Things Not Worth Worrying About

By Bonnie Stern & Anna Rupert

I was born a worrier, and you should have met my father! It’s taken me a lifetime to learn there are some things not worth worrying about.

Perfection 

Perfection is overrated. Home cooking is not about the food being perfect. It’s about nurturing yourself and nurturing your family. If you’re having people over, it’s about the atmosphere being warm and inviting. This is a lesson I keep telling myself, especially when chefs come over for dinner…or when my tahdig sticks to the pot, the glass in my oven door explodes (seriously), or when my fruit tart is looking especially “rustic.” If you’ve ever wished your desserts looked like they came from a bakery, guess what? Many bakeries now want their desserts to look homemade. And just because something doesn’t seem perfect to you, that doesn’t mean it isn’t perfect for someone else. 

Best-Before Dates 

My husband, Ray, once called Heinz on me because he noticed that our ketchup was past the best-before date and I refused to replace it (I will admit it was a few years past). Before these dates even existed, my mother kept a bottle of ketchup for about 15 years. My sister and I were discriminating (fussy) eaters and never liked ketchup, so the bottle was there for when our friends came over. No one ever got sick! I’m not suggesting you keep the same bottle of ketchup for 15 years—we should probably have bought a new bottle—but use common sense and remember that best-before dates are an indication of peak freshness, not safety (which are noted with expiry dates). 

Hot and Cold 

Most of the time I don’t worry about whether food is served very hot or very cold. When I first started cooking professionally, it was somewhat typical for diners at restaurants to complain if their food wasn’t steaming hot. When I started my cooking school, some students would say their partners would complain if their food at home wasn’t as hot as it would be in a restaurant. They would ask me how to keep it at that temperature. Simple: Warm the plates and have a staff of people helping you rush the hot food to the table. Think about it—in a restaurant there are six people working on your dinner, but at home you alone may be working on six dinners! After traveling in Europe and seeing platters of food served safely at room temperature, I began to relax. I realized that the flavour of food is actually more pronounced when it isn’t really hot or really cold. However, I don’t take health risks. Always consider the temperature of the room, length of time the food sits out, and how perishable the type of food is. 

The 5-Second Rule 

If food falls on the floor, I use common sense as to whether to eat it or not. The 5-second rule is not scientific. It is a widely known food-hygiene myth that makes us all feel better about eating the cookie we dropped. Ray says the trick about the 5-second rule is just to never talk about it.

Unsalted Butter 

For many years I used unsalted butter for everything. In chef training, I learned that it burned less quickly than salted butter when cooking on direct heat and was usually fresher. During that time, I used salted butter in one specific cookie only—a shortbread cookie that I make to this day. Although I tried the cookies with unsalted butter, even adding extra salt, they never tasted as good. Eventually, I switched over to salted butter for all my baked goods. Although most cookbooks call for unsalted butter, I’ve never had a problem eating something made using salted butter. I guess what I’m trying to say is, in my opinion, when a recipe calls for unsalted but you only have salted, it’s not worth running to the store for.

As a Born Worrier, Though, There Are Still Many Things I Worry About . . . 

  • I believe in being careful and cautious with poultry: cleaning utensils, your hands, and work surfaces when they’ve come into contact with raw poultry, and using an instant-read thermometer to make sure it’s cooked to 165°F. 
  • And on that note, I believe in instant-read thermometers! Meat and poultry are expensive, so why leave cooking it properly to chance when a thermometer can tell you when it’s perfectly done? Plus, a thermometer tells you when your breads and cakes are ready too! 
  • Using fresh and healthful ingredients is important to me. And so, I worry about everyone’s access to quality ingredients, and to fresh and healthful food in general. 
  • I worry about processed foods and the impact of diet culture because I believe in eating in moderation and not telling yourself that certain things are not allowed. 
  • I believe in being respectful of knives. Never leave a knife in the sink to wash later. Wash it and then put it away immediately. And if you use a mandoline, you MUST wear protection. 
  • I feel very strongly about wearing shoes in the kitchen (ask my kids). I also worry about you wearing dangly jewellery and, worst of all, cooking naked. Don’t do it! 
  • I try my best not to waste food but still waste too much. I’m working on this.
  • I worry about climate change, food sustainability, and hunger. 
  • And I try to spend as much time as I can with the people I love.

I could go on, but we all have enough to worry about, so I’ll stop here.

Bonnie Stern is a beloved teacher and bestselling cookbook author, who wants nothing more than for you to feel like she’s in the kitchen cooking beside you. In her latest cookbook, Don’t Worry, Just Cook, written with her daughter Anna Rupert, Bonnie and Anna are here to help cooks of all experience foster comfort and connection through food. For more, visit BonnieStern.com
From DON’T WORRY, JUST COOK by Bonnie Stern and Anna Rupert, published by Appetite by Random House, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada. Copyright © 2022 Bonnie Stern Cooking Schools Ltd. and Anna Rupert. Food photography by Tyler Anderson. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.