Here are some things about beginning cooks and non-cooks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I appreciate the replies. Actually, I can cook a fairly decent meal. I make a lot of chicken dishes; chili; stir-fries; do a good roast; flank steak; know how to make Thanksgiving dinner and have been doing it for years on my own; can make a simple cake, brownies, etc. I always contribute to potlucks. (Okay, hold the applause.)

The point of my post was more that sometimes I see recipes that use terms that I know are not appropriate for beginners, or use several steps in tandem that I know from experience would cause a beginning cook to take hours to execute. Or that would cause confusion.
That's all.

Well, thanks for the PSA on behalf of all beginning cooks out there (of which you are not one). But perhaps they know that there's this handy function on your computer called Google, and you can use it to look up unknown terms. Sometimes it even can be used to access simple instructional videos.

[Anonymous]

Personally, I've never had much success googling the instructions for a recipes. And it just adds endless time and steps. If I have to watch a video in order to make a recipe, it's not a recipe that's easy.

Yes, we can all take a cooking class. But then we wouldn't be beginners. I think that's the point.

The point is not whether we should all learn to cook competently. The point is that there is such a thing as a beginning cook who is not so competent.

Not sure why this is a heated thread.

[Anonymous]

OP, the great thing about learning to cook now is that when you encounter an unfamiliar cooking term, the odds are very good that you can find a video of someone demonstrating that particular technique so you can learn what it is. Everyone's idea of easy is a little different, so you're going to get different "easy" recipe suggestions from everyone you ask.

When I was first learning to cook, I found Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything to be a great help - not only does he write recipes I found pretty easy to follow, he includes a lot of suggestions for substitutions and lists (10 different things to add to a soup, etc.) so if you find a recipe that sounds great, only you hate ingredient x/don't have it/whatever you're not stuck.

Good luck and keep cooking!

[Anonymous]

Why are people being so bitchy? Baking is harder than cooking, there are more specific terms and techniques, and the final result depends more on each step being completed correctly than in cooking. You know the old saying: cooking is an art but baking is a science. As much as I love to bake I would shy away from a recipe that involved whipping cream and beating egg whites unless I really had to have that particular thing, since they can be tricky to work with. And, I also don't own a stand mixer (although I have owned a hand mixer for a few years now).

I was surprised by the PP who said she is not going to teach her DD to cook. I see learning to cook like learning to swim or knowing how to do laundry, a basic life skill that everyone should have when they leave their parents' home. I don't think kids need to have lessons and advanced baking is something that I'd only involve DS in if he's truly interested, but basic cooking and baking is something I expect him to involved in helping with. I grew up helping my parents cook and I can remember the progression from being allowed to stir to being allowed to cut and it made me feel like I was making an important contribution to our household. Cooking meals shouldn't be one family member's hobby, it should be something everyone participates in (in my opinion).

To get to the OP's point, there are usually decent guides to basic terms in the front of general cookbooks. I know that Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison has an excellent glossary that helped me (an experienced but not expert cook) clarify and improve some techniques. The Joy of Cooking does as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I appreciate the replies. Actually, I can cook a fairly decent meal. I make a lot of chicken dishes; chili; stir-fries; do a good roast; flank steak; know how to make Thanksgiving dinner and have been doing it for years on my own; can make a simple cake, brownies, etc. I always contribute to potlucks. (Okay, hold the applause.)

The point of my post was more that sometimes I see recipes that use terms that I know are not appropriate for beginners, or use several steps in tandem that I know from experience would cause a beginning cook to take hours to execute. Or that would cause confusion.
That's all.

Well, thanks for the PSA on behalf of all beginning cooks out there (of which you are not one). But perhaps they know that there's this handy function on your computer called Google, and you can use it to look up unknown terms. Sometimes it even can be used to access simple instructional videos.

Well, apparently I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. If I am a beginning cook, I'm to be cursed out because I have the audacity not to have learned to cook which is a life skill everyone must have. If I am somewhat competent, well, how dare I speak up on behalf of beginners. What a nice bunch you experienced cooks are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I appreciate the replies. Actually, I can cook a fairly decent meal. I make a lot of chicken dishes; chili; stir-fries; do a good roast; flank steak; know how to make Thanksgiving dinner and have been doing it for years on my own; can make a simple cake, brownies, etc. I always contribute to potlucks. (Okay, hold the applause.)

