28 Viral Kitchen Items, Grocery Products, And Recipes People Tried, And Either Loved Or Hated (2024)

The internet is full of recommendations. Every single day, you probably come across kitchen appliances, trendy ingredients, and viral recipes that are so popular, you wonder if it's worth a try. So, redditor u/rifain asked, "What product [did] the internet have you hyped to try, and what was your experience once you tried it?" Here's how people responded. 1. "A KitchenAid stand mixer. I had been reading about it for years, and as an avid baker, I'd lusted after one for a long time. When my hand mixer finally died, I figured that the time was right to get one. And yes, it has been absolutely fantastic. I use it at least twice per week." 2. "For me, it was Old Bay seasoning. We don't have it here in France, but I kept reading about this great product (especially for seafood). I couldn't bear not trying it for another day, and I bought a box of Old Bay on Amazon. So far, I've used it for ratatouille, shrimp, and for chicken. It's pretty good, but so unnecessary in my opinion. I am used to cooking with herbs and spices. I understand how Old Bay helps with a quick recipe or for someone who isn't interested to investing the time to learn about spices, but it had little value to me." 3. "An Instant Pot. I finally took the plunge, and I used it three days a week for two years. Pressure cookers really are awesome." 4. "Meal kits. I tried one for a while, but both my partner and I agreed that it would be much more economical to just save the recipes they sent over the first three months and then buy the ingredients from our local grocery store. Our largest complaint while trying the product was the excessive amount of wasteful packaging." 5. "Better than Bullion. This stuff is so good. It has completely replaced dry bullion cubes and boxed broth for me." 6. "Nutritional yeast. I love this stuff on popcorn, but I don't think it tastes very good on things like soup or salad. It’s a staple in my pantry, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s a one-trick pony used solely for popcorn seasoning." 7. "Kewpie Japanese mayo. It's hard to get a hold of where I live because it's so popular, but I have to admit that it honestly tastes better than your generic grocery store mayonnaise." 8. "I watch a ton of YouTube home cooks, and the one hyped up food that stands out for me is pickled red onions. So many people swear by these things, and the hype is absolutely justified. I always have them in the fridge now." 9. "Everything bagel seasoning. I love it, and it's made up of flavorful ingredients I don't normally keep on hand." 10. "Chili oil. Thanks to my Instagram feed, I've given in to trying a bunch of different chili oils from the Trader Joe's version to Fly By Jing and Momof*cku's. I can honestly say this is one ingredient I cannot live without. Just a small scoop of this stuff adds so much flavor to whatever I'm cooking, whether it's simple noodles or basic roasted veggies." 11. "A good cast iron pan. I seasoned it from scratch, made a steak, and immediately recognized the magic." 12. "Reddit made me finally take the jump on buying MSG. I add it to all of my home cooking now, and I haven’t looked back." 13. "Smash burgers. Cooking burgers according to this method turned out to be everything that was advertised and more. I genuinely cannot go back to how I used to make burgers." 14. "High quality tinned fish. I've been a longtime fan of tinned fish, which is having a real moment in the spotlight thanks to TikTok. I've recently been splurging on high-quality ingredients like tuna belly packed in olive oil and mussels in escabeche. The flavor is incredible, and they make for the easiest, quickest meals when I'm in a pinch." 15. "Dalgona coffee, this whipped coffee drink that was taking over the internet. It looked good, but ended up being too sweet and fluffy." 16. "Fresh truffles. I wanted to like them but did not care for the taste. I see chefs use them in all types of fancy dishes, but I personally didn't enjoy them. I'd rather use chanterelles, morels, or a giant portabella in my cooking instead." 17. "The most recent 'hyped' product I have bought is an air fryer. I got the Ninja and can confirm, it is THE BOMB." 18. "That viral TikTok tomato feta pasta. It’s a staple in my household now and one of the meals we eat on rotation. It's well worth a try if you haven’t made it!" 19. "A sous vide. It really does cook the best steak ever. It's so tender. This gadget has been a game-changer." 20. "Pretty much any recipe that became famous on social media. These things are almost never worth making. Remember those trendy cloud eggs? It was all this work for something that, well...tasted like an egg. 21. "Homemade pasta. I'd seen people making it online and thought it would be overly time consuming and show off-y, but man, switching from pre-packaged, store-bought to fresh pasta has been incredible. My husband got me the KitchenAid attachment, which makes it easy. Now, I make homemade pasta on Sunday and freeze it for the week." 22. "Cauliflower everything from rice and pizza crust to fried cauliflower 'wings.' Why can’t cauliflower be happy with what it is? It’s a perfectly delicious vegetable, and I fear we’re giving it a complex." 23. "Mason jar salads. Saw these on Pinterest. Sure, they look pretty, but it's awful to try to eat a salad out of a jar. If you dump it into a bowl, you then have two dirty dishes. It just makes a whole lot more sense to prep and eat your salad in a food storage container." 24. "Kerrygold pure Irish salted butter. The internet loves this stuff. IMO, it's fine, but it's not special enough to justify the idea of paying more for it." 25. "Overnight oats. I tried recipe after recipe after seeing this breakfast on blogs, YouTube, TikTok, etc. IMO, they taste terrible. They don’t become gooey, delicious, or comforting. They're slightly less dry oats in a pool of liquid and other ingredients that also become sad in the process." 26. "Cookie butter. I finally tried it for the first time at the age of 20. All I can say is that it's arguably the greatest invention the Belgians have ever come up with. I love using it when making desserts like cookie butter New York cheesecake with a Biscoff cookie crust." 27. "An immersion blender. I don't know how I got by for so long without one. It's perfect for soups and sauces. You don't have to worry about transferring foods to and from a blender. With a whisk attachment, you'll never mess up an emulsion again." 28. "Acai. Pretty much any 'superfood' feels cringy to me, but acai has the added benefit of also tasting awful." What's a trendy or hyped up recipe, ingredient, or cooking-related product that you gave in to trying because of the internet, and what was your own experience with it? Tell us in the comments!