Most of us learned to cook by copying someone else: a parent, a telly chef, a friend with strong opinions. That is how good habits get passed down, and also how a few stubborn myths hang on for decades.
Here are eight kitchen beliefs that food scientists and food safety bodies have long since set straight, counted down from the one fewest people still fall for to the one most people still believe. The number one myth is also the one most worth dropping, because it affects your health and not just your dinner.
8. Reheated rice is what makes you ill
Reheating rice has a scary reputation, but the reheating is not really the problem. Uncooked rice can contain bacterial spores that survive cooking. If cooked rice sits at room temperature, they can grow, and some bacteria produce toxins that reheating will not destroy.
The fix is in how you handle it. Cool rice quickly, ideally within an hour, and get it into the fridge. Keep it covered, eat it within a day, and reheat it only once.
Make sure it is steaming hot all the way through before serving. Never leave it standing on the hob or worktop.
Pro tip: Spread leftover rice on a shallow tray so it cools fast, then box it up and refrigerate.
7. The five-second rule keeps dropped food safe
The idea that food is fine if you grab it within a few seconds is comforting, but bacteria do not keep to a timetable. Transfer from a surface to food can begin the instant they touch.
How much transfers depends on things like how damp the food is and what the surface is like, so a dry cracker is a different proposition from a slice of melon. A floor that looks clean can still carry germs.
For most healthy adults, the odds of getting ill from a quick drop may be low. But it is worth being more careful when cooking for babies, older people, pregnant women or anyone with a weakened immune system.
Pro tip: If food has landed on a dirty floor or touched raw meat juices, bin it. Only dropped food you would be happy to wash is worth rescuing.
6. Salt makes water boil faster
Many recipes imply that salting the pan speeds things along. It does not. Dissolved salt slightly raises the boiling point of water, so if anything it nudges the other way. At the amount you would put in a pan of pasta or potatoes, the difference is far too small to notice.
The real reason to salt the water is flavour. Pasta, potatoes and vegetables absorb a little seasoning as they cook, and that tastes better than salting only at the end.
So add salt for taste, not for speed. If you want a quicker boil, use a lid and less water.
Pro tip: Put the lid on while the water comes up to the boil, then take it off or set it ajar once the food goes in.
5. Microwaves cook food from the inside out
It is a tidy explanation for the lava-hot edge and icy middle of a reheated lasagne, but it is not how microwaves work. They heat the outer layer of food, reaching only a limited depth. The heat then spreads inwards by conduction, much as in a conventional oven.
That is why large, dense or uneven foods heat patchily. The middle can lag well behind the outside, especially if the food was frozen or thick.
Understanding this makes microwaving easier to get right, and safer when you are reheating leftovers.
Pro tip: Stir or turn food partway through and let it stand for a minute or two, so the heat can even out before you tuck in.
4. The alcohol always cooks off
A splash of wine in a casserole or rum in a sauce is often described as harmless because the alcohol burns away. In reality, how much remains depends on the cooking time, the method, the heat and the size of the dish.
Long, gentle simmering reduces alcohol more than a quick flash in the pan, and flaming a dish does not remove it all. Some will usually be left, especially in dishes that are only briefly heated or are not cooked at all.
This matters if you are cooking for someone who avoids alcohol entirely, for religious, health or personal reasons.
Pro tip: When in doubt, swap in stock, juice or an alcohol-free alternative for the guest who needs to avoid it.
3. Oil in the pasta water stops sticking
Oil is lighter than water, so it floats on top of the pot and barely touches the pasta while it cooks. Most of it goes down the sink with the water.
If some does cling to the pasta as you drain it, it can leave the strands slippery, so your sauce slides off instead of coating them. That is the opposite of what you want.
What actually prevents sticking is plenty of water, a good rolling boil and a stir in the first minute or two, when the pasta is at its stickiest.
Pro tip: Save a mugful of starchy pasta water before draining. A splash helps a sauce cling to the pasta.
2. Searing meat seals in the juices
It sounds logical: blast the outside with heat and you form a waterproof crust. But a seared surface is not watertight, and you can hear the proof in the sizzle. That is moisture escaping as steam.
Searing is still worth doing, just for a different reason. The browning produces deep, savoury flavour and a good crust, and that is what makes a steak taste like a steak.
Juiciness depends far more on not overcooking the meat and on letting it rest afterwards, so the juices settle instead of running out onto the board.
Pro tip: Rest steaks and roasts somewhere warm for a few minutes after cooking, and use a thermometer to avoid overshooting.
1. You should wash raw chicken before cooking it
Plenty of people rinse chicken under the tap as a matter of habit, believing it cleans the meat. Food safety bodies, including the UK’s Food Standards Agency, advise against it. Washing does not remove bacteria such as campylobacter in any reliable way, and the splashing can spread them onto taps, worktops, cloths and nearby food.
Thorough cooking is what makes chicken safe, because heat kills those bacteria. Cook it until it is steaming hot all the way through, with no pink meat and clear juices.
Pro tip: Pat chicken dry with kitchen paper, bin the paper, then wash your hands, board and knife with hot soapy water straight away.
Which of these did you believe until now, and which kitchen myth did we miss? Tell us your own pick in the comments, and share this with the person who still rinses their chicken.
