1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

can you cook? how did you learn to cook?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by dwelefan, May 21, 2015.

  1. dwelefan

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2015
    Messages:
    49
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    I am not that great of a cook , but trying to learn to get better. I have to use cookbooks or the internet a lot because there is a lot that i don't know how to cook
     
  2. Andrew99

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2013
    Messages:
    3,402
    Likes Received:
    8
    Location:
    Milwaukee
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Some people
    I should start learning how to cook.
     
  3. Spacesword

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 3, 2015
    Messages:
    105
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Kentucky
    I can cook, mostly old fashioned country/southern food and almost anything from a cookbook.
    I taught myself since I felt the need to.
     
  4. C P

    C P
    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2013
    Messages:
    1,826
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Traversing Weyard
    I can cook, I just don't care to.

    I've surprised numerous people on the rare occasion that they've caught me doing so.
     
  5. White Knight

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2014
    Messages:
    1,816
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Istanbul, TR
    I can. Hmmm I think I am natural with it. However I learned great deal about cooking during my time in Military as a cook.

    I can get inspired about recipes and love to try different things.

    However you can never make a professional cook out of me as I don't touch anything from sea. Can't keep me in a kitchen where fish or meat is cooking. Vegetables, pastry, baked goods, deserts, rice, salads, chicken, liver* or meatballs? I am your man.

    *Unless you like heavily spiced liver like I cook. I am not fond of cooking liver smell either.
     
  6. alwaysforever

    Full Member

    Joined:
    May 28, 2014
    Messages:
    1,158
    Likes Received:
    176
    Location:
    Maine
    Gender:
    Female (trans*)
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    I can cook although I haven't done it recently. I learned as a means of self defense against my mom's bland and repetitive menu growing up. I figured out if I wanted to eat something I liked I would have to make it myself. Perhaps that was her plan all along!
     
  7. Ruby Dragon

    Ruby Dragon Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 24, 2012
    Messages:
    478
    Likes Received:
    178
    Location:
    South Africa
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    CAN I cook? I guess :shrug:

    Do I LIKE cooking? NO :dry:

    I cook only in emergencies (When Mom can't cook for some reason, or when she literally asked me to - I still live with my parents :rolle:slight_smile:. I learned to cook/bake through Home Economics in High School and through helping out every now and then. (Home Economics is like a cooking class, but you don't just cook/bake, you also do theory)
     
  8. twosoups

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2014
    Messages:
    99
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Kuwait
    No, but I try.
     
  9. mark

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2012
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Breakfast foods? Yes.
    Anything else? There's Google to help me out.

    I really do need to cook more. Really teaches you to be patient and honestly, I love it when guys cook me dinners.
     
  10. sloths9

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 17, 2015
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Arizona
    You want to use your smell a lot (at least I do) because you dont want to keep on tasting it especially if you dont want your germs in it. Learn how different thing taste together. What brings out the sugars in food, what doesn't, ect. Become one with food and trust yourself every once in awhile and try to make something. And if you fail, learn from it for next time.
     
  11. SilkySilhouette

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2015
    Messages:
    0
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Sofia
    Gender:
    Male
    Out Status:
    Not out at all
    I only know how to make pizza, lol

    Though I can also make some sweets with the help of my grandma.
     
  12. PeachPenumbra

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 17, 2015
    Messages:
    20
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Nottingham
    Gender:
    Female
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    The more you try the more you'll pick up, save your favorite recipes! That's the best tip I have. And Don't be scared to experiment a bit.

    It can be a good idea to learn basics like different ways of cooking vegetables, how to make short crust pastry or how to make stock, things like that. You can get old style cooking books which actually go into great detail on how to cook from the basics up. I think they were aimed at young wives in the 1970's haha! You can pick them up on amazon for cheap.

    Cooking with friends/family can be fun too.
     
  13. Jellal

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2014
    Messages:
    1,359
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Florida
    Gender:
    Female (trans*)
    I can't do much. However, I am good with a grill—that's my territory. I trust myself on that battlefield like I'd trust a pro chef. :grin:
     
  14. lemons123

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2014
    Messages:
    548
    Likes Received:
    0
    Yes, I can make coffee and eggs...
     
