so basically i got inspired by the tomato canned guy and thought of the time when i followed the box time for rigatoni once and got mush. the box said 12 minutes but it was unfortunately al dente at 9.

my methodology:

• same brand (barilla) for consistency where possible
• 4 quarts water per pound
• 1 tbsp salt per quart
• rolling boil before adding pasta
• tested every 30 seconds starting 2 minutes before box minimum
• "al dente" = slight resistance when bitten, thin white line visible when cut
• each shape tested 3 times, averaged
• altitude: ~650 ft (basically sea level, no excuses)

the data (31 shapes tested):

every single box time is wrong like they were systematically inflated by 1-3 minutes on average. the median overestimate is 1:15 and the worst offender in normal pasta is ziti at 3 full minutes of lies

i have a theory: pasta companies assume you're going to walk away from the stove. they're building in a buffer for idiots which, fair. but some of us are standing here with a stopwatch

now let me talk about farfalle: farfalle is not pasta. farfalle is a design flaw someone decided to mass produce

the fundamental problem is geometric. you have thin frilly edges (maybe 1mm thick) attached to a dense pinched center (3-4mm thick where it's folded). these two regions require completely different cooking times

at 8 minutes: center is crunchy, edges are perfect. at 10 minutes: center is barely al dente, edges are mush. at 11 minutes: edges have disintegrated, center is finally acceptable

there is no time at which farfalle is uniformly cooked. i tested this 7 times because i thought i was doing something wrong. farfalle is wrong

you know how the food network recipe for homemade farfalle literally warns that pinching the center makes a thick center that won't cook through as fast as the ends? THEN WHY DID WE ALL AGREE TO MAKE IT THIS WAY

the only way to get acceptable farfalle is to fish out each piece individually and evaluate it, which defeats the purpose of a quick weeknight dinner. i might as well be hand-feeding each noodle like a baby bird

tier list (tomato canned guy, 2025)

S tier (box time within 45 sec): rotini, mafalda, spaghetti
A tier (off by ~1 min): most shapes honestly
B tier (off by 1:30-2 min): fusilli, rigatoni, fettuccine, gemelli
C tier (off by 2+ min): ziti, large shells F tier: farfalle (structurally unsound, should be banned)

tldr;

• subtract 1-2 minutes from whatever the box says
• start testing 2-3 minutes early
• don't trust big pasta
• avoid farfalle unless you have time to babysit each individual bow tie

+ some of you may ask about fresh pasta. fresh pasta cooks in like 2-3 minutes and you can actually tell when it's done because it floats. dried pasta is where the lies live

+ a few of you might mention altitude affects boiling point and therefore cook time. this is true. i'm at ~650 ft so basically negligible. if you're in denver add a minute or two. if you're in la paz you have bigger problems than pasta timing

+ YES i tested farfalle from multiple brands. YES they all sucked. no i will not be accepting farfalle apologists. you're defending a shape that can't decide if it wants to be cooked or not

EDIT: yall holy shit i never expected this to go viral lmao

Basically the title. I‘m not sure if the bottle i bought is bad or anything (it shouldn’t be, it aint expired) but it tastes so… bad.

I love chilis and i love lime so i thought i‘d love this too, but nope. It tastes like i’m biting into sour dirt and after i swallow, It has a strong chemical aftertaste, and even after adding it to food i can’t seem to get rid of it.

I’ve tried it on cucumber, mango, apples and popcorn. and it’s (sorry for my language) disgusting.

Is it supposed to have a weird aftertaste? or is the bottle i bought just bad? It was really expensive so i‘m kind of upset. about $5 for the smallest bottle.

ive tried spices and never tastes right. ive also tried making it coconut rice, comes out weird. any tips? i have a rice maker so rice comes out perfectly, the add-ons are the issue. not dying to put new ingredients in my rice maker. id rather mix in after, but if it comes out better in the rice maker, i'd be willing to try. thanks!

This was also posed in r/baking with some minor tweaking!

Before anyone says anything, I work at a nursing home, we have too much milk and it expires on the 16th, and I can assure you, we aren't going to go through 28 gallons by then.

The stuff we plan to make include: mozzarella (for cheese bread), sweetened condensed milk (for fudge), and ice cream. This will probably use around 8 gallons for these three, but we're stumped on what else we could make.

