Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Share The Pantry Items That Show Someone Is A Terrible Cook

You can deduce plenty about people just from the things they have in their home.

Not that I rummage through people's homes... much. But there are certain items that are present or missing that let you know there may be trouble in some areas of a person's life.


For instance... all writers have pens. It's a thing. And a computer. And they have books, because they read and research.

If they're missing more than one of these items, it's a poser.

Redditor Tarrabyte__ wanted to send up the red flags we should be on the lookout for when rummaging in kitchens. There are just somethings only a bad cook would have.

They asked:

"What food in someone's cabinet screams, 'I'm bad at cooking?'"

There are basics to every field and desire.

You have to have the basics or not have what doesn't belong.

Poisons

"I’ve seen someone store their bleach, dish soap, and bath soap right beside the potatoes." ~ jcn143

Giphy

Dr. NOOOO

"My mom has had a can of Dr.Pepper flavored beans in the cabinet for about 6 months so I’d have to go with that." ~ mini-maggit

"I bought those once more as a novelty. They weren't good. It's like the sauce is supposed to be made with Dr Pepper. But they just tasted bad. So be glad she left them in the cabinet and didn't serve them to you." ~ Acrobatic_Succotash

"You might be surprised how many BBQ recipes call for some kind of dark soda in the sauce/marinade. Dr Pepper, Cola, Root beer; I've seen everything from beans to pulled pork call for one of those." SocratesBalls

"oh it's still good"

"My parents have spices in the cabinet from before they were married. They just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last week. It's a known fact amongst my kids, you don't eat anything in grandmas house without checking an expiration date."

"We've also started a new game of trying to find the oldest expiration date we can. The refrigerator has stuff from the year I graduated high school in 1999. Ice cream toppings and things like that. The response from my mom and dad is always 'oh it's still good.'" ~ oaksso7880

Bad Flavors

"To balance out the 'lack of seasonings.' Only massive amounts of garlic and onion powder. I met someone who insists you'd be a fool to not pack every recipe with these, to the point where everything has this weird, overpowering fake taste." ~ Doobledorf

"They’re easy to lean on because they smell good as is. It takes a little experience and experimentation to learn how to unlock the other flavors through combinations and actually cooking the herbs. Like I could just huff a bag of onion powder all day that stuff is amazing!" ~ Abrahamlinkenssphere

Get Wood

"A glass cutting board. only people who have no clue what they’re doing in the kitchen would use one." ~ kittenswithtattoos

Giphy

Storage is key.

You don't store chemicals with food.

Choose to live.

What's Missing?

"I think it's more about what's not there. If you don't own a cutting board, you probably can't cook. I'm surprised at how snobby some of these comments are. I'm a great cook, but eat instant/shortcut convenience foods all the time. My time and energy are finite resources, sometimes those convenience items are a lifesaver!" ~ strikingsapphire

Giphy

Cut it Up

"The lack of a larger, sharp, knife. If all you have are paring knives, I will assume you don’t cook much." ~ Bananaman612

"Whatever size they are, if all your knives are dull, you either don’t cook much or have some kind of weird fetish for frustrating yourself. Lots of people can’t afford fancy knives, but most can afford a sharpener and a few seconds every now and then to give them a quick run through." ~ Fortherealtalk

What's Lacking

"It's more the lack of salt in the cabinet. My family doesn't believe in seasoning food and they don't think it is possible to overcook something. I have heard my mom complain about how pepper is too spicy. They're like the stereotype of white people." ~ Either_Road_5538

"Sounds like my friend when we were growing up his mom cooked chicken by boiling it and don't season it at all. Dude way blown away when I cooked him and myself chicken with a homemade pan sauce one time, that's when he told me about his childhood of bland boiled chicken." ~ subaru_natsuki337

Reasons for Seasons

"I see a lot of people here ragging on instant food but damn I work full time. Sometimes I make Butter Chicken from scratch and other times I make hamburger helper for dinner. I consider myself a good cook but I’m also a person who gets tired. Just because you have lazy meals ready to go does not make you a bad cook." ~ TheCylonsAreHere

History

"None. Check their DoorDash history." ~ Lucky-Refrigerator-4

Giphy

I think I may be a bad cook.

That's ok, I have DoorDash.

And I'm temperamental with spices so take that as you will.


Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Nicki Minaj and Donald Trump
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Trump's 'Gold' Gift To Nicki Minaj Certainly Seems To Explain Her Sudden Pivot To MAGA

Rapper Nicki Minaj made headlines this week for declaring herself President Donald Trump's "number one fan" as he launched his savings accounts for newborns—and now she's gotten a telling gift for her trouble.

Minaj appeared Wednesday at the Trump Accounts Summit in Washington, D.C., where she praised Trump’s rollout of investment accounts for U.S.-born babies.

Keep ReadingShow less
A man in a  suit with a red tie and a pocket square
selective focus photography of person holding black smartphone
Photo by Dane Deaner on Unsplash

People Break Down The Most Overrated 'Adult Goals' People Chase

As children, we begin to grow an image of how our life will turn out.

Usually involving a financially lucrative career, a good-looking spouse who adores us, and a magazine cover worthy house.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @kellymengg's TikTok video
@kellymengg/TikTok

Woman's Story About Plane Passenger Refusing To Lower Window Shade Sparks Heated Flight Etiquette Debate

Though arriving at a destination can be fun and exciting, traveling itself is often exhausting and annoying, especially when we're made to feel uncomfortable along the way.

TikToker Kelly Meng launched a heated debate on TikTok after she shared a story about taking a 15-hour flight next to a woman who refused to do anything but what she wanted with the window shade next to her.

Keep ReadingShow less
Zohran Mamdani
Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

'New York Post' Dragged After Bizarrely Criticizing Zohran Mamdani's 'Poor Snow Shoveling Form'

The first major winter storm of 2026, which at one point spanned over 2,000 miles, dumped record levels of snow on New York City.

Central Park reported a record 11.4 inches for the day and the most snow since 2022. In Manhattan, Washington Heights almost hit 15 inches, while Brooklyn saw widespread totals of 10 to 12 inches.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ben Affleck Confesses Why He And Matt Damon Added Random Gay Sex Scenes To 'Good Will Hunting' Script
Arturo Holmes/WireImage via Getty Images

Ben Affleck Confesses Why He And Matt Damon Added Random Gay Sex Scenes To 'Good Will Hunting' Script

Who knew the iconic line “How do you like them apples?” might be spiritually adjacent to a stack of random gay sex scenes that never made it into Good Will Hunting? At least, that’s how its writers—Boston buddies Ben Affleck and Matt Damon—have described one of their more chaotic attempts to figure out who was actually reading their script.

For anyone somehow unfamiliar with the Oscar-winning Affleck-Damon bromance: the two met as kids in Cambridge, Massachusetts—Affleck was 8, Damon was 10—and grew up a block and a half apart. They bonded over acting, moved in together after high school, and started grinding through auditions.

Keep ReadingShow less