As most readers will know, I love cooking. I am a fanatic when it comes to doing things “perfectly” in the kitchen and have, consequently, read everything I can get my hands on about cooking. I am an amateur, but at least I am a reasonably well informed amateur! This list is a guide to help save you from some of the most common cooking errors we all make.
When you cook in a pan which is not hot enough, things stick and they don’t color. This is a very common mistake made when cooking steak or other meat dishes in a frying pan. Don’t be afraid to turn the heat right up – you can always remove the pan from the heat if it looks to be too hot. Make sure you use a little oil to the pan before you begin to heat it (don’t use a non-stick pan – throw all the non-stick cookware in to the bin).
Overcooked fish is one of the most revolting things you can eat. It lacks flavor, and it lacks moisture. When you cook fish properly, it should retain some of the transparency that you get with raw fish. Don’t fear that it will be raw – the heat can still penetrate to the core without overcooking it. As a side note, when buying fresh fish, make sure the fish eyes are shiny and clear and that the gills are still red. Fresh fish should also have no odor (apart from the smell of the sea) – if it smells fishy, don’t buy it.
When you cook a steak, you must put it in the pan and not touch it again until it is time to turn it over. Moving meat around a pan stops it from browning. Coupled with a cold pan (item 10) you will end up with limp, soggy, and uncolored meat. You should not fall to the temptation to give things a shove or to check for the level of cooking. Cook based on time (for example one minute either side for steak) and leave it alone!
When frying on top of the stove, people tend to try to do everything at once – putting half a dozen sausages in the pan, or 2 or 3 steaks. This only ruins the food – overcrowding the pan causes food to boil (as there is not enough room for the steam to leave the pan) instead of browning. Cook in batches and, if you need to, keep meat in a warmed oven while you continue through the batches.
Most people who have little cooking experience will be familiar with the large cut of meat that has shrivelled up like a prune during cooking. The reason for this is that when you heat meat beyond a certain temperature, the meat proteins begin to contract – forcing the juices (and flavor!) out of the meat. The solution to this is to make sure that when you roast meat, you do it on a low heat for a long time. The great chef Heston Blumenthal (owner of The Fat Duck) cooks his meat at a maximum of 75C (~170F) for many hours – resulting in succulent and flavorful cuts. I strongly recommend you check out his cook books – “Family Food” is a particularly good one and it includes a section on meat cooking in this manner. I am fortunate enough to own a signed copy! You can get it here at Amazon
All too frequently people use too little salt in their cooking (or worse still: no salt at all!) Salt is essential in cooking as it provides flavor and in some cases texture. You should salt all meat before you cook it, and most of the time you should salt water before cooking vegetables in it. It is not enough to add salt at the last minute as some foods cook better with salt adding during the cooking process. I should also mention here than you should immediately throw away any table salt you own and buy proper sea salt (or kosher salt). Table salt contains flowing agents and anti-caking agents. It contains so much of this stuff that if you sniff a container of table salt – it smells like metal. Good quality salt should have no smell or a very slight perfume (from the sea).
Blunt knives are not only bad in the kitchen because they tear at what you are cutting, but they are extremely dangerous. Most accidents involving knives in the kitchen are caused by blunt knives. The reason for this is that the knife is more prone to slipping. I personally prefer Japanese steel in my knives but there are also some excellent quality European knives as well. For those with the big budget I strongly recommend Hattori knives (go for the HD or KD series – they will cost upwards of $300 a knife). The knife pictured above is a 27cm Hattori KD Chef’s Knife ($1,175).
Dried herbs have no place in the kitchen. They have little (if any) of the flavor of the herb they are meant to represent. If you cook with dried herbs, you cook with no flavor. The first time you use fresh herbs in your cooking, you will immediately understand the importance of them. This also goes for vegetables – always buy the freshest vegetables you can (preferably locally grown – buying locally grown means you only get what is in season, and therefore you get the best tasting veges).
