Common Kitchen Mistakes
I often hear people say they are intimidated by cooking and they don’t know where to start. If I can do anything with my little corner of the Internet it is to make the kitchen less intimidating and inspire others to cook healthy, home cooked meals for themselves or their family.
Let’s think about this - how does anyone (who doesn’t go to culinary school) learn to cook? Tips, lessons, and recipes are passed on from someone whether that be: a parent, a TV show, a cookbook, Google, or blogs. In the olden days (lol) people learned to cook by passing down knowledge and tips from generation to generation. I believe that once you are armed with the some information, all you need next is practice.
To start, I thought I would share common kitchen mistakes that are super easy to fix right away.
Common Kitchen Mistake: Dull Knives
Dull knives not only make cooking more difficult, they can be dangerous because they more easily slip off of food (and onto your waiting finger) instead of cutting into the food and staying where they belong. Ideally, you have good knives. I’m not talking $500 dollar knives, but a nice $80-$150 knife will take you far in life, or at least the kitchen. Linked is the knife I use and it’s only $84! But even if you don’t have the good stuff (I’m talking the nice knives), it’s still important to keep the knives you have sharp.
Common Kitchen Mistake: Using Metal Utensils on Nonstick Pans
Don’t do it. For the love of everything, just don’t do it. Not only does it damage your pan and ruin the nonstick, if you scratch it enough rust can form. And then there is the health risks, if you are scratching off the coating of the pan… guess where that coating is going? Yep. In your food.
Stick with wooden spoons or silicone spatulas for stirring food.
Linked are my favorite silicone spatula set.
Common Kitchen Mistake: Not Tasting As You Go
Cooking is about intuition as much as it is about learned skill. Tap into your intuition my tasting as you go. Your tastebuds will help guide you in what to do next! If the food tastes dull, try a little salt. If you need to brighten up veggies, try a squeeze of lemon. Iffy about the spices a recipe calls for? Start small, taste and add more if you need to!
Common Kitchen Mistake: Not Heating the Pan
Preheating your pan prevents food from sticking and ensures a crisp, brown crust. Heat the pan before you add butter or oil also! I won’t get into the science here, because there is Google for that, but it’s something out the pore structure in metal and when it heats up it expands. 🤷🏽♀️
