The Most Common Cooking Mistakes We’ve Been Making All Our Lives

Cooking may be an art, but in many ways it’s a science, too. That’s why so many amateur chefs rely on tips and tricks they’ve picked up along the way to help them solve some of the most common kitchen problems. Sometimes, though, these so-called food hacks do more harm than good! And knowing how to fix the bad habits you’ve learned will change the way you cook forever.

1. Adding milk or cream to scrambled eggs

The truth of the matter? While it may make you feel like a culinary wizard, adding milk or cream to your eggs does nothing good for them! Extra dairy can actually thin out your eggs, making them easy to overcook.

2. Cooking bacon in a skillet

It seems natural to throw bacon in a skillet and fry it up. That’s the way your mom did it, and your grandma, and your grandma’s grandma... However, if you want to get the best flavor out of those glistening strips of meat — and why wouldn’t you? — you should bake them instead.

3. Pre-preparing guacamole

So, you think all the ingredients you add to your guacamole will work together to keep it fresh. Thank goodness for the power of citrus, right? Nope, nope, and nope. Make your dip just before you eat it, or don’t make it at all. Day-old guacamole will be brown and may taste funky.

4. Removing pepper seeds

Removing pepper seeds is supposed to cut back on the spice, right? Wrong! Well, sort of. Seeds may make your dish a little spicier, but it’s actually the membrane, or pith, that holds the most heat in an average pepper.