The point of my post was more that sometimes I see recipes that use terms that I know are not appropriate for beginners, or use several steps in tandem that I know from experience would cause a beginning cook to take hours to execute. Or that would cause confusion.
That's all.

Well, thanks for the PSA on behalf of all beginning cooks out there (of which you are not one). But perhaps they know that there's this handy function on your computer called Google, and you can use it to look up unknown terms. Sometimes it even can be used to access simple instructional videos.

Well, apparently I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. If I am a beginning cook, I'm to be cursed out because I have the audacity not to have learned to cook which is a life skill everyone must have. If I am somewhat competent, well, how dare I speak up on behalf of beginners. What a nice bunch you experienced cooks are.

I'm the one who said it was a life skill everyone should have and I didn't mean to insult those who are current adults and don't cook. Really. I was only speaking to the active choice not to teach your DC a skill that you actually have when you have the easy opportunity to do so. I learned to cook beyond the basics as an adult, so it's not like I left high school whipping up layer cakes or anything like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I appreciate the replies. Actually, I can cook a fairly decent meal. I make a lot of chicken dishes; chili; stir-fries; do a good roast; flank steak; know how to make Thanksgiving dinner and have been doing it for years on my own; can make a simple cake, brownies, etc. I always contribute to potlucks. (Okay, hold the applause.)

The point of my post was more that sometimes I see recipes that use terms that I know are not appropriate for beginners, or use several steps in tandem that I know from experience would cause a beginning cook to take hours to execute. Or that would cause confusion.
That's all.

Well, thanks for the PSA on behalf of all beginning cooks out there (of which you are not one). But perhaps they know that there's this handy function on your computer called Google, and you can use it to look up unknown terms. Sometimes it even can be used to access simple instructional videos.

Well, apparently I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. If I am a beginning cook, I'm to be cursed out because I have the audacity not to have learned to cook which is a life skill everyone must have. If I am somewhat competent, well, how dare I speak up on behalf of beginners. What a nice bunch you experienced cooks are.

OP, I think you're confusing a "beginner" recipe with an "easy" recipe. For a beginner, any recipe beyond cut-and-boil is likely to be difficult and time-intensive. That's how it works, and how it's supposed to be. That's how you learn. So, if I was approached by a novice cook who had no real interest in getting better at cooking, and just wanted a one-off recipe for a particular occasion (for example), I'd give him an easy recipe. If I was approached by a novice cook who wanted to improve, I'd give her a beginners recipe. Make sense?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but as a beginner I see a lot of posts that are just well beyond beginning cooks or non-cooks and I thought I would point out why:

We don't know what it means to beat, fold, or whip. So telling us all we have to do is whip or fold or beat this or that until it's fluffy is not an easy or no-fail recipe. It's gobbledy-gook. Anything beyond stir or cut up needs to be explained.

We don't know what soft peaks or hard peaks are. So that's not an easy recipe or a beginner recipe. And although I know intellectually at this point what soft peaks look like, 3 out of 5 times, I can't achieve them, so I tend to avoid those recipes anyway.

A recipe that calls for three different steps -- for example, making your own crust, making the filling, and then decorating the top, is going to take HOURS for a beginner. I'm serious. We can't multi-task like experienced cooks. We can't watch a double-boiler and wash this and chop that at the same time. It's also, potentially, three different set-ups for failure. Utter and complete failure.

Recipes that call for cheesecloth, double-boilers, parchment, and other such implements -- not beginning recipes.

Well, you do sound a bit ungrateful dear. When I started out cooking, mind all I had was Better Homes and Gardens. Never mind all the cookbooks now with step by step instructions. You, bless you have the Cooking Channel, the Food Network and Youtube. There are so many instructional videos floating around so you can pause and cook along with them. If you really wanted to learn, then you have no excuse for not googling say *How to Make Soft Peaks* and clicking on video results.

[Anonymous]

I think that those of us who cook and cook well also forget what it means to be a beginner--and might have a different understanding of what a "basic" skill is.