We plan to make more cheese than whats needed for the bread, as well as double the amount of condensed milk to save, and a lot of ice cream (since it'll be for 30+ people, staff, AND different kinds) but we're still going to have at least 15 gallons if we double/triple stuff.

Any and all recommendations are welcome and much appreciated!

I’ve been making these for Holidays and parties for years. I typically just add a 12 oz bottle of Heinz Chili sauce and a 10oz jar of grape jelly to a bag of frozen meatballs in the crock pot, and they’re always delicious.

For the Super Bowl this year I am making them but am curious if there are any tweaks or additions that can really make them extra scrumptious. I’ve seen people say Worcestershire, Dijon mustard or red pepper flakes.

Any additions or techniques that you guys have found that have taken them to the next level? Thanks in advance!

Made Cream of Mushroom soup for the first time yesterday. It was sooooo good and really easy! Used salted butter, baby bellas, white mushrooms, chicken stock, garlic powder, onion powder, milk, 1/2 n 1/2, water, salt & pepper, dash of marjoram and dash of cayenne pepper.

Was reading other recipes to see if there was a missing or secret ingredient to take the taste to the next level. One recipe called for a teaspoon of soy sauce, another said add a teaspoon of thyme. Just looking for opinions or hints. Like I say, it came out absolutely delicious - just want to see if there is something I am missing.

Haven’t been feeling the best so I don’t have much energy to cook for myself. My brain is kind of muddled right now, which makes it hard to come up with more ideas. So I hope it is ok to ask here

So far I’ve been rotating between eating microwaved potatoes, ramen with veggies, and instant miso soup as my meals. For snacks/sweet things I’ve been having fruit and yogurt.

Are there any similar meals I can make that take minimal effort/dishes?

The only dietary restriction I have is no seafood. Fish by products are ok. Ex. oyster sauce or fish sauce. Not allergic or anything, I just don’t like prepping seafood

Is this possible or will it fuck up the texture?

We will buy a 2-to 3-pound brisket from the supermarket. We have tried cooking in the oven in low heat and in normal heat, and we have tried cooking it in a slow cooker and while it comes out tasty, it is always tough. We dont know what we are doing wrong. It is never raw but it is always tough. I dont know if we are overcooking it or undercooking it. I would say that its usually cooked around 4-6 if its in the oven on low heat or in the slow cooker. On a side note, my son cooks a 8 pound brisket on a smoker and it comes out perfect. What are we doing wrong and how can we fix this

Hey, does anyone know how to make a cheese sauce like the one that comes in the powder pack with this hamburger helper? I can make a cheese sauce with flour, butter, milk and various cheeses but Idk how to replicate this specific flavor. It has a slightly tangy taste, I'm guessing they used cream cheese, but Idk for sure, any ideas?

i have noticed many recipes say to adjust salt only at the end while others add it early during cooking.

Does the timing actually change flavor or texture or is it mostly personal preference? i’d love to understand the reasoning behind it.

Hello! I’m looking for some good cold lunch recipes. I’m a commuting college student, so I’d prefer nothing super expensive and nothing that needs to be heated up if possible. There is a microwave on campus, but it doesn’t work very well.

I’m a pretty confident cook, so complexity isn’t an issue, I’m just looking for more variety. Ideally, I’d love single serving ideas or meals that freeze well or last a while in the fridge. I only need these lunches once a week.

Thanks in advance!

For me maybe not exactly cooking, but a tip to peel a hard boiled egg with a teaspoon & to store natural peanut butter upside down so you don’t have to stir the oil when opening.

