The Fundamentals of Learning How to Cook
This is a bit of an abstract post because this won’t tell you directly how to cook something (that is what my recipe section is for)… it will, however, teach you how to LEARN to cook. Weird right? This will teach you where to start, how to self start, and what you can do to get yourself going without learning in a traditional culinary school setting. I have often found that once we are out of a formal school setting for a long time, the process of learning something new becomes foreign. If you have the desire and the drive to learn how to cook but don’t know where to start, welcome to your guidebook!
At it’s core, cooking is not hard. It just takes practice, experimentation, and a willingness to learn new things. I am also going to share with you my formula for creating recipes from scratch. Anyone can do what I do and last time I checked, we all have to eat.
The Basics
FOOD IS PERSONAL. Do not waste your time on developing skills that you will not use or money on ingredients that you don’t like. If you don’t like shrimp, you don’t need to learn how to peel and devein shrimp. I am going to reiterate this several times in this guide. Food is about you. What you like, what you want to like, what your family will eat. It’s all about you. You aren’t going to be cooking in a restaurant where you need to learn extremely complicated techniques. So unless you personally have the drive to learn how to do something complicated, you don’t need the skill.
HAVE FUN. So many people look at cooking as a chore rather than a hobby. It doesn’t have to be that way. Take pride in what you create and have fun trying your own recipes. Like anything else there will be a learning curve, but it’s also an art. So once you learn the techniques and you pinpoint what flavor pallets you want to use; you will have the freedom to make anything you want from scratch. So have fun in this process and don’t take it too seriously.
COOKING IS TWO HOBBIES: MAKING FOOD AND SELECTING INGREDIENTS. Take pride in the ingredients you cook with. Use fresh herbs and vegetables, or even better… grow your own! Shop at farmers markets, local butcher shops, or buy direct from farms themselves. Cook with the seasons to find the best ingredients for that time of year. Nothing will ruin a perfect night of cooking more than bad ingredients. Plus once you have had pasture raised eggs with orange yolks… you will never go back! I absolutely geek out on ingredients and I encourage everyone else to do the same.
Learn techniques you will actually use.
So many times you hear about the need to learn to cook an omelette when you are starting out. But what if you are vegan or don’t eat eggs? SKIP IT. Sit down and actually write out what it is you want to eat. For as much cooking as i’ve done, I have never learned to poach salmon. Why? I don’t like poached salmon… it’s that simple.
Start with a list of meals you regularly order when going out to dinner. Then learn the techniques for cooking them. Some might be too difficult for starting out, and that’s ok… just put them further down on the list.
Example Menu:
Whole roasted chicken,
Herb and chèvre baby carrots
Caesar salad w/ creamy dressing
What are the techniques:
Roasting a chicken. (Difficulty: EASY)
Cooking carrots with soft cheese (Difficulty: EASY)
Properly washing and chopping vegetables for a salad (Difficulty: EASY)
Emulsification to make dressing from scratch (Difficulty: INTERMEDIATE)
How do I find these techniques:
We live in an age where recipes are abundant (including the recipe section of this website). People are giving out their home made family recipes like candy at a parade. Fortunately many of these recipes have been tested many many times as well. Find a recipes that include the techniques you desire to learn and make them… it’s that simple.
I would start by looking for recipes from someone who is highly accredited but cooks simple. When learning something new, I always turn to the queen herself - Ina Garten. I own all of her books. She keeps it simple but turns out amazing dishes! If you are trying something new for the first time… go with one of her recipes. I highly recommend her book, How easy was that?. As well as her book, Back to Basics.
But! You don’t have to drop $40-60 on cookbooks if you don’t want to! I really enjoy pulling a few recipes from different sources and comparing how they all do things a bit differently. For this I go straight to google and do a search. Remember that techniques can vary slightly and the recipes you pull might not be exactly what you want. Remember we are here to learn a technique not to make the perfect dish. Even then, it is ok to pull what you like from one or the other, skipping what you don’t. Taking liberties will be easier with time, but experimenting in the kitchen will be encouraged day 1.
If all else fails… YOU TUBE! Many videos on the proper way to chop an onion or debone fish. Very helpful and a fast way to learn a new skill.
Don’t expect the first time you try something new to turn out if you have never done that particular technique before. Its ok to screw up! It’s all part of the learning process.
Get yourself the right tools for what you will be cooking.
