While it might be difficult to break free from the habits of a lifetime, when it comes to preparing, cooking and eating food, there are some things that are worth the change. These are the mealtime mistakes you’re making every day and how you can fix them.
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Keeping canned soup for too long
Many of us like to hoard canned soup in our cupboards for chilly evenings and sick days. But those tins of tomato, mushroom or chicken soup don’t stay fresh forever. They have a shelf life of up to five years but start to deteriorate after two.
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Storing peanut butter the wrong way up
Find yourself having to mix the oil into the peanuts every time you open a jar? Store the container upside-down – it naturally disperses the oil evenly.
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Holding proper Italian pizza by the crust
According to Italian pizza experts, the correct way to eat a Neapolitan-style pizza is by folding it into a wallet shape (as pictured). If you were to hold it by the crust, all the cheese and tomato will start to slide off.
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Throwing away stale bread
There’s no need to throw away stale crusty bread. Sprinkle water all over the loaf then pop it in the oven for a few minutes. Hey presto, you have fresh bread again.
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Pronouncing espresso wrong
Ever felt confused when deciding on your morning caffeine hit? Sometimes the trickiest bit is pronouncing your order. Crucially espresso is pronounced ess-press-oh, rather than ex-press-oh – as any Italian will quickly remind you.
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Peeling ginger with a knife
If you use a knife to peel ginger, the knobbly nature of this root means you lose a lot of flesh. A way to prevent this is to scrape the skin off using a teaspoon – it’s surprisingly easy and prevents waste.
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Storing cheese in clingfilm
Most cheese, especially fine cheese, needs to breathe so clingfilm should be avoided. Instead, wrap in cheese, waxed or greaseproof paper. Store it in the lower part of the fridge and keep away from strong-smelling produce. Just like butter, cheese can absorb aromas.
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Cooking steak from the fridge
It’s a mistake we all make, but something we can easily fix. Taking steak from the fridge and putting it straight in the pan places more risk on undercooked steak with a grey exterior. Instead, take your steak out of the fridge about an hour before cooking so it can come up to room temperature.
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Using the wrong knife
One of the biggest mistakes home cooks make is not using the right knife. A serrated knife cuts bread but is also good for slicing soft produce such as tomatoes and strawberries, and sawing through larger, tough items such as celeriac. Paring knives are ideal for fiddly jobs such as peeling, removing seeds and de-veining shrimp.
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Keeping mayonnaise too long
It’s easy to forget mayonnaise doesn’t have as long a shelf life as bottled goods such as ketchup or barbecue sauce. It can’t be stored for months and months like non-dairy products. The USDA recommends ditching it after two months. Meanwhile, homemade mayo’s shelf life is even less – more like one week.
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Throwing away leftover dip
Leftover guacamole from last night’s chilli? Don’t throw it away. You can easily freeze dips like guacamole and hummus in ice cube trays or a zip-lock bag, so they are ready to go when you need them (just don’t forget to take them out to defrost an hour or so before).
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Storing milk and wine in the fridge door
Most of us use the shelves in the fridge door for milk and wine but this is where temperatures fluctuate the most and items will spoil quickest. Use this section for the likes of condiments, water and pasteurised juices, and place food and drink that need to maintain a consistent, cold temperature in the body of the fridge.
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Slicing off kiwi skin
Trying to slice off the hairy skin of a kiwi can waste a lot of flesh in the process. A more efficient way is to cut it into rounds then pick the skin off. It will come away easily.
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Mashing the wrong type of potatoes
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Getting syrup stuck to spoons
Every time you add honey or golden syrup to a dish or bakes, more than half stays stuck on the spoon, right? Next time, dip the spoon in hot water then scoop out the honey or syrup – it’ll slip off much more easily.
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Storing tomatoes in the fridge
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Soaking wooden chopping boards
No matter how dirty or stained your wooden chopping board, never submerge it in water or put it in the dishwasher – one of the most common cleaning mistakes. As a porous material, the wood will soak up any liquid and this internal moisture could cause it to warp or crack, and it may even start to rot. Sponge-wash instead and allow to dry thoroughly before storing.
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Keeping potatoes and onions together
Both potatoes and onions produce gases that cause the other to spoil so store them separately in a cool, dry, dark place. Brown paper bags are good storage options.
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Leaving butter uncovered
Butter absorbs smells so can pick up the taste of anything with a strong aroma that’s left in the fridge. To avoid this, refrigerate butter in its original packaging within a re-sealable plastic bag and freeze any you’re not using.
