Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 13:43     Subject: Top 10 basic cooking skills
Knowing how to measure using Tablespoons, cups, teaspoon etc properly. You PACK the brown sugar.
Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 03:03     Subject: Top 10 basic cooking skills
How to bake. And I’m not talking the advanced stuff (eg weighing rather than measuring, sifting flour, etc.) — I mean the difference between baking and cooking, the precision required, how to work with yeast, how to properly prep a pan for a Bundt, layer cake or other.
Anonymous
Post 06/08/2025 18:14     Subject: Top 10 basic cooking skills
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote: Hacks like using microwave to cook onion, garlic, herbs instead of sauté in oil. Knowing to add the garlic, ginger in the center of the pan in a bit of liquid for 30 seconds after onion is translucent. How to bloom spices if starting with those. How to chop, dice, cube. How to simmer on low heat. How to store vegetables, herbs, etc appropriately.


What? No!!!!


Agreed! This is the opposite of basic knowledge. It’s sacrilege.
Anonymous
Post 06/08/2025 18:09     Subject: Top 10 basic cooking skills
Heating/stove use.
Different uses for different pans.
Prep work.
Not overcooking food, especially the meats.
Not having to use recipes.
Various seasoning styles.
Safety both utensil and fire safety.
What fats to use for cooking and when.
Being bold with trying new things.
Not getting in a rut.
Anonymous
Post 06/08/2025 07:03     Subject: Top 10 basic cooking skills
Anonymous wrote:I think they should learn that knowing the Gordon Ramsey way of scrambling eggs doesn't make them a master of eggs, and looking down on people who break their spaghetti in half to put in the pot doesn't make them a better person.

They should learn the hacks. That you can buy frozen cubes of ginger and garlic from Trader Joe's. That they should figure out what foods they like and learn to cook those the way they like them.

I break all sorts of cooking rules, and like everything I cook. That's all that matters.


This is great advice in a first post and I wish it had flavored the rest of the posts because there are already people turning up their snooty noses at advice other people are giving. If it works for you and you are making what you like or your family likes, then you are winning.
Anonymous
Post 06/08/2025 06:58     Subject: Re:Top 10 basic cooking skills
Food safety and cleanliness - how to work safely with raw meat and how to clean up afterward. Things like not using the same cutting board for raw meat and veggies! Using a food thermometer to make sure meat is cooked to the right temp.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2025 16:36     Subject: Top 10 basic cooking skills
Anonymous wrote: Hacks like using microwave to cook onion, garlic, herbs instead of sauté in oil. Knowing to add the garlic, ginger in the center of the pan in a bit of liquid for 30 seconds after onion is translucent. How to bloom spices if starting with those. How to chop, dice, cube. How to simmer on low heat. How to store vegetables, herbs, etc appropriately.


What? No!!!!
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2025 16:28     Subject: Top 10 basic cooking skills
Knife skills and knowledge of how long it takes for different ingredients to cook.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2025 16:08     Subject: Top 10 basic cooking skills
Anonymous wrote: Hacks like using microwave to cook onion, garlic, herbs instead of sauté in oil. Knowing to add the garlic, ginger in the center of the pan in a bit of liquid for 30 seconds after onion is translucent. How to bloom spices if starting with those. How to chop, dice, cube. How to simmer on low heat. How to store vegetables, herbs, etc appropriately.


Did not know this. Is this how I avoid burning the garlic?
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2025 15:29     Subject: Re:Top 10 basic cooking skills
1. scramble egg
2. boil pasta
3. steam rice
4. stir fry chicken or beef + vegetables
5. steam veggies (broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower)
6. basic salad + vinagrette
7. roast root vegetables
8. bake a whole chicken
9. hamburger
10. broil fish
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2025 15:27     Subject: Top 10 basic cooking skills
Add the garlic after the onion cooks down, so the garlic doesn’t burn.

Knife skills are imperative
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2025 15:27     Subject: Top 10 basic cooking skills
Hacks like using microwave to cook onion, garlic, herbs instead of sauté in oil. Knowing to add the garlic, ginger in the center of the pan in a bit of liquid for 30 seconds after onion is translucent. How to bloom spices if starting with those. How to chop, dice, cube. How to simmer on low heat. How to store vegetables, herbs, etc appropriately.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2025 15:24     Subject: Top 10 basic cooking skills
How to control temperature on the pan; knife skills (chopping, slicing, dicing), how to use oil and salt, how to take all the ingredients out when you need, possibly measuring them ahead of time, how to make a decent salad dressing, how to use a meat thermometer.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2025 15:20     Subject: Top 10 basic cooking skills
I think they should learn that knowing the Gordon Ramsey way of scrambling eggs doesn't make them a master of eggs, and looking down on people who break their spaghetti in half to put in the pot doesn't make them a better person.

They should learn the hacks. That you can buy frozen cubes of ginger and garlic from Trader Joe's. That they should figure out what foods they like and learn to cook those the way they like them.

I break all sorts of cooking rules, and like everything I cook. That's all that matters.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2025 15:17     Subject: Top 10 basic cooking skills
If someone had never leared to cook very much, what are the top 10 skills you think they should learn?