7 Excellent Reasons to Learn to Cook …

I have written before on how important it is to learn to cook  but recently, due to joining a Faceboook group on cooking, I have been amazed to read how very little some people seem to know about the utterly basic skills of cooking and how little food knowledge they have. 

Some say that this is because cooking is no longer taught in schools (is that true?) and some say it is because mothers now go out to work and no longer cook at home so do not pass on what they learnt from their Mums. Here is how I learned to cook  – and it is thanks to my Mum, but not in the usual way!

This is such a sad loss to people that I’ve decided to go into more detail in the hope that I might be able to help or at least encourage people to give it a try. Please believe me, learning to cook is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your family.

7 Excellent Reasons to Learn to Cook …

1.   You will save money

Bought in food is so much more expensive than making your own! Here are two examples but I could go on (and on and on!).

Yorkshire Puddings – six ready-made Yorkshire puddings cost about £1.70 in Tesco but see here for how to make six lovely Yorkshire puddings for only 26½p! Not only that; mixing the batter takes literally two minutes, maybe less! 

Croutons – these are about 75p an ounce in Tesco and contain all these things!!!

See here for how to make all sorts of delicious croutons using different breads, oils, seasonings and additions from scraps of bread you might otherwise throw away.  Lots of ideas for using them too!  Say a loaf of standard white bread costs £1 for 800g that means the croutons costs approximately 3½p an ounce.  Actually, this simple idea is so good it may qualify as a genius recipe – see below! ***

2.   You will save time.

It might seem that having take-out is a quick way to get a meal but really, if you have had the presence of mind to think ahead a little and have the ingredients, making a burger, for instance, at home is so much quicker than driving to, parking outside and queuing in a take away and then driving home. Not only that, your food is fresh from the stove so in prime condition.  Read more here, including how to make the perfect burger.

3.   You can eat “cleanly”

I recently enjoyed watching Clean Eating's Dirty Secrets on the Beeb presented by Grace Victory which was about extreme and sometimes ill-informed advice on “healthy” eating to lose weight etc. I am not proposing that my readers do anything extreme such as go gluten free (apparently only about 1% of the population are gluten intolerant) or give up carbs or protein unless medically advised to do so. See what you think ... 

What I mean by eating “cleanly”, however,  is that by cooking at home you can avoid things that might be seriously bad for you. See, as an example, the ingredients in bought in croutons pictured above.

Even if bought in foods don’t contain any chemicals, e-numbers,  etc. they may still be high in salt, sugar and/or fat.  When you make your own you know exactly what is in your food.

4.   Personalise your food 

Make it is exactly how you and your family like it. My real man and I both love eating but eat very differently.  I like spices and garlic and all sorts of delicious stuff (have you tried black garlic, for instance, it is wonderful) he doesn’t even like pepper! I seriously believe he is a super taster – find out if you are a supertaster here – so even if we do have basically the same meal I will make adjustments. For instance, when he has steak and chips I might have Peppered Steak Salad with Two Dressings!    That way we are both happy.

If you are a supertaster don't get too excited! John Hayes, professor of food science at Penn State University, does warn …

“It's not a superpower, you don't get a cape and it doesn't
make you better than other people.”

5.   Treat your loved ones

.

Related to above, if you can cook and want to spoil someone then you can make them their absolutely favouritest meal ever!

6.   Pass on this apparently dying skill – teach your kids, it seems no-one else will!

7.   Stay happy – I have read that eating fast food can make people depressed and not just because it is not quite what they wanted! 

As I say on all my social media ...

Learn some Essential Cooking Skills

Here are some important ones, I have more but don’t want this post to get out of hand! I am gradually archiving my Sudden Lunch posts on Flipboard here so take a look, or several looks as I keep on adding things!

Knife skills

You will be gobsmacked how much being able to use a knife properly speeds up food preparation. This is how to hold a knife.

To learn some knife skills watch this ...

... or if you’d rather read about it than watch a video then see here.

