Whether you're a professional chef or a complete novice in the kitchen, the cooking lessons you learned from your mom will always stick with you. You'll remember how she tests a cake and reserves cooking water, and you'll never forget the way she forms meatballs so lightly between her palms. You'll emulate her small touches and diehard rules whether you're intentionally doing so or not. Her words override everything, even if those words are, "Grab your coats. We're eating out!"
In honor of Mother's Day, we asked our readers and fellow editors to share the best cooking lessons they've learned from their moms. These wonderful words of wisdom prove what we've all known all along: mom's always right.
1. "Put salt on everything." -- Julie Thomson, Food Editor, The Huffington Post
2. "Clean as you go." -- Facebook user Judy Bequette
3. "Breakfast for dinner is awesome, even if it is a last resort." -- Alison Spiegel, Food & Travel Staff Writer, The Huffington Post
4. "Let all your senses participate in the cooking. Not just taste." -- Facebook user Tamanna Raisinghani
5. "Toast makes a great meal." -- Julie Thomson, Food Editor, The Huffington Post
Get the Grilled Garlic Toast recipe by Merrill Stubbs via Food52
6. "Waste not...want not." -- Facebook user Jan Langston Penticoff
7. "You do the cooking, and I'll do the dishes." -- My mom admitted that, after cooking meals for my family for 25-plus years, she hated every minute of it. Now I can finally start paying her back by making dinner for her whenever we're together. (And yes, I happily let her do the dishes.) -- Kristen Aiken, Executive Food Editor, The Huffington Post
8. "It's an art not a science! She never measured anything and it was delicious. I have no idea how to do that to this day!" -- Facebook user Jessica Dasen
9. "Garlic." -- Facebook User Kathy Thoroughly
10. "Cooking chicken in nothing but soy sauce is amazing." -- Julie Thomson, Food Editor, The Huffington Post
11. "Do not throw out the potato water." -- Facebook user Rae Baker
12. "You know you've got a good pot of grits when you see it 'pop up.' But don't get burned while stirring!" -- Dana Oliver, Executive Fashion and Beauty Editor, The Huffington Post
13. "Marry someone who cooks better than you!" -- Facebook user Maggie Ritchie
14. "Your flame is too high." -- Rebecca Shapiro, Senior Lifestyle Editor, The Huffington Post
15. "It wasn't what she taught me, it was the experience of spending time with her while baking cookies or licking the spoon after making fudge, or watching her make meatloaf in rehab after having an aneurism. Those lessons are far more important than any tip or recipe and treasured memories now that she is gone." -- Facebook user Paula Carlson
16. "You can always add but you can't take away!" -- Facebook user Janelle Eldridge
17. "Always know a good pizza restaurant around the corner..." -- Facebook user Shirin Behzad
18. "Lay all your ingredients out in separate bowls BEFORE you start cooking." -- Alison Spiegel, Food & Travel Staff Writer, The Huffington Post
19. "You must use a new spoon/knife/fork anytime you want to taste what you're cooking, even if you're just cooking for yourself." -- Rebecca Shapiro, Senior Lifestyle Editor, The Huffington Post
20. "Why cook when someone else can do it for you?" -- Caitlyn Becker, Host at HuffPost live
21. "Everyone has a place at your table." -- Facebook user Stacey Sanfilippo-Silbert
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