Go with Wood.

Please don't use hard cutting boards like glass. Go with plastic or wood. Melissa-Crown

Mom is mad. 

Don't leave anything on a hot stove, melted a whole plastic spatula. Mom is mad. dr302

Years ago, I had two housemates who, less than a week apart, both managed to melt Tupperware containers onto stove elements that THEY had just been using (so they both KNEW the element was hot), did half-fooled jobs of cleaning it off, and were then surprised I noticed.

I'd literally never known anyone do anything like that ever before, and it's never happened again since. I am still dumbfounded at how they managed to do it, especially the second one, because... Well, the first had just happen happened. nipaka

=/=

High heat =/= faster cook time you'll just burn the outside and inside will be raw. ReasonableBeep

I'm not sure I like this as general advice. I think people cooking with too little heat is a far more common problem than people really cranking up the temps. 454trltljrlj

Do Better. 

Don't do what my wife did and put hot bacon grease in Tupperware. Had to have a long conversation with her on that and why you don't put knives blade side up in the dishwasher after one went an inch into my finger. I love her. Krigsgaeldr

RISE!!!

Don't burn the food.

Also, dough has to rise where it's warm. ShinigamiLuvApples

Rules. 

• Not sharpening your damn knives
• Not storing your tools in a clean place. If you got it out of a dirty drawer and didn't wash it, guess what, it's dirty
• Overcooking pasta
• Undercooking rice
• Using cheap or substandard ingredients. If you cook something yourself, you have control over everything that goes in. So don't use something like a sad, tasteless tomato in a salad or chocolate chips that don't melt because they contain barely any real chocolate. Taman_Should

Fluff It. 

Stirring rice. When you're cooking rice on the stove and you bring the rice to a boil, just stick the lid on and turn the heat down the loan and don't touch it. Take it off the burner after 15 minutes and fluff it with the fork. If you stir it it'll make it sticky. OnlyPopcorn

Mamma Mia....

My mother doesn't time pasta she just tosses it in the water and "It's done when the sauce is done" which means whenever she happens to walk by and see the sauce is boiling. It never occurred to me until I moved out and started cooking for myself that her pasta is criminally over cooked.

She asked me why my pasta always tastes so much different than hers and I told her I cook it the amount of time the package says to. She had never thought to look on the package for cooking instructions, and I think that really explains why a lot of her meals turn out the way they do. Vixenstein

Dashed.

A "dash" of salt is NOT a "dish" of salt. esquemo

This is why so many recipes say season to taste. Obviously not possible for raw meat, but after a while you'll gain a pretty good sense of how much to use. PiesangSlagter

Be Free. 

Don't be stuck in your ways. Every moment is a learning experience, sure... you can have that go to recipe, but taking input, criticism and just being generally aware... you can pick up new tricks and ideas like a new download app. Different situations can be rectified by different solutions, varying on time, equipment and care. discordia39

Hold the Water.

Don't use water to put out a grease fire. IAmAChronicLiar

Better options are to suffocate the fire if it's small enough to cover completely with a lid, or using a lot of baking soda.

If it's a big fire you might get in a commercial kitchen you probably have a dry chemical extinguisher on the wall near by. Retired_cyclops

Oh the Fat. 

Don't pour hot fryer oil down the drain. Especially if you have pvc pipes. m31td0wn

I usually pour all my fats and oils into a separate dish, where I refrigerate it and throw it out as a solid with the trash.

Problem is, each time I do this, I go "I'll pour a little more in so I save some water and not wash this dish now".

Basically, I have a bowl full of solidified grease and fat in my fridge at home. fantastictechinique

The Meat. 

Don't store raw meat with cooked meat. ParadoxXYZ

One time this fool who I was seeing decided to put cooked chicken shish kebabs on the same plate as the uncooked ones. They were just all touching each other and mixing their spices and things. I couldn't tell there were uncooked ones because they were coated... Until I took a huge bite out of some raw two day old chicken.

For various reasons, including this one, I want that man's diving tank to have structural instability. Soggy-Job

Dairy Issues.....

Not paying close attention when you're boiling milk. One second there's no bubbles, a couple seconds later it's boiling all over the place. DeathSpiral321

Oh yeah. You can usually tell when it's about to boil with how the surface changes. arrowowl

Unclean!

Not washing hands. Frosted_Waffle

Knives Out....

catching a falling knife. don't even TRY to catch it. step back, and let it fall my guy. novaizawave

This is what killed the night king. AtheistCreationist

Click.

You have to click the tongs several times each time before you use them. Otherwise they won't work. Terror_Beer

You also have to take 1 pair in each hand and pretend you're zoidberg for 5 minutes before actually using them. Fruitbat3

taste test....

Not seasoning as you cook, not tasting as you cook. ukexpat

Made onion rings the other day. They were so good and I ate so many from the paper towel where they were cooling that I couldn't even eat my burger. Forget me they were delicious, though. naranjaspencer

For the love of God.....

For the love of god, you will keep your metal utensil away from the non stick pan.

I will take that utensil from you an poke you with it. JoeHappy

Mix it....

Not mixing your thickener (flour, corn starch, arrowroot, etc.) with something (usually water) before adding to the liquid, unless you like unexpected spaetzle. Horatio_ATM

Yep. Saw a chef do this and I was absolutely dumbfounded. I told this story on reddit and a bunch of people argued with me calling it a roux even though a roux is supposed to be made with butter in another pan. Never put raw flour in a sauce. Iceehawk