How to brown meat – and why you should!

The reason it is important to brown meat before braising, stewing or whatever, is that the searing of the meat causes a reaction (known as the maillard reaction, if you’re interested) which creates great flavour!  Read all about how to brown meat properly here. 

How to cook eggs

There's lots of information on cooking eggs here including important and surprising stuff about how to store eggs!

You might like to read my post 12 Commandments of Cooking Well and also see my book of cooking tips mentioned at the end of this post.

Useful “Genius” Recipes ***

I’ve written about these all over the place but they are such a boon to home cooking I am going to mention them again.  Basically, what I call a genius recipe is a simple basic recipe with the potential to be varied ad infinitum, limited only by your ingredients and imagination.  These are truly useful and genius  – read more about genius recipes here. 

A Well Stocked Storecupboard

It’s no good picking up a bargain or a wonderful find, being inspired and then not having the wherewithal! A well-stocked storecupboard (and fridge) allows you to be spontaneous and creative.

I can’t tell you what, exactly, you need to keep in stock, other than the basics such as salt and pepper and flour and sugar, cooking oil, onions etc.; it all depends on what you and yours enjoy eating.  But once you know your preferences start gradually stocking up.

Further help with Cooking

The internet (including this blog) is awash with recipes – choose something simple from a reliable site such as the BBC  (or this blog!) and follow it exactly, to the letter. When you are confident maybe try adding a pinch of this or a little of that (except in the case of baking which is a chemical reaction, don’t mess with those recipes).  Try another recipe and so on.

In the sidebar of this blog you will find a section Useful Foodie (and drinkie!) Links where you can find links to all sort of useful information.

I have written a kitchen "hacks" book in which I give over 500 useful ideas, methods, hints, tips and tricks I have learned or come to realise. They are all ways of making cooking quicker and/or easier and/or more effective and/or more delicious, additionally they will probably help you save money and eat more healthily. 

You will be glad to know I have not included any of the silly hacks one sees on the web – read about some of these here but don’t bother trying any of them! 

If you would like to hear more from me (as you can tell I am very interesting) please sign up at the top of the page to receive Sudden Lunch! straight into your inbox and please like my Facebook page, it is appropriately named Learn to Cook!

Happy Cooking!

10 (+ 2) Commandments of Cooking Well

A while ago I wrote about how important  it is to learn to cook for all sorts of good reasons; not least that once you can cook you can eat exactly what you fancy whenever you like.  

I hope these “commandments” will help …

12 Important Cooking Commandments ...

           1.   Learn to use a knife.

Get a good sized chef’s knife, 8” is just about perfect.  I very much favour the kind of knife known as Santoku but the traditional shape may work better for you. Once you are adept at using it prep time will really speed up.

Here's a useful video on how to handle a cook's knife.

With enough practice (say 30 years) you will able, like me, to slice onions like this without looking!

Whilst on the subject; do keep your knives sharp because they are safer that way!  It may seem a strange thing to say but with a sharp knife little pressure is needed and there is much less risk of the knife slipping.  Furthermore good knife skills removes the need for all sorts of kitchen gadgets and knick knacks, many of which are more than adequately replaced by said sharp knives.

           2.   Use Real Food if humanly possible (which, of course, it is)!

Use fresh fruit and vegetables (except, perhaps, peas which are actually great from frozen) whenever possible and certainly not tinned green veg, fruit, mushrooms or potatoes. Tinned beans such as chickpeas, kidney beans etc. are fine and so are tomatoes although I prefer these in a tetrapack or whatever it’s called as I don’t fancy the thought of acidy tomatoes reacting with the lining of the can. That’s not a commandment, however, just a thought.

Avoid processed stuff such as the American sliced “cheese” that goes on burgers, use butter rather than margarine, make your own salad dressing, don’t compromise on quality.

           3.   Read and understand a recipe BEFORE you start cooking it.

I haven’t got much else to say about this – just do it!

