Comments on: The Cooking Learning Curve

By: minny

minny — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:16:09 +0000

What good advice! I feel sympathy for young people who have few cooking skills. Here in the UK it is more eating takeaways that eating out. It can be hugely expensive, especially the favourite Indian food. A jar of sauce with simple instructions, supermarket naan bread and boil in the bag rice are a fraction of the price – and oil, salt, sugar and consequently much lower in calories!

I love the step by step cookbooks – with pictures and complete instructions – perfect for the beginner.

By: Thippi

Thippi — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:15:46 +0000

Found your article through Simple Dollar Blog site (thanks Trent!) I’ve always loved cooking and know of people who don’t. I wish I could get more of them to cook and enjoy it. This is a wonderful way of telling others how to start cooking, especially when they are used to eating “out of a box” when they were children. I find teaching my friends about spices and how to use them is also a good way to help them learn. There are so many various kinds of spices and if you know about them, plain white rice can turn into a pizazz meal. I’ll definitely share your article with my friends. Thank you for sharing it!

By: My Cooking Learning Curve

My Cooking Learning Curve — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:03:02 +0000

[...] at Saving Advice.com had a post last week on The Cooking Learning Curve, where she talks about how to learn cooking basics when you know next to [...]

By: Carol Cripps

Carol Cripps — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:57:12 +0000

I don’t understand people who don’t cook, like your young lady’s parents. My mum was an excellent cook, who taught *all* her kids to cook well. (She said she wasn’t going to turn out helpless men onto the world) When we left home, we could all cook decent meals, from appetizers to desserts. True, I’ve learnt a few things over the years that improved on what mum taught, but what I cook, and eat, on a daily basis is what I learned, standing on a chair beside her. At the age of 9, I was able to serve her breakfast in bed and have it edible. It was simple, just fried eggs and toast, but that’s where everyone has to start. The advice you gave your friend was excellent, but I really have to shake my head when I think of her parents, who didn’t prepare her to look after herself. Cooking is a survival skill!

By: Jules

Jules — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 11:12:47 +0000

It also helps to have someone who’s willing to help you eat your disasters I cook a lot more when my boyfriend is at home (he works irregular shifts), mostly because for the same amount of mess, I can get someone else to help me eat the food.

By: YW

YW — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:37:02 +0000

These are great tips. I used them the first time I had to cook for myself! At the time the first things I bought were frozen veggies, some meat (chicken breast) and ready to use sauces. Once I was a bit more comfortable around the kitchen I phoned my mom and asked her how to cook stuff she used to make when I was growing up. Things just flourished from there and now I cook regularly

By: Becky

Becky — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:55:23 +0000

Really good article. Another thing I’d add is, learn to cook by making stuff that you really like. That might sound obvious, but I think a lot of people get turned off cooking because they feel like home-cooked food isn’t as delicious as restaurant food. Or that home-cooked food means whatever their mom used to make, for better or worse.

A lot of restaurant food is pretty simple to make at home – burritos, fancy sandwiches, Asian noodle soups.

By: The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Camping Edition | Online Debt Relief

The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Camping Edition | Online Debt Relief — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:18:07 +0000

[...] The Cooking Learning Curve I think many people who don’t cook at home and instead eat out or get takeout for every meal are people who are frustrated by the learning curve of cooking. The truth is that the learning curve has more to do with who teaches you and the approaches you take than anything. If you start off trying to make coq au vin after having never prepared a dish in your life, it is going to be a disaster. That’s a bad approach, and it’ll keep you from enjoying the pleasures and the savings of cooking at home. (@ saving advice) [...]

By: Johanna

Johanna — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:15:52 +0000

Great article. I’ve always suspected that “foodie culture” was turning at least as many people off to cooking as it was turning on.

Pasta with sauce out of a jar is another great dish to start with. Then once you’ve got the basics down, you can start adding things to the sauce (vegetables, meat, cheese, dried herbs, fresh herbs…)