1point

Sharlene McNeill 2 years ago

1point

Lily Mae Kitty 2 years ago

1point

Marco Richter 1 year ago

0points

celery g 2 years ago

Canned tuna is disgusting, but a grilled tuna steak is the bomb!

0points

A dragon within 2 years ago

I must have cooked it wrong because my fresh tuna steak tasted the same as canned so that's why I get canned. 🤷‍♀️

0points

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Monica Pryts 2 years ago

I hated mashed potatoes as a kid. Now I realize that my mom would make them either too lumpy or too runny with no flavor like butter or sour cream.

0points

A dragon within 2 years ago

Garlic, sour cream, chives and/or cheddar are always fun additions. :)

1point

Load More Replies...

Iapetos 2 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

M Rob 2 years ago

So how do you fertilize and pollinate your vegetables? Do you hand pollinate and use chemicals to fertilize?

0points

Load More Replies...

d bradley 2 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

wihowo4474 2 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

30 Of The Worst Beliefs About Cooking People Have Been Taught By Their Parents, As Shared On This Online Thread

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