Are you curious about learning basic cooking but worried that it might be too hard? Of course, the difficulty that comes with learning a new skill is somewhat subjective. The challenges of learning basic cooking depend on factors likehow comfortable you are in the kitchen and how well you understand flavor pairings. If you’ve ever paid attention to someone cooking, you may have noticed how they seem to almost innately know what and how much to add to a dish. This is a skill that comes with practice and observation. You too can get to this point in your own cooking journey, and it doesn’t have to be a hard-fought road.
No matter your current schedule or comfort level with basic cooking, there are plenty of tools available to help make learning easier than you might think. The number one tool is a recipe. A recipe is like a cheat sheet that gives you all the answers. If you can read and follow the directions, you should be able to have exactly what you hoped for as an end result.Â
What is Basic Cooking?
The definition of cooking is using heat to prepare food for human consumption. With something as simple as heat, ingredients undergo epic delicious transformations that change their texture and flavor to create, overall, an enjoyable eating experience. Historians are unsure of exactly when humans learned how to control the power of fire, but the addition of heat to food completely changed the way people consumed food and nutrition.Â
Before the Neolithic Period, cooking consisted of roasting meat on a spit over an open fire. That was it. There was no seasoning or any of the manipulations employed by modern cooks and chefs. The emergence of pottery meant that cooking vessels weren’t just spits. Rudimentary ovens were fashioned, and herbs, vegetables, and fruits could be heated and incorporated into meals. This led to experimenting and inventing different techniques that allowed for more creative meals.
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Basic cooking includes knife skills, knowledge of kitchen equipment, and food preparation and sanitation. Skills like how to cook different grains, boil water, prepare different proteins, and control the temperature of your stove are going to make a big difference in the outcomes of your recipes. Roasting, baking, frying, sauteing, and grilling are just some of the basic skills you can use to make a nutritious and satisfying meal. And there are many different tools that can be used to achieve these techniques, like ovens, stovetops, and grills.
Benefits of Learning Basic Cooking?
Cooking is an essential and practical life skill that can benefit you, your family, and your community in a big way. People will always appreciate a good cook because everyone wants to eat tasty food that brings joy and comfort. This is why learning basic cooking can have social implications. Your family and friends will look forward to sharing meals that you’ve prepared, and you’ll be able to share and exchange recipes with them and other associates, which will help to push you along in your cooking journey.
Beyond your immediate social circle, cooking skills can expand your expanded social network. Getting involved with a food organization like Cooking Matters, which educates folks on how to shop for and cook healthy meals on a budget will allow you to make new connections and improve your cooking skills. There are also local supper clubs and food justice organizations that you may want to get involved with.
A benefit that may be surprising is that cooking at home can save you a lot of money. The price of dining out includes the convenience and a great many overhead costs for the business you’re patronizing. When you shop at your local grocery store or farmer’s market, you’re going to have access to fresh produce and other pantry items. You can be sure that you’re choosing quality ingredients, and you’ll also be able to purchase things according to their season and sales. This helps you save more money on your monthly food budget.Â
Being able to cook for yourself also puts the power of healthier eating within your reach. You’ll have the ability to create healthier meals that will nourish your body. You’ll be in charge of salt, sugar, and heat. You can even make substitutions to better accommodate your dietary restrictions or choices. Whether you decide to eat only sustainably wild-caught seafood, gluten-free, or low-carb, knowing how to cook it for yourself means you can have it your way with the quality of ingredients that you prefer.
What Are the Hardest Parts of Learning Basic Cooking?
Learning to cook is a wonderful challenge. Starting with the basics may seem like a bore, but it really does make the road to kitchen fluency a lot easier. Some of the challenges that you may face as you learn basic cooking include learning from your mistakes, being patient, getting to know your kitchen equipment, and reigning yourself in.
Accepting the Failures
Everyone makes mistakes, and accepting failures is a big part of learning basic cooking. You may burn a few pots of rice before you finally get it right. And although it may seem counterintuitive, when you mess up a dish or a recipe, you want to learn from what you did wrong, which can bring you more clarity on what you should do.Â
If you’re into recipes and like writing things down, it can help to make notes in the margins of your recipes or to keep a notebook to jot things down in. You can comment on what went right and what went wrong, how long certain prep items take, or what temperature adjustments are needed according to your specific equipment. This is just one way to work through disappointments and make improvements.Â
Being Patient
Being patient isn’t always easy, especially if you’re hungry or next in line to host your friends for brunch. Improving your basic cooking skills is going to take a fair amount of practice. So give yourself the time you need to master some recipes and start working on new ones. The more often you get in the kitchen, the sooner you’ll find your cooking stride.Â
When you’re eager to cook something glorious and you’ve seen and heard about so many different ingredients. It’s hard not to go rogue and add some of these must-have ingredients to a recipe. A part of being patient is editing or self-restraint. Most dishes do not require you to empty the entire seasoning cabinet into them. It’s best to stick to what you know and keep your flavor profiles fairly simple before adventuring out without a recipe or seasoned cook to guide you.
Knowing Your Tools
No two kitchens are the same. The stove that you cooked on in that cooking class you took probably isn’t the same stovetop that you have in your home. That means you’ll need to account for the differences. For instance, temperature control can be challenging. Medium to low heat will look different on a gas stove than on an electric range, and it will even differ among stoves in the same family due to output and human adjustments. You’ve got to pay attention to the smells and the way things look as they’re cooking.
You’ll need to know how to work your immersion blender and what it is if you’re going to attempt a soup or a sauce. The same goes for an air fryer, grill plate, or wok. Get familiar with the different types of kitchen equipment, and most certainly the ones that are in your kitchen. This will help you to be more confident in your dishes and more successful in their outcomes.
Key Takeaways
- Learning basic cooking is more challenging for some than others, but it’s worth the effort.
- Basic cooking is a practical life skill that can improve your social network and your health, and save you money.
- Some of the challenges beginning cooks encounter include learning and getting comfortable with their kitchen tools, being patient with the process, and being willing to learn from their mistakes.
- Are you interested in taking private cooking lessons, in-person classes, or online classes? Contact CourseHorse today for more information on how you can learn basic cooking or private group sessions.