How did you learn to cook?
Discussion
I am a rubbish cook. I have no idea how most of the meals that are posted on here are cooked.
I want to to learn to cook, this is mainly due to my boring meal routine that I have trapped myself into. I just have no idea where to start so I thought I would ask on here.
Any books, on-line videos, web sites that people can recommend for a novice?
I have looked at the slow cooker thread my only problem is most of the meals look quite large. I live on my own so meals will mainly be for one. I also don't have a freezer so saving things for another day isn't a option.
I want to to learn to cook, this is mainly due to my boring meal routine that I have trapped myself into. I just have no idea where to start so I thought I would ask on here.
Any books, on-line videos, web sites that people can recommend for a novice?
I have looked at the slow cooker thread my only problem is most of the meals look quite large. I live on my own so meals will mainly be for one. I also don't have a freezer so saving things for another day isn't a option.
Watching my parents.
When we were children, my parents would, everyday without fail, have a cooked meal there for us on the table. We would get involved: mixing this or stirring that.
Now i'm abit (read: alot) older, I have a feel for things which go well. I'm one of those (annoying) people who can make a decent meal with very few ingredients! But I also look at youtube and cookbooks, and "feel" my way through the recipe.
When we were children, my parents would, everyday without fail, have a cooked meal there for us on the table. We would get involved: mixing this or stirring that.
Now i'm abit (read: alot) older, I have a feel for things which go well. I'm one of those (annoying) people who can make a decent meal with very few ingredients! But I also look at youtube and cookbooks, and "feel" my way through the recipe.
I learnt to cook through my mum and an ex girlfriend of mine who are both great cooks. As said, BBC good food website is a good source of recepies, and all it takes is practice. Eventually through experience you will develop a sense of what flavours you like, what goes well together, and you can tailor recepies on the fly to your liking then.
Plenty of recepies for 1/2 people on the BBC site, or if you have a fast metabolism like me, you can make something in the morning for 4-6 people and finish it off throughout the day.
Plenty of recepies for 1/2 people on the BBC site, or if you have a fast metabolism like me, you can make something in the morning for 4-6 people and finish it off throughout the day.
Mainly through my mum - baking with her as a young kid and progressing from there. In secondary school we had Home Economics so did a bit there too. I was fairly competant to cook myself a meal from scratch when I left home for uni. I watch quite a few cookery programs so I guess I learn from them nowadays.
PHer-created 'sorted food for students' (or something like that) is pretty good for recipes and instructions for those who really don't have a clue.
Nothing like that existed in my day, therefore I learned by trial and error - with some horrible Marmite and mung bean pasta glops along the way.
Nothing like that existed in my day, therefore I learned by trial and error - with some horrible Marmite and mung bean pasta glops along the way.
Watch and learn from some of the celebrity chefs. Jamie Oliver is excellent, and his 30 minute meals book is highly recommended. Delia is quite old-school, but her recipes are meticulously tried and tested, and if you follow her instructions precisely, you will succeed.
I would ignore Heston Blumenthal for now though
!
Good luck!
I would ignore Heston Blumenthal for now though
! Good luck!
Edited by Bradgate on Monday 19th November 19:45
Mobile Chicane said:
PHer-created 'sorted food for students' (or something like that) is pretty good for recipes and instructions for those who really don't have a clue.
Nothing like that existed in my day, therefore I learned by trial and error - with some horrible Marmite and mung bean pasta glops along the way.
I did a search for the above topic but couldn't find it. how long was it? Nothing like that existed in my day, therefore I learned by trial and error - with some horrible Marmite and mung bean pasta glops along the way.
Survival cooking as a student ("Cooking in a bed-sitter"). I took no notice of what was cooked at home.
Then no cooking at all once I got married until about 10 years ago when I started watching cookery programmes on TV and thought "That looks tasty. I could do that" and started experimenting and discovered some things were indeed do-able. My wife has been very supportive, though rightfully critical of the mess I make.
Then no cooking at all once I got married until about 10 years ago when I started watching cookery programmes on TV and thought "That looks tasty. I could do that" and started experimenting and discovered some things were indeed do-able. My wife has been very supportive, though rightfully critical of the mess I make.
