r/cookingforbeginners • • Nov 07 '25

Modpost Potential new rule - No Apps. Seeking community feedback

148 Upvotes

Greetings Community.

How do you feel about people sharing apps, looking for app development feedback, that kind of thing, within this community.

A lot of it is on the borderline of what is acceptable with our current rules (self-promotion not being allowed, no AI etc)

For me personally, it’s not what I think of as within the scope of this community. This place is somewhere for beginners to ask real people questions and for real people to answer. There are other subreddits for app sharing/recommendations/development.

And ultimately, advice for beginner cooks should not be “download an app”.

There is also the fact that most of these apps being promoted here are using AI to scrape existing recipes or create new recipes, and that is not something we allow here at all.

But maybe I’m just old fashioned. So I seek community feedback before updating the rules. Please leave a reply below if you have strong opinions either way.


r/cookingforbeginners • • Mar 27 '25

Modpost Quick Questions

30 Upvotes

Do you have a quick question about cooking? Post it here!


r/cookingforbeginners • • 4h ago

Question How much minimum salt should I use for my recipe, and when should I salt my ingredients?

6 Upvotes

Got 500g chicken breast, 150g Fat, 30g Liver, all minced and mixed up. Apart from that, using a puree made of 4 tomatoes and 4 eggs, to be mixed with the mince.

Unsure how much salt I should use for this dish, and should I salt my minced meat before cooking or should I add while cooking. Also guide for how much black pepper accordingly.

Kindly tell me the amount in Grams. Please help.


r/cookingforbeginners • • 10h ago

Question Why is my fried chicken always coming out soggy?

8 Upvotes

I want to learn how to make fried chicken but every recipe I follow the breading comes out soggy/soft instead of crispy. People have told me to use higher/lower temperature it didn’t work. People told me I wasn’t leaving it in the oil long enough so I left it in there until it was slightly burnt but it still came out soggy. My next test is buying by a thermometer and setting it at the temperature people keep saying is “just right” but I feel like I’ve tried different temperatures (I don’t have a thermometer to confirm) and it still came out soggy every time.
Do you guys thing the thermometer is going to fix it or maybe it’s something else?


r/cookingforbeginners • • 21h ago

Question Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat vs. The Food Lab — which one should I get?

35 Upvotes

I’m looking to buy my first serious cooking book and I’ve narrowed it down to *Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat* by Samin Nosrat and *The Food Lab* by J. Kenji López-Alt.

I’m looking to become a better cook and really understand **why certain techniques work**, rather than just following recipes.

I’m happy to put in the time to learn, so I’m not necessarily looking for the easiest book.
**Which one would you recommend buying first, and why?**


r/cookingforbeginners • • 23h ago

Question How do I properly sauté onions and peppers so they practically melt into a stew? Any chefs here?

28 Upvotes

Hey everyone! When making stews and other one-pot dishes, I want my onions and peppers to cook down so much that they practically disappear into the sauce. I want them to release their flavor and help create a rich, thick base, rather than leaving noticeable chunks of vegetables in the finished dish. Carrots, on the other hand, I want to keep intact.

The problem is that I struggle to get the onions and peppers properly sautéed at the beginning. Sometimes they don't seem to cook down and develop enough flavor, and other times I have to spend ages standing over the pot to get the result I want.

I've heard a lot of conflicting advice:

  • Adding salt to the oil first: Some people say adding salt before the vegetables helps them sauté better. Does it actually make a difference?
  • Cooking on very low heat for a long time: Others say you should cook the vegetables slowly to drive off their moisture and concentrate their flavor. This works to some extent, but it takes forever.
  • Starting on high heat and then lowering it: I've also heard that you should start with high heat, stir the vegetables around, and then turn the heat down. Is there a reason to do this?
  • Letting them cook in the stew: Some people say the real trick is to sauté them first and then let them simmer in the liquid until they break down completely.

What I'm trying to achieve: I want the onions and peppers to practically melt into the sauce by the end of cooking, while the carrots retain their shape. I'd also like to avoid spending 15–20 minutes sautéing the vegetables before I can even get started with the rest of the dish.

What's the proper technique for this?

  • How hot should the pot and oil be before adding the vegetables?
  • Should I use medium heat, high heat, or start high and then turn it down?
  • When should I add salt? Does salting early help or hinder browning?
  • Is it better to cook the onions and peppers for longer at the beginning, or is the simmering stage what really makes them break down?
  • Are there any tricks to getting them to practically disappear into the sauce without spending ages sautéing them?

