Quick fix suggestion: Title says 40, link and post says 30. :)

Nevermind! I see that the Cooking Light one has 40 and the "related" has 30

3.You make unwise substitutions in baking.

This is true of so many things in life, isn't it?

12. You turn the food too often.

The good folks at Modernist Cuisine bust this myth in book 2. Leaving a steak to sear on both sides with one flip will contribute to the same bulls-eye they demonize later in the list. Ideal flipping technique: every 15-30 seconds. Lots more work, much better steak. If you're interested in the science, buy the book.

I sometimes neglect to read through the recipe before getting started and I'm definitely guilty of overcooking veggies.

I had no idea I was guilty of so many. Crowding the pan for sure. And I had been struggling to get the perfect poached egg for YEARS until I finally bought silicon egg poaching cups. My trick for moist turkey burgers is to add BBQ sauce to meat but I never thought of olive oil. I'm totally going to try that next time. I know I tend to cook things on higher temps to get things done faster often to the detriment of my dish. I'm also way guilty of not reading the recipe all the way through. I am usually in hysterics when I have too many pots going at the same time and get to the part in the recipe that says "Now make a rue...." Argh! Great article.

I have committed most of those before I learned not to and gradually became a better cook. But there's on I'm not guilty of: No. 7 - I don't use low fat products.

3.You make unwise substitutions in baking. This is true of so many things in life, isn't it? You made me laugh! Elizeh.

I've never used a meat thermometer, and I am prone to over-work bread dough (but now I have a bread machine). I am scrupulously careful with eggs, and I'm not afraid to toss out eggs either---after a week or so, they are not "fresh" anymore. As a young bride and cook, I would forget to read all the way though the recipe before starting, but a few spectacular disasters broke me of that bad habit.

Thanks for the post! I learned a lot of good stuff. I think I've made every single mistake on the list with the exception of the ones that I've never attempted (melting chocolate, carving a turkey, poaching an egg). I'm especially guilting with any mistake involving improper heating techniques. The vintage 1960s stove top and oven in my rented apartment's kitchen may look cute, but I'd rather have a more precise oven with a light and a stovetop that wasn't shadowed by a nonworking vent hood, didn't require being lit every time I use it and had the ability to simmer.

I recently made the over-soft butter mistake, and instead of a sheet of cookies, I made a sheet of cookie. The whole thing just spread together. Ugh. The worst part is, YES I DO KNOW BETTER. I was in too much of a hurry to put the butter, or the dough, in the fridge for a while. And that's the essence of most of my mistakes: I wing it and pray to the Kitchen Gods, and their reply is always "Slow Down Willya?"

I was amazed to find myself guilty of only one out of 40: I often transfer my meats from the fridge directly into the oven.

I nuke the butter to soften it....regularly. guess I need to plan better!

I nuke my butter all the time. In the winter my kitchen is never warm enough to sufficiently soften butter. I've had sticks of butter sit on my counter for days without giving in to a poke.

I did, however, discover the joys of baking my bacon several months ago. Cleanup is a breeze and my bacon is evenly delicious! Just gotta keep a close eye on it--I like my bacon crispy, and it goes from sizzly perfection to burned and smoking in about 45 seconds.

It just occurred to me tonight, as I was making a stir fry, that I've finally learned to saute stuff in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan (#10). And I wondered why it took me so long to start doing that!

The advice to step back from a pan and let it keep heating a few more minutes might be bad for a non-stick pan, especially if it's cheap or light-weight. Light non-stick pans left alone on the burner can reach above the recommended 500 degree limit in two minutes, and even thick, high quality pans can do the same in less than 10. At that point they start producing fumes, not good.

No such limit for a cast iron skillet or regular pans, of course. But something to keep in mind for non-stick. You don't really want to leave them alone. Other pans, no problem!

My biggest cooking sin is definitely overcrowding the pan. Whoever wrote the advice to use two pans is clearly not the one doing the dishes! ;) I kid, I kid. :P

My go-to for softening butter fast -- grating it with the large holes of a cheese grater.

Heh, I disagree with the one about underbaking things. I love my cookies and breads slightly dough-y...

I usually microwave butter to soften it, then end up overheating it. It took me a long time to learn that it's usually best to leave food alone while it cooks - no stirring, flipping or prodding, tempting though that may be.

knowing how your oven works is great advice. i know if a recipe says 'bake for 45 minutes' and knowing my oven it will take 35 minutes.

also, not leaving the cooking unattended, i get frustrated when partner serves up burnt food.

Heh, it seems I'm only guilty of rushing my caramelized onions at times.

Don't do vinegar when I'm poaching eggs though -- the real trick is to use super fresh eggs, as the protein of the egg white hasn't degraded. Also, I use Delia Smith's poaching technique -- you let the eggs sit in simmering water for exactly 1 minute (carefully timed), and then turn the heat off, letting them sit in the hot water for x amount of minutes (depends on how many eggs you are making). That way, the egg whites don't get boiled into a tizzy.

"25. You use inferior ingredients.
Result: Sigh."

Ah, this one cuts to the heart of the poor-school-student-of-the-past within me. The budget bulk food I cooked back then tasted amazing, if I do say so myself.
I bet that if they did a blind taste test, the writer/s of that article couldn't tell the difference between two identical dishes cooked lovingly and correctly with the cheaper or more expensive ingredients.

I have experienced and rectified many of the mistakes in this list, over the years. That's one of the advantages of being OLD. However, I still fail at #2. Perhaps that's one of the disadvantages of being OLD. I think I know everything, and I skip ahead. Perhaps it's because I use recipes as "suggestions", and improvise the rest (unless I'm baking). Whatever... I love food.

I knowingly make a lot of these mistakes, out of laziness. I've pretty much abandoned recipes altogether. I get the basic flavour combos and cooking times from a recipe, then I just throw everything at the pan and see what sticks. Took all the stress out of cooking and recipe organization, and the dish is always edible, at least...

Also, tip #40?? I love my bacon crinkly and burnt!

I'm surprised that "Opening the oven door frequently," wasn't on the list.

I have tried every technique I can find, including the one mentioned here, and I still can't make a poached egg that's pretty.
I know the holy grail around not microwaving butter but I have a cheat method for that that works pretty well. I microwave it, but at the lowest power setting. Put it in for 30 seconds and then check it. Usually about 2 rounds of this and the butter is the same as if it's been sitting on the counter.

Hah. Some of those pictures are hilarious.

Guilty of : getting distracted on the internet while baking. ( = lots of burnt cookies. I should have learned by now)