How to Cook Your Way out of These Common Kitchen Mistakes

When fruit is too far gone for even fruit salad, get out the blender to make smoothies. Sapunova Svetlana/Shutterstock

It happened again; I suffered a kitchen disaster. Boy, do I hate when that happens! This time, I ruined an entire pot of pasta because I got busy and wasn’t paying attention. By the time I realized it, the pasta had cooked beyond al dente, all the way to al mushe. I could barely make out the pasta shape!

It killed me to dump the whole thing and start over, but there was no way to undo that disaster—it was that far gone!

Thankfully, that’s not true for every cooking mistake. Here is a list you’re going to want to keep handy just in case.

Sticky Pasta

When the pasta is not totally mush but all stuck together as if by glue, drain and cool immediately. Then return the pasta to a sauté pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil and toss while reheating. That should take care of the stickiness, while no one is the wiser.

Too Much Salt

It’s a common cooking mistake. If you’ve added far too much salt to a sauce or soup and you have enough ingredients, double the recipe or make more by half. Then mix it in with the salty batch a bit at a time until you’ve reached your desired flavor. Another trick is to add a bit more unsalted water to the mix, provided this will not also dilute the flavor.

Don't toss your burnt toast until you've tried this neat trick. NikomMaelao Production/Shutterstock

Burnt Toast

Don’t toss it until you’ve tried this neat trick: Use your cheese grater to quickly scrape off the burned layer. Works like magic! Other options: Scrape off the worst, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and present as crostini or use for croutons.

Stale Rolls

Wet your fingers and generously flick some water on the rolls. Then wrap in foil and heat in a 250-degree-F oven for 10 minutes.

Undercooked Cake

The first sign of a cake that’s not done is that sinkhole in the middle. Once cooled, you can’t rebake it. But don’t worry; this is not a hopeless kitchen disaster. Break the cooled cake into pieces (even those parts that are undercooked) and layer them with whipped cream and fresh fruit to make dessert parfaits or one large trifle. Perfect!

Overcooked Vegetables

If you’ve overcooked broccoli, asparagus, or similar vegetables, don’t despair. Tweak your menu a bit to include creamed vegetable soup. Puree the vegetables in the blender, pour in a bit of heavy cream, check the seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. There! Cooking mistake averted.

Over-Charred Beef

You can totally spin this disaster by rubbing the beef with a mixture of garlic, ground black pepper, and chili powder, presenting it as “blackened.”

Or switch things up! Cut away the over-charred portions, then slice that charred beef for stir-fry, fajitas, or salad.

Burnt Pudding, Custard, Soup

Even the most seasoned chefs have been known to burn a custard or two. If you notice that the bottom layer of custard or cream-based soup has turned dark, stop stirring immediately. You don’t want to incorporate any of the burned bottom into the unburnt portions. Pour the remaining custard, pudding, or cream into a new pan, making sure you don’t scrape up any of the part that’s scorched at the bottom, then keep cooking.

Thin Sauces

There are several techniques you can try to thicken the sauce. Work some flour into small amounts of butter. Bring the sauce to boil and drop the flour-butter balls in one at a time while stirring, until the sauce is your desired thickness. Cornstarch is usually a good thickener, provided you have mixed it with cold water first. Add it to the boiling liquid a little at a time while stirring. Some cooks use dried potato flakes as an emergency thickener.

Limp Greens

Give those greens a lovely bath in a big bowl of very, very cold water and a few ice cubes. Let this sit for 10 minutes or so. Next, gently lift the greens out of the cold water, wrap them in a damp tea towel and stick them in the refrigerator. If they’re not completely over the hill, they crisp up nicely and look equally fresh and lovely.

Overripe Fruit

When it’s too far gone for even fruit salad, get out the blender to make smoothies. Prefer dessert? Add a little agave, sugar, or maple syrup for a great ice cream topping.