  15. LakanLunti

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2015
    Messages:
    110
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Philippines
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    I cant even cook a perfect sunny side up egg. If I tried to, it always ended up looking like a scrambled egg.
     
  16. imnotreallysure

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2013
    Messages:
    2,937
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Leeds, UK
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    I'm a good cook, if I do say so myself. I sometimes enjoy it, but other times I can't be bothered. I eat out a lot.
     
  17. biAnnika

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2011
    Messages:
    1,839
    Likes Received:
    8
    Location:
    Northeastern US
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Silly man, you make no sense! Meat is off limits, but meatballs are ok? How does one pull that off, exactly? Not to mention chicken or liver?

    To the OP (and to Andrew, who should have started learning to cook at least 5-7 years ago), the best way to learn to cook is to start doing it. Of course it helps if you have a friend or mentor who can help teach you (I got the basics of fried/scrambled eggs, omelets, grilled cheese, and hamburgers from my father). Two years of Home Ec cooking were also useful, mostly for expanding my toolkit (not for useful recipes).

    But my cooking skills really exploded when I was out of college and living on my own...I wasn't about to eat crap all the time, and I didn't want to and couldn't afford to eat processed/frozen/canned food (i.e., crap again) all the time. Start accumulating a decent spice cabinet with *only the things you'll actually use*. For me, the starting spices were garlic powder/salt, black pepper, oregano, thyme, and cayenne pepper. There's a lot you can do with just those (and you can eliminate the cayenne if you don't like spicy food). Those still form the fundamental planks of my spice cabinet...but I've indispensably added ground cumin, paprika, and chili powder.

    Then of course I started getting into specialty cuisines (especially Indian), and picked up things like whole cumin seeds, coriander seed, cardamom, saffron...and then black cumin, amchoor, kalonji, asafetida...there's no end, once you start...a single cabinet no longer suffices.

    But once you have the basics (the first ones I mentioned), it's a matter of trying things, deciding what you like, and getting creative with preparations. I got a lot of foundational ideas with a Bon Appetit subscription when I was in my early 20's. I'd outgrown it by the time I was 30 (although I still have those magazines, and still use some of the recipes). Cook's Illustrated is another great magazine that really gets into scientific experimentation to find the best ways to prepare a particular dish. But that can all come with time...I've been cooking for myself now for close to 30 years. To start, get some spices, and start experimenting with things you know you like.
     
  18. dwelefan

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2015
    Messages:
    49
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Thanks! This is great advice. I actually have started to accumulate spices, like you said. Just got to start trying more things .I know how to make spaghetti, grilled cheese , and steak already. I also got a basic cookbook called "the I dont know how to cook book: 300 great recipes you can't mess up".
     
  19. biAnnika

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2011
    Messages:
    1,839
    Likes Received:
    8
    Location:
    Northeastern US
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Happy to help! I even tend to think recipes are less important than raw ideas. For instance, I knew how to make hamburgers before Middle School age. Then I branched out to taco meat (ground beef fried with chopped onion, garlic salt, pepper, and chili powder) for tacos.

    But several years ago I said, "hey, I like salads...I like tacos, but I don't like all the calories in the tortillas..." and I made a taco salad with taco meat, lettuce tomato, cheese, green onion, and pickled jalapenos. This has evolved so that now I fry fresh jalapenos or cayennes right in the meat, and I frequently make guacamole to use instead of cheese. All it takes is to have the idea, and the basic tools to put it together.

    So yeah, very basic cookbooks are better for starting out...ones that give you tools, rather than recipes. And keep trying new *kinds* of things. Sauces are fun. Soups are one of the easiest best-kept secrets in the world. You'll get there. Have fun!
     
  20. TENNYSON

    TENNYSON Guest

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2015
    Messages:
    1,024
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Connecticut
    Gender:
    Male
    Out Status:
    Some people
    I learned to cook from my parents. Cooking is a big thing in my family, especially among my French relatives.

    I'm not that great at it and I don't cook that often, but I enjoy doing it. We have a big kitchen with a lot of amenities...it's fun to cook in there, frankly. Besides, I always feel really proud when I make something people like :grin: