Warning: This is a love letter to food takes that make dinner conversations messy. Some are harmless, some are controversial, and some will get you unfollowed by family members. Many of the opinions below were collected from online threads and listicles where cooks and home-food warriors confess the culinary hills they’d happily defend. If you disagree, that’s fine grab a fork. If you disagree loudly, expect debate. (Yes, this one started life as a Bored Panda roundup and pulls in a lot of Reddit energy.)
Why people have “hills” about food
Food is identity, memory, and habit wrapped in a napkin. Online communities (especially subs like r/Cooking and r/AskReddit) are where people shout their takes into the void and watch the replies pour in which is how many of these opinion gems got archived in the first place. You can blame the internet for the arguments, but you have to credit it for the entertainment.
Top 39 cooking opinions people insist are correct (and weird)
- Pineapple on pizza is totally fine and sometimes superior. Freshly caramelized pineapple is different from canned syrupy rings; many chefs have reclaimed this take as creative rather than criminal.
- Ketchup on steak is acceptable. For some, a little ketchup elevates a well-done slice to comfort-food heaven; for others it is kitchen blasphemy. Expect passionate replies either way.
- Microwaving bacon is a perfectly cromulent method. Crisp? Maybe. Quick and low-mess? Definitely and plenty of cooks use it when speed matters. Serious Eats and long-time home cooks acknowledge it as a practical option.
- Mayonnaise belongs on everything (including pizza). If you grew up with mayo as a flavor base, you will fight for it like it’s your aunt’s secret recipe.
- Cold pasta salads should always be rinsed. The starch can make things gummy; some people will rinse till it’s chilly and perfect.
- Al dente is overrated just cook your pasta until it’s soft. Texture is personal. Soft-pasta people will defend chew-free bliss to the end.
- Peanut butter and pickles are actually a great combo. One bite might make you weep from disgust or delight, opinions vary.
- Salt before tasting is better than after. Some cooks salt aggressively while cooking; they insist the flavors layer better that way.
- Ranch on pizza? Absolutely. Ranch lovers see it as a rightful dip or drizzle; purists see it as a condiment coup.
- Microwave-steamed vegetables beat overcooked stovetop veggies. Fast, bright, and minimal water a lot of busy cooks will die on this hill.
- Tomatoes ruin burgers. Lovers of dry, crisp burgers will argue a slice makes the patty soggy; others insist the freshness is essential.
- All garlic is created equal raw, roasted, or granulated. Purists disagree, but some cooks use whatever’s in the pantry and swear by it.
- Cold pizza is better than hot pizza. Another generational divide: cold pizza as breakfast of champions vs fresh-out-of-oven maximalists.
- Sweet and savory breakfast items should be separated. No syrup on eggs, no berries on your bacon a lot of brunch fans will insist on boundaries.
- Don’t rinse your meat it spreads bacteria. Food-safety folks will back this, but tradition-bound cooks sometimes still rinse for ritual reasons.
- Butter in coffee > butter in anything else? Nope skip it. The “bulletproof coffee” crew meets the skeptics; both sides are loud.
- Grilled cheese should have a single cheese complexity dilutes nostalgia. Fans of simplicity get defensive fast.
- Avocado should be served as-is, no lemon, no salt. Purists want pure avocado; others can’t imagine it without acid and seasoning.
- Bagels should be toasted after slicing, not before. This is one of those practical stove-side rituals people will correct you about in public.
- You should always preheat your pans thoroughly. For heat control and crust development, the preheat police are relentless.
- Frozen vegetables are sometimes better than fresh. For cost and steady texture, frozen can be superior especially when fresh is meh.
- Salted butter only; unsalted is a purist’s affectation. There’s a camp that will never buy unsalted again; chefs often prefer unsalted for control, which irritates them.
- Brown sugar belongs in savory chili. Complex sweetness balances heat but it’s a polarizing twist.
- Flipping a steak once (or never) is the only correct method. The “flip less” crowd swears it keeps the crust consistent; the flip-happy say more control is better.
- Cooking wine is for amateurs; use good wine or skip it. Some home cooks defend boxed cooking wine; sommeliers recoil.
- Cilantro is either a fresh herb or soapy swill (no in-between). Genetics and culture collide people with the soapy gene are strong and proud. (Not so much a hill to die on as a genetic landmine.)
- Everyone uses too many cooking gadgets a pan and knife are enough. Minimalists who can live off a cast-iron and chef’s knife will argue this to the death.
- Brining is unnecessary for most home-cook proteins. Brine fans call this sacrilege; brine skeptics prefer simplicity and time savings.
- Cooking spray ruins pans; use oil instead. Non-stick defenders have opinions on aerosol chemistry and will give them freely.
- Warm spices > fresh spices for certain cuisines. Some cooks cherish toast-and-grind methods; others demand fresh herb brightness.
- Fruit in savory salads is lazy cooking. For some cooks, fruit belongs in desserts; others love the bright contrast and will make a case for it.
- Leftovers should be eaten cold sometimes. Fighting over whether reheating ruins texture is a surprisingly acute argument at potlucks.