I am sure we are all well acquainted with pots and pans that are as light as a feather and coated with a non-stick coating. Throw. These. Out. Now. You simply can not get the right feel for heat with these abominable tin pots. A proper cooking pot should have a very heavy base. They need not be cast iron, but they should certainly require a little elbow grease to lift. If you have the wallet large enough – you should aim for copper pots as they provide the best conductivity of heat.
Wine is undoubtedly my favorite thing in the world – I quaff copious amounts of the stuff (in order to improve my palate of course). One of the big “sins” in the kitchen is using “cooking” wine. There is no such thing as special wine for cooking – it is cheap and nasty wine with a dishonest label on it! The golden rule with wine in the kitchen is that you must only use wine you would happily drink. The upside to this golden rule is that you invariably end up with a lot of spare wine for drinking. Be sure not to keep your “good” wine in the pantry when you are done – drink it and buy a fresh bottle next time you need it.
Very nice List, informative and well written!
awesome! some good tips. and does that wine brand actually exist?
My mom will love this list!
Thanks for the tips
Awesome list! I wish I had a set of decent knives; mine are crap and I hate sharpening them so they just get worse and worses
About #6, does anyone know whether burnt meat (like charcoal burnt) is carcinogenic? I read somewhere that it was, red meat and salmon were supposed to be the worst?
Out of the ‘foodies’ on the site, who else is mad about breadmaking? I can’t wait til I get my copy of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice
i love this site..i always read the “list of the day” (or the latest list made, while im at work) hehe..this site is so informative..i’ve been attached to this site for a couple of months now..thanks jfrater ü
more power..
P.S.
i love..not cooking.. EATING! hehe!
Re item #8. when you cook a steak it should go nowhere near a pan.
Very cool list. I did not know “cooking wine” was a scam. That’s too funny. I don’t cook, at all, but some day when I learn, I’ll be sure to remember your great tips!
fun list and it has made me hungry. well I’m always hungry but it is fun to get advice on a great hobby. A little repetitive from previous cooking lists but never the less required reading for anyone who wants to cook. I made fresh salsa last night and over did it on the garlic, must remember to keep my distance today but sooooo worth it.
Hi, good list, one point though, #1 I would add oil to a hot pan not a cold pan as the oil could burn before the pan is hot enough.
As a gourmand that I am I find those very helpful. I like very much stakes made outside on grill with fire from wood or coal not with gas. Nice list.
Nice list thanks. We just use Himalayan Pink Salt rather than Sea Salt due to all the minerals it contains and the improved taste.
You also forgot: don’t drunkenly cook sausages at 2 in the morning and leave the grill on all night in your Uni halls kitchen, oops
Jamie, this is not my opinion but I reckon some people are going to think you come across as a bit of a snob…
Bless me Jamie, for I have sinned. I am guilty of almost all of these errors.
Thank you Jamie…
Read about non-stick pans: http://www.checnet.org/HEALTHEHOUSE/education/articles-detail.asp?Main_ID=600
A scary quote: “PFOA (the stuff of teflon) was present in the blood of 96 percent of 598 children tested in 23 states and the District of Columbia.”
and “PFOA causes developmental toxicity and other effects”
he’s not snobby, he’s cultured
Great List Jamie!
You know I agree with this list for the most part. The only point I would modify is the one about the salt. Even then I agree with you when folks are cooking real food and making real sauces. Not when using prepared or instant anything. Bouillon cubes, instant cheese sauce, most soup bases are very salty. Be careful.
Oh and for those of you who think kosher or sea salt is just pretentious foolishness – you’re wrong. I thought it to be bs too, I was mistaken, even the kids notice the difference. You can taste it. Sea salt tastes more like salt.
Cooking wine is not wine, it is vinegar with red color and salt. You would die if you drank it.