I'd especially appreciate advice from professional chefs or anyone with a lot of cooking experience. I'd love to understand the reasoning behind the technique, not just follow a recipe. Thanks!


r/cookingforbeginners • • 12h ago

Recipe so i made this cake recipe awhile back and it turned out bad....

3 Upvotes

recipe in question

https://sugarspunrun.com/the-best-white-cake-recipe/#wprm-recipe-container-13187

like i know this is a good recipe (pretty sure) and well... the way it turned out was it had like a bad texture i can't quite describe but i know it should not have been like that.. was not moist in the way it should have been.

what i came here for is mainly the adding the mix and milk into the creamed butter part.

how is this done by one person?

also i think i did not cream the butter right at all... i never seem to do it right either.... it was less creamy and more liquid. if that makes sense?

also the egg whites... i did not mix that in very well at all.... pretty sure i did overmix the batter too hence the cake texture being wrong. very wrong.

so can i just kinda pulse the egg white in a blender to make it easier?

so i definitely need some advice in order to do this right...

at least the frosting turned out good!


r/cookingforbeginners • • 19h ago

Request I want to make chicken noodle soup with homemade stock!

11 Upvotes

Need a little guidance how to make the stock & soup. I do have some chicken tips in my freezer. Do I need to defrost them before making the stock? I plan on getting more chicken parts today to add to the stock. Any tips or tricks would be helpful! thank you.


r/cookingforbeginners • • 16h ago

Question I want to put bone marrow into a reduced chicken stock sauce. Should I put the bone marrow in the instant pot when making the stock or mix it in later

2 Upvotes

Not sure if beef bone marrow would be better used in the instant pot or roasted and mixed into the final reduced sauce


r/cookingforbeginners • • 5h ago

Question I hate the consistency of beans but they are low-key really filthy. How can I make them not have this consistency, like really soft and disgusting?

0 Upvotes

I hate the consistency of beans but they are low-key really filthy. How can I make them not have this consistency, like really soft and disgusting?


r/cookingforbeginners • • 1d ago

Question what is your favorite chicken recipe?

13 Upvotes

i work 70 hours a week and am looking for tasty, good chicken recipes.

Thanks!


r/cookingforbeginners • • 1d ago

Question Didn't prep my ingredients for a quiche... how screwed am i?

24 Upvotes

Anybody have experience with this?

So, I'm feeling pretty burned out from work and haven't been cooking properly. Somebody told me to make quiche because it's healthy and easy. They said it shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to prepare (plus the time in the oven).

I've eaten plenty of quiche Lorraine in my life, so I felt too lazy to follow a recipe. I just threw together the ingredients (leek, onion, eggs, spices, cream, bacon, and cheese) and popped it in the oven...

Only then did I start doubting whether I'd used the right number of eggs. I looked up a recipe, and lo and behold... you're supposed to fry the bacon, onion, and leek first.

But the oven will 'cook' the ingredients, right? How terrible will it turn out?

Update: the quiche turned out okay. I just left it in 10min longer than my friend recommended. The leek was perfectly soft, the bacon a little more chewy than I'm used to but otherwise fine. It's not perfect but still very tasty and enough so that I don't have to think about making food for tomorrow.


r/cookingforbeginners • • 18h ago

Question Am I going to get Salmonella?

0 Upvotes

I used chopstick to place raw chicken into the air fryer, then used it to pick up the cooked chicken. I then ate the dish with the same chopstick afterwards, am i going to get sick now?


r/cookingforbeginners • • 1d ago

Question what are the must haves for seasoning?

0 Upvotes

hi! please help! i just started cooking recently. i know about salt, garlic, onion, and pepper so far. i want to know what everyone uses for different types of food like meat or vegetables.
is there any seasoning recipes you use everyday? thank you!


r/cookingforbeginners • • 2d ago

Question Scrambled eggs in a microwave?

9 Upvotes

I've looked up online and really wanna do some microwave scrambled eggs. I have the mug, all my seasonings, but the only thing I'm confused on is the oil it tells me to add to my cup. I've read that spray extra virgin olive oil is okay to put in the microwave (this would be the lining between my cup) but I've seen conflicting things online saying both spray extra virgin olive oil is okay for a microwave as well as cooking oil in a microwave is a bad idea. Would spray be different from normal oil?


r/cookingforbeginners • • 2d ago

Recipe Made my own duck sauce!

