Cooking, for most people, is fun, but not with the plethora of "special hacks" that make absolutely no difference. It's not unusual that an act so universal is saddled with too many how-tos and tip-offs, most of which are personal opinions that get us riled when shared as facts or the best paths to achieving a fulfilling cooking experience. Miffed by the unending list of hacks, some home chefs name which ones they find most distasteful.
1. Save Veggie Scraps for Broth
The best broth, you may have wrongly heard, is made from veggie scraps. But one home chef isn't having it. "I don't like the room it takes in my freezer, and I don't think the broth tastes as good as it does when you use whole, fresh vegetables," she argues.
2. Store-bought Herb Paste
Some overzealous cooks have praised store-bought herbs as better alternatives to the ones you grow yourself, but a cook is annoyed by this. "No matter how many brands I try, they just don't have the same oomph,'' she insists.
3. Anything To Make Peeling Eggs Easier
Is peeling eggs really that difficult a task? Several respondents don't understand the fuss of removing boiled eggs from their shells. "I know how to peel eggs. I do not struggle with peeling eggs," one angry woman iterates.
4. Microwave Anything
This sounds wrong from the start, but many people sadly buy into it. But, several other chefs cannot understand why, spelling out that the texture of most foods after microwaving is not always the same.
5. Level up Your Instant Ramen
The deception around this opinion is in how it makes no difference, and several contributors agree. Someone asks if there's really anything to "level up" when you have to cook an entire meal from scratch and then incorporate the noodles. "This isn't a hack; this is just cooking," he fumes.
6. One Sheet Pan Dinner
"One Sheet Pan Dinner" recipes are popularised by recipe videos with chefs laying down every ingredient out on a pan only to add oil and seasoning as "unevenly as possible," a disgusted home chef explains. Someone else thinks it's more about aesthetics than actual cooking, insisting that chefs can do better by tossing everything in a big bowl.
7. Plastic Bottle To Separate Egg Yolk
Most home chefs shared they can't understand why this is a thing, with one asking what the cook's hand is for if they need a plastic bottle to separate the egg yolk. "I am surprised at such dumb hacks. I use my hands or toss back and forth between the cracked eggshell."
8. Cooking in a Dishwasher
While several people are surprised that's a thing, one person familiar with the hack describes it as "outright dumbness," with a second contributor insisting the hack sounds as bad as it reads. A third respondent thinks it started with poached salmon, asking how anyone could come up with a hack so "ridiculous."
9. Peeling Garlic by Shaking the Container
A cook considers this garlic peeling hack "a mile off what's obtainable," adding that it doesn't work for her. Another cook shares the best method she has discovered, which is to "press the garlic clove down with the flat side of the knife with my palms. You can then peel the entire skin off in one pull," she elaborates. This sounds like a lot less work.
10. Peeling Ginger With a Spoon
There's no reason to engage a spoon when peeling garlic, one irritated user insists, advising that you "use a knife and square it off. It's just a willful waste of precious time," he argues. Several people say it's hard to understand how people come up with a kitchen idea like this.
11. Freeze Ginger and Grate It With a Microplane
Someone wants to know why anyone has to freeze ginger in the first place, and a second person responds jokingly, "So it can come out 'grate.'" Another person considers grating frozen ginger in a microplane "a 'grate' tip," adding that it shows the skewed capability of the human mind, especially that of hack nerdy chefs.
Source: Reddit.
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