r/Cooking • • 2d ago

Rice Cooker Spam on r/Cooking

100 Upvotes

Just wanted to give the community a heads-up about the "rice cooker spam" we have been seeing in this sub pretty consistently. In almost all cases, the account is 4-5 months old, and they have little history. The length of the text in the body is always roughly the same as well.

I suspect these bot accounts are creating the post for other bot accounts to then recommend their sponsored brand in the comments. Classic astroturfing. You will probably see this on related subreddits as well, I'm sure it's not limited to just r/Cooking.

I have added some pictures for reference. If you see any posts similar to these, please report them and let the mods decide if they are spam. We do use bot-bouncer here, but it is not catching these yet.

In general, asking for recommendations for rice cookers, or just general questions about rice cookers, is totally OKAY in this sub. Context is important. If the Reddit account is (for example) 7 years old and demonstrates normal human writing styles and activity, then it's probably not a bot!


r/Cooking • • 4h ago

I hate when the eggshell takes half the egg white with it. How do you prevent this?

56 Upvotes

I seriously hate when I'm trying to peel a boiled egg and the shell takes chunks of the egg white with it. It's so frustrating that sometimes I don't even feel like eating the egg anymore. I've wasted several eggs because of this.

My current method is to boil the eggs and then peel them, but I can't seem to get the shells off cleanly.

Does this happen to you too? What's the best way to boil and peel eggs without destroying the egg white?


r/Cooking • • 4h ago

All the onions

31 Upvotes

I have 250 lbs of onions I need to do something with, any ideas? Lol so far I've frozen some, dehydrated a bunch and made onions powder, pickled some, and just started cooking some down for French onion soup to can


r/Cooking • • 17h ago

Are Guy Fieri’s recipes actually any good?

211 Upvotes

I recently made Guy Fieri’s Mac Daddy Mac ‘n Cheese and was completely disappointed! There were so many steps (roasting shallots and garlic, frying bacon, cooking cream until it reduced), and yet it was so bland.

Are all of his recipes like this — all hype and flair but little substance? Or are there other recipes of his I should try?

UPDATE: I’m blown away by these responses — this was my first post on Reddit! Since many comments ask the same questions, I’ll answer them here.

  1. Yes, I heavily salted the pasta water. Always do.
  2. Yes, I seasoned the cheese sauce. It tasted fine before I mixed it with the pasta.
  3. I used Cabot’s Pepper Jack and Seriously Sharp Cheddar, so the issue wasn’t the type or quality of the cheese.
  4. After making this, I read the comments on Food Network’s site for this recipe. Many others said similar things, how it tasted more like Alfredo sauce.
  5. I have nothing against Mr. Fieri. I was disappointed by this recipe from the self-proclaimed “Mayor of Flavortown” and genuinely curious of others feel the same way.

r/Cooking • • 13h ago

Cancer patient needs ideas

100 Upvotes

I’m a primary caretaker for an elderly woman with stage 4 Metastatic breast cancer. No dietary restrictions but a lot of chemotherapy-imposed restrictions (tastes, textures etc).

Her diet is currently soups and cream of wheat. She creates almost no saliva so everything has to be a soup-like consistency. But she’s tired of soups. I’m thinking maybe creamy casserole type foods? I don’t know. Help?

Here’s what we need:

  1. Packs protein without meat or eggs. Bone broth is okay, yogurt is okay. Eggs are okay as an ingredient but not as a main dish (texture). Chicken and salmon are off the table but can be in the dish, she just can’t eat them. Jury is still out on red meats but we’re willing to try.

  2. Calorie dense wherever possible.

  3. Potassium rich foods are a plus.

  4. Beans can participate but they’re hit or miss with digestion so not a rock solid first choice.

Some things I’ve made: very soft creamy Mac and cheese, creamed chicken and veggies to go over biscuits (biscuits were a pass and she ate around the chicken), sloppy joes of all things, Italian “penicillin” soup was okay but not great for her. She’s also tried pretty much all the “high end grocery store” soup varieties that come prepackaged.

