How do you learn to cook?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
I will second the advice on getting a basic cookbook like Better Homes and Gardens. My mother started me on that book many years ago, and you really can't go wrong with some of the good, standard recipes inside. I'd suggest trying a basic roasted chicken recipe, as mentioned by another poster. An inexpensive meat thermometer will save you some headaches down the road, by the way.

Cooking is also about timing. So remember to try and work it out so all your food (main course and any hot side dishes) is finished cooking at roughly the same time.
 
I also recommend getting one or more basic cookbooks. For absolute beginners, I'm a big fan of Betty Crocker Cooking Basics: Amazon.com: Betty Crocker Cooking Basics: Recipes and Tips to Cook with Confidence (Betty Crocker Books): Betty Crocker Editors: Books but also recommend the regular Betty Crocker Cookbook: Amazon.com: Betty Crocker Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today, New Tenth Edition: Betty Crocker Editors: Books.

If you want to start out with some free online information, I highly recommend the Cooking Dude website: http://www.cookingdude.com/ .
 
I am also new to cooking. I haven't gotten a cookbook yet because money is tight for me at the moment and 20 bucks spent on a book is 20 bucks I'm not spending on groceries. So my main source of knowledge comes from the internet and from tuning in to the food network.

You said when you find recipes online you don't know what some of the ingredients are, I am the same way. For example I came across what looks like a simple chicken dish. It asked for 4 cloves garlic, minced. Well what the heck is that. I know what garlic is, it is the stuff vampires hate. :-p So I googled the garlic plant and learned that a clove garlic is just a bulb of the garlic plant. Ok makes sense, now minced? Googled that and learned it is a way to to prepare food by cutting it certain ways. Easy peezy.

Going down the recipe it called for freshly ground black pepper. I thought, hmm, I have McCormicks Black Pepper so what is the difference? Thus after another Google adventure I learned all about the Black Pepper plant, what peppercorns were and what a pepper mill was (though I've seen pepper mills in restaurants never knew what they were called, lol). So obviously that is something I could substitute for the time being.

Currently I am starting by building a foundation of experience. Not really producing full fancy meals just yet. Just getting to know how to cook vegetables, meats, poultries, fish by baking, broiling, stove top or any of those other nifty terms. It's kinda like learning to swim. First you learn to float. Then learn to kick. Then learn to paddle. Then comes the full strokes. With the basics well mastered then it is not too scary to just jump in.
 
I am also new to cooking. I haven't gotten a cookbook yet because money is tight for me at the moment and 20 bucks spent on a book is 20 bucks I'm not spending on groceries. So my main source of knowledge comes from the internet and from tuning in to the food network.

You said when you find recipes online you don't know what some of the ingredients are, I am the same way. For example I came across what looks like a simple chicken dish. It asked for 4 cloves garlic, minced. Well what the heck is that. I know what garlic is, it is the stuff vampires hate. :-p So I googled the garlic plant and learned that a clove garlic is just a bulb of the garlic plant. Ok makes sense, now minced? Googled that and learned it is a way to to prepare food by cutting it certain ways. Easy peezy.

Going down the recipe it called for freshly ground black pepper. I thought, hmm, I have McCormicks Black Pepper so what is the difference? Thus after another Google adventure I learned all about the Black Pepper plant, what peppercorns were and what a pepper mill was (though I've seen pepper mills in restaurants never knew what they were called, lol). So obviously that is something I could substitute for the time being.

Currently I am starting by building a foundation of experience. Not really producing full fancy meals just yet. Just getting to know how to cook vegetables, meats, poultries, fish by baking, broiling, stove top or any of those other nifty terms. It's kinda like learning to swim. First you learn to float. Then learn to kick. Then learn to paddle. Then comes the full strokes. With the basics well mastered then it is not too scary to just jump in.

It sounds like you're on the right track, Sonne. Check out the Cooking Dude website. I think it will be a big help to you until you can afford to buy a cookbook.

Incidentally, black pepper looses much of its flavor and aroma very quickly after it's ground. In the spice section of the supermarket, they sell whole peppercorns in an inexpensive disposable grinder. McCormick and Alessi are the two brands I'm familiar with. It's much better to buy pepper this way than pre-ground.
 