- Your grandma’s way of doing things is not automatically the best way. Respectful but true culinary traditions evolve, and some folks will defend modern methods passionately.
- Gravy should be made from pan drippings only. Purists say powdered mix has no place on real roast days; convenience cooks disagree.
- Never use nonstick for searing. Cast iron or stainless steel every time, according to a vocal group of surface-heat purists.
- Adding sugar to tomato sauce is a crime. Those who love naturally bright sauce will fight tooth and nail; other cooks balance acidity with a pinch of sugar and heart.
- Ovens should be rotated mid-bake for evenness. The turners say it’s essential; the non-turners call it overkill.
Why these takes stick
Many of the items above become “hills” because they are tied to memory (mom’s pancakes), geography (regional ways to eat hot dogs), or the pride of craft (you don’t salt after the fryyou layer flavor). Online threads and listicles amplify these beliefs into hilarious, earnest manifestos which is exactly why someone made a full Bored Panda gallery cataloging them.
Quick notes from food testing & journalism
Food writers and test kitchens frequently step into these debates with measured experiments: bacon cooks differently depending on method; pineapple behaves differently fresh vs canned; ketchup overwhelms a delicate steak. Those test results rarely stop the arguments but they do give both sides data to wave around. If you like a systematic take on a method (like microwave bacon or stovetop preferences), publications such as Serious Eats have run detailed “how-to” tests that temper gospel-level claims with nuance.
Similarly, the pineapple-on-pizza debate has moved from meme territory into news stories when chefs, restaurants, and even public figures make statements which proves that a topping can be small but mighty. In 2024–2025 the topic kept popping back into headlines as restaurateurs and the public sparred about whether pineapple is playful innovation or disrespect to traditions.
How to argue (politely) about food opinions online
- Acknowledge taste is subjective. Start with “I get why you like that” and then explain your take.
- Share context, not condescension. Describe the memories or techniques that formed your hill.
- Ask for a taste-off. If possible, swap plates nothing settles a debate like shared bites.
- Know where to stop. Food fights are fun until they become personal. Leave with your dignity and your dessert.
Conclusion
We live in an age where every lunchbox preference can become a viral thread, and that’s not a bad thing. These 39 opinions are a snapshot of how people use food to mark identity, nostalgia, and invention. Whether you’re team pineapple, team ketchup-on-steak, or team “whatever’s in the fridge,” the best culinary hill to die on is the one that makes your dinner table feel like home. And if someone else’s hill annoys you? Invite them over then hide the ketchup.
Meta & SEO details
sapo: Food takes are identity. From microwaved bacon to pineapple-on-pizza, people online have confessed 39 cooking opinions they know are weird and still would defend to the end. This lighthearted roundup mixes Reddit bravado, food-journalism testing, and kitchen wisdom to explore why small rituals become big convictions. If you love arguing about flavor, texture, or the correct way to toast a bagel, this list will give you ammo and maybe a new pairing to try. (Yes, someone swears by peanut butter and pickles.)
Personal experiences & reflections (500-word addendum)
Twenty years of potlucks, dinner parties, late-night kitchen experiments, and too-many-arguments-about-condiments have taught me a few reliable things: first, taste trumps theory. I once watched two friends litigate for an hour over whether to add sugar to a Bolognese; two bites later they both acknowledged the sauce worked either way. Second, context matters what someone grew up eating becomes a touchstone. My college roommate would put ketchup on everything because that’s how his family ate meatloaf; when he tried a peppery chimichurri, he didn’t convert, but he understood why others loved it.
There’s also the social element: bold opinions are conversation starters. I’ve used a declared stance “cold pizza > hot pizza” as a way to get people laughing and then swapping stories about the late-night slice that saved finals week. Food takes are social glue; they give you a position to defend and an invitation to compare notes. In professional recipe-testing, you quickly learn that “right” and “wrong” are often replaced with “consistent” and “reproducible.” A method that yields the same crispy bacon every time is worth defending, even if it’s the microwave.
On the flip side, firm food takes can shut down curiosity. I once prepared a plate of caramelized pineapple with prosciutto and fresh mozzarella for a friend who had sworn off fruit on savory dishes. He declared the combination “taboo” right up until he took a bite then admitted, sheepishly, that the balance worked. That moment reminded me that tastes evolve. A hill that was solid can erode when you try a new technique prepared by someone who knows the craft. That’s the quiet power of being open: tasting tends to democratize.
Finally, online threads that collect these takes are a communal art form. People show up to proclaim the weirdest, proudest parts of themselves and the replies are a messy, affectionate chorus. Whether you’re reading a Bored Panda compilation, a heated Reddit thread, or a measured piece in a food magazine, what’s happening underneath is cultural negotiation. We’re all deciding one strange combo and one stubborn conviction at a time what counts as comfort, what counts as innovation, and what counts as “I will absolutely never.”
So what’s my hill? It’s simple: I will defend the right to defend a preference. Taste is personal. If your hill is rational, nostalgic, or just plain joyful stand on it. Just bring snacks when you do; sharing tends to solve most culinary disputes.
