Bad Cooking Habits to Quit Immediately - And What to Do Instead

You're guilty, you already know. You have some bad cooking habits - I mean, don't we all? Some habits are hard to break, like shaking seasoning directly over hot pans. But the results can be disastrous (and I've got the scars to prove it). If you have one of the following bad cooking habits, we'll explore why it's time to break it and what to do instead.

bad cooking habits and how to break them

Shaking spices straight from the bottle onto food cooking on the stovetop

I've been oh-so-guilty of this one! Sometimes I still do it without thinking… BUT the problem with adding a few shakes of (insert spice here) over a hot pan is that the steam from the food you're cooking enters the bottle, wreaking havoc.

Why You Should Stop Seasoning Directly From the Shaker onto Cooking Food

Ruins Seasoning. Moisture and dry spices do not mix. Once moisture from steam gets introduced into the bottle, it can cause spices to clump and harden. Which kind of defeats the purpose of having a convenient shaker lid. And worst-case scenario, you risk your spices developing mold. You don't want that.
Ruins Your Day. Moisture exposure from cooking steam can increase microbial load in spice containers and promote mycotoxin formation. Mycotoxins are toxic compounds that are naturally produced by certain types of molds (fungi) and can make a person quite sick if ingested. Nerd out and read more about mycotoxins and how to prevent them from showing up on your plate.
Damages Flavor Integrity. A surefire way to destroy flavor is to introduce heat and moisture to dry spices, since they break down the essential oils in spices. Spices have a shelf life, and heat and moisture shorten it.
Saves Money. The longevity of spices depends upon keeping them stored in a cool, dry place, kept away from moisture (hint: above the stove is not an ideal storage place). If you're a shake that spice from the bottle to the pan type cook, you're effectively shortening their shelf life. Save money by using and storing your spices in ways that will extend your investment, or you'll be replacing spices more often than you anticipate.

What You Should Do Instead

Season food first. No brainer, right? If you season that chicken breast before you toss it in the pan, you avoid the issue entirely.
Add spices to your hand, then dump directly over cooking food. I tend to be one of those home cooks who eyeballs spices vs. measuring everything precisely. I like to measure with my heart. So instead, I opt to sprinkle seasoning directly into the palm of my hand instead of shaking directly over cooking food. I find this is ideal for making minor flavor adjustments.
Add spices to a little bowl, like this one. Same idea as adding to your hand, with the benefit that you can fit more spices in a bowl - and the spices won't stick to your hand. Use your fingers to pinch spices from the bowl and sprinkle over whatever you're cooking.

seasoning being shaken over water boiling in a pot

Begin Cooking without Mise en Place

AKA starting to cook without having your shi… together. It's just not a good idea to start cooking, then thrash around with knives and frantically search through cupboards for missing ingredients. Mise en place (meese en plahs) is French for "putting in place" or "gathering". It's all about gathering up everything you'll need for success.

I've burned and cut myself one too many times to ever skip this very necessary prep step. This means before you turn on that burner, you have your recipe ready to go (AND have read through it completely), have necessary spices out (and measured, in a bowl at the ready), chopped your veggies, seasoned meats, and gathered all of the cooking tools you'll need (frying pan, spatula, knife, cutting board, can opener, etc.).

Mise en place is so important Alton Brown even made a song about it (Mise en place, you so boss!). I can't find a clip of the song, but if you, dear reader, know where I can find it, please leave me a comment; I'd love to link to it so everyone can enjoy. You want to make sure to have all of your ingredients at the ready, especially if you're preparing a dish that cooks quickly like a stir fry. If you're not prepared, whatever you're cooking can go sideways real fast.

Why You Shouldn't Start Cooking Without Mise en Place

The Consequences. Scrambling to find ingredients for a recipe while cooking is dumb and potentially dangerous. Dumb because there's no excuse to ever overcook a stir fry, dangerous because you could hurt yourself - I've got the burn and knife scars to prove it.
The Confidence. I find that if I start cooking without mise en place, I feel less confident. Can anyone else relate? Not being prepared can translate into a lack of confidence, which is not something you want to lean into as you're trying out a new recipe.
The Timing. Not timing things quite right can really throw things off, resulting in overcooked food. If you're cooking a stir fry, using veggies with varying cook times, make sure you carefully read the recipe first so you know exactly when to add each ingredient. Timing is especially important when deep frying; these Fried Tortilla Strips will overcook quickly if you're digging around for a spider strainer while they fry away.

What You Should Do Instead

Get everything ready. Get your ingredients prepped and ready, chop veggies, open cans, season meats. Get your trusty kitchen tools out - measuring spoons, can openers, spatulas, pots and pans, blender, Instant Pot, etc.
Make yourself the star of your own cooking show. Have everything out and ready and arranged how you like to cook, just like on cooking shows. Emeril was always so organized.
Strategize for success. A little strategy goes a long way and having a plan before you cook sets you up for a successful result. Read the recipe and figure out timing (especially if you're multi-tasking making garlic bread to go with your Baked Feta Pasta). This is a great way to make cooking go as smoothly as possible.

Summarize and Save with

I have a LOT of thoughts on mise en place and shaking seasoning directly over cooking food. Obviously. But there are many more bad cooking habits you should be aware of... that I promise to be less long-winded about.

a spice shaker being shaken over food cooking in an instant pot

Other Bad Habits to Be Mindful Of

I break this one all the time, but this is such a good one. Clean as you go. It's less daunting than staring at an overflowing sink of dirty dishes. Especially when you're full and sleepy.
Thaw meat in the refrigerator. It's tempting to thaw meat by tossing it on the countertop for a few hours, but you really shouldn't. Plan ahead and thaw meat in the refrigerator.
Avoid 'temperature abuse'. If you don't plan your meal right, you might make mistakes, like preparing steak tartar before baking potatoes, all while leaving the raw steak out the entire cook time of the potatoes. That's temperature abuse! Think about your meal as a whole, preparing dishes that take longer to cook or prepare first. And keep meats refrigerated until they are needed. Because meat should only sit out for so long. Meat sitting out for an hour can be problematic, but after 2 hours you shouldn't chance it.
Not tasting as you cook. You should taste throughout cooking so you make subtle adjustments to get flavors just right. This also allows spice adjustments time to permeate the dish, deepening the flavor.
Don't overcrowd the pan. I know it's tempting to when you only have one more chicken thigh left and don't want to cook two batches. But overcrowding the pan means food will steam vs. sear and you want that char. Overcrowding is also detrimental in the air fryer, like in this Air Fryer Walleye recipe.
Failure to keep knives sharp. Ever try to cut a tomato with a dull knife? Always keep knives sharp to avoid this problem. That and more cuts are a result of dull knives vs. sharp ones.
Use a knife like a knife. Don't use the sharp side of the knife to scrape off whatever you chopped on the cutting board. Surefire way to dull your knife.
Use salt. I'm admittedly a snob about this one - growing up, salt was like the F word in my house. Not surprising since salt has definitely enjoyed its villain era in popular culture (especially in the 70s and 80s), one of those holdover fears that gets ingrained and never unlearned. But salt is necessary to bring out the flavor of food, so don't shy away from adding a little salt to enhance your dish. Even just a pinch or two can enhance flavors. Obviously, skip this step if you have dietary restrictions.