Tempyra: I read about that ages ago. There are in fact cancer causing agents in charcoal. I wouldn’t worry about it; same as the saccharin scare of 20 years ago. You’d have to eat a truckload of burnt to a crisp steak every day for there to be any worry. Relax, the odd order of blackened steak or fish isn’t going to kill you.
stevenh; If you read carefully it appears it is not the use of the pan or ingestion of the material that causes the problem. It is the manufacture of it, or the fumes when you burn the pan. Ingestion does nothing, once manufactured it becomes inert. Comes out the same way it goes in.
Mind you I probably killed us all; the time I boiled the pot dry with the nylon ladle in it. Fumes damn near killed me, I had to make like a fireman with the wet rag to get near enough to take it off the stove. The house reeked for days.
Re item #2
Using cast iron cookware can add needed iron to your diet.
This is a good thing.
Common Error: Not reading the label!
Mom424: Excellent point about the salt content in prepared foods. Always check the label. For example on Japanese Soba noodles, I’ve seen from 70mg to over 700mg sodium per serving.
I think Jamie’s ready for his very own version of the “Hell’s Kitchen” show!
Just kidding, great cooking tips. As for the salt tip, I think “too much salt” is a common error as well…
Mom424:
True about the manufacturing process. But if something persists in the environment it often ends up in the food chain. And in this case, that is not a godd thing.
Mom424, don’t worry about me
. I’m vegetarian. Carcinogenic meat is just something I like to tease BBQers about, but I don’t actually know much about it.
Speaking of burning plastic – I once left a plastic wrapper by the gas top stove when I was cook something. It was fine while I was there but caught fire after I turned the flame off and left the kitchen. Luckily I had siblings who liked to keep an eye on what was going on in the kitchen! But yeah, burnt plastic reeks. Yuk.
oops. I mis-typed…
‘a good thing’… I do not want this thread to turn religious
to #8: I used to avoid touching my steak as much as possible but, now, have found that searing it at HIGH heat on both sides (on a grill or in a pan) and then turning the heat down to LOW/MEDIUM-LOW to cook (on both sides again) for a few minutes turns out a perfect steak every time.
I still try to avoid pushing the steak around or toying with it but flip it a few times to get either side nice and brown before letting the lower heat do the final cooking. The outside gets perfectly done while the inside stays tender and pink. (I prefer my steaks medium-rare).
7-8-10. So that’s what’s wrong w/my pan fried pork chops.
We’ll test the proposition for dinner tonight.
Nice list, I’ve worked in restaurants my whole life and have been cooking at home since I 9 or 10 years old (mom worked nights and dad only cooked on a barbq grill) and have made every mistake on here at some point.
An addendum to number 6, something my dad forgetsoften when he grills steaks, is that steak (actually all food) doesn’t stop cooking simply because you pull it off the cooking surface. If you’re not going to eat the food as soon as its on the plate you should cook it a little less than the desired doneness.
Also as far as cooking wine while it is a vinegar it does have alcohol and it is disgusting, it will not kill you though unless you drink a lot of it, it may make you wish you were dead. I worked with a guy who had a severe drinking problem, something common in restaurants, and he would drink half of a gallon bottle every night and leave for home every night not drunk but sick to his stomach, never killed him though.
Treading a fine line, $300 knives, chuck all your pots and pans out and heaven forfend you should use cheap wine.
Are mircowaves only used by the great unwashed, too? Hee hee
Great List, Jamie. You could have keep some competition here too – like the 100th comment-poster will win a dinner made by you. What do you say?
I come from Kansas City where grilling or smoking pork, beef, and having BBQ is a tradition. It is untrue that a steak is generally better on the grill. I find that a nice pan seared steak basted in butter is better than a grill. I also think that when people season a nice cut of steak can ruin it. Salt, pepper that is all it needs, a little butter and you are ready to go.
I’ve never cooked a rabbit (Or any other fuzzy animal for that matter) before. I see from your forum on Listverse.com that you have, and from what I read, quite successfully too.