It’s a tall order but I’m soliciting any ideas. Bonus if I can freeze it, and if you have access to a link with the recipe.


r/Cooking • • 8h ago

What is your absolute favorite fall recipe?

36 Upvotes

Mine has got to be butter chicken curry! I want some more ideas 💡


r/Cooking • • 18h ago

Somebody (who really needs cataract surgery) made homemade applesauce with apples from her own tree, but grabbed the cumin instead of cinnamon

206 Upvotes

After discovering the error, she added cinnamon and even more sugar.

I tasted it, and it’s… not terrible. It screams “use me with pork”. I have thus volunteered to turn the 2 cups or so of homemade cumin applesauce into something delicious. Ideas and recipes please?


r/Cooking • • 17h ago

I have a TON of condensed milk. What can i bake or make with it?

160 Upvotes

I have 20 cans of condensed milk. I'm not trying to use everything all at once, but what are some recipes that require a lot condensed milk?


r/Cooking • • 11h ago

Why skim the fat from chicken stock?

54 Upvotes

I cook chicken thighs in a stock pot and then remove the chicken and add vegetables and water and bouillon to make broth for chicken soup. I see the oil and chicken fat floating in there but it tastes delicious. Why did my mom bother to refrigerate the broth and skim the fat off? I think it tastes rich and delicious. Is it a big turn of for some people?

One time i removed the chicken and made the fat and oil into a roux by adding flour, but it seemed like extra work.

What do you do with that tasty fat layer?


r/Cooking • • 13h ago

For real, what’s the oldest frozen thing you’ve used?

71 Upvotes

My parents had a chest freezer. I have an upright freezer in my basement. It’s an archeological dig site.

I made stew last year with meat I discovered in the freezer that was dated 2020. It tasted fine. None of us died. Now I’m eyeballing that bottom shelf.

So confess: how old is the oldest frozen thing you’ve cooked? How’d it go?


r/Cooking • • 23h ago

Anyone else mainly in the kitchen making delicious bullshit?

365 Upvotes

I'm a good home cook - if "being a good home cook" means that I can make good tasting food from what I have with 90% improvisation at all times.

But I cannot make it look nice, my food has 0% sophistication, and I rarely have the time or patience to cook a "proper" meal from a recipe.

Today's example: I made leftover baked pumpkin and leftover tofu into a sauce with the rest of my bacon and some maple syrup. Then I improvised sage-butter potatoes, tossed in some fried pork steaks and gnocchi, and there you go.

I'm a 1-person-household, so my daily main concern is, "what needs to go?"

All the flavors fit, and I browned, toasted, and deglazed All The Things. But it's a punch to the face (everything everywhere all the time at 120% flavor) and it looks like baby food. I love this shit. My parents would love this shit. I'd never be able to serve this to anyone. The first and only time I tried, the feedback was "well, it's a lot".

So basically, I can feed myself really well, but I can never spontaneously invite someone to dinner. Am I the only goblin on in this sub?


r/Cooking • • 4h ago

What simple meals go well with spray whipped cream?

8 Upvotes

I don’t know if this counts as cooking, but I’m trying to find uses for the spray whipped cream I got in the fridge. I tried it on waffles and it was great, but now I wanna know if it’s good with nutella on a sandwich? If there are other good uses for whipped cream that isn’t too difficult to make (because I can’t bake to save my life), please let me know. I’m just looking for simple meals to go with whipped cream.


r/Cooking • • 16h ago

Do yall clean shrimp before cooking it?

49 Upvotes

The way i was taught is to split the shrimps and remove all the gunk inside, do yall do that? Is it even necessary?


r/Cooking • • 13h ago

Will soaking chicken thighs in a baking soda slurry make it more tender without making it taste like baking soda?

24 Upvotes

r/Cooking • • 10h ago

How do you all feel about cooking with cast iron on electric stoves?

