Common Cooking Myths Debunked: Screaming Lobsters And More

Cooking can be a little tricky. You have to deal with sharp knives and onions that make you cry. There's also the fear of getting sick from bacteria in raw meat. But the worst part is that while we're cooking in the kitchen, making our way through all these culinary obstacles, we're not equipped with all the proper facts.

There are a handful of kitchen "truths" that many home cooks (and some professional ones) swear by which are just straight up not true. And we're willing to bet that you believe at least half of them. (Don't worry, most of our editors did too.) Click through the slideshow below, and get to the truth in your kitchen.

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Comments

[LunaNik]

08:10 PM on 06/16/2012

Look out...here come the rabid vegans again.

[Wake Up Call]

02:21 AM on 06/16/2012

Mushrooms vary greatly in how porous they are. The information here only applies to the common supermarket mushroom. Many other mushrooms, such as morels, are completely destroyed if you wash them first. They turn into a pile of goo if you cook them after they got wet.

[Bubbawubba Gump2]

12:29 PM on 06/19/2012

cook morels often, wash them always , no problem. stop soaking them.

[plantbasedpunk]

04:43 PM on 06/15/2012

"...the sound sometimes heard when the lobster hits boiling water is air "coming out of its stomach through its mouth parts.;"

And this is supposed to be better than screaming? That sounds awful. Boiling lobsters alive is not humane. If you're going to eat lobster, you should freeze it first or stab it between the eyes with a knife to stop brain activity. Just dropping an animal into a boiling pot, covering the lid and walking out is a cheap cop out.

[mondotomhead]

01:10 PM on 06/18/2012

I thought that quote was pretty awful too. It seemed just as bad to me.

[metamarble]

09:37 AM on 09/10/2012

In other words, a scream.
Jeez that was terrible.

[fitley]

04:35 PM on 06/15/2012

Flipping a hamburger every 15 seconds sounds like the perfect activity for a chef with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but for normal competent chefs flipping twice will suffice.

[joebobjones]

01:05 AM on 06/17/2012

Haw! That is exactly what I was thinking...

[markreps]

12:55 PM on 06/15/2012

A friend from Waterville Maine told me to put the lobsters in the pot of boiling water, put the cover on the pot and then a Brick on the lid. Obviously to prevent the screaming lobsters from getting out .
Eden Prairie Minnesota.

[magicrain1111]

05:13 AM on 06/15/2012

Whats wrong with the old fashioned way of killing it before you put it in boiling water.

[kareemachan]

02:57 PM on 06/15/2012

People are squeamish.

[plantbasedpunk]

04:44 PM on 06/15/2012

If they can't kill the animal themselves, then they shouldn't be eating them.

[pegreads]

08:01 PM on 06/14/2012

You forgot the myth of the magical potato removing excess salt from your soup too. Sorry, but to make that really practical only if you add enough potatoes and potato surface to do that because it only soaks in so far down and then remove all the potato from your soup.

[msperry1123]

05:02 PM on 06/14/2012

Almost all pasta cooking directions say to add a bit of oil to prevent sticking. The companies that make pasta don't know how to cook it?

Also - I've been unfortunate enough to be around when lobsters are boiled alive and it sure sounds like screaming to me.

[Sortaskibum]

04:59 PM on 06/14/2012

"Adding oil to a pot of boiling pasta doesn't stop it from sticking. "

I can absolutely, positively say from years of personal experience that this statement is incorrect.

[Wake Up Call]

02:19 AM on 06/16/2012

Oil is added to pasta water as an anti-foaming agent. Otherwise pasta has a tendency to foam over the top and splatter on the stove if the pan is anywhere near filled with water.

[Pharcee]

04:50 PM on 06/14/2012

You got the avocado one wrong. I've tested it in guacamole. Without, it browns fast, with, not so fast.

[ModerateCentrist]

04:40 PM on 06/14/2012

"Lobsters Scream In Pain When Boiled"

No, that's not it - I never thought lobsters had vocal cords anyway..........

It's about BOILING A LIVING CREATURE ALIVE!!!!!!

[angelfish81]

07:46 PM on 06/14/2012

the fact they even rationalize it by saying they don't scream is crazy. vocal cords have nothing to do with pain perception

[Indrid Cold]

08:19 PM on 06/14/2012

It knew the risks . . . .

[plantbasedpunk]

04:45 PM on 06/15/2012

And Michael Vick's dogs knew the risks when they chose to be dogs.

[danny saunders]

04:26 PM on 06/14/2012

the sound sometimes heard when the lobster hits boiling water is air "coming out of its stomach through its mouth parts."

Hmm... sounds like a scream to me.

[smeeeee]

04:43 PM on 06/14/2012

I thought that.

[danny saunders]

09:57 PM on 06/14/2012

I don't do lobster and never have but gee, why would anyone throw a living thing into boiling water just because they think it's a delicacy? That's just too cruel.

[jwald1]

04:22 PM on 06/14/2012

I am a big believer in Alton Brown and he says do not cook (dry)beans with salt and even gave the chemical reasons why.

[Patient Zero]

04:18 PM on 06/14/2012

OH, it's just air coming out its stomach and through its mouth parts. That's much better and very reassuring.

[averagezoe]

04:10 PM on 06/14/2012

I have never eaten lobster and I never will. I don't go to any restaurants where lobster is served. The mere thought of boiling anything alive is stomach turning.

[exxman]

04:35 PM on 06/14/2012

So then you don't eat clams or crab either? Both are also cooked live.

[averagezoe]

05:45 PM on 06/14/2012

I've never consumed a clam, mussel, oyster, crab or anything remotely like it. Aside from the brutality of cooking these creatures, I hate the taste, so that makes it easy to abstain.

[FSMbaby]

05:02 PM on 06/14/2012

It's sooooo delicious though.