20 Common Cooking Mistakes That Are Ruining Your Food

Even the most talented chefs fall victim to common cooking errors. Once you get in a rhythm of creating those everyday dishes, you probably don’t consider changing up your process. While you might deem it a blunder to burn the occasional dish, smaller oversights you do again and again impact the outcome of your meal. It’s these little habits you wouldn’t even consider being faux pas that keep you from reaching master chef status. Take a look at these common cooking mistakes you make time after time that are ruining your food.

Rinsing Pasta

When you strain your pasta after cooking it, rinsing it in cold water might be your normal routine. Plenty of people make this mistake, as they’re told that rinsing the pasta allows the cooking to stop and keeps it from going mushy. However, properly cooked pasta won’t go mushy, and rinsing it could actually do more harm than good.

The Spruce Eats

By rinsing your pasta after it cooks, you force the noodles together, creating a sticky texture that’s entirely unappetizing. Not only that, but you cool down the noodles, which creates a lukewarm dish even after you add a steamy sauce. Eliminate rinsing your pasta noodles from your routine and trust that they’re cooked well. If you can do that, we guarantee you’ll be much happier with your non-sticky dishes.

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