For someone that loves to cook, you might think that you never make mistakes. After all, it can be hard to be objective when you’re the one that is preparing the dish. The mistakes can prevent you from becoming a better cook. It is important to be honest with yourself. There are some habits that will be tough to break but you don’t want anything holding you back in your quest to become better. Here are some of the bad cooking habits you should break in 2020.

Not Properly Preheating the Cooking Surface

If you’re in a hurry or hungry, preheating is usually not an option. You just want to finish up everything in a few minutes. Preheating is important, especially when using an oven as you don’t want the food to be unevenly cooked. It could also cause stickiness which results in the burning of the food.

You should also be cautious as you can overheat the surface during preheating. This will result in smoke coming from the oil. The majority of the recipes will require that you preheat the surface before you can start to cook. You can make these stuffed peppers too but you’ll not be required to preheat the surface before you can cook.

Dipping and Sweeping the Flour

A common mistake that a lot of people make when measuring flour is by dipping into the bag. One reason why this is a mistake is that the dipping motion will make the flour pack on the cup. The right way of doing it is to scoop the flour with a spoon and level it off.

Overfilling the Pan

Cooking is an art that requires patience. You don’t want to stir the food too much when it is not necessary. You could be doing so because the pan is overfilled. Stirring constantly will not make the waiting time shorter. When you put too much food on the pan, you will significantly lower the temperatures that are required for cooking.

Not Letting the Meat Rest

You’ll be tempted to dig in when the meat is from the grill. You need to let it rest for a while so that the juices can be evenly distributed. The meat is likely to be sweeter and juicier if you wait for a couple of minutes rather than just ravishing it straight from the grill. If it is a large roast, you should wait for it to rest for up to 20 minutes.

Cooking Acidic Food on Reactive Pans

As much as aluminum is great for conducting heat, it is not always recommended for cookware because it can react with the acidic elements from the food. You should be careful with the kind of food that you cook on such pans. Whenever you’re out shopping for new utensils, make sure to buy nonreactive pans.

Blending Hot liquids

You don’t want your kitchen to explode because of trying hot liquids. The aftermath is always unforgettable and you could be putting yourself in danger when you try out something like that. It is recommended that you remove the stopper before blending. The majority of blenders will come with some sort of stopping mechanism.

Overmixing Batter

You’d want the butter to be combined when you’re mixing it for baking purposes. Some people will go overboard with the mixing. Mixing is usually a good idea but you should not overdo it. One way you can do it is gently mixing until you’re sure that the batter is uniform so that you can stop.

Rinsing Meat Before Cooking

Unless it is specified, you shouldn’t rinse the meat before you cook. When you’re doing the rinsing on your sink, you could be exposing the meat to bacteria that could lead to foodborne illness. If you have to rinse, make sure it is in a bowl.

Not Following Instructions

If you’re trying out a new recipe, it is crucial that you’re following the instructions to the latter. You could be tempted to skip some which you think are unnecessary and that is where the problem usually starts. There is no reason why you should be trying a new recipe when you’re not going to follow the instructions.

Conclusion

These are some of the cooking mistakes that you should avoid if you’re to become better. It can be tough getting rid of the old habits but it will be worth it in the end. All you have to do is to take each step at a time.

• Prev
• Next