I was curious if you could give me the cooking directions for the rabbit and side dishes from that meal, as well as any tips that may be helpful.
I have read all the tips that you (and others) have posted on listverse, and I’m happy to say that I already knew most of that from growing up. I love to cook, but most of my cooking is done for one. I hate eating alone, so I don’t get the luxury of cooking for groups of people often. I will be entertaining a few friends soon, and would love to serve this.
Good list!
I can safely say I have commited every sin on the list at least once!
I currently live without a stove/oven- what I need is a list of delicious meals I can make in the microwave or on the foreman!
OOH, OOH! I have a stinky burning story! One time, I was microwaving some chicken tenders (not really cooking, I know, but I was hungry). They were on a yellow styrofoam tray. Well, the directions said to heat them on high for, let’s say one minute per three tenders. Let’s just say I did the math wrong. (I was young and stupid…well, not THAT young…) 12 minutes later, I open the microwave and yellow smoke billows out! It looked like the mailbox at the end of Time Bandits!
I’m glad you have so much money.
Interesting list, regarding comment #11, himalayan rock salt is fantastic, I could not go back to any other salt after tasting that stuff.
Henkel knives are quite good too, I bought the wife a set for christmas and she has not stopped stabbing me since, nice clean cut too lol.
Fun list! My input to #6 (overcooking meat) is to remember that just because you take it off the heat source, doesn’t mean that your steak/chop/etc will stop cooking. The internal heat of the cut will continue the process for a few more minutes. So..for instance, if you like your steak medium, take it off the heat while it’s still medium-rare.
Great list. You sure do have an eye for a readable list.
Now for my input.
To improve the steak (even a cheap cut) give it a heavy, heavy salting an hour before and then rinse well before cooking. The salt draws the moisture away from the core and prevents stewing in the pan. Avoid iodine salt. Even though I am an Australian, I do have a palate and can taste the chemicals. For those who dont know – Australians are possibly the poorest dressers and poorest gourmands on the earth. We dont care though.
As for knives, Global make a fantastic knife that wont shatter your bank account. It will however leave a deep wound on your thumb. Dont ask.
I disagree with a couple of things, such as the non-stick pans (nobody will ever complain, and you wont either) and if time is of the essence, a non-sticker is a life saver. A good cook (no I didnt say chef, because I am not one) can do wonders with cheap equipment.
When it comes to the the wine, you say dont use cheap wine, however some Chilean, New Zealand and South Australian wines are not only cheap but very, very drinkable I tell you. Lay off stuff that that is 3 dollars a bottle, but if you consider 10 bucks a cheap bottle – then you are missing out.
As for the herbs, that is difficult as we all know. Having a garden full of fresh, delicous herbs is great, however in the real world, pricier dried herbs can impart a nice flavour. The problem is, most people buy the cheapest dried herbs. Spend a little more if you dont have access to the fresh kind. Oh, how the poor must live.
As for tips number 11 to 14
Always steam vegetables rather than boil. I like to crunch on vegetables which give texture to meats and pastas. The boiling takes away flavour too. Sesame seeds are the magic ingredient, almond slivers will get the table talking also.
Consider marinating fish before cooking. A good measure of soy sauce, mirin and sesame oil will have people talking about your cooking the next day over the water cooler. The poor office working fools!
Be creative! Add blended capsicum to the soup. Yum! Use honey or golden syrup when baking bread. Oh my goodness! Throw chillies into that chicken casserole with the mushrooms!
I live by rule number 3. Thanks for some great tips, must get some wine now…
btw, I saw an episode of Good Eats were Alton Brown placed the steak directly in the charcoal. I would like to try that once.
Nice list. My mother is making me cook more to prepare me for uni, so it’s nice to know some of these things so I can make better food there.
I must also thank you for giving me my first decent laugh of the day (though I’ve only been up an hour) with:
“Wine is undoubtedly my favorite thing in the world – I quaff copious amounts of the stuff (in order to improve my palate of course).”
