mysteriouswife, I should have said “if you feel like you did learn to cook.” I don’t judge not liking to cook or not being able to or not wanting to expend the time and energy for it. That’s why Trader Joe’s was invented, right?
It does feel like most of the posters here do cook regularly, so framed the question in that context. I apologize for the judgy tone.
I didn’t feel like there was any judgment. I was thinking out loud to the few that mentioned they were happy eating cereal or grilled cheese.
Still working on it. I am hoping to get inspired to take cooking seriously sometime soon. I’m 42. Jokes aside, I did struggle to learn how to cook any meat because I was a vegetarian for my teens and into my 20’s. Missed the learning from my mom and whoever else!
Post by trytobearunner34 on Jul 2, 2023 19:52:32 GMT -5
High school. My mom had been the primary dinner maker for years but never really enjoyed cooking, so once I got to high school my dad and I took turns making dinner for the family.
Post by ProfessorArtNerd on Jul 2, 2023 19:53:20 GMT -5
I used to watch the frugal gourmet and Julia child, so I had a good theoretical base. When i worked at a deli in high school, I started ib the kitchen and would make salads, then when i worked at the grill I made cheesesteaks and stuff so cooking at home was easy.
My mom doesn’t share a kitchen very well haha, but in late high school I was helping with dinner when she worked her night job at macys.
I'll add that I cook a decent* meal usually two or three times a week. H takes one day, we get take-out one day, and the rest of the days that H is working I make simple things for the kids. Pasta and a fruit, eggs (and a fruit), quesadillas, grilled cheese, stuff like that. I'll eat what they have or I'll have cereal after they go to bed, or throw together a salad or something. Every now and then I'll make myself something that no one else will eat after they go to bed (like mushroom risotto that no one else will touch).
*Decent meaning an involved meal with protein, starch, veggie etc, main and sides type deal. Not trying to disparage a grilled cheese or anything.
Post by SusanBAnthony on Jul 2, 2023 20:02:22 GMT -5
I moved from the dorms to an apartment my junior year of college.
My roommate and I both received a copy of the Betty Crocker cookbook as gifts. We read them cover to cover. Both of us had zero dollars so we cooked all meals from scratch.
So.... 20?
Fwiw we had many disastrous meals but probably 70@% were good (and cheap) and I learned a ton.
ETA: I did learn how to make pancakes and grilled cheese in middle school hom ec which is clearly to foundation of all other culinary knowledge lololol.
Rachel Ray 30 minute meals taught me how to cook in my 20s. I am not joking lol.
Same. Food Network got big in the years after I graduated from college and had moved in w/ now DH, and I learned a lot from shows like that. Especially since she really was coordinating multiple components in a 30-minute slot.
ETA: I did learn basics from my parents and MS home ec, but putting together a full meal all ready at the same time was definitely RR.
My H was the guinea pig. When we met in college, I could only use a frying pan for pancakes and paid extra for instant white rice because I didn't know how to cook the regular kind. When we moved in together he was enthusiastic about anything I cooked that was even remotely good, and after a few years of having someone other than myself to cook for, I was pretty decent.
ETA: our training wheels meal was Hamburger helper. We ate *a lot* of hamburger helper in the beginning.
When my H and I first moved in together in our 20s our meals were definitely more along the lines of manwich (it eat eats like at meal!) and this bag of frozen shrimp scampi from Costco that I still miss (they switched brands). I got significantly better at cooking when I left the workforce and had the time and mental capacity to actually care about cooking (so mid 30s).
But cooking constantly during lockdown has made me irritable about cooking again. Honestly, I totally get why my grandma ate nothing but canned soup and popcorn when it was just her.
Technically I guess high school. I'd cook once a month or less for the family/me & my brother when my parents were working late if I wasn't working that night, too. I'm still a horrible cook. I've done a class or two, watched Youtube videos, and tried to follow recipes. I just hate cooking.
Post by steamboat185 on Jul 2, 2023 20:28:21 GMT -5
Another person taught by Racheal Ray. I knew how to make simple stuff like pasta, burritos, and Bisquick pizza, but she introduced me to “new” ingredients like avocado, Parmesan not in a can, and olive oil. This was right after college. When I was making my own money and had easy transportation to buy different ingredients.
I remember one of the first meals DH made after college had teddy graham’s and chicken in it. He’s gotten better.
I used to LOVE food network in the 2000-2012ish era. Even as a vegetarian there was always something to learn and want to try (even if it failed miserably).
