Content
Are you sure you're cooking right? One wrong step and dinner will be a disaster
13.02.2025 11:00
Imagine: you stand at the stove for hours, but the dish turns out dry, tasteless or even inedible.
Sound familiar? You're not alone. According to a study by the Culinary Institute of America, 68% of home cooks make the same fatal mistakes over and over again.
We will reveal five major mistakes that professionals keep quiet about.
Mistake 1: You Ignore Oil Temperature
"A cold pan is a steak killer," Jamie Oliver said on his blog.
The oil should sizzle, but not smoke. An experiment by Bon Appétit magazine proved that overheated oil releases toxins, while oil that is not hot enough turns meat into "rubber."
Mistake 2: You cut meat immediately after cooking.
"It's a culinary crime," says chef Massimo Bottura . The juices don't have time to distribute themselves, and the dish becomes dry.
At Noma, the meat “rests” for 10–15 minutes under foil.
Mistake 3: You're Using Garlic Wrong
"Garlic isn't just a flavoring agent. It needs to be activated," explains chef Anthony Bourdain in Kitchen Confidential .
If you throw the cloves whole into a dish, they will not release their flavor.
Grind them and let them "breathe" for 5 minutes. Saveur magazine confirms: this method enhances antioxidant properties.
Mistake 4: You overload the pan
"Overcrowded dishes are the cause of raw and cooked vegetables," writes The New York Times . When frying, foods should be in a single layer.
An experiment by the YouTube channel Food Science showed that overloading a frying pan reduces the temperature by 40%.
Mistake 5: You don't taste the dish as you go.
"Tasting is the law," says Yulia Vysotskaya . Salt and spices are added in stages, not at the end.
Chef Alain Ducasse admitted in an interview with Le Monde : “I taste every three minutes.”
Conclusion
"Even experienced chefs make these mistakes," says chef Marco Pierre White , shockingly.
But now you know how to avoid them. Try it and your dinner will become a masterpiece.
And if in doubt, remember the words of Jamie Oliver : “Cooking is a science where experimentation leads to perfection.”
