# I'm surprised EVERYONE can't... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 24, 2019, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-everyone-cant/842231 "2019-10-24T12:40:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2019, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-everyone-cant/842231/181 "2019-11-14T19:52:53Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > if a novice cook is doing the thing you mention in your second paragraph and following the recipe exactly, and is baking something for exactly 30 minutes because that’s what the recipe said to do darn it, it’s going to come out undercooked if they didn’t preheat the oven first. Ovens vary. So it may come out undercooked, or overcooked, even if the recipe says ‘preheat and then bake 30 minutes at 375º’ and you do exactly that. One of the things novice cooks do need to learn is how to check whether the food is done; and not to trust the recipe time precisely, but to take it out sooner if it’s starting to burn and stick it back in if it’s raw in the middle. Or (and where) to stick a thermometer in it shortly before you expect it to be done. ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-everyone-cant/842231/182 "2019-11-14T21:20:37Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Putting something in the oven at the same time you turn it on and then baking it a little longer is fine as long as you know how to check whether or not it’s done. But baking times given in recipes are pretty much always based on a preheated oven. So if a novice cook is doing the thing you mention in your second paragraph and following the recipe exactly, and is baking something for exactly 30 minutes because that’s what the recipe said to do darn it, it’s going to come out undercooked if they didn’t preheat the oven first. I’m going to say, baking is one thing that you really have to preheat the oven for. When you put your batter in the tin into the oven, the temperature then is quite crucial for the final result. Maybe you get away with it if you’re baking biscuits, but cakes don’t like it. Roasting meat can also require it. You want to get a good outer crispness, then you need to put it in at quite high temperature, say 210 for 15 minutes, then drop back to 170-180 for the rest of the cooking. I’m surprised not everyone knows that. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2019, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-everyone-cant/842231/183 "2019-11-14T23:17:02Z")
> [@Kiwi\_Fruit](#): > > I’m going to say, baking is one thing that you really have to preheat the oven for. When you put your batter in the tin into the oven, the temperature then is quite crucial for the final result. > Maybe you get away with it if you’re baking biscuits, but cakes don’t like it. > Roasting meat can also require it. You want to get a good outer crispness, then you need to put it in at quite high temperature, say 210 for 15 minutes, then drop back to 170-180 for the rest of the cooking. > I’m surprised not everyone knows that. Cakes do require it, but bread doesn’t care. I roast meat at 350º or sometimes 325º all the time, and start it in a cold oven. If the meat’s got a skin layer, that’ll get crisp just fine. If it doesn’t have a skin layer, I don’t particularly want it to get crisp; though I understand that you do. Tastes vary. ---
**Author:** ![fedman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@fedman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-everyone-cant/842231/184 "2019-11-15T21:30:38Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I have that problem a lot. I found that voice recognition can usually spell it right, so I’ll try that when I’m stumped. unfortunately in this case, the c is silent so spelling would be wrong ---
**Author:** ![fedman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@fedman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2019, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-everyone-cant/842231/185 "2019-11-15T21:33:28Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Pretty much this. I’m astounded while reading the comments section in ANY publication on the internet. There are people who seem to be making intelligent comments yet can’t grasp: > > Lose - Loose > Do - Due > There - They’re - Their > Your - You’re > Than - Then > Whole - Hole > Poll - Pole > Roll - Role > > I’m sure there are many more. And don’t get me started on punctuation, especially apostrophes. Obviously these people went to school. So what the hell is wrong with them? more common is complement/compliment, and pour/pore ( sad is that newspaper writers are worst offenders) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2019, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-everyone-cant/842231/186 "2019-11-15T23:09:25Z")
I’m surprised so many otherwise smart people mix up singulars and plurals (“criterion” vs. “criteria,” “phenomenon” vs. “phenomena,” “syllabus” vs. “syllabi,” even “woman” vs. “women.” And things like “parent’s” vs. "parents’ "). ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-everyone-cant/842231/187 "2019-11-16T20:03:45Z")
> [@Esturionette](#): > > How to post a parcel. > > Working at the post office, it baffles me how many people try to give me an unwrapped item, saying “I want to post this to the address I have on my phone”. I don’t know about the US, but here in the UK it is the customer’s job to bring the item securely packaged and addressed, so that it only needs a postage label. The packing materials are there to buy and use before you get to the counter. > > Even the most basic stuff like where to put the address on the envelope or where to put the stamp. Why isn’t it obvious that the sender’s address needs to be visibly smaller than the receiver’s address? > > Once in a while we get a customer who walks in, looks around, and asks “do you have any stamps here?”. I’m always tempted to say no. If only you could get away with saying, “Sorry, we’ve just sold out!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-everyone-cant/842231.md?page=9)