People Reveal Their "Dirty Kitchen Secrets" They Never Told Anyone Before

"Sometimes I just wipe out my non-stick pan with paper towel and put it back in the cupboard rather than washing it."

Ayoub

• Published in Interesting
• September 7, 2022

No one is immune from skeletons in the closet, gloomy or not, secrets that are better kept hidden from others. Sometimes these are just a few minor facts that may cast a shadow over a person's reputation.

In the end, we are all human, and making mistakes is part of our nature, but despite that, we still try to be better. Especially when it comes to cooking, it's something that many people take seriously and try to follow instructions as closely as possible to get the taste right.

Cooking is a long and draining process, so people come up with tricks to make their lives easier as long as no one is looking of course. It's pretty common for people to claim store-bought sauces as their own and come up with a whole background story of how it's a family recipe they inherited.

A Redditor who goes by the username u/ritawilsonphillips made a post on the r/Cooking subReddit where they asked the community the following question: "What’s your dirty secret?" The user started with a confession of her own by admitting that she accidentally dumped out a bottle of her husband’s nice balsamic vinegar while reorganizing the kitchen because she thought it was old clutter.

1. "When I cook for other people, I’ll sterilize everything and buy most ingredients day of."

When I cook for myself, I’ll pick things up off of the floor and use any ingredient that passes the smell test.

-TheMeanGirl

2. "As my family grows up and their various tastes/trends change I find it virtually impossible to please everyone or really anyone"

...so I've basically lost my entire passion for cooking which used to be huge and now it's a freaking chore and they've choked one of my remaining pleasures right out of my life. I resent every bite that I cook. I've lost my mojo"

-sal139

3. "I ordered 250$ worth of Belgium chocolate online and after it arrived, I hid the box from my kids."

-bad_russian_girl

4. "My popular spinach dip recipe is just a specific store-brand deli item that I add things to (like sour cream, seasoning, etc)."

Why don't I make it myself? No idea, this just seems easier.

Why don't I tell anyone? The pleasure of knowing I'm full of lies.

-Jemma6

5. "On grilled cheese sandwich night:"

Wife's grandma: Make the tomato soup with water, not milk!

Me: *Makes it with milk*

Wife's Grandma: This is how I like it. I hate it with milk.

-Tralan

6. "I was inspired by Caramel week on the Great British Bake Off and made a batch of caramel sauce."

It was so good I did shots with it until I drank half the batch.

-MinervaZee

7. "Had a friend ask me to bring deviled eggs to a party but use non-fat yogurt instead of mayo because they hate mayo."

I used mayo and didn't tell them. They loved the deviled eggs.

-girardinl

8. "I took up sourdough baking and serious home chef cooking prior the pandemic."

I was home during throat cancer treatment (I'm fine now!) so I had time on my hands and my sleep schedule was wonky and I found that there was always something on Food Network to watch.

But the radiation killed my taste buds and I can't swallow food.

I've baked hundreds of sourdough loaves, countless baked goods, hundreds of meals from simple to complex.

Haven't. tasted. a. single. bite.

People rave over my new found skills.

Lol.

-Displaced_in_Space

9. "I use jarred tomato sauce."

Ain't nobody got time to f**k with a bunch of tomatoes.

-anon

10. "I throw away my bones and used store bought broth or Better than Bouillon."

-Blarfendoofer

11. "The snickerdoodle cookies that everyone loves and asks for every Christmas are just Pillsbury slice and bake sugar cookies."

I roll em in a ball, coat them in cinnamon and sugar and call it a day.

-Unchanging_window

12. "Sometimes I just wipe out my non-stick pan with paper towel and put it back in the cupboard rather than washing it."

-beanofreen

13. "Nutmeg. My wife thinks she hates it."

I put it in certain recipes to send them over the edge. She likes to cook, too, and hasn't been able to replicate those particular recipes, which she loves . It doesn't take much to enhance the nuttiness, or compliment the sweetness, or add a layer to the spiciness of certain dishes. For starters, try it in your quiche - nutmeg plays so well with gruyere and Swiss cheese!

-bshef

14. "My Asian wing sauce is equal parts sambal Olek and honey. Cut it with soy sauce."

I told everyone that it’s “a process”

It’s literally the easiest thing I make.

-usernamesarehard1979

15. "I eat a fancy lunch at the fancy grocery store when I go shopping there. I purposely go solo so I don’t have to share my luxe meal with anyone."

-janbrunt

16. "On most days I just resort to using Jarlic instead of fresh garlic."

-palmacosta1

17. "This is a long one, the long con if you will."

Last year my girlfriend and I hosted Thanksgiving. Her family being from the Maritimes insisted that the stuffing be homemade, since their stuffing was always homemade. We reluctantly agreed.

We used Stovetop stuffing (the boxed stuff) and come dinner time, we got compliments, naturally. Her sister said "this tastes like stovetop" ... pause... "thank you!" I replied.

Her mother passed away a few months ago, and while we were saying our private goodbyes to her, while she was in a medically induced coma, we admitted that the stuffing was in fact the boxed stuff.

Nobody knows but her, and I love it.

-Crocubots

18. "No one knows I use Knorr Beef Stock Pot in many of my sauces and stews. Those pots are literally flavor bombs"

-RandomAsianGuy

19. "I only wash my vegetables/fruit if someone else is watching me cook (of if they’re visibly dirty obviously)."

I just can’t be arsed and I figured if pesticides/production contamination are what kills me, I was meant to eat fast and die young

-Zowiezrr

20. "For the holidays I make cranberry sugar cookies for my grandma (her recipe), last year I completely forgot to mix the cranberry into the dough and she didn't notice."

She blamed her lack of taste for the holiday weather and I let her, she kept lamenting on how she knows I'm so good at cooking and yada yada. Oh well, try again to remember to mix it in this year!

Also throw out stuff from my parents pantry that's old or that they'll never eat (looking at you canned creamed spinach) but I move boxes and cans forward to it looks like their shelves are full so they won't buy more stuff.

-lilmidjumper

21. "I chop storebought creamy caesar dressing in with the meat when I make a Philly cheesesteak."

No one has ever guessed it, and everyone is blown away at how awesome they taste.

-occidental_oriental

We all have our dirty kitchen secrets, some are worse than others, but we all try to cut corners whenever we can. As long as it works and doesn't put anyone at risk, it is okay.

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Ayoub