20 Common Cooking Mistakes

1. You don’t taste as you go.

2. You don’t read the entire recipe BEFORE you start cooking.

3. You make unwise substitutions in baking.

4. You boil when you should simmer.

5. You overheat chocolate.

6. You over-soften butter.

7. You overheat low-fat milk products.

8. You don’t know your oven’s quirks and idiosyncrasies.

9. You’re too casual about measuring ingredients.

10. You overcrowd the pan.

11. You mishandle egg whites.

12. You turn the food too often.

13. You don’t get the pan hot enough before you add the food.

14. You slice meat with―instead of against―the grain.

15. You underbake cakes and breads.

16. You don’t use a meat thermometer.

17. Meat gets no chance to rest after cooking.

18. You try to rush the cooking of caramelized onions.

19. You overwork lower-fat dough.

20. You neglect the nuts you’re toasting.

    Barbara Williams
    Creative DVO Employee since 2007
    Email Barbara! barbara@dvo.com