How do you learn to cook?

Question

I've just started to cook recently and I really enjoy it, but so far I can only cook basic foods. Like things in the oven by baking, I want to learn how to cook more complex things that will taste better, because most of the things I cook are just frozen food that you bake. So can any experienced chefs or cooks tell me how to get better at cooking?

Answer 1

You ask for a cook book for your next gifting event! Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book is my kitchen bible. For reading at home time, my children read me recipes while I was preparing supper. They are all good cooks for reading that book all the way through.



When you see a recipe you like you try it for supper! Don't worry! Experienced cooks also have spectacular disasters occasionally. These you just smile sweetly and say, will try again tomorrow!



a good website to read is http://www.food.com or http://www.recipegoldmine.com they both have simple recipes up to very complex recipes.



My granddaughters both learned to cook in MY kitchen! They had messed around heating up stuff at their homes, but had never really followed any recipes! So we had lessons on how to get a whole meal on the table at the same time. And how to make gravies and other sauces. They are both good cooks now.

Answer 2

You can most certainly watch as many Youtube videos or cooking shoes to become a bit more familiar with food. I mean so that you will understand how they interact with each other. The BEST way is to get your hands dirty. BLind cooking? No. Find a recipe on Allrecipes.com or cooks.com or foodnetwork.com/recipes etc.. read the reviews so you can avoid any common mistakes and then just get in the kitchen and try and recreate it. Let's say you try http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cherry-Upside-Down-Cake-4064 There's a fair amount of technique and care involved with that cake. It is NOT your traditional cake so the viscosity will be thicker than a cake so you need to spread it like a brownie but it is MUCH lighter. Gotta take your time with the cherries. Can't I just use cherry pie filling? NO. You are a cook. Presentation alone can make food taste so much better. I feel that we eat with our eyes first so if I serve something that looks like slop it may ruin or lessen an appetite.



Watching others cook something new inspires me every time. I'll be 97 years old and still learning new dishes. If you have the LOVE for cooking this will be a success. If you only want to learn but don't have the love the outcome may not be so good. Would the dozens upon dozens of ruined loaves of bread motivate me to try again? No. It's the love that kept me in the kitchen and also the love for those I am serving. I feel that the x factor between two dishes that were made with identical ingredients by two different people is the love. Love IS the secret ingredient.



Like they say Practice makes perfect.



Always remember that perfection is a journey and not a destination so don't get down on yourself when you keep making mistakes. The key is learning from those mistakes and figuring out where you went wrong. That'll just mean a quick trip back here or another site, call to a family member or friend that cooks etc. so you can LEARN from that mistake. It's taken me well over 20 years to become a good cook so this is not going to happen overnight. You already have a plan and you sound motivated so I see good fod in your future. When I served that http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cherry-Upside-Down-Cake-4064 the first time and was told it was "to die for" with a moan I of course was pleased with the outcome but it's those moments that makes cooking a way of sharing yourself with others through food and when you cook/bake with love they will be able to taste it. Those smiles? that's my motivation.

Answer 3

Back in the old days before the internet, we only got to watch some cooking shows on PBS on Saturday mornings. Sometimes Johnny Carson would have someone on who was more of a joke than how to show you a recipe. I watched relatives. I also was very interested in my friend's way of cooking. My dad was in the military and we moved a lot, plus soldiers married women from all parts of the world.

I got to taste some diverse cooking. I checked out cook books from the library and read them as a kind of history of cooking. I ate out and tried something new and then tried to make my own version. Today I watch the cooking shows and check out yahoo answers and learn new things all the time. I still go to the library and check out books. My son is eating more vegetarian dishes and I try and find new recipes. This no gluten cooking is also new. Some of the recipes and ingredients are intriguing. There's always something to learn. Just keep an open mind and try new things.

Answer 4

I'm just learning to cook myself and the best way to go into it is to get some recipes for dishes you enjoy eating and just follow them. I was overwhelmed at first when I began but after doing a few meals I realize it isn't too hard. It'll be the same for you. Start simple, French fries, hamburgers, and move up slowly using onions, green peppers. I've even made a simple lasagna that amazed myself. Baby steps and good eating

Answer 5

Observing my parents

Watching cooking shows on tv - especially anything by Jacques Pepin or Julia Child (or both! they did a show together)

Reading blogs and following recipes

Youtube is also a pretty good resource



Also, make 1/4 of the recipe. That way you can test the technique on a small amount of food without wasting so much, learn your lesson, then apply it to a full recipe.

Answer 6

Have someone help/teach you

Watch YouTube videos on how to make harder dishes

Take a cooking class

Look up food recipes on Pinterest to get ideas on what to make

Talk to friends and family about what they cook and you could swap recipes



Good luck!

Answer 7

It is mainly practice learning how to cook the foods you like, probably those that your mother made for you, and sha can be your best teacher to help you out with tips and recipes she makes.



With all or the how to websites and You Tube clips you have it far easier than those that we had to do by trial and error.

Hi-man

Answer 8

Experiment with real foods. Eggs as example. First make scrambled, then sunny side up, then try to add your own things like seasonings and veggies. It took forever, but i finally developed a recipe for scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and mushrooms! So experiment, you never know what you may come up with!

Answer 9

Watch others and practice. Youtube is a great learning device!