Did someone say alcoholic?
Fantastic list. I now feel guilty for ordering my steak well done…
(34) Wally, thanks for more good suggestions. As long as we’re giving away closely guarded secrets…as a lactose intolerant (and recovering universal intolerant) of 30+ years I have learned that orange juice, potato water (from boiling potatoes) and beer make excellent substitutes for milk in cooking/baking. Beer will make the fluffiest pancakes and lightest breads, orange juice gives a great subtile flavor and potato water is shameful to waste. At the very least soak your dried beans in it before boiling.
Ouu, awesome list. I always hated using non-stick pans but my mother keeps making me use them insisting that they’re easier to wash, but now I have a REASON NOT TO. =D
Really good list. Anything but snobbish. We spend a lot of time cooking and eating. Why not be adept at it? Some things I would add and omit though. 6 and 9 are the same. Fish, meat, vegetables–it doesn’t matter. Biggest bush league mistake. Newbies overcooking everything. I’ve banished probies to the tank for roaching expensive mains. One pup put me deep in the weeds by leaving a tray of preseared racks in the vector too long. 18 racks of lamb turned to stew meat. He washed dishes for three weeks. I’ll tell ya; his food is au point now.
Come on. Dried herbs? How many of you have a Bay tree in the yard? Dried herbs are a necessity in much of the world. That’s a bit like saying NO Gravlax! Only fresh! No salted Cod! Bunko.
Teflon is out. Like drinking motor oil. It sheds molecules at low heat. Why take the chance of ingesting it? Refer to number ten. Americans are addicted to convenience. Addicts don’t live very long, do they?
For the love of God, if you have an electric stove, do what you have to, to switch to gas. Move across town if necessary.
Just because wine is cheap doesn’t mean it is bad. The premise is correct though. This is the golden age of vino. Two Buck Chuck’s white is perfectly serviceable for coq au vin. I wouldn’t use his red for a cabernet reduction, but most wine is just fine.
Now You Bastards Better Have Your Mis En Place When That *****ing Bell Goes Off, Or I Am Going To *****can The Lot Of You! And If You Touch My Tongs–Even Look At Them–I Will *****ing Relegate Your Ass To *****ing Pots For *****ing Ever *****ing More! Howz the rezzitch? Hand me That Chinois. Move Your Ass!
Wally: If you own a well cared for cast iron skillet there is no need for a non-stick pan. Love your cast iron. LOVE IT.
Re: the sharp knives: I have a set of Henkels knives my dad bought me, My room-mate has a set of flimsy plastic-handled crappy knives. When I got my good knives I made a rule that nobody touched them but me. My knives are the one thing that I clean myself when I cook for the house (I have a “I cooked you clean” rule). When I discovered that my “No touch” rule had been broken (I found one of my good knives in…the dishwasher! *gasp*), I hid the knives at the back of a cabinet.
Jamie, I love your site and I think you’re adorable but some of this is a bit pretentious.
While everything you write here is true, it isn’t all practical for everyone and you have come across as a bit Gordon Ramsey.
Ray Bees: (#26): on one of my other cooking lists you will see an emphatic direction to throw away your microwave
I hate them and do not use them ever. I can still cook a meal from scratch (real scratch – no packets of anything) without one very quickly. You seem opposed to my suggestions that you buy good knives, pots, and wine – these things may be expensive but that is for a reason – they are high quality! Also – you will only ever need to buy one set of pots and knives your entire life if you follow these instructions 
Ahhh, Jamie. Yet another reason why I love you so.
I throw up a little in my mouth when I hear people order their steaks well-done. I am also a firm believer in kosher salt. My mom thinks it’s so special, she will hardly use it. I’ve had to get on to her time and again to use it like table salt and get rid of the nasty stuff. Re #10: I remember The Frugal Gourmet, Jeff Smith, had a saying, “Hot pan, cold oil, foods don’t stick.” Man, I miss his shows. As far as the knives and cookware are concerned, some day, some day. *sighs wistfully
pankhudi (#27): tempting – but pricey – if the winner doesn’t live in NZ who pays my airfare?