Like learning new techniques, figure out what tools you will need based off of YOUR particular skillset you are learning. You don’t need a rice maker if you don’t eat rice. I know this sounds really basic, but I have seen so many “Kitchen Essentials” lists online and every single one has SOMETHING I know I will never use, no matter how basic the list is. Then there are things I use all the time that are never on any lists… such as a garlic press. I use mine twice a week but for others it would never get used. Really personalizing your kitchen is the way to go… it will also allow for more space in your cabinets.
If you plan on making a lot of sauces, dressings, and purees; a food processor is wonderful. However, you probably don’t need a food processor if you have a fancy blender. I have an amazing cuisinart food processor in my kitchen, but I never use it because we also have a vitamix. The cuisinart just collects dust. Similar with my slow cooker. It is an amazing machine that I “had to have”. Well, I also had to have a large instant pot… so guess what never gets used? The giant chrome slow cooker looks pretty in my appliance cabinet, but that is about it.
It is tempting to go crazy with kitchen appliances, fancy pans, and gadgets, but really be specific with what you want to cook with. It’s easier to buy when you need it, then return it a year later after it’s been collecting dust.
Cook with friends and family.
As the saying goes, many hands make light work. When trying something new, enlist help! Even if it is just a 10 year old serving as your baby sous chef! Lightening the load on the work portion or having someone there to read a recipe to you while you cook can make things go much smoother.
If you are going the friend route, try finding friends that share an interest in learning how to cook. This way it isn’t just a favor, but a fun afternoon of cooking that is mutually beneficial to everyone.
You could also make it a date night with your significant other. Cooking as a couple is quickly becoming a popular date night activity thanks to everyone being cooped up in their homes during the pandemic and having a lack of options. Regardless, it can be a very fun way to bond as a couple.
Learn what flavors go together and experiment!
This feels like a lot of work. It isn’t. It comes naturally after you have been regularly cooking from scratch. It’s as easy as adding cranberry preserves to a turkey sandwich because you know that every Thanksgiving you slather your roast turkey in cranberry sauce. Why wouldn’t you? It’s delicious. Taking those two flavors and applying them to another style of food prep is a great way to start the process of making your own recipes.
Some flavor combinations i’ve loved cooking with are :
Tropical fruit and roasted hot peppers
Cayenne and brown sugar
Thyme and chevre
Lemon and parmesan
Vanilla, Orange, and Cardamom
Sage, fennel, and leeks
Curry paste and grapes or raisins
Apple, bleu cheese, and bacon
Cilantro, Lime, Jalapeno, and cumin
The list goes on and on. Just take note of what you like and then apply that to the food you cook at home.
Use what you have learned and write your own recipes.
Once you have spent some time picking up a few skills, you know where you can get your favorite ingredients, and you know a few different flavors you like to work with; The time has come to put pen to paper and write your own recipes!
If I could give one piece of advice when it comes to writing recipes it would be to write down your recipe BEFORE you buy your ingredients. Have it completely written out, knowing you will probably change it along the way. Consider this the first draft of the recipe.
When starting to write a recipe for the first time, ask yourself these questions - samples are below in parenthesis:
What are we making? (PORK TACOS)
Do you what this to be quick and easy, or make everything from scratch? (Scratch- pork butt in an instant pot, fresh handmade tortillas)
What flavors do you want to add? (grilled pineapple, purple onion, seasoned pepita seeds, fresh cilantro, crema mexicana, and lime juice)
How are you preparing? (Double process of cooking pork butt in the instant pot for 1.5 hours after cubing and seasoning with salt and adding beef bouillon and garlic to the pot. Then quick crisp frying the pulled pork with cumin and garlic in avocado oil along side chopped pineapple in a skillet. Chop all ingredients and making fresh tortillas while pork butt is cooking in instant pot.
What are you serving it with? (Fresh cooked pinto beans prepared earlier in the day and then reheating)
Now you have a plan! At this point you can make your ingredient list. Knowing how much spice to use and ratios of ingredients is going to be another piece to this process that you will learn over time. Many people don’t make their own recipes because it feels like a difficult process. It really isn’t hard. Just know when cooking it’s easier to add ingredients than take away, so be conservative and taste along the way if you can.
Give yourself longer than you anticipated and buy a little extra ingredients because… you never know on the first run of a recipe if you need more or less of a certain ingredient.
Don’t be surprised if your first run of a recipe doesn’t work. But also, don’t surprised if it does! So much of this will become second nature with little effort that in no time you will be able to get it right the first time. That’s really when things start to be really fun.
In the end there is no such thing as a bad cook. Just someone who doesn’t have the skills yet. Anyone can get to the point where they are comfortable cooking quality meals, they just need to keep going.