NONE OF THIS IS TRUE

During my years of writing about food, cooking and wine, I’ve taken a hard look at some rules and myths such as “Always presoak dried beans” or “Only flip a grilled steak once.”

Vegetables
“It’s OK to store tomatoes in the refrigerator.” No, it is not: the cold kills the tomatoes’ flavor—forever.
Always presoak dried beans? Not always.

Ingredients
“The seeds are the hottest part of a chile pepper.” No, they’re not.
“Using an anchovy to heighten umami in a sauce makes the sauce fishy-tasting.” It doesn’t, not by a long shot.
“All extra virgin olive oils are pretty much the same, so just buy the cheapest.” Wrong.
“Avoid the bitter white pith on a lemon or lime when zesting the peel.” Not to worry.

Cooking
“Remove the greening sprout in a garlic clove before cooking it because it is acrid.” Not necessary.
“The cooking of Italy has always featured the tomato.” No, it’s a late bloomer there.
“Only flip a grilled steak once per side.” Wrong again.

Wine
“Serve any wine in any old glass; it’ll do.” Sorry, no.
“The best place to store your wine is in the kitchen wine cooler.” Not.
“Let a red wine ‘breathe’ by pulling its cork an hour ahead of time.” That’s definitely not all.

And you’re probably holding your chef’s knife improperly.