The Food Network helps to get you started, definitely. I am heading off to college next year, and I have been watching my dad cook for ages as well as the food network. I cook things for the family from time to time, and I also take part in the food shopping. The thing that really turned me on to the kitchen was baking. I'm rather interested in chemistry, so it was a natural pairing! Really, just buy a cookbook and see how it all turns out!

Might I suggest Alton Brown since he describes the processes involved in cooking in a scientific way, so you really understand what you're doing. It allows you to make future alterations on recipes, etc.
 
I learned by watching others cook and starting
to cook different dishes which use different techniques -
Roasting, Sauteeing, Frying, Braising , etc.

I suggest you watch PBS cooking shows like
American Test Kitchen, Jacques Pepin, Lydia Bastionitch, Rick Bayless
and you'll pick up a lot. IMHO Food Network shows
are more like entertainment than instruction.

Also - don't be afraid of making mistakes.
 
my grandmother and mother were both terrible cooks.........just a fact......they were beyond measure in love and caring and other wonderful gifts........my mother-in-law was a great cook but I didn't see her often so she gave me the next best thing......a Betty Crocker cookbook which I still have held together by rubber bands and a collector's item......I learned so much from that as far as all the basics and good simple recipes.....then I felt confident to branch out and try other cuisines (Asian is my favorite esp Vietnamese and Thai)..now I can look at a recipe and pretty much tell if it's going to be good or not (yep, I still goof up from time to time but it happens to most) Allrecipes is one of the sites that I like to visit as they have viewer ratings and they will give you hints on what they did to improve upon it which are very helpful
 
I almost forgot to mention one of my very favorite "celebrity chefs", internet Chef John Mitzewich. He's developed almost a cult-like following. Not only is he a great chef, but he's an excellent food writer and teacher, as well as being incredibly entertaining. If you like watching the Food Network chefs/cooks, you've got to give this guy a try.

He has a wonderful video food blog: Food Wishes Video Recipes - Free Video Recipe Blog with tons of recipes, all very well-filmed with clear explanations of exactly what he's doing. Some are also hilariously funny, such as his "Iron" Chef Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich, prepared in his hotel room using an iron. Among other things, he's also the American Food Guide for About.com and has a lot of great recipes and info there: American Food - American Recipes and Cooking - American Cuisine . I really like this guy and hope you will too.
 
There is no trick to cooking. All you have to do is follow the recipe. Its just that some of us (like me) are patience challenged. I recommend you find some recipes you think you will like and make sure they are not using a ton of ingredients. Start making some here and there and I think you will find it is not as hard as you think it is. One way to fool the ladies is to get really good at crop pot cooking. Its the easiest way and almost impossible to screw up! Good luck!
 
There is no trick to cooking. All you have to do is follow the recipe. Its just that some of us (like me) are patience challenged. I recommend you find some recipes you think you will like and make sure they are not using a ton of ingredients. Start making some here and there and I think you will find it is not as hard as you think it is. One way to fool the ladies is to get really good at crop pot cooking. Its the easiest way and almost impossible to screw up! Good luck!


This is GREAT advice... cooking in a crock pot can be one of the easiest and it can make a simple meal seem like you spent hours on it (even when all you did was throw everything in and leave it all afternoon!)

I know it's always said, but the best advice is to JUST START COOKING. Trial and error is the only way to really develop your skills... after a while you will get to a point where recipes will give you ideas, but your experience will allow you to give your dishes a personalized flavor/ touch.
 
There are a few cookbooks out there with recipes that have no more than four ingredients. It would be pretty hard to mess up a dish like that. Check Amazon.
 
I learned most of my basics from spending time in the kitchen with my grandmothers, mom and her two sisters, and in Boy Scouts. Other things I have learned over the years have come from a cousin who was a chef, uncles who knew how to butcher and smoke meats, watching cooking shows, reading, and a lot more time in the kitchen "experimenting".

