Food Scientist Exposes Fake & Dangerous Cooking Videos On YouTube

Certain short and concise cooking how-to videos rack up millions of views on YouTube and we can see why. They're easy to digest, entertaining and impressive!

But do they actually work? According to food scientist and pastry chef, Ann Reardon, probably not. ?

Keep reading to find out more!

In her YouTube channel How To Cook That, Ann has uploaded several videos debunking these fake cooking videos.

In one video, she tried recreating YouTube Channel So Yummy's recipe of whipping melted ice cream and sugar to create thick cake frosting. She followed their exact instructions step by step and even after over four hours of whipping, the mixture still remained a liquid. ? Her attempts to get dried basil by microwaving it and soft jelly using melted gummy bears according to So Yummy's videos also failed completely.

Another So Yummy video showcased how to make caramel by microwaving sweetened condensed milk for ten minutes. Ann followed suit and it only resulted in burnt solidified milk and a huge mess.

Besides fake cooking videos, she also reacted to false information in videos such as YouTube channel Blossom's "Is your food fake or real?" video. Blossom implied in their video that you can tell if your food is natural or fake through several tests. For example, processed cheese with chemicals will burn under a fire while natural cheese melts. Ann explained how this information is false as it is a high-fat content that makes cheese melt. She also criticised the use of words like natural which has no real meaning when it comes to food labelling.

She also highlights the dangerous aspects of these videos. For example, a video by YouTube Channel 5-Minute Crafts shows how you can make strawberries turn white by soaking them in bleach. She stated that this was potentially dangerous as a child could unknowingly eat the bleach-soaked strawberry.

Another video by So Yummy shows how you can create a caramel cake topping by pouing melted caramel candy on a spinning whisk. Noticing that the caramel could potentially splatter and burn the people standing close by, Ann devised an experiment using a cardboard box with one side covered in transparent food wrap. The melted candy ended up melting a hole through the food wrap. Ann explained that food wraps are made to be resistant up to about 120 to 140 degrees so the hot caramel would have definitely caused serious burns if splattered on the skin.

The next time you see such viral cooking videos that seem too good to be true, they just might be! Make sure to do your research and only follow recipes from reliable sources to avoid food wastage or injury.

Share this article with your friends who love watching cooking videos! ❤️

Text by: GirlStyle SG