Cookery 101s

[StoneRoad]

And, barring complete catastrophe, the food is usually redeemable, unless you have burned it.

Was making soup with the great aunt I mentioned ^^^ - between her, me mam and me, we managed to salt the base stock at least three times ...
cure was to chuck in some extra potato chunks and simmer until they were soft - which also helped to thicken the soup.

I've always remembered that one !

 

[existentialist]

Yeah, oversalting has dealbreaker potential...

 

[TopCat]

being serious-ish for a change -

how do you actually learn how to cook? or is it something you either can do, or just accept you can't?

i can do the basics, but am not very good at it, and don't particularly enjoy the experience.

i never really learned how to cook - it was fairly rare that mum-tat had the inclination to demonstrate / instruct, and shall we say that her way of explaining things and my way of understanding things aren't very compatible, and it wasn't something that came up at school (i went to a boys only school that was fairly old fashioned in its outlook even in the 80s)

most cookery books use technical terms that i don't understand, and assume you're cooking for 4 which might be ok for batch cooking / freezing but not always a lot of use.

is the delia book any good? i got a copy as a present many years ago, lent it to someone else before summoning up the urge to look at it, and never saw it again.

is there an alternative starting point?

Delia complete cookery book.

 

[izz]

I guess it depends on how much you like eating Puddy_Tat although I'm going to say something strange: if a recipe takes a while to cook then I can easily go off the entire thing, by the time it's done I'm sick of it. If this resonates with you, then maybe try something like a cake that you don't have to eat immediately.

 

[Epona]

being serious-ish for a change -

how do you actually learn how to cook? or is it something you either can do, or just accept you can't?

i can do the basics, but am not very good at it, and don't particularly enjoy the experience.

i never really learned how to cook - it was fairly rare that mum-tat had the inclination to demonstrate / instruct, and shall we say that her way of explaining things and my way of understanding things aren't very compatible, and it wasn't something that came up at school (i went to a boys only school that was fairly old fashioned in its outlook even in the 80s)

most cookery books use technical terms that i don't understand, and assume you're cooking for 4 which might be ok for batch cooking / freezing but not always a lot of use.

is the delia book any good? i got a copy as a present many years ago, lent it to someone else before summoning up the urge to look at it, and never saw it again.

is there an alternative starting point?

I got to about 8 or 9 years old and was sat in front of I think it was regular Thursday night tea of fish fingers, boiled potatoes and peas, and worked out how many Thursdays I'd lived through so far and how many were likely to be ahead and went "fuck this" and found a cookery book actually it was one my uncle had, he had the entire Cordon Bleu book collection and I picked out the one called "Cooking From Abroad" and started making recipes out of that once or twice a week to start off with.
Never looked back since. (Although I do still like a fish finger sarnie of course)

 

[Epona]

I guess it depends on how much you like eating Puddy_Tat although I'm going to say something strange: if a recipe takes a while to cook then I can easily go off the entire thing, by the time it's done I'm sick of it. If this resonates with you, then maybe try something like a cake that you don't have to eat immediately.

Prepping crab is the one that got me like that - I like crab but by the time I'd completely dealt with a whole crab and my hands smelled of crab and there were bits of crab everywhere I'd completely gone off the idea of the crab linguine I'd fancied earlier in the day

 

[farmerbarleymow]

being serious-ish for a change -

how do you actually learn how to cook? or is it something you either can do, or just accept you can't?

i can do the basics, but am not very good at it, and don't particularly enjoy the experience.

It's practice more than anything, and yes you'll mess recipes up sometimes but that happens to everyone.

Delia is a good start for learners I think as she is good at explaining things step by step.

And recipes don't have to be followed to the letter - you can play around with them. With baking on the other hand you do need to follow the recipe fairly closely as that's more like chemistry.

I was lucky in that we were expected to help in the kitchen as kids, and encouraged to make things ourselves. It was nothing fancy of course but it stood me in good stead.

 

[Epona]

And recipes don't have to be followed to the letter - you can play around with them. With baking on the other hand you do need to follow the recipe fairly closely as that's more like chemistry.

This exactly - although I describe above what spurred me to start cooking, my mum is actually a very good baker - if we were having a pie or tart for tea or afters it was a real highlight because she's excellent at pastry and cakes too.
It's a completely different skill.
You can lack imagination and creative flair for creating a meal, but produce technically excellent shortcrust pastry. Or vice versa.

 

[quimcunx]

being serious-ish for a change -

how do you actually learn how to cook? or is it something you either can do, or just accept you can't?

i can do the basics, but am not very good at it, and don't particularly enjoy the experience.

i never really learned how to cook - it was fairly rare that mum-tat had the inclination to demonstrate / instruct, and shall we say that her way of explaining things and my way of understanding things aren't very compatible, and it wasn't something that came up at school (i went to a boys only school that was fairly old fashioned in its outlook even in the 80s)

most cookery books use technical terms that i don't understand, and assume you're cooking for 4 which might be ok for batch cooking / freezing but not always a lot of use.

is the delia book any good? i got a copy as a present many years ago, lent it to someone else before summoning up the urge to look at it, and never saw it again.

is there an alternative starting point?

Try gousto or other recipe boxes. My tip would be the time they say it takes is a lie and also prep your ingredients before you start cooking.

 

[Epona]

Oh this is one I just thought of that is simple but might not be obvious.
If you are using cornflour to thicken a sauce, don't put it direct into a sauce.
Mix the amount of cornflour you need into some cold water first, then add the mix to the sauce.