I learned to whip cream and beat egg whites at my mother's knee, and I really do think of whipping cream as a pretty basic cooking skill (put cream in bowl. whip until it's done.) but it's easy to forget that if you haven't seen the technique performed and if you don't regularly eat homemade whipped cream, you don't know what done looks like!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand your frustration OP, but you have to start somewhere and you have to aspire at least to something more than Hamburger Helper. You are not "learning to cook" if you only try recipes that require cutting and boiling. Practice builds confidence. And it's really not as hard as you think. People cook every day, even people who work.

Watch Food Network. Google demos. Pick a recipe that sounds good to you, one that involves a bit of effort, and try it. That's how we learn. No one is born knowing how to cook -- I learned in my 30s. But as PP noted, there is no reason an adult should not be able to cook a decent meal.

I don't want to learn to cook. And I'm 47 and haven't had to do it yet. Who cares? It's very time consuming and not very satisfying.

[Anonymous]

OMG PP, you are totally right. Cooking as a hobby - how unsatisfying and pathetic! I would much rather your hobby - coming onto food boards that you have no interest in and making pathetic, pointless comments. Oh what brilliant fun, you are my idol.

[Anonymous]

Op is grating and irritating. I have no desire to take responsibility for her peculiar insecurity about cooking. I do not care if she can make dinner with or without confusion.

[Anonymous]

OP I think what might be helpful is if when you request a recipe for something, that you qualify if you want an easy recipe that's not intricate and takes minimal prep time.

I'm a beginner too, and can't really make anything past mac & cheese or scrambled eggs. Baby steps. It's nice to say "All adults should know how to ...." but when the only way your parents ever made vegtables was to dump a frozen square of them into the microwave for 3-4 minutes, that's all you know.

[Anonymous]

OP, i have a great resource for you! You can easily see very detailed descriptions of all of these techniques right here: www.youtube.com

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are people being so bitchy? Baking is harder than cooking, there are more specific terms and techniques, and the final result depends more on each step being completed correctly than in cooking. You know the old saying: cooking is an art but baking is a science. As much as I love to bake I would shy away from a recipe that involved whipping cream and beating egg whites unless I really had to have that particular thing, since they can be tricky to work with. And, I also don't own a stand mixer (although I have owned a hand mixer for a few years now).

I was surprised by the PP who said she is not going to teach her DD to cook. I see learning to cook like learning to swim or knowing how to do laundry, a basic life skill that everyone should have when they leave their parents' home. I don't think kids need to have lessons and advanced baking is something that I'd only involve DS in if he's truly interested, but basic cooking and baking is something I expect him to involved in helping with. I grew up helping my parents cook and I can remember the progression from being allowed to stir to being allowed to cut and it made me feel like I was making an important contribution to our household. Cooking meals shouldn't be one family member's hobby, it should be something everyone participates in (in my opinion).

To get to the OP's point, there are usually decent guides to basic terms in the front of general cookbooks. I know that Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison has an excellent glossary that helped me (an experienced but not expert cook) clarify and improve some techniques. The Joy of Cooking does as well.

I was also surprised by the PP who said she would not teach her daughter how to cook, and I hope she might reconsider after reading this thread. The reason there are so many adults who don't know how to cook is because they did not learn as children. I was one. My mom cooked every night, not elaborately, but from mostly from scratch. I somehow managed not to learn how to do anything -- I guess I was always doing homework during that time. I never watched her except on the holidays. Consequently, when I left home for college, I literally did not even know how to boil water. I mean I could turn on the stove, but I didn't know how long it would take to boil the water or what a simmer versus a rolling boil looked like. I learned a teeny bit while watching my host mother cook when I studied abroad, but I didn't learn to cook myself until after college, when I moved into an apartment, bought a knife, a cutting board, and a bunch of cookbooks, and did a lot of experimenting. Now I am a very good cook, but it took a lot of time and effort (and yucky meals). I wish I had learned to cook as a child, when I had the opportunity. If it's easy to teach your daughter, you really should consider it. It won't be as important to her now as her hobbies and passions, but she will appreciate it when she's older.