My first head chef told me to always sear scallops on a cold pan

He swore it gave a better crust and more control, so I did it his way for a full year at the bistro. I finally tried a screaming hot pan on a friend's advice during a slow Sunday shift. The difference was huge, I got a perfect golden crust in under 90 seconds instead of them steaming. I feel like I wasted a whole year on a bad method just because it came from a higher-up. What's a piece of kitchen advice you were given that you later found out was totally wrong?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendy82020d ago

Man that cold pan thing is wild, never heard that one. Got told to always cook pasta in a huge ocean of water, like a gallon per ounce. Turns out you can use way less and it's fine, just stir more. Felt pretty dumb boiling all that water for no reason for years.

leowells20d ago

Right? What about searing meat? I was always told the pan had to be smoking hot, like crazy hot. Then I tried it just hot, not insane, and got a way better crust without setting off every smoke alarm in the house. Felt like a whole cooking rule got made up just to watch people panic.

king.val19d ago

Ever notice how many rules are just about showing respect to the person who taught you? Like we follow bad advice not because it works, but because questioning it feels like a personal attack.