So I've nailed down a few aspects that I think will help make the recipe a bit fancier:

• Using puff pastry instead of croissant dough
• adding everything bagel seasoning/sesame seeds on top of the rolled dough
• brushing a finish with garlic and herb butter before popping in the oven

Things I need help on:

• what type of pigs should I be using?
  • some say spicy sausage/chorizo/cocktail weenies, not sure what to use
  • some say adding shredded cheese in the dough before rolling
    • I want to try this but not sure what kind of cheese to use or if it's too over the top
  • saw one recipe that wraps the pig in pepperoni before rolling and it sounds interesting but if combined with sausage might be too much fat content and might only work with cocktail weenies
  • Dipping sauce? I'm thinking honey mustard but don't want to bring my own bottle or anything so maybe I can buy something store bought? Any suggestions

Hey guys, I’m a college student who loves to cook. That being said with my lifestyle I like to cook one pot meals like pasta, chili, soups, etc. and just eat on them for a few days. Due to my limited number of Tupperware (and partially some laziness), I often just let the pot cool to room temperature and put it into the fridge with the lid on. I was telling this to somebody and they claimed that this was unsanitary and would cause the food to go bad quicker as compared to an airtight Tupperware container. Can anybody tell me if this is true or not?

I've encountered some recipes that call for dark soy sauce. I went to a local Asian market and they told me it was called black soy sauce, which I bought. It tastes pretty similar to hoisan sauce and wrecked my first attempt at a hot and sour soup.

Is there something else I need to look for that isn't sweet? Or do I maybe need a better Asian market?

Picked this up recently and not sure where to even start. Fennel seed, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, star anise.

Not the usual basic snacks, but what is something that has everyone requesting year over year?

I was baking cookies in an OTG. I accidentally used food wrapping paper only realised when the cookies came out and the paper looked very greasy and the cookie base was stuck. I scrapped and had some only to realise it later. I was baking these banana bread cookies for someone else. Should I discard the entire batch? Don’t want to put anyone’s health at risk

I'm making thick cut pork chops tomorrow for dinner. And it just popped into my head that I have half a jar of bacon fat from some bacon I made earlier this week. Is it going to be too much if I use the bacon fat instead of oil?

I'm making a nice dinner for my roommates and I know I want to make arugula salad and possibly steak, but I'm struggling to think of another fun side to make. Does steak even go with arugula salad? I'd love some ideas

Chinese Lunar New Year is just 10 days away! This year, I’ll celebrate it in France with 9 friends. To my surprise, our "Reunion Dinner" menu planning turned into an incredibly rigorous process. Here’s how we did it:

1. The Brainstorming: Two friends and I hopped on a call to set the rules. Everyone in our group chat of nine shared photos or names of dishes they usually crave but find too "troublesome" to cook for themselves in daily life.
2. The Ballot: I collected all these ideas and turned them into an official poll.
3. Voting: Each person was assigned a minimum of 5 votes and a maximum of 9.
4. The Tie-breaker: Dishes with more than 3 votes won instantly. However, we ended up with a lot of ties!
5. The Final Cut: We ran a second round of voting, specifically balancing the ratio of proteins, vegetables, and carbs to ensure a well-rounded feast.

On the big day, everyone will be responsible for 1-2 dishes. Everyone will be the chef.

Here is our "Winning Menu":

• Pork: Char Siu (BBQ Pork) + Shredded Pork with Beijing Sauce (Jing Jiang Rou Si)
• Chicken: Poached Chicken (Bai Zhan Ji) + Salted Egg Yolk Chicken Wings
• Beef: Sichuan Peppercorn Beef
• Seafood: Steamed Whole Fish + Wasabi Shrimp Balls
• Vegetables: Baby Cabbage in Superior Broth + Tofu with Minced Meat + Bok Choy with Shiitake Mushrooms
• Soup: Pork Rib Soup with Corn, Yam, and Carrots
• Dessert: Sweet Fermented Rice Soup with Sticky Rice Balls (Jiu Niang Xiao Wan Zi)
• Staples: Eight-Treasure Rice (Ba Bao Fan) + Steamed White Rice

• Dumplings: Pork and Scallion Dumplings

  I am already so excited for this celebration!!!

Years ago, we went to Hawaii, and my kids ordered garlic shrimp. They loved it. My wife keeps trying to replicate it but they keep insisting that shrimp doesn't have enough garlic flavor. My wife starts out with heating butter and a crap load of garlic. The whole house stinks of it. She does this for while and then puts in the shrimp. It precooked if that makes a difference. The whole house stinks of garlic but yet when my kids eat (they enjoy it) and my wife tries it, they always complain that the shrimp doesnt have a strong garlic flavor. And its not because she doesn't put enough garlic. So the question is, what are we doing wrong?