# If you can cook you know that.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268 "2012-10-29T22:25:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/1 "2012-10-29T22:25:48Z")
Inspired, of course, by other threads of the same name, sorry if you are getting sick of them, but this theme has been stuck in my head, anyway you know the name of the game! If you can cook you know that… Many people envy your ability to follow basic directions … Conversely, anything one cup or smaller is eyeball-measurement territory … Muffins come out great if you can turn off your OCD and not mix them thoroughly Now yours! ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/2 "2012-10-29T22:28:13Z")
Pans are not interchangeable. Never put a teflon pan in a 500 degree oven, never try to make an omelette in a giant 18" pan unless you’re making the biggest omelette ever. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/3 "2012-10-29T22:38:46Z")
Measurements for cooking \ are ALL eyeball/ratio. ‘Recipes’ should just be an ingredient list and possibly an oven temp. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/4 "2012-10-29T22:42:52Z")
Expiration dates are mostly just suggestions that can be thoroughly ignored. No such thing as “too much garlic.” Sugar is useful in many more things besides baking and confectionery. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/5 "2012-10-29T22:44:53Z")
Don’t be afraid of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/6 "2012-10-29T22:45:00Z")
You can’t cure oversalting, so don’t; add as little as possible, and save it for AFTER it’s all cooked, and then add as needed. Edit: LOL did not see DrainBead’s post 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/7 "2012-10-29T22:59:01Z")
Cheap knives aren’t worth owning. Even if you buy all the rest of your cooking gear at thrift stores, buy yourself a couple of really good knives and a steel and USE THE STEEL. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/8 "2012-10-29T23:03:09Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Expiration dates are mostly just suggestions that can be thoroughly ignored. Except milk [quote] \*\*No such thing as “too much garlic.”\*\*Bolded for emphasis. > [@](#): > > Sugar is useful in many more things besides baking and confectionery. Very true too. A little sugar helps many things brown better. > [@Drain Bead](#): > > Don’t be afraid of salt. So true. Learn salt, because sometimes adding after cooking is vastly different than adding during cooking. My own… Good ingredients make good food. The difference in stepping up to great ingredients is often not worth the premium. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/9 "2012-10-29T23:28:32Z")
“Cooking wine” is the devil’s urine. If you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it. Preparing all of your ingredients prior to starting a dish is sorta important. Pancake batter, like cornbread batter and bicuit dough, should not be smooth. Cold fat cut into dough makes for lighter, flakier whatevers. Turning your pans to ‘high’ is usually a poor idea. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/10 "2012-10-29T23:31:02Z")
If you cook you can also pick the best meats and produce for the job. Am I slicing the red peppers into strips? Long and flattish ones work best. Cutting in half for stuffing? Use short with flat bottoms here. Ground beef: Burgers? 70-80% lean. Picadillo? 90%+. You know when to use the better olive oil rather than the cheaper utility jug stuff. You know that bottled salad dressing is a sugared, gloppy mess. A few minutes of prep using stuff you probably already have and that better olive oil makes salad sing. Ditto pasta sauce. (though I sometimes use the jarred crap) Microwave ovens should be used primarily for warming and only in a very few circumstances for cooking. The expiration date myth is a good one. Eggs are the worst culprit here. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/11 "2012-10-29T23:32:10Z")
Substituting ice cold vodka for the water makes for terrifyingly good pastry. Cold hands make great pastry, but lousy bread. A little ginger root from the freezer and a microplane can save almost anything. Kitchen timers should have a belt clip so you can take them with you when you wander off. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/12 "2012-10-29T23:35:19Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Except milk Including milk. > [@](#): > > \*\*No such thing as “too much garlic.”\*\*Bolded for emphasis. Yes there is. I love garlic, but not everything has to be overwhelmed by it. Same with bacon. > [@](#): > > So true. Learn salt, because sometimes adding after cooking is vastly different than adding during cooking. Absolutely agreed. This is especially true when you’re making sausage-like things. Pre-salt and post-salt affects the texture _very_ differently. > [@](#): > > Good ingredients make good food. The difference in stepping up to great ingredients is often not worth the premium. I have some reservation about this. Simple recipes require every ingredient to be wonderful. This doesn’t mean they have to be expensive, but you have to know your ingredients. The example I bring up often is tomatoes. Most of the time, good canned tomatoes will be better than the fresh tomatoes at your local supermarket. Actually, at my local supermarket, they are always better. I see a lot of complaints on recipe websites like Epicurious when it comes to very simple recipes, placing the fault on the recipe, when in fact, it is the ingredients they are using that suck. ---