Bradgate said:
Watch and learn from some of the celebrity chefs. Jamie Oliver is excellent, and his 30 minute meals book is highly recommended. Delia is quite old-school, but her recipes are meticulously tried and tested
Great advice - Jamie Oliver's not always my cup of tea, but he was the first person to really inspire me - and it goes without saying that Delia's an absolute institution!At the end of the day, cooking's pretty much just chopping stuff up and applying heat to it - find a few simple things that you love to eat, and learn how to cook them (it doesn't have to be a celeb chef - the aforementioned are great, but some are a little hard work to start with and there's loads of great recipes all over the web).
Oh, and don't worry about messing up - and a few mistakes along the way are all part of the learning process!
use to do a fair bit of baking with my mum when i was 9/10...
Now i just pick a few things up whack em in the pan , mostly trail and error what goes with what etc...
Take chicken , chilli flakes and garlic ... Diced onions in honey etc...
IF im baking i usually just go through a cook book until i find something that looks nice and give it a shot
Now i just pick a few things up whack em in the pan , mostly trail and error what goes with what etc...
Take chicken , chilli flakes and garlic ... Diced onions in honey etc...
IF im baking i usually just go through a cook book until i find something that looks nice and give it a shot
I learnt through experimenting. Smell 2 things, do they smell nice together? That's cooking.
There is a book being released today called the 4 hour chef which teaches learning through cooking which looks quite good.
There is a book being released today called the 4 hour chef which teaches learning through cooking which looks quite good.
In your situation I'd buy a counter top freezer, a slow cooker and look up slow cooker recipes on-line, there are plenty. I'd start with stews, they're easy, just chopping and waiting (for the slow cooker to do its stuff). Eat some the day you cook it, save some for the next day and freeze the rest. Progress to chilli con carne, curries and within a few weeks you'll have a selection of frozen meals and will have learnt about flavours, seasoning etc.
I find the BBC Good Food little books very useful. They are usually called "101 simple suppers" or "101 Healthy Eats". The recipes are a bit simpler, and with less fancy ingredients, than the usual cook books. We cook from them most nights. The simple suppers one is a good starter. They are £4.99 I think.
I learnt watching my mum and aunt cook (Bajan food) and just having a feeling for what ingredients might compliment each other. I've always been a creative type be it drawing or djing so I just see cooking as an extention of that. Missus Alvarez is a pretty good cook as well so I've learnt alot of Jamaican dishes off her over the years.
Sarkmeister said:
I find the BBC Good Food little books very useful. They are usually called "101 simple suppers" or "101 Healthy Eats". The recipes are a bit simpler, and with less fancy ingredients, than the usual cook books. We cook from them most nights. The simple suppers one is a good starter. They are £4.99 I think.
This!!Been cooking from the low fat and healthy books for the last couple of weeks and they're quick, easy and really tasty with minimal ingredients.
Although I'm not a good cook (I have no imagination) I like to think I can cobble together shepherds pie or chilli from scratch. If you have even the slightest interest then watch some of the TV cooks in action. Jamie Oliver is good and the recent Gordon Ramsay program showed all the basics.
And as everyone else has said, practice
Jamie Oliver, I bought his Ministry of food book a week before moving into my own home with the gf.
I had never cooked a proper meal before that, my greatest achievement was cheese on toast.
My first meal from the book was on valentines day (3 days before we moved out), and since then i've cooked every meal at homw ever since (4 years).
I just find the books very easy to follow and I rarely have to go out of my way to find the ingredients, 90% are in the house!
I would highly recommend any of Jamies books (Ministry of food, 30 minute meals & Jamies Great Britain)
I had never cooked a proper meal before that, my greatest achievement was cheese on toast.
My first meal from the book was on valentines day (3 days before we moved out), and since then i've cooked every meal at homw ever since (4 years).
I just find the books very easy to follow and I rarely have to go out of my way to find the ingredients, 90% are in the house!
I would highly recommend any of Jamies books (Ministry of food, 30 minute meals & Jamies Great Britain)
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