The cooking advice you actually need
We all want to be better cooks in our own kitchens if for no other reason than to cook ourselves insanely delicious food every night. But, there are definitely a few things we novice home cooks are probably doing that could be done better—read on to hear from the pros on what you definitely should stop doing in your kitchen for homecooked meals that are better than ever.
Dropping food into hot oil
“A common mistake that people make in the kitchen is when they are about to sear a meat or fish. They tend to drop the meat or fish right into the hot oil and the oil can splatter and burn them. The best method to fix that is to tilt the pan to keep oil on one side and put the meat where there is less oil and then just tilt it back slowly. Also, do not move the pan too much to avoid flames. Have patience!” —Executive Chef Saul Montiel
Following the recipe word for word
“The biggest mistake a home cook can make that a professional chef wouldn’t is following the recipe to the letter! Home cooks treat recipes as non-negotiable contracts. To most chefs, they exist as guidelines. At home, you likely do not have a pantry of 100 items to choose from, which means you have to be able to think on your feet. For example, home cooks can switch out zucchini for butternut squash, or champagne vinegar for white wine vinegar… that’s where the fun and creativity of cooking comes in to make a recipe more suitable to your family” —Chef Greg Biggers