Cooking is better learned by demonstration than just from reading descriptions from books. However, you can learn a lot of the essentials from books, too! Beg, borrow or buy (get the hardcover edition) a copy of Joy of Cooking - the 1975 revision that only lists Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker as authors on the cover. This has a lot of information on what you need to set up your kitchen, what different ingredients are, how to use them, explains different cuts of meats and how to cook them, etc.

If you want to get more into the "science" then you might want to check out a copy of On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (Hardcover - Revised Edition) by Harold McGee.

There are some other good books, look in our cookbook forum for some other suggestions, but these two will get you started.

For some cheap cooking classes check out your local community college (usually a continuing education course during the evening) or community center (usually sponsored by the parks and recreation department). Some grocery stores also have coking demonstrations/classes - you'll just have to check around .... I know that around me Central Market and Whole Foods have them every couple of weeks or so.

Yes, like anything else, cooking has a learning curve. But, like the other challenges you have overcome in your life (potty training, drinking out of a glass, walking, dressing yourself) you can learn to cook, too! There are really only about 7-11 ways to cook food ... everything else is technique or ingredients.:chef:

Now, as for impressing the ladies because you can cook a meal ... yep, you can ... I've got two ex-wives that can attest to that. But trust me - cooking with her before you get too serious is a not an option, it is mandatory! The morning after the honeymoon is over is not the time to find out that she is reading the egg carton to find instructions to make scrambled eggs, or looking for the instruction manual for the toaster to make toast ... :huh:
 
Where do you start? Cooking is so confusing.... :( I look at some recipes online and there's a whole bunch of ingredients I never heard of.

Seriously...this whole thing is so unnatural...where do you begin to learn to start cooking?

I'd suggest starting with basic meals, that are "learnable" by watching somebody else make.

Then try recipes.

Then, get creative with changing things up.

The trick is, don't be afraid to ruin a dish. You have to learn somehow.



Just when I got comfortable cooking, I moved into an apartment without a stove. I've been electric skilleting my meals, and have managed to pick up a thing or two.

Watch people, and don't be embarrassed to ask questions. "how much of this do you use", "what is that", "why do you use this and not that".

Good luck.
 
First, Welcome to DC. I can tell from the stores you listed you're in California. Most likely someone north of Bakersfield because Lucky is only in Cali.

Yea, we lost our Lucky back when I was in High School (1993) and I haven't seen one since. I'm in L.A. We don't have Safeways, never have down here. Our Vons carries Safeways brand however.
 
something else I love is the Food Network. I watch it everyday and have learned soooooo much!

Yea and you can select your recipes based on their difficulty, easy, intermediate, or Barefoot Contessa.


I stumbled onto a website that actually had the "grocery list" for you also. That was nice. I don't remember what site it was though.
 
Yea, we lost our Lucky back when I was in High School (1993) and I haven't seen one since. I'm in L.A. We don't have Safeways, never have down here. Our Vons carries Safeways brand however.
Vons is only in Sothern California, Safeway is north of Santa Barbara (IIR SB has both). Funny thing in Virginia I was able to use my Vons card at Safeway when I went on a visit in 2000. Before I left So Cal Lucky's were becoming Albertsons, during the strike of 2003-04, but in Nor Cal it stayed Lucky. I always prefered Lucky over Albertsons. But that's another thread.

I believe both stores have a great selection albeit different one to another. Vons/Safeway had a great meat section and great specials on a weekly basis (Oh I miss those specials). Look for specials and stock up on staples. You won't regret it.
 
A cookbook that only needs 5 ingredients

We used to eat out a lot during the week. But now we're trying to save that money so I found a book for beginning cooks. Well, I just love it. It has hundreds of recipes in it and every one just uses like 5 things. And it's stuff I usually already have in my cabinet.
The best part is that my picky DDs will actually eat the stuff I cook! LOL (That is something new).

It's called:
500 Fast & Fabulous Five Star 5 Ingredient Recipes by Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley, and I think it cost about $16. I have already saved probably $200 in a month since we quit driving through for dinner. So I'm happy with it.

Oh, I got it at Amazon.
 
Back
Top Bottom