17 Upvotes

I didn’t have any duck sauce with my Chinese food. So I looked up a recipe. Of course I didn’t have plum or apricot preserves. So I improvised with orange marmalade and cherry jam. I also added soy sauce and grated garlic. Cooked it on medium low for about five minutes and it was done. It was really good! Better than the stuff you get from the restaurant! I’m proud of myself and excited to learn more things!


r/cookingforbeginners • • 2d ago

Question Has this chicken gone bad

6 Upvotes

New to cooking poultry - photo in comments

I cooked skinless boneless chicken thighs at 400 for about 34ish minutes. I seasoned it very lightly. The coloring looks off to me, seems too white, and in some areas gray? Not really brown anywhere. Has this gone bad? Did I overcook or undercook? Or just not season enough?


r/cookingforbeginners • • 1d ago

Question Sell by date on chicken

0 Upvotes

I have a package of chicken that's been in the fridge. I just took it out to boil for shredding and noticed the sell by date was the 12th. Is it ok to cook and use?


r/cookingforbeginners • • 2d ago

Question How can I make these flavorful (without adding salt) and keep them low calorie?

4 Upvotes

I have cans of corn, green beans, peas, and a blend of beans (kidney/pinto/black). All of them are "no salt added" because I need to have a low sodium diet.

I don't want to add any foods because I want them to stay low calorie, otherwise I'd just add bacon to the beans e.t.c..... I have a half cup of each, which comes out to about 235 calories as-is (I also added a little diced tomato to the corn, so probably closer to 250-260). If it will really help, I'll add another food, but want to keep it under 300 calories total.

I added a lot of black pepper and onion powder to the beans, as well as some chili powder and crushed red pepper flakes for a kick. Felt like I added a lot, but didn't taste like it. For the rest of the items I just added black pepper. (I would add garlic powder too but I'm out)

Everything felt bland, like I hadn't even added any spices at all. I understand salt usually helps flavors come out, but since I'm trying to stay low sodium I really don't want to mess with it.


r/cookingforbeginners • • 1d ago

Question Help me improve this tomato idea?

0 Upvotes

I was in bed, thinking because sleep doesn't work. And I had an idea. After talking with AI a bit, it told me it was "okay to cry" and asked if i wanted it to "stay on the line" while I prepped my tomato. At that point i decided I had better talk to actual people.

So the idea is: drop of olive oil in a pan, slice of tomato, pinches of garlic, parsley, salt, and finely chopped green onion, then parmesan on top.

Will this be tasty? Will I regret something? would you recommend leaving something out or adding something?

ETA: I came to r/cookingforbeginners to get information about food combinations and cooking approaches. The AI comment I included was because I thought it was a hilarious anecdote. It was not the point. I honestly don't need to hear your opinions about AI, especially since I didn't follow AI's advice


r/cookingforbeginners • • 2d ago

Question why are all my sauces thin?

36 Upvotes

i use flour, i use heavy cream, i use butter, but most of my sauces are still runny and thin. the only thing i don't experience this with is tomato sauce, but i think that'd be hard to mess up.

any tips? is it the order of ingredients? usually i sear my meat and veggies and mix my flour into a blend of broth and cream, then pour that in.


r/cookingforbeginners • • 2d ago

Request I decided to finish everything in my pantry cabinets. I have close to 20 packages of pasta. Do you have any interesting recipes?

32 Upvotes

I won't buy any pantry items until everything is consumed.

I have dry beans, chickpeas, lentils, rice, pasta, tomato paste, spices, nuts, frozen meals in the freezer (mostly veggies, so they wouldn't rot in the fridge before I eat them )

It seems like I will eat a lot of pasta with my veggie meals but I don't want to get tired of eating it frequently.


r/cookingforbeginners • • 2d ago

Request ginger miso dressing - ideas?

2 Upvotes

one on the face idea is to simply use it in salad. what other things can i use it for?


r/cookingforbeginners • • 2d ago

Question Question about homemade stock.

10 Upvotes

I’m making my first chicken stock, and this may be a dumb question, but do I just throw all of the vegetables, aromatics, and bones away when I’m done? Or can I do something else with them??


r/cookingforbeginners • • 2d ago

Question How can I season my salads?

4 Upvotes

OMG I DO NOT LIKE VEGETABLES. Well, most of them.
Also, because I'm super picky, i don't like salad dressings. Do not care for ranch or Italian or thousand island, or very much for vinegar and oil.

But holy cow I need more vegetables. Just to be alive. So I have some basic salad, but I want to up the flavor quotient. (lettuce, carrot, shredded cheddar, red or green onion, mushroom, olive, a little tomato).

I have a variety of seasonings and sauces already in the cabinet/fridge, but I'm willing to do inexpensive shopping.

Please help me thing vegetables are something I WANT