I just remembered my old boss gave me the recipe for WW chili. That was probably the first "grown up"meal I made on my own. She was 20 years older than me and walked me through the instructions. Me and her are still Facebook friends. I feel like she walked me through a lot of "grown-up" stuff at the time. I also learned, from a person on The Knot, a lasagna roll-up recipe (lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese, spinach rolled up with marinara sauce). I felt very adult making that and we'd have it with a $10 bottle of wine- the height of luxury for us at the time. I miss those days! Still happy with so much less.
Post by steamboat185 on Jul 2, 2023 20:44:10 GMT -5
One of the first “fancy” dinners dh I made when we first started dating was risotto. He absolutely destroyed it by adding this terrible hot sauce to it that made it 100% inedible. I was so mad because we had spent money on good cheese, the correct rice, and a bottle of wine and had to throw the entire thing away. We almost broke up over it because it was all our extra money for the week in the trash.
I’m your friend, however I’m in my mid-40s. I can follow a recipe and I can make components of meals, but preparing a full proper dinner? Nope. Thankfully my H can cook, enjoys cooking, and takes care of anything in the kitchen. I am very happy with sandwiches and cereal when he’s not around.
Same, except I'm 42. I need a good recipe and I usually follow it to the tee. Only recently have I been bold enough to add spices not called for in the recipe. My DH on the other hand just makes stuff up and it tastes amazing. We both do some cooking. No kids to feed thank goodness lol. I would be happy with a sandwich and soup like someone mentioned above.
My grandmother intentionally didn’t teach me to cook (or do most other household chores) because by the time she got to me she was so damn tired of doing it. Her advice to me was “Never learn to do it and no one will ever expect you to.” Thankfully my H is a really good cook and enjoys making dinners- and I’ll help out in the kitchen making side stuff or the sauces or whatever, but if you handed me a raw chicken breast I’d be like
I’ve also never wanted to eat something badly enough that I’d go through the trouble of making it myself. If I didn’t have H or kids I’d happily eat tomato sandwiches and cereal every night.
I will say the only food I’m absolutely always in charge of is mashed potatoes because I’m Irish and H’s Italian family just does not understand the consistency they should be.
Post by wanderingback on Jul 2, 2023 20:57:26 GMT -5
To be honest cooking seems pretty easy to me, so I’m not sure when I actually learned. Like how hard is it to follow a recipe? However, I don’t really like cooking and very rarely ever put together full meals like that. My partner does 99% of the cooking and if I were single I’d eat things like salad, omelets, oatmeal, etc everyday.
Post by mrsslocombe on Jul 2, 2023 21:35:31 GMT -5
I learned how to make some basic things like mashed potatoes by 10. But Rachel Ray and sons taught me how to make meals and how to use a lot of ingredients I never had encountered before.
I learned basic cooking and baking techniques in my teens, but didn't start cooking meals for myself and others until college. Cooking on a regular basis was grad school, when DH and I got married. I mostly learned from internet tips, as my mom was a basic cook, who went back and forth between canned stuff and overcooked, underseasoned vegetables.
And yes, I do feel the judgment, not from the OP, but society in general. “How hard can it be?” Really hard for some people, unfortunately.
I learned to make simple things like eggs, Mac & cheese, pizza, and grilled cheese at 10/11ish. I can follow a recipe exactly and it turns out well.
But to plan a main dish and sides that go together and figure out the timing of all of it so it comes out at the same time? It’s honestly REALLY overwhelming to me. Like the amount of executive functioning it takes just maxes out my ADHD/capabilities when combined with everything else in life. It sucks. I hate how much anxiety in my life revolves around food. I’d love to eat nice, healthy, balanced meals every night and try new recipes and unique stuff, but have had to accept that at this point in my life, when my executive functioning capabilities are maxed out on everything else I have to balance in life…it’s just not happening.
I occasionally make simple stuff, my H occasionally makes simple stuff, we eat out a lot, and I do a lot of stuff that I can cook ahead of time and then just reheat it.
I share this not to ask for tips, but because I know I’m not alone in this…and just felt I needed to share so someone else doesn’t feel so alone. (Also, The Lazy Genius Kitchen is a great resource for people who never learned how to Cook. I’ve read it and enjoyed it, but just haven’t implemented much of it yet.)
Also, I’m a great baker…because I can do it on my own timeline, I only have to do one or maybe two things at a time, and there’s no guesswork involved. Someone once told me Cooking is Art, Baking is Science. This resonates with me. And in life, science fascinates me and creating art is baffling to me…where do you even begin??
I learned as a Senior in high school but I cooked regularly around age 22/23. Granted at that age it was a lot of processed, hamburger helper, dirty rice, spaghetti and meat sauce. I made my first Thanksgiving meal at age 24!
As I've gotten older, I've cooked much cleaner with fresher ingredients.