Why the Loudly Crying Emoji Took Over Your Kitchen Group Chat

The Emoji That Cooks With You

If you've spent any time in a cooking group chat lately, you've probably seen it: the 😭 emoji. According to Google data reported by the New York Times, it overtook 😂 and 🤣 as the most used emoji worldwide in 2025. And while it started as a joke among younger users, it's become a staple in food communities—a way to say “I burned the rice” or “this soufflé actually rose” without typing a word.

I use it almost daily. When my sourdough loaf comes out flat, I send 😭 to my baking buddy. When I nail a tricky caramel, it's 😭 again, but this time it means “I can't believe it worked.” The emoji has become a kind of shorthand for the emotional rollercoaster of cooking.

Why Young Cooks Ditched the Laughing Crying Face

Linguists say the shift is driven by Gen Z and Gen Alpha. They see 😂 as overused, almost cringe. Instead, they reach for 🔥 to praise a dish, 🙏 to thank someone for a recipe, and 😭 to express everything from laughter to despair. It's a more expressive palette, and it's changing how we talk about food online.

Older cooks, on the other hand, still lean on 🤣. My mom sends it whenever I tell her about a kitchen disaster. She thinks it's hilarious. I think it's a little basic. But that's the point—emoji preferences mark generations, and in cooking, they've become part of the fun.

From Meme to Kitchen Tool

The 😭 emoji didn't start in the kitchen. It became popular in meme culture, often used ironically. But food communities adopted it fast. On Reddit's r/cooking, you'll see it in posts about ruined dishes. On TikTok, it appears in recipe fails. It's even made its way into cookbook annotations.

What makes it so perfect for cooking? Because cooking is full of extremes. You either nail a dish or you set off the smoke alarm. There's no middle ground. And 😭 captures that intensity—whether you're crying from laughter at a lopsided cake or genuinely upset that your roux is lumpy.

The Emoji That Says It All

In text-based communication, we lose tone and body language. Emoji fill that gap. For cooks, 😭 is a multi-purpose tool. It can mean:

• “I'm laughing so hard at this failed omelette.”
• “I'm so proud of this roast, I could cry.”
• “Help, my kitchen is on fire.”
• “This recipe is so good, it's emotional.”

It's a way to connect with other cooks, to share the highs and lows, and to say more with less.

How to Use 😭 in Your Cooking Conversations

If you're new to using 😭 in a food context, here's a quick guide:

• When a recipe works: “Made your lasagna 😭😭 so good.”
• When a recipe fails: “Tried to flip a pancake, it's on the floor 😭.”
• When you're hangry: “Waiting for the bread to rise 😭.”
• When you see a gorgeous food pic: “That plating is 😭.”

It's flexible. Use it for joy, pain, or just to keep the conversation lively.

The Future of Emoji in Cooking

As emoji evolve, so does our kitchen vocabulary. Already, 🫰 (finger heart) from K-pop culture is popping up in food posts, and 🫩 (with eye bags) is making rounds among tired home cooks. The key is to stay ahead of the curve—once your parents start using an emoji, it's time to find a new one.

But 😭 has staying power. It's not just a trend; it's a feeling. And in the world of cooking, where every dish is a gamble, we need an emoji that can handle the stakes.

Cook, Cry, Repeat

So next time you're in the kitchen, don't just taste your food—reach for the 😭. Whether you're celebrating a perfect pastry or mourning a burnt batch, it's the emoji that gets it. And if you're still using 😂, that's okay. Just know the internet (and your kids) will judge you.

Now, if you'll excuse me, my bread is proofing and I need to send a 😭 to my baking group.