People Are Sharing Common Cooking Tips That Are Actually B.S. And It's Helpful AF

On Saturday, Reddit user u/ThatSpyGuy asked, "What commonly repeated cooking tip is just completely wrong?" People came through with some super specific cooking tips we've all been told that are actually B.S.

Here's what they said:

1."Adding oil to your pasta water to prevent it from clumping. Oil floats in water. Just stir it."

—u/dancingbanana123

2."Rinsing off raw chicken. I know you don't want to get salmonella, but rinsing off chicken just spreads it. Cooking it solves the problem automatically."

—u/CreepyAssociation173

3."Myth: Never use soap on cast iron. Reality: You absolutely can use soap and scrub a well seasoned cast iron. Just don't soak it."

—u/AbbreviationsMuch511

4."'Add seasoning to taste' is a great tip to someone who's already a competent and experienced cook (i.e. a person who doesn't need that tip to begin with). It is a TERRIBLE tip for an inexperienced and/or infrequent cook. Give a suggested amount of seasoning in your recipe or description."

—u/Clapperoth

5."That you should use aluminum foil — shiny side in. Reynold's says the shiny side is a result of the manufacturing process and not intended to speed up cooking. The impact of having the shiny side in is so minimal and negligible you will not notice a difference."

—u/Anon-fickleflake

6."Myth: high heat is like fast-forward for cooking. It's NOT!"

—u/EatLard

7."Cold water boils faster — myth."

—u/Moddman

8."That for cookies you should 'bake until golden brown.' The cookie sheet will stay hot after it leaves the oven and keep baking the cookies for a minute or so. If you want soft cookies, it's better to take them out when only the edges look golden brown and let them keep cooking outside of the oven."

—u/Celestaria

9."That searing meat seals in the juices. I mean, seared meat is delicious but the more you sear the drier it's gonna be."

—u/Maxfunky

10."That you're supposed to fluff your rice with a fork just before it's done cooking. This is unnecessary and also kinda dumb because then you're moving around uncooked parts with cooked parts, resulting in unevenly cooked rice."

—u/ThrowRARAw

11."Using extra virgin olive oil to cook. EVOO has a lower smoke point than regular olive oil, so regular olive oil is better for cooking."

—u/ramblingamblinamblin

12."That potatoes can 'suck" salt out of an over-salted dish. They don't. They can't. All they do is add volume, and potatoes are naturally not very salty."

—u/sbenzanzenwan

13."That putting lemon slices on fish is a good idea. No idea why people do that. The sushi shop I used to order at always put a slice of lemon on top of my salmon chirashi bowl, which resulted in the salmon under it to get really discolored, ugly, and kinda tough to chew. It tasted more like lemon than salmon in the end."

—u/Shadowcat514

14."Leaving meat out for 15–30 min to 'come to room temperature.' The internal temp of the meat stays low for a lot longer than that. This doesn’t speed up cooking or cause more even cooking. You can speed it up and make it more even by flipping more frequently, though. That means searing comes at the end. Regardless of all that, resting the meat after cooking is a best practice."

—u/CaliTexJ

15."Putting milk/cream in scrambled eggs. Completely unnecessary if cooked with proper technique."

—u/jbm_the_dream

And lastly:

16."That undercooked poultry is safe to eat. No, it isn't — just like game meat or any meat."

—u/applesandoranges990

Did they miss any? Let me know in the comments below!