**Author:** ![sundog66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@sundog66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sundog66)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/13 "2012-10-29T23:38:29Z")
A near effortless finishing garnish such as a well placed lemon slice or sprig of fresh rosemary impresses people in a way extremely disproportionate to the aforementioned near effortlessness. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/14 "2012-10-29T23:43:25Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Cheap knives aren’t worth owning. Even if you buy all the rest of your cooking gear at thrift stores, buy yourself a couple of really good knives and a steel and USE THE STEEL. All right, I just had to tack a corollary onto this one: A safe knife is a sharp knife, but if you don’t know what you’re doing and don’t want to learn, take your blades to somebody who can do it properly. An untrained/unskilled person can do more damage to a blade when \*trying \*to sharpen it than he can when simply not sharpening that knife. —G! . Tang Soo Do, Tai Chi, Iaido, Italian fencing…I can do a lot with a blade – even prepare food 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/15 "2012-10-30T00:41:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Most of the time, good canned tomatoes will be better than the fresh tomatoes at your local supermarket. Where do you live that you can get fresh tomatoes at a supermarket? All I ever see are red tomato-shaped objects that bear no culinary resemblance to the real thing. As for the expiration of milk: If you’ve had the jug for a while, sniff it when you open it. If you’re not sure from the smell, take a small taste. If it tastes fine, it’s fine, and if it doesn’t, it isn’t, regardless of what’s stamped on the jug. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2012, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/16 "2012-10-30T01:12:45Z")
Taste what you’re cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2012, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/17 "2012-10-30T01:27:02Z")
There is nothing that cannot be improved by the presence of chili powder. An airplane-sized bottle of vodka, poured into a pot of chili that has scorched, will neutralize the burnt flavor. Artificial vanilla isn’t worth the bottle it comes in. Always dissolve your cornstarch before adding it to hot liquid. Turn on the hood fan before you heat up the skillet. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/18 "2012-10-30T01:31:53Z")
I agree that people who know how to cook know the recipes are really just guidelines, and not intricate laboratory procedures that need to be followed to the letter. I laugh when I cook with people who don’t usually cook, and they start freaking out that we aren’t following the recipe exactly. And it’s doubly or triply true that you can’t get away with that to much of any degree in baking, which really is a science. About the garlic thing, I guess it’s true that there is a point where you’ve put too much in, but I’ve never ever had anyone complain by saying “this has too much garlic in it!” and I cook with garlic a LOT. I am particularly sensitive to when milk turns sour, but even I don’t go by just the date on the jug. I do a sniff and taste test. If it tastes or smells bad to me, it goes down the sink, even if it’s probably still safe. One time my dad FORCED me to drink a big cup of milk that I said tasted sour, and I almost vomited when I was done. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/19 "2012-10-30T01:35:28Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > An airplane-sized bottle of vodka, poured into a pot of chili that has scorched, will neutralize the burnt flavor. I misread this as “bottle of vodka the size of an airplane”. Though I expect it would have the same effect. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268/20 "2012-10-30T01:43:30Z")
Small burns and cuts may hurt like hell but you’re not gonna die. The reverse of which is that sharp and hot objects should be given due respect and should not be approached carelessly. In this vein, deep frying should only be undertaken if you can pay attention to what you’re doing. If you’re alone watching your 3 year old twins it’s probably not a good night to have chimichangas. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-cook-you-know-that/639268.md?page=2)