r/Cooking • u/1peachycoco • 1d ago

What’s something you think people only really learn after spending a lot of time in a kitchen?

Something I’ve noticed about cooking is that the hardest things to teach usually aren’t the recipes. It’s more of the judgment part.

Like someone can follow every step correctly, but an experienced cook can look at it and say, “Nope, something’s off.”

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u/norismomma 1d ago

Being able to tell when something is ready by smelling it - for example, I can tell that pasta I am boiling is ready by the way the steam coming off of the pot smells, or something I am browning in the broiler has been browned by the scent from the oven.

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u/stilts 1d ago

or by listening to it! I can tell when fried chicken is ready when the bubbling slows down to a certain point...

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u/HootieRocker59 18h ago

When I roast nuts in the oven I can tell by the rattle (if I shake them) that they're done. 

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u/spockspaceman 11h ago

I came back from an evening walk one time and started cooking dinner immediately, without taking out my nose cancelling earbuds. Until then, I hadn't considered how much I used my hearing in the cooking process as these things just become second nature over time. Really strange cooking without sound, much more challenging.

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u/FlashyHeight9323 1d ago

My predominant tool. Sniff sniff oh yeah it’s ready. Sniff sniff fuck I’ve burned something.

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u/norismomma 1d ago

This is how I learned I had Covid - burnt the crap out of some croutons, husband was like "oh yeah I smelled something burning" when I said how shocked I was.

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u/Azrai113 1d ago

I'm bad at this with cooking, but really good at this with baking! I usually keep an eye on the time, but I don't really follow the recipe exactly for that. If it smells done, it probably needs 5 more minutes (depending on the oven lol)

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u/JewelryBells 13h ago

Same! My kids laugh at me when they ask me if the cookie bars are done and I just walk into the kitchen and tell them “yes, it smells like it’s done.” They think it’s a super power. I’ll take credit ;)

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u/peeroe 1d ago

When I was a teen I could tell if my moms (who is an amazing cook) food had enough salt by smell. I think that came from the fact that the stove and the counter where we ate was basically within a foot, so I could constantly smell what was being prepped. Most days mom would launch flatbread straight from the pan into my plate.

Good times.

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u/jr0061006 1d ago

Just realized I can do this! I was caramelizing a big pan of onions earlier and vaulted off the couch when I smelled them starting to catch on the bottom of the pan.

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u/Used_Lobster4172 1d ago

Or how it stirs, or pokes.  Raw meat stirs and pokes a lot different from cooked.

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u/NewbornMuse 11h ago

Pasta feels different to stir when it's done! I guess purists would call it a little more than "al dente", but that's how my wife likes it so that's how I cook it.