6 Misconceptions About Cooking

Home cooks have certain rules they swear by when it comes to cooking pasta: Add olive oil to the cooking water to keep the noodles from sticking, salt it until it tastes like the sea, and never break dried pasta unless you want to give your Italian Nonna a heart attack. But professional chefs will tell you to ignore that first one.

Does searing a steak really lock in its juices? Will your cast-iron pan be unusable if you wash it with dish soap? And what pasta water practices do you actually need to follow?

In this episode of Misconceptions, host Justin Dodd breaks down some common myths about cooking, from the terrifying ordeal of cleaning a cast iron skillet to whether or not microwaves are as harmful as people say.

Just remember, when you’re in the kitchen, don't believe everything you hear—even if your mom swears by it. Preheat the oven, grab your mixing bowl, and subscribe to Mental Floss on YouTube for new videos every week.

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