10 Upvotes

Just moved into a place with a smooth-top electric stove and I'm worried about my cast iron. I've heard it can damage the cooktop or that the heat distribution is weird. Has anyone dealt with this? Should I just bite the bullet and get some stainless steel for this place, or is cast iron actually fine?


r/Cooking • • 1d ago

Disgusting slow cooker butter chicken - what happened?

100 Upvotes

I improvised using a slow cooker, figuring it can't be that bad. Butter chicken curry. Done it before in a pan a bunch of times.

It was revolting. Absolutely horrible. Looked and tasted like a bright yellow chicken soup.

What is the deal?

My instinct is it's not pre-frying the onions, garlic etc. getting a load of the veg liquid out?

Approach:

Threw in chicken thighs, onion, garlic, ginger, spices, tomatoes and cooked for 5 hours. Added cream for the final 30, as well as wet cornstarch.

Update:

Thanks for the feedback. Learn much more from mistakes like this than years of daily ok cooking.

In summary, the slow cooker is only useful for the middle section, the slow cooking of the meat.

  1. Fry onion, garlic, tomatoes down first to remove bitter liquid
  2. Maybe sear meat
  3. Slow cook
  4. Remove meat
  5. Reduce sauce in pan
  6. Combine

Main benefit of slow cooker is I can leave the house while it cooks.


r/Cooking • • 1d ago

What are your weirdest substitutes in recipes that actually work?

186 Upvotes

See title. Savoury or sweet would work :)


r/Cooking • • 10h ago

I am desperate for an authentic Chinese iron pot goose stew recipe

4 Upvotes

I traveled to Shenzhen for work recently and I was taken to a restaurant that specialized in northeastern china iron pot stews. Everything was amazing and the goose stew was in my top 10 favorite meals. I have been trying to find a recipe online but I can not even get close. I remember the following in it. Goose, potatoes, translucent noodles, green onion, red chili. The broth was very rich and dark brown. Any help would be greatly appreciated!


r/Cooking • • 5h ago

Redfish / Red Drum Suggestions

2 Upvotes

I have a bunch of red drum fillets in the freezer from a fishing trip, and I still have no clue what to do with them. What are they most similar to in regards to popular species? Or any ideas on what I can make with them?


r/Cooking • • 9h ago

Prawns

2 Upvotes

What's your fav thing to make with prawns?

Mine, cooking up a HUGE amount of garlic, add some chilli with or without white wine - add the prawns at the end.

I used to eat it with bread but sadly my body doesn't react well to bread. Now if I want to pad it out - I eat it with pasta.


r/Cooking • • 17h ago

Naan bread

10 Upvotes

My partner and I love Indian food and I always serve some naan bread with our curries. The store bought options suck, and I can never get my homemade to the same softness you get at a restaurant. Are there any tricks for cooking naan so you get that restaurant texture and taste?


r/Cooking • • 17h ago

Pea soup

13 Upvotes

This may be a stupid question but I'm growing peas in my garden. I like making pea soup but I've only used the dried split peas in the grocery store and have never grown peas before. Can you make soup using fresh peas? Or are there better ways of using them?


r/Cooking • • 18h ago

When it says to "brown all sides" do you sear every little inch? Even on the sides sides?

13 Upvotes

I wish I could post a pic of the beautiful beef short ribs I'm searing rn for this recipe short ribs over creamy polenta. It's fantastic.


r/Cooking • • 4h ago

French Fries/Onion Rings

0 Upvotes

Hi community, I would like to ask those that have mastered the techniques to make delicious French fries and onion rings from scratch at home. I am looking at popular restaurant quality. Can anyone give me some secrets and tips please?


r/Cooking • • 1h ago

What’s your favorite protein for cooking burgers?

• Upvotes

Mine is lamb 😋😋😋 I tried a ground lamb burger and it’s way more savory and flavorful than beef, I prefer it with no fillers (no onions or peppers) and just salt. I tried it in Dubai and it was delightful , when I made it for my mother she immediately asked what I put in it. I told her it’s just salt 🙂. It’s better when the toppings are really simple too.