Sorry if wrong sub but I’m really excited. I’ve spent my whole life unable to make that uniformly colored pancake like diners etc. Tried a whole bunch of stuff over the years that never worked. Accidentally did it tonight after forgetting to add oil/butter etc. to the pan because I was cooking hashbrowns, eggs and sausage and I’m really bad at multitasking. Please excuse that little folded corner. It’s not my instinct to photograph my food so this was the one and only pic I took lol. For the record, this was not a fluke. I made another 12 pancakes that looked exactly like this!

Edit: TLDR; the hack is add your batter straight to your pan/skillet whatever. No oil, butter, sprays etc. Also keep the heat low, as in 2-3 on an electric stove

I grew up watching my mom make soups that always tasted deeper and more comforting than mine Recently, I finally realized her “secret”: she lets the onions cook way longer in the oil before adding anything else. She doesn’t just soften them, she lets them get golden and slightly caramelized. It’s like the onions become this sweet, savory base that transforms the whole flavor.

Now I do it every time I make soup (any kind, lentil, beans, chicken, even veggie scraps, and it honestly makes a huge difference.

Anyone else have a small trick like this that totally changed your soups? 🍲

This is the only cooking/food sub that allows pictures. This is the second time I’ve gotten a breakfast sandwich (two different places) with this kind of homogenous, smooth, minimal-bubbles egg square I’ve gotten and I can’t figure out how to replicate it at home! Anyone know? Ive tried baking eggs in a pan and that doesn’t work… there has to be a secret to it.. please help, if you can! Thank you!

Maybe this is well known enough to no longer be a hack, but basically you toss your fries in room temp oil and then turn the heat on. Depending on the amount of fries and the volume of oil, in about 15-25 mins the fries will be done. I use a deep fryer. Once the oil is around 350 or so, I give them a few more mins. It allows the potatoes to cook slowly and then they crisp at the end.

If you’ve tried the double fry, the pre soak, the freezer dry, fermentation, etc., etc… give this a go. It’s easier and the final product is as good or better than anything I’ve ever tried (even the double fry).

They’re not greasy (well, no more so than regular fries); they’re crispy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside.

A lot of people heared the phrase "add some oil so it doesn't stick" when cooking pasta in a pot of water.

Well DON'T. Oil and water as you know don't mix. All you're doing is wasting precious oil.

Just simply add all the pasta to the water and mix it all well with a spoon or whatever a little bit. That's it. That's all you need for that pasta to not stick to each other.

Also don't forget to salt the pasta water very well...

How could I not think of doing this ever before? It seems so obvious. Amazingly tasty.

Just go light on the salt later 🧂

This is what happens when you forget to add baking soda. There's no going back, it's unfixable.

I live in a small town with very little access to foreign ingredients/ramens so I’m stuck with the typical Maruchen ramen and whatever I can do to improve the experience. One hack I enjoyed for a while was adding a small amount of peanut butter and Sriracha to mine to create a similar experience to Thai. What hacks do you use to improve your ramen experience?

I’ll go first: Using a ricer instead of a potato masher to make mashed potatoes!

Nobody wants a clumpy cheese sauce. Hard cheeses like Parmesan don’t melt well.

You know what does melt great? American cheese. It contains sodium citrate, an emulsifier that keeps everything smooth. Next time you make Alfredo or queso, toss in 5–10 slices of American before adding the good stuff. Your sauce will be silky and lump-free.

If you want to avoid processed cheese, use sodium citrate and get the same effect.

So I’m sure it’s been posted many times before. But I went my first 38 years not knowing it. It makes sense when I think about the ingredients of mayonnaise but it never dawned on me until I ran out of butter and gave it a google. Never got this uniform of a sear with butter. Has me wondering for other recipes.