Stupidest Cooking Mistake
Discussion
Back when I was working in a ski chalet, the breakfast cook also made a cake for tea. The first week I was on, I did a perfect chocolate cake recipe. Just without any raising agent (bicarb, baking powder)
Not surprisingly the cake didn't rise. I baked it an hour longer, told the punters it was a giant choccy biscuit, and ran to the bar.
Not surprisingly the cake didn't rise. I baked it an hour longer, told the punters it was a giant choccy biscuit, and ran to the bar.
Creating a traditional Carbonara from scratch, added the eggs at the end of cooking but instead of allowing the hot pasta to cook the egg put the whole pan on our fast/wok/biggest gas burner, ended up with pasta and scrambled egg!!! Girlfriend at the time (now my wife) valiantly said "its very nice" as I dished up scramble egg ala ribbon pasta.
I made a curry and it was a bit runny so I decided to add some cornflour to thicken it up. I put some in and nothing happened so I added some more, still nothing, added quite a bit more. All of a sudden it all took effect and the curry set like concrete in the pan! At least it taught me the 'mix in cold water first, mix, and leave for 5 mins' rule!
Today - making a Moroccan Eggs for breakfast (a spiced tomato egg type dish), I took the last egg out of the fridge, put it on the counter. Turned around to do something on the other counter, and heard a rolling sound.
Quickly turn around to see the egg rolling off the counter and then smashing on the floor. I was very fcked off.
Quickly turn around to see the egg rolling off the counter and then smashing on the floor. I was very fcked off.
When I was at college training in Hospitality management we had to do some cooking and once a week two of the most memorable cock ups by other students (I was perfect ) that I remember were
1. On the first day the girl who was supposed to be making the desserts asked "How do I crack an egg?"
2. One of the other guys was reading through a recipie for some sausage dish and the recipe called for skinless sausages but he had been supplied with ones with skins. It took the tutor 1/2 an hour to realise why he was so far behind everyone else with making his dish. He was trying to skin his sausages :and could not figure out why they were disintegrating in the frying pan. :
1. On the first day the girl who was supposed to be making the desserts asked "How do I crack an egg?"
2. One of the other guys was reading through a recipie for some sausage dish and the recipe called for skinless sausages but he had been supplied with ones with skins. It took the tutor 1/2 an hour to realise why he was so far behind everyone else with making his dish. He was trying to skin his sausages :and could not figure out why they were disintegrating in the frying pan. :
mrsxllifts said:
I made a curry and it was a bit runny so I decided to add some cornflour to thicken it up. I put some in and nothing happened so I added some more, still nothing, added quite a bit more. All of a sudden it all took effect and the curry set like concrete in the pan! At least it taught me the 'mix in cold water first, mix, and leave for 5 mins' rule!
I got stung by that making sweet-and-sour sauce, ended up with hundreds of pea-sized white blobs in the sauce..I've ruined the simplest of dishes. Still do. Leek and potato soup, most recently. But, that's what http://www.yosushi.co.uk is for.
The only comedy mistake that I can recall was a long time ago. Trying to make a spicy cake, I misread mixed spice as mixed herbs. I got everything else right, and the cake was quite pleasant. Just a really, really unexpected flavour.
The only comedy mistake that I can recall was a long time ago. Trying to make a spicy cake, I misread mixed spice as mixed herbs. I got everything else right, and the cake was quite pleasant. Just a really, really unexpected flavour.
scorp said:
mrsxllifts said:
I made a curry and it was a bit runny so I decided to add some cornflour to thicken it up. I put some in and nothing happened so I added some more, still nothing, added quite a bit more. All of a sudden it all took effect and the curry set like concrete in the pan! At least it taught me the 'mix in cold water first, mix, and leave for 5 mins' rule!
I got stung by that making sweet-and-sour sauce, ended up with hundreds of pea-sized white blobs in the sauce..Put that in and you will no longer have the issue with corn flour blobs....
the first time i deep fried tofu i didnt really think about what would happen when you put what is effectively a wet spongey substance, soaked full of water, into a wok of smoking hot oil.
I was a very lucky idiot in that the resulting explosion went mainly away from me onto the wall, rather than sending scalding hot oil all over my arms and face.
lesson learnt: dry the tofu first.
(make a thick pile of paper towels, put tofu on towel, and put a heavy plate on top of the tofu for 1/2 an hour)
I was a very lucky idiot in that the resulting explosion went mainly away from me onto the wall, rather than sending scalding hot oil all over my arms and face.
lesson learnt: dry the tofu first.
(make a thick pile of paper towels, put tofu on towel, and put a heavy plate on top of the tofu for 1/2 an hour)
Not so much cooking, but involved drinks at least. I was running a bar for a party my parents were having some years ago and needed some Coke chilled. These were in the original glass bottles and had been stood in the warm for a while. I figured sticking them in the chest freezer to rapdily chill them before serving would be a sensible way to go. Unfortunately I forgot about them in the heat of battle and anoly noticed a problem when I went back the next day.
The bottles had exploded and htere were shards of glass mixed with frozen Coke in the base of the freezer. The turkey for Christmas had been subjected to acupuncture by pieces of flying glass and the foil liner to the freezer was looking slightly worse for wear. The difficulty came in trying to clear it up. I couldn't defrost all the meat so had to chisle the frozen Coke/glass mix out while wearing serious gloves and using the BBQ tongs to extract glass from the meat where visible. Thankfully all the meat was frozen so the glass didn't go too deep.
Never again.
Dr Rick
The bottles had exploded and htere were shards of glass mixed with frozen Coke in the base of the freezer. The turkey for Christmas had been subjected to acupuncture by pieces of flying glass and the foil liner to the freezer was looking slightly worse for wear. The difficulty came in trying to clear it up. I couldn't defrost all the meat so had to chisle the frozen Coke/glass mix out while wearing serious gloves and using the BBQ tongs to extract glass from the meat where visible. Thankfully all the meat was frozen so the glass didn't go too deep.
Never again.
Dr Rick
Whoozit said:
Back when I was working in a ski chalet, the breakfast cook also made a cake for tea. The first week I was on, I did a perfect chocolate cake recipe. Just without any raising agent (bicarb, baking powder)
Not surprisingly the cake didn't rise. I baked it an hour longer, told the punters it was a giant choccy biscuit, and ran to the bar.
My SWMBO has done that. She's also made flat muffins, it was only when she complained about the structural integrity of muffin cases that I realised she wasn't using a tinNot surprisingly the cake didn't rise. I baked it an hour longer, told the punters it was a giant choccy biscuit, and ran to the bar.
Had a "brain out" moment and decided to see what would happen if I cracked an egg directly into the deep fat frier. Not going to do that again.
Also, in another deep fat fryer episode, a mate threw some pasta in to see what would happen (why we didn't work this one out I don't know). Again, plenty of mess, and pasta that came out harder than adamantium.
Suffice to say both were during my uni days.
Also, in another deep fat fryer episode, a mate threw some pasta in to see what would happen (why we didn't work this one out I don't know). Again, plenty of mess, and pasta that came out harder than adamantium.
Suffice to say both were during my uni days.
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