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Adding oil when you boil pasta
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Making soggy sandwiches
Before adding to sandwiches, put sliced tomato or cucumber between two pieces of kitchen paper to soak up excess moisture. Also, spread some sort of fat such as butter, cheese or mayo directly onto the bread first – this acts as a barrier against soggier ingredients.
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Eating mussels with a fork
Why use a fork to remove juicy mussels after cooking when nature has given you the tools – the shell itself. Use them like tiny tongs to pick out the meat from another mussel.
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Boiling water for coffee
There are a few hard-and-fast rules to follow when brewing coffee – and this is one. Most coffee beans react best to boiled water that has been allowed to cool for a minute or two (bring it to boil first to deal with hard water and impurities). Too-hot temperatures result in caffeine-rich and slightly bitter coffee, but too-cold temperatures mean brew time is longer.
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Pre-cooking lasagne sheets
Lasagne sheets don’t need to be pre-cooked or softened before use. Just ensure your sauce has plenty of liquid and that you bake the dish for at least 20 minutes.
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Letting sugar go hard
Fed up of your sugar turning clumpy and hard? It usually happens to brown sugar when it’s been exposed to the air too much and has dried out. For white sugar, it happens when there’s too much moisture. It’s best to store any sugar in an airtight container.
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Putting the wrong sauce with your pasta
There’s more science than you might expect behind the perfect pasta and sauce pairings. Fettuccine needs an oily or buttery sauce to prevent it from sticking together, weighty pappardelle ribbons do better with a rich meat sauce and tortellini should actually be served in a broth.
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Only seasoning at the end of cooking
If a dish tastes bland, salt will enhance flavour not just make it taste salty. Professional chefs add salt and pepper at every stage of cooking, tasting as they go, not just at the end.
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Getting fish stuck to the pan
Whether you’re baking, barbecuing or frying, there’s a simple solution if you find your fish getting stuck. Rather than placing it directly on the pan or grill, cook it on a sheet of baking paper. It’ll still get perfectly crispy and you’ll be able to lift it off intact.
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Putting potatoes in boiling water
When cooking potatoes, always place them in cold water with a sprinkling of salt then bring up to a boil. This helps them to cook evenly. If you place them in boiling water, the outside of the potato will cook before the heat reaches the inside.
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Using a cold spoon for ice cream
When ice cream comes straight out of a freezer, serving it can be a feat of strength. To make it easier, place a metal spoon in hot water for a minute then use it to scoop the ice cream with ease.
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Opening the oven door when baking
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Dipping the rice part of sushi in soy sauce
When it comes to sushi like nigiri (a slice of fish on top of rice), only lightly dip the shrimp or fish into the soy sauce – not the rice. The wasabi should be added to the top of the fish, not mixed with the soy sauce. And those slivers of ginger are intended to be eaten in between bites as a palate cleanser.
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Overfilling the pan
The point of frying is to add flavour and texture to food by crisping it up through contact with the hot pan. Overfilling it with ingredients means some won’t touch the bottom and will steam instead.
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Using blunt knives
Not only is it more difficult to prepare your ingredients with a blunt knife, you’re also more likely to injure yourself. It might sound strange but a sharp knife is often a safer knife.
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Making flat burger patties
This is a professional burger hack – making a shallow indent with your thumb in the middle of an uncooked patty prevents the middle from rising during cooking. The burger stays flat and offers a perfect platform for toppings.
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Cooking meat without drying it
If you struggle to get your meat to brown, make sure you pat it dry before it hits the pan. This is particularly important for steak which needs to develop a crust. It’s just one of the rules top chefs swear by for getting the perfect steak every time.
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Struggling with avocado stones
How do you prevent giving yourself an injury while removing avocado stones and becoming a victim of ‘avocado hand’? Cut through the centre of the avocado lengthways, twist into two halves and tap the stone with your knife or use a spoon to scoop out and remove it. Then, cut your avocado in half again, peeling off the skin to expose the fruit.
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Adding milk to scrambled eggs
There’s no need to add milk or cream to eggs when making scrambled eggs. Eggs and added liquid will separate during cooking to form wet, rubbery eggs rather than soft and fluffy ones. If you want to make the dish more indulgent, consider cooking them in a large knob of melted butter.
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Mixing pancake batter too much
A big mistake with pancakes is stirring the batter too much. Ferociously whisking it develops gluten which produces tough and chewy pancakes. A few little lumps left is actually fine. You should stir until the wet and dry ingredients are just incorporated.
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