As someone who's just started getting seriously into cooking...

>press down on mostly cooked meat
>put random spices directly into a sauce with no toasting/frying
>use low smoke point oil/non-clarified butter for high heat applications
>serve bland vegetables that are simply boiled or steamed and that's it (some exceptions but this is generally just the initial treatment for vegetables)
>underuse or undervalue herbs
>use powdered stock instead of gelatin based or home made
>deep fry in old, dirty oil
Probs more but this is just off the top

Stop giving it away for free yoou fuuuuckk

NEVER cook without tasting as you go. You would not believe how many so-called 'cooks' fail this basic requirement, and how much difference it will make in self-improvement.

Of course, this also requires high personal standards, so be sure to raise yours.

>what are some things you just shouldn't do if you want good food?

Post here. Or ask advice here.

>clean and organize your kitchen and pantry.
>learn the temperature ranges for cooking with butter, olive oil, vegetable oil, rapeseed oil, and peanut oil
>read cookbooks instead of user-submission recipe sites
>find a decent butcher that won't bankrupt you
>go to the grocery and look up all the veggies you've never used before and what they're good for.
>cook every day, even if it's just one small thing
>buy a bunch of cheap spoons and put them in a cup on the counter for tasting food as you cook
>acid and salt are the main drivers of enhancing/deepening flavor

Remember OP, It's the Oil that gives it the flavor!

yea if you finish something and it just tastes bland, it's usually either under-seasoned or there isn't any acid

>clean and organize your kitchen and pantry.
Fuck that. Have everything accessible when needed. food doesnt need to be alphabetical.
>learn the temperature ranges for cooking with butter, olive oil, vegetable oil, rapeseed oil, and peanut oil
Better yet OP, watch your fucking pots and don't walk away from them. No science required, just common sense!
>read cookbooks instead of user-submission recipe sites
Don't do this. Cookbooks are outdated propaganda by old geezers and contain the most boring by the book concoctions, be experimental and try new things
>find a decent butcher that won't bankrupt you
...Or get a good knife and do it yourself?
>go to the grocery and look up all the veggies you've never used before and what they're good for.
....Or just buy them and see if you like them? What are you, on a budget? veggies cost like $5 max.
>cook every day, even if it's just one small thing
WRONG. You'll burn yourself out if you do this and start to hate cooking. like ny hobby, do it in moderation. save it for special events, live on cheap and easy instant noodles and frozen dinners for the most part, you can live on $30 of grocceries A MONTH easily this way.
>buy a bunch of cheap spoons and put them in a cup on the counter for tasting food as you cook
....Or just use a fucking spoon and wash it? Jesus man how lazy are you?
>acid and salt are the main drivers of enhancing/deepening flavor
Salt yes, acid no. This fucker wants to burn off your tongue in hydrochloric OP, are you going to listen to this schnozz?

>have everything accessible
so, get organized?
>watch your fucking pots
watching the pot isn't going to help if you use the wrong oil for the job.
>cookbooks are outdated
yea if you raid your grandmothers cookbooks you're gonna get outdated grandma recipes. so don't do that.
>butcher your own meat
so you want him to live on ramen so he doesn't "burn out", but you want him to take up butchery at the same time. makes sense.
>blindly buy veg instead of doing research
yea, buying a bunch of shit he doesn't like or know how to use is definitely going to encourage a newbie.
>cooking every day makes you burn out
or maybe, just maybe, cooking and your own food will be a fulfilling and enjoyable feedback loop.
>I can't afford 10 spoons
that's your problem, man
>acid doesn't help
factually untrue. acid is literally where flavor comes from.

dont cook. just buy mcchickens, congrats you made it.

kek

you know, i bet some people actually believe this

Meat keeps cooking after you take it off heat. Always underestimate the internal temperature; you can cook something more, but you can't cook it less.

Save water from starches (potatoes, noodles, etc) to thicken sauces.

Keep a bottle of dry red/white wine on hand (and fuck the assholes that say buy something that you'd drink, a $4 of wine will do just fine); they're ideal for deglazing pans to make awesome sauces.

Salt/pepper/garlic/paprika (hot and sweet) are complete staples of any decent spice rack.

Learn to utilize scallions, onions, shallots, leeks appropriately.

Cheap cuts of meat just need a little more love; tenderize, slow cook or braise well. You don't have to spend a lot of money to have delicious meat.

Buy a copy of The Joy of Cooking; it's always been my bible.

After reading the OP, I realize what you shouldn't do, but I'm not retyping this shit.

buying a bunch of unitaskers is a surefire way to end up thinking cooking is too much of a hassle because instead of just pots and pans and knives to clean, you're maintaining and cleaning a bunch of specialty items that are a pain in the ass to wash.

so don't do that.

Watch this show, every episode.
He teaches how and why to cook, instead of the generic "Watch me cook things" cooking shows.

>implying this show teaches you how to cook

no he actually mostly circlejerks about commercial cooking equipment and his own DIY contraptions.

It doesnt always need more salt a lot of times its the acid that is missing.

Cook without fear, OP.
Cook.
Without.
Fear.

learn to cook well enough that you can formulate your own opinions and understanding instead of asking a Veeky Forums board that's 50% shitposts