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

Kelly Clarkson
Denise Truscello/Live Nation Las Vegas/Getty Images

Kelly Clarkson Reveals Horrific Comment Her Ex-Manager Once Made About Her Body—And Fans Are Livid

"Kids say the darnedest things" is a popular phrase for a reason, and while it might not have the same ring, maybe we need to change "kids" to "entertainment managers"?

While doing her Las Vegas residency, Kelly Clarkson mixed her most iconic songs with audience interactions and stories of things that have happened during her career.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mid-shot of a female doctor, wearing a stethoscope.
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

Medical Professionals Break Down Times Patients Accurately Self-Diagnosed With Google

Medical professionals often advise against Googling when we are feeling ill.

WebMD is the enemy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Virginia Foxx and Yassamin Ansari

GOP Rep. Melts Down After Dem Rep. Calls Out Republicans' '8 Weeks Of Taxpayer-Funded Vacation'

North Carolina Republican Representative Virginia Foxx was fuming after Arizona Democratic Representative Yassamin Ansari welcomed her back from the GOP's "vacation" after House Speaker Mike Johnson kept the House out of session for eight weeks.

Johnson adjourned the House after September 19, following the passage of a short-term spending bill to avert a government shutdown.

Keep ReadingShow less
La Toya Jackson
@latoyajackson/Instagram

Fans Concerned After La Toya Jackson Shares Cryptic Videos About Her Health At Doctor's Office

We may not all like the same things or be fans of the same celebrities, music, books, or films, but we all understand the anticipatory grief that comes with the fact that our favorite artists are human, just like us, meaning they will age and eventually create their last piece.

Fans of Dolly Parton, for instance, went through a scare last month when her sister shared a cryptic Facebook post about Dolly, only for the country singer to later have to post a video to reassure her fans that she "ain't dead yet" and was healthy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gordon Ramsay
Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images

Gordon Ramsay Sparks Debate With NSFW Take On Creating Menus For People Taking Weight Loss Injections

Chef Gordon Ramsay is famous for his outspoken, often acidic take on things arguably even more than he's famous for his food.

His tirades on his television shows Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares are renowned for having sparked their own memes and gifs years after they were actually on the air.

Keep ReadingShow less