Cooking is pretty fun once you understand it all. Hell even the mistakes sometime create some pretty… interesting memories.
Though, there’s one thing in cooking that every chef knows not to do:
Overcrowd The Pot(s)!
I mean seriously, think about it:
You have all these ingredients for all the dishes you want to make, and you know damn well they’re about taste heavenly.
You cook recipe number #1 with absolute precision, and each bite sings to your tastebuds like an opera. Then, you decide to make recipe number #2 and number 1 at the same time since some of them need similar things with similar steps. A little difficult, but you manage it well, and the end result is still great on both ends
However, recipe #3 is something completely outlandish and needs more time and accuracy to get it right. You know exactly what to do, but you’re already halfway through #1 and #2; you’re committed. Finishing all 3 recipes at this pace seems impossible, so you bite the bullet and rush as much as you can to make sure #3 is ready with #1 and #2.
It turns out ok… I guess… no where near what you had originally planned in your head, but #1 and #2 don’t taste anywhere NEAR as good as they did before- for whatever reason.
So now you’re here wondering why everything went wrong and nothing was as good as it’s supposed to be.
Ok, MAYBE that was a bit more elaborative than I originally wanted it to be, but you get the picture. Depending on your pot will determine how much you can put in there, but no matter the size, overcrowding it always leads to a bad result….
So then, why do we do it anyways?
This is the only time where rather than finding a research article or something of the sorts, I’m going to speak from experience and what I know (or at least feel like I know).
Reason #1: Illusions of Efficiency
Lets take a step back. You have all of these other recipes to make, and you know how each and every one of them work. Sure, some of them can be consolidated to an extent, but there’s an unforeseen threshold to how far it will go until it worsens the final product. Just because you’re doing each thing at once doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going faster.
This is commonly seen with the term “multitasking”, which doesn’t “truly” exist to an extent. Truth of the matter, our brains cannot perform two really big attention-demanding tasks simultaneously, so we just rapidly switch our focus between tasks which is called “task switching”. In reality, this slows everything down and drains all of your energy in making the recipes.
Reason #2: Rush Hour
You need these dishes immediately, and you need it now. Maybe your recipe has a fair amount of idle time, but you can’t stand those idle moments, so you fill every gap with another recipe.
This can be done if you effectively planned for it, though rather than waiting for one thing to finish properly (or at least being close to done), you cook everything at once. The itch of urgency is being scratched with instant gratification, but that pruritus was actually poison ivy, and we all know what happens when you keep scratching poison ivy.
Reason #3: “I’ve Done This Before“
I don’t really blame you for this. It’s your recipe, you’ve crafted it and made it in your image, I love that confidence you have about it, and you’ve most likely made the dish before and it came out amazing.
But similar to reason #1, really think about it. Do you truly have sort of understanding and/or control on what you’re about to attempt? Are you perhaps underestimating the complexity of the recipe before actually making it (even if you’ve already made it before)? I don’t mean to say this to scare you or make you doubt yourself, that’s quite literally the last thing that needs to happen. However, I want you to not just be confident in you, but confidence in what you’re about to do. Like, have a good plan, and some back-up plans if something goes awry.
Reason #4 (More often than Not in Some Places): This is just a Bad Kitchen
Maybe you as a person know that you don’t like to overcrowd the pot, but the kitchen you’re working for doesn’t really care. They just want to see the dish on a plate while having high expectations, but not enough chefs to handle a part of a dish.
You’re one of the only ones available, so it’s on YOU to make all of these recipes at once. You were never trained on this and you shouldn’t be; it’s a terrible practice no matter what kitchen you go to, and that’s the worse of it. At the end of the day, you know you need to work here to pay the bills and overcrowding the pot is one of the only things you can do to at least guarantee something’s on the plate (whether good or subpar). Hearing the “don’t do too much” advice doesn’t really get you too far, as you would do it if it was that easy; but it’s not. It’s something structural that the kitchen’s head staff needs to realize, or maybe they do and they just ignore it. Regardless, I hope this situation gets better for you and you find yourself a kitchen that treats you right.
Essentially, overcrowding the pot isn’t a good thing to do by any means, regardless on if it’s on your own accord, or you’re practically being forced to. However, if you’re fortunate enough to be in a situation where you have control over your own recipe…
Lasting Message:
“Time is one of the most important things when it comes to cooking. It took time for the ingredients to grow, for the recipe to be made, and for the dish to be executed. So when you cook, honor that time and let patience be apart of that flavor”
P.S.: I really tried making this general cooking and metaphoric life advice and good lord was it hard 😭😭😭
Sincerely,
Cravings and Comfort
Cravings & Comfort 