Do you own a restaurant or any type of food-related business? If you do, you’ve probably wondered why your photos of food don’t look as appealing on Instagram or Facebook (or anywhere online or offline) than the photos appearing in advertising?

Here are the answers: You aren’t using the right ingredients in your recipes. This video from Top Trending (via: DIYPhotography.net) reveals ten secrets that professional food stylists and photographers use to make their photos so appetizing. (As long as you don’t eat any of them.)

If you don’t have time to watch the video, here are the ingredients…

1 | Water-soaked cotton balls for steam

For steamy food that looks freshly cooked, photographers use heated water-soaked cotton balls to create steam.

2 | Mashed potatoes for sweets and stuffing birds

That delicious-looking ice cream you see in photos is most likely made of mashed potatoes.

3 | Glue for milk

Real milk makes cereal soggy, so photographers use glue instead.

4 | Shoe polish for grill marks

Photographers use shoe polish to draw perfect grill marks on steaks. The meat is baked in the oven or on a flat grill.

5 | Shaving cream for whipped cream

Whipped cream melts in seconds so photographers use shaving cream instead.

6 | Spray deodorant for fruit

Fresh fruit sellers use a coating of wax to make the fruit look more appealing in person. That’s not enough for photographers, so they add a generous layer of spray deodorant to make the fruit shiny and delicious.

7 | Wax for sauces

When photographing sauces, it’s not easy to get the right consistency and color. Blending wax into the sauce solves both problems.

8 | Cardboard for cakes and hamburgers

Cardboard makes lots of foods look appealing in photos by helping them hold their place. It can evenly distribute frosting on a layered cake. It can hold layers of burger in place. All you need to add are pins to hold the cardboard in place.

9 | Paint and paper towels for roasted birds

Roasted turkeys you see in photos have been stuffed with paper towels to look plump and then painted with golden brown stain.

10 | Motor oil for maple syrup

Syrup runs so photographers use motor oil for a thicker, more tasty stack of pancakes.

VIA | TopTrending / HT | DIYPhotography.net