           4.   Know your weights and measures.

Recipes may well be written using metric or imperial measurements or the American cup system.  If you are not familiar with the scale used then avail yourself of Google and look it up before you start or there are several useful links under the appropriately named Conversion Charts and Help in the side bar. Maybe print off a set of conversion charts and keep them in the kitchen.

           5.   Prepare everything possible in advance. 

This is known in the trade as "mise en place" which is actually French for establishment. To us cheffy types this means having ready and easily to hand all the ingredients, ready prepared, that are needed to cook whatever is planned. This includes cut, sliced, chopped veggies, trimmed pieces of meat, ground spices, washed and chopped herbs, weighed and measured items and so on.  This then enables you to cook quickly and smoothly once started, without interruption.

           6.   Always rest meats before serving.

By this I mean roast, grilled and pan fried meats, not so much stews (although they do benefit from cooking several hours or even a day or two before serving so that the flavours can merge and develop). The reason for resting meat is that while resting the meat relaxes, becomes more tender and any juices that have fled to the middle of the meat to escape the harsh heat flow back into the relaxed protein and make it juicier. Rest roasts for up to half an hour (in a warm-ish place,loosely covered with foil), steaks and chops for 5 minutes or so in a warm place.

           7 .   Waste nothing. 

This is very close to my heart.  Even the smallest leftover, scrap or trimming can usually be turned into a garnish or cook’s treat or perhaps added to a freezer collection.   

I love cooking with leftovers, if I have a bit of that, a tad of that and a smidgen of wotsit I can usually come up with something worth eating – actually that is why I started this blog.  I've even written a book about it ~ Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers: An Inspiring A – Z of Ingredients and Delicious Ideas.

            8.   Experiment ~ don’t be afraid of flavour.

        At dinner with friends recently I was surprised and impressed to see our host, Tony, divide his coleslaw into seven small portions to each of which he added a little something; lime juice, hot sauce, a pinch of sugar, lots of black pepper, 2 things I can’t remember and Malibu rum!  Now that’s the way to learn – respect!

          I suggest you do the same or something similar, the more you cook and eat the more you will learn about what goes with what – play with your food!  

        

9.    Baking is a science – don’t experiment!

Successful baking relies on chemical reaction in the presence of heat and should not be messed with unless you are very confident.  Stick to recipes here – you can, of course, play with fillings, toppings and accompaniments.

10.   Taste before serving

Season at the start of cooking (salt steaks and roasted meats before cooking, add salt to potatoes before boiling, add seasonings according to the recipe and so) on but make bloody sure to taste the finished dish at the end before serving.  This is, in fact, why so many recipes end with the instruction “taste and season”!

When at home I just bung my finger in the food and then lick it but in a professional kitchen or when cooking for others that is really, really not the way. 

To do the thing properly use a clean spoon each time you taste a dish OR 2 spoons; one for dipping, one for tasting OR drop a little of the food to be tasted onto the back of your hand and then lick it.  Then wash your hand.

Adjust the flavour to make you happy; maybe a little more salt or a touch of hot sauce, a pinch of sugar, a grind of black pepper or a squeeze of lemon.  Be guided by your palate.

Read lots more here about How to Season to Taste.    

    

11.   Serve food attractively

Not only is this more pleasing but it actually stimulates the appetite. It's not necessary to arrange a plate to look like a Picasso but I am not averse to making sure the prettiest lettuce leaf is on top, cutting a nice shape or adding a suitable drizzle. Read more about making your food look good here.

12.   Clean as you go. 

Um, I say this but, well ... do as I say not as I do! 

It is a good idea, especially in a small kitchen, to clean as you go so as to have a useable and pleasant working area. I agree with this but, on the other hand, I tend to bung it all in my large sink and then wash up in the morning.  For me the evening meal marks the end of the day and the start of relaxation time and I have never, ever regretted leaving the washing up till morning.

To help even more I wrote 500+ Truly Useful Cooking Tips & Techniques: No Silly Hacks! 

One final piece of cooking advice ...