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Enjoying food is one thing, but actually being able to cook it is a pretty essential skill in its own right. We all need food to survive, for starters. And on top of that, the better we eat, the better we tend to feel overall. 

Knowing your way around the kitchen means you can put together something nourishing without relying on takeout or whatever random thing is in the freezer. That kind of habit pays off every single day.

Most people actually think they can hold their own when it comes to cooking. A YouGov survey in the UK found that one in nine (11%) claim to be “very” good at it, while 47% say they are “fairly” good. 

On the other end, only 12% admit to being poor chefs, and just 3% of them go as far as calling themselves “very” bad. Unsurprisingly, the younger someone is, the worse they tend to rate their own skills.

Of course, surveys like these are self-reported and pretty subjective, so they should be taken with a grain of salt. Just because someone thinks they’re great in the kitchen doesn’t mean the results actually taste good.

And judging by some of the posts in this list, plenty of people have a questionable idea of what even counts as a meal in the first place.For example, using pasta water to brew your coffee really does not sound appealing. And yet someone out there genuinely tried it. Why, we may never know.

Still, even if we’re not out here making bold culinary experiments, most of us could stand to learn a few things about improving our skills. Luckily, some professionals have shared their tips online for anyone who wants to level up.

Say you want to try a new recipe, whether it’s to shake things up at home or to impress someone. There’s actually more to it than just reading the instructions and following them word for word.

Sohla El-Waylly, a food writer who develops recipes and hosts videos for NYT Cooking, suggests looking for cues in the recipe instead of relying strictly on the times listed.

“Think of cook times as a guide, and, instead, use all of your senses while cooking, paying close attention to the visual, auditory and olfactory cues written into the recipe,” she says.

“Are the onions meant to be just translucent or deeply browned? Should the stew be simmering gently or boiling vigorously? Following these indicators will lead you to a tastier result than any timer.”

If you want to be more flexible with the ingredients themselves, El-Waylly says you need to think a little more strategically. With baking, for example, precision really matters, so swapping things around usually doesn’t work out well.

Savory cooking is a lot more forgiving. You can often substitute ingredients that cook similarly, like tender herbs (cilantro, parsley, dill) or root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, turnips) that can easily step in for one another.

Another tip sounds obvious, but a lot of beginners still forget to do it. Taste your food as you go. Not just once at the end, but throughout the entire cooking process.

Chef George Duran, in an article for Business Insider, explains that tasting along the way helps you avoid mistakes you can’t undo later. Once the food is fully cooked, making adjustments becomes a lot harder.

“For example, if I realize a soup or pasta sauce lacks seasoning once it’s done, adding more salt might help, but the flavor might taste flat since the seasoning didn’t fully cook in the dish,” says Duran.

“I usually taste my dishes at every step that alters the flavor—after seasoning, reducing, adding acid, or combining the ingredients—to maintain control over the final result.”

One more thing Duran wants people to remember is to keep their knives properly sharpened. It might seem like a small detail, or the kind of thing you can put off for another day. In reality, though, it’s one of the main tools in your kitchen and it genuinely affects the quality of everything you make.

“A dull knife does a cook no favors. It crushes herbs instead of slicing them, tears through proteins, and makes even simple prep feel like a chore. It can also be dangerous, as it requires more force and can easily lead to a loss of control,” says Duran.

So whenever you can, invest in a decent knife sharpener. Such a small change really transforms the whole experience.

At the end of the day, the most important thing is to actually enjoy the process. Some dishes will turn out way better in your head than they do on the plate, and a few might even end up on a list like this one. 

That’s just part of learning, though. You might not nail it this time, but there’s always the next meal to get it right.