If you add a spoonful of cornflour to a warm liquid you will just end up with a massive lump of corn starch

I mention this because I've seen people caught out by it before.

 

[MrCurry]

I actually think it’s harder to learn to cook these days. The tv chefs we had when I was younger were teaching basic techniques and even supermarkets would push basic cook books. Now there’s a whole food industry who would rather have you buying their ready meals and it just doesn’t seem like cooking from cheap ingredients is knowledge the industry wants people to have. Or maybe I’m paranoid, I don’t know.

ETA… my mum sent me off to university with one of these and some recipes she had written out by hand and I figured it out

 

[Epona]

I actually think it’s harder to learn to cook these days. The tv chefs we had when I was younger were teaching basic techniques and even supermarkets would push basic cook books. Now there’s a whole food industry who would rather have you buying their ready meals and it just doesn’t seem like cooking from cheap ingredients is knowledge the industry wants people to have. Or maybe I’m paranoid, I don’t know.

ETA… my mum sent me off to university with one of these and some recipes she had written out by hand and I figured it out

View attachment 434404

Somewhat ironically, given your post, that was produced by the Milk Marketing Board specifically to advertise dairy products and get people to buy more milk/cheese etc.

 

[Saul Goodman]

I actually think it’s harder to learn to cook these days. The tv chefs we had when I was younger were teaching basic techniques and even supermarkets would push basic cook books. Now there’s a whole food industry who would rather have you buying their ready meals and it just doesn’t seem like cooking from cheap ingredients is knowledge the industry wants people to have. Or maybe I’m paranoid, I don’t know.

If only people had access to the internet. I hear you can find all the information and all the recipes you'll ever need there.

 

[MrCurry]

If only people had access to the internet. I hear you can find all the information and all the recipes you'll ever need there.

Ah, well that’s how they suppress information, isn’t it? By making too much of it available…

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

4
4
4
2

Sugar
Butter
Flour
Eggs

The ratio of how to make a basic sponge. Starting point for many cakes

Or weigh the eggs and make everything else the same weight. No two eggs are ever quite the same.

 

[Saffy]

being serious-ish for a change -

how do you actually learn how to cook? or is it something you either can do, or just accept you can't?

i can do the basics, but am not very good at it, and don't particularly enjoy the experience.

i never really learned how to cook - it was fairly rare that mum-tat had the inclination to demonstrate / instruct, and shall we say that her way of explaining things and my way of understanding things aren't very compatible, and it wasn't something that came up at school (i went to a boys only school that was fairly old fashioned in its outlook even in the 80s)

most cookery books use technical terms that i don't understand, and assume you're cooking for 4 which might be ok for batch cooking / freezing but not always a lot of use.

is the delia book any good? i got a copy as a present many years ago, lent it to someone else before summoning up the urge to look at it, and never saw it again.

is there an alternative starting point?

You could have a go at Gousto recipes. You don't have to buy into the subscription because all recipes are online and have a good set of instructions, weights, measurements and photos of how things are supposed to look. Also, the standard is for 2 meals but they tell you what to double or triple for more meals.
It's how I got my son to have a go at cooking.

Recipes | Quick and Easy Dinner Ideas | Gousto

Quick and easy dinner recipes to cook at home. Explore our online cookbook of recipe ideas, with a wide range of tasty meals to choose from.

www.gousto.co.uk

 

[Saffy]

Try gousto or other recipe boxes. My tip would be the time they say it takes is a lie and also prep your ingredients before you start cooking.

Ahhh great minds. I didn't see your reply. Good points about the time and prep.

 

[cesare]

Or weigh the eggs and make everything else the same weight. Not two eggs are ever quite the same.

Yes, that's how I do it. But the basic ratio is what I first learnt.

 

[Saffy]

Put a spoonful of mustard in your cheese sauce.

Don't twist pastry cutters when cutting out scones. It'll make them rise wonky because you've locked the sides together.

If you over whip cream, add a couple of spoonfuls of unwhipped cream and it'll bring it back.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Lean to make a roux

 

[Orang Utan]

Just buy a bunch of recipe books and the world’s your lobster.
In particular, I’d recommend Nigel Slater’s Appetite - it has plenty of basic recipes but each one includes suggestions for variations. It gave me the confidence to depart from the exact recipe and use my own preferences and experience to make my own dishes.

 

[Orang Utan]

Read a recipe all the way through before starting cooking.
Assume prep time will take twice as long as it says.
Do all of your chopping in advance
If you don’t understand a term, google it
Use twice as much garlic, salt and chilis as the recipe states (ignore chili advice if from an Indian recipe book, though)

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Use twice as much garlic, salt and chilis as the recipe states

I think I generally do three to four times as much garlic and probably half to maybe even zero salt, depending on the other ingredients.
I also try to cook the garlic a little on it's own before getting everything together.

Typing this, I realise we all have our own preferences, so I guess maybe follow the rules before making your own new rules.
I'm pretty sure I wasn't cooking meals until I had to after I left home and I don't think I cared much about what I made until I was at least close to 30. Even though my mum was a good cook she never taught me and I am pretty sure none of my regular dishes come from cook books. . . . so if I can do it (and if I say so myself, I'm pretty good), the kids are going to be alright.

 

[Epona]

The term chilli powder means something different in the US than in most of the rest of the world.
The US version is a blend of paprika and chilli, and is more akin to the blend we would refer to in the UK as "hot paprika".
What we call chilli powder, they call cayenne.

So if following a US recipe and it says to add 2 teaspoons of chilli powder, don't.
Use either a paprika and chilli blend, or if using just chilli powder, reduce the amount accordingly.