11 Rookie Mistakes You Make In The Kitchen (And The Easy Fixes)

Even though I have a LOT of cooking experience at this point, I don’t consider myself an expert by any means. My efforts in the kitchen have always centered on getting food on the table rather than developing my technique or skill.

I used to think that as long as my family and I enjoyed eating what I cooked, it didn’t really matter how I did things in the kitchen. But it wasn’t until I learned that some of my amateurish cooking habits were making my job harder in the kitchen that I realized it’s worth taking the time to learn the right way to do things!

It turns out that even learning a few simple principles about cooking can not only improve the taste of your food, but make the work of cooking easier too! I may not be trying to win any Michelin stars, but I am always interested in tips that can make my daily life easier. :-)

And I already know how much you appreciate those sorts of tips too, so today I’ll be sharing some common cooking mistakes with simple tips for fixing them. After making a few easy tweaks to your cooking habits, you’ll be surprised at just how simple and enjoyable cooking can really be!

Related: 7 Of The Most Common Mistakes People Make With Pasta

11 Common Cooking Mistakes And How To Fix Them

1. You Don’t Read The Recipe

When you’re excited about a new recipe, it can be tempting to dive in and make it right now. But being hasty with a new recipe is an easy way to make mistakes!

Instead, take the time to read the whole recipe from start to finish at least once (or better yet, twice) before getting started. Having an idea of when to add certain ingredients and the pacing of each step will make it much easier to succeed on the first try!

Related: 7 Devastating Mistakes You Must Avoid For Better Bacon

2. You Over-Soften Butter

Recipes for cakes and cookies often call for softened butter, but what does that really mean? Ideally, you should be able to leave a dent in softened butter when you press on it with your finger, but it should still hold its shape.

If you press on it and it doesn’t hold it’s shape, it’s likely over-softened and may produce flat cookies and tough cakes. Instead, let cold butter sit out on your countertop for 30-45 minutes before using it to achieve the right amount of softening.

Related: The One Thing You Should Never Do After Cooking

3. You Don’t Measure Accurately

Haphazard measurements may may get the job done when you’re cooking, but it’s not a good practice when baking! I always used to use my measuring cup to scoop out flour before leveling it off, but I recently learned that this method almost always yields more flour than you really want.

The best way to measure out flour—or the next best way after weighing it on a scale—is to lightly spoon it into your measuring cup, then use a knife or other flat object to level the surface. (The operative word here is “lightly,” meaning you don’t want to pack it in!)

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4. You Overcrowd The Pan

I’m a pretty impatient cook, so I like to get everything in the pan at once whenever possible. But this can overcrowd the pan and make it much harder to achieve a nice crust or caramelization on the exterior of your food!

It’s better to split the amount in half and cook it in two smaller batches (or in two pans at once if you’re feeling ambitious). Either way, the improved air movement and heat distribution will yield more delicious results!

5. You Turn Too Often

Another symptom of my impatience in the kitchen is that I often struggle to leave food alone while it cooks! I feel the need to turn, poke, and flip food more often than necessary, which makes it almost impossible to achieve a nice golden crust on something.

Now I try my best to leave the food alone so it can do its thing, and I only flip it once I can easily slide a spatula underneath. That means the food has released from the pan, which is a good sign that it’s ready to flip!

6. Your Pan Isn’t Hot Enough

If you aren’t giving your pans enough time to heat up on your stovetop, you could be doing a disservice to your food. If your pan isn’t hot enough, the food can start to soak up the oil or butter you put in the pan, making it unpleasantly oily and reducing your chances of achieving a good sear, crust, or caramelization.

Instead, put your fat in the pan and let it heat up for a few minutes. To test the temperature, drop a small piece of whatever you’ll be cooking into the pan. If the food starts to sizzle right away, the pan is hot enough to start cooking!

7. You Don’t Let Meat Rest

Whenever you roast, grill, sear, or sauté meat, you need to give it a few minutes to “rest” before cutting it. If you don’t, all of the moisture inside the meat (which moves toward the center as it cooks) will leak right out onto your cutting board when you cut into it.

Resting meat allows time for the moisture to be reabsorbed and redistributed so that the meat stays nice and juicy when you cut it. Rest small cuts of meat like chicken breasts and steaks for about 5-10 minutes before cutting, and rest larger items like whole birds and roasts for 20-30 minutes (with a foil “tent” over them to help keep them warm).

8. You Forget About Carryover Cooking

“Carryover cooking” refers to the way the residual heat inside your food continues to cook it, even after you’ve removed it from the cooking surface. Carryover cooking usually only lasts for a few minutes, but it can make or break certain foods—especially when they’re as delicate as fresh veggies!

If you take boiled or steamed veggies out of the pot when they taste perfectly done, you can stop carryover cooking from ruining them by dunking them into a bowl of ice water. The “shock” from the ice water will stop the cooking process in its tracks, and your perfectly crisp-tender veggies will stay that way instead of becoming a mushy mess.

9. You Cook Meat Straight From The Fridge

One of the most basic food safety practices is to keep raw meat cold, which many of us have taken to mean we shouldn’t take meat out of the fridge until the moment we’re ready to cook it. But in reality, throwing a fresh-from-the-fridge steak on your grill is likely to result in a steak that’s overcooked on the outside and an undercooked on the inside. Bummer!

Instead, you should take your meat out of the fridge about 15-30 minutes before cooking to let it warm up a bit. It’s enough time to get the chill off, but not so long that you have to worry about the food temperature “danger zone.”

10. You Don’t Rinse Grains

Most dry grains (like rice, quinoa, farro, etc.) are coated in a starchy powder that formed as the grains rubbed against each other during the packaging and shipping process. And once that starchy powder meets liquid, it can turn your grains into a sticky, goopy mess!

To avoid this issue, put your uncooked grains into a fine mesh sieve and rinse them well with cold water. The rinse will remove the starchy powder, so you end up with fluffy, perfectly cooked grains.

Related: This One Added Ingredient Makes The Best Rice Ever

11. You Only Season Your Marinade/Breading

When it comes to adding flavor to meat, you should consider salt and pepper as a separate element from marinades and other flavorful coatings. If you only use salt and pepper in your marinade or breading mixture, most of the impact of the seasoning will be lost during cooking. Instead, add salt and pepper to meat after marinating it (but before breading it.)

Have you ever learned a kitchen skill or technique that made cooking easier for you?