This is a great list, although it made me hungry. I love my cast iron skillets; I have found that flea markets or garage sales are a great place to buy them. They can be a bit pricey in a cooking store, whereas people will sell some old rusty one for a few dollars which, with a little care, becomes as good as …. not new, because who wants a new cast iron skillet? How about as good as that one that you have been using for the past twenty years?
Where I live it is almost impossible to grow herbs in the autumn, winter or spring, and it is pricey to keep having to buy them if you use a lot of them. Fortunately for me, one of my friends got me an Aerogarden for a Christmas present. It is like a little hydroponic garden; it’s got grow lights on an automatic timer and i just have to add water and nutrient tablets and can have fresh herbs for weeks in the winter. (Right now I’m growing leaf lettuce because I can grow my herbs outside now – I can also grow leaf lettuce but what I can NOT do is keep the bunnies from eating it all if it’s outside!)
As for the wine, at least where I live, the liquor stores will discount wine when they start running out of that particular batch or whatever it is and they only have one or two bottles left. I can pick up good wine for cooking for no more than they cost of the horrendous “cooking” wine.
jake ryder (#8): I beg to differ – while grilled steak is nice, the French method of frying it in butter and oil is the best in my opinion – that is why the French are considered the masters of modern cuisine – they invented and perfected it!
Levi: the recipe I used for the Rabbit is a Larouse recipe – it is currently on a ship in the middle of the ocean somewhere. If you send me an email (jamie at frater.com) I will send you the recipe next month when it arrives
Bob: You will have lots of money too – when you never need to buy another pan or knife (after buying the excellent quality ones I mention here). If it takes a year to save the price of one knife – do it – it really is worth it.
ATTENTION: For those of you who use facebook, some of the readers here have very kindly started a listverse appreciation group there – you can get to it here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21248891555
CJ: Jamie *is* a lot like Gordon Ramsey. Always losing his cool, shouting obscenities at inappropriate times, mercilessly berating those he feels are beneath him, calling people names, inciting hatred and maliginance wherever he goes, and generally being a prick. Yep, that sounds just like Jfrater to me.
thethema (#33): I agree about Henkel knives – they are very top quality – I prefer Japanese, but if you are buying European steel you would definitely be okay with henkel.
Wally (#35): I like your points but don’t agree with the steaming issue – I very rarely steam vegetables – boiling does not remove flavor necessarily and it allows you to add a little salt to the vege. My vegetables are always crunchy (if they are meant to be). Additionally – some vegetables suit boiling and others don’t – for example, you should really cook asparagus in pan of butter or oil – as it has water soluble flavor components – never cook asparagus in water. The same goes in reverse for broccoli – never cook it in oil or butter unless you are going to serve the whole pot – broccoli has oil soluble flavor components.
dangorironhide (#37): shhh!! It is meant to be a secret!
Robeywan (#39): Beer is also excellent in batter for deep frying fish etc. Heston Blumenthal also recommends using a large amount of vodka in the batter as it fries off faster – this reduces the cooking time so the fish is not overcooked by the the time the batter is crispy. I tried the recipe and it was very successful. His EXCELLENT recipe is at the bottom of this article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/heston_blumenthal/article631377.ece
How about a list for people low on time and money? I mean this is all good advice if you have the time and money to invest in expensive cookware and finding fresh herbs.
goatmissile: excellent (and amusing) comment – thanks
I do stand by my initial statement on dried herbs though – most good supermarkets now sell fresh herbs in packets and as for the bay tree – there are three outside the house I am living in at present! You can grow them in a pot very easily – even in colder climates.
DK: argh! Not the dishwasher! That is terrible news! Keep them well hidden.
CJ: I don’t mind if you think it pretentious – the fact is, if you follow these rules your food will be better. The choice is yours