Has anyone ever tried to influence you to cook things their way?

[Caribbean girl]

Have you ever had the experience of someone, whether a family member or friend, trying to influence you to cook a certain meal their way? I have had that experience on a couple occasions. There was a time when a friend of mine asked me how I cooked a certain local dish. When I told her what I did, she then proceeded to tell me how she did hers, and that I would find it worked better to do it her way. However, I listened to what she had to say, but I never really tried it her way, since I had grown accustomed to doing it the way my mother taught me and always got good results.

Now, I am not saying there is anything wrong with following someone else's method of doing a certain dish, since there is usually more than one way to cook certain meals. What I do not particularly like is when they think that their way is the better way. What has been your experience with this?

 

[Morning Glory]

If someone does suggest something, I'll always consider it. But I wouldn't always act on it. I don't like prejudicial views about anything. However, food is such a difficult subject because people are quite prejudiced (and even emotional) about what they consider to be good or tasty or healthy or whatever. Its a minefield!

 

[Corzhens]

I actually do not know how to cook and only did some experimentation. But my husband has had more success in his experiments so he became the de facto cook of the family. When my siblings had tasted the cooking of my husband, they are now influenced by the style. For instance, we have the so called lechon kawali which is fried pork belly. My husband would boil the pork before frying so it gets to be crisp while my sister doesn't . So now they are boiling the pork before frying the lechon kawali dish.

 

[Bakemehappy]

I think this is always happening to me while I am learning how to cook. I got friends, relatives and my mom as well as some online cooking resources all telling me how things are done in their own kitchen. It would not hurt if I listen and take a few good notes. I can then incorporate all of them into my own style.

 

[SpongeyB]

My mom has her way of cooking some food which is not how I like to do it. For instance, she likes boiling meat before cooking while I don't. I listen to her suggestions but always go back to cooking the way I am used to. Not that I disregard her ideas, just that its different from how I do things.

 

[winterybella]

The odd person has mentioned how to cook our local dish in the microwave. When I say I have never made it, I would be encouraged to give it a try. That's about the closest I have come to anyone trying to "influence" me to cook "their way". Since I am considered a pretty decent cook, I'd most likely be the one encouraging people to try a particular dish as opposed to doing things my way.

 

[L_B]

My fiance is very particular about his cooking and he is really good at it too. He use to always be suggesting how I should cook things even though I have been cooking for years.
I finally decided that since he is so particular and likes things his way that he can do the cooking. So he does the majority of the meal cooking in our house. I am usually in charge
of the desserts. Though he does make an awesome Cherry cheesecake!!

 

[SpongeyB]

Oh yes, I almost forgot! My husband does that all the time. This has been a point of contention in our kitchen as I find that he is overly generous with the frying oil. I don't like my food too oily and this is something we differ on. I try not to think too much of it.

 

[Mucchina]

I think we can't avoid it, if we like to talk about kitchen...
everyone has his way to do things, and sometimes is interesting to know how others makes dishes.
on other hand, I really hate who always starts talking like "my way is right your is wrong"...sometimes is only a personal taste choice, can't exist right and wrong!

Oh yes, I almost forgot! My husband does that all the time. This has been a point of contention in our kitchen as I find that he is overly generous with the frying oil. I don't like my food too oily and this is something we differ on. I try not to think too much of it.

well, paradoxally when you dip fry, more the oil you use, less the food remains oily
different if you're talking about pan fry

 

[lizzief79]

My ex was terrible for doing this. He always seemed to know a 'better' way of doing something and would get under my feet in the kitchen. However, his food was always terrible and he had no experience of cooking. Even the children wouldn't eat things he had cooked.

 

[L_B]

My ex was terrible for doing this. He always seemed to know a 'better' way of doing something and would get under my feet in the kitchen. However, his food was always terrible and he had no experience of cooking. Even the children wouldn't eat things he had cooked.

My ex was the same way. He thought he could cook and he cooked these terrible meals. Everything was starchy and salty.
When I went to work he use to cook for the kids and they would call me crying at work because they didn't want to eat what
he cooked. It got to the point where I had to prepare their meals before I left for work in the morning so they would have
something to eat while I was away.

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

My grandmother and mother are the two most important persons in my life who taught me how to have that passion and as well the art for cooking. They are my mentors that is why I cook like their own style and ways of cooking. But with the passage of time I tried to innovate their recipes which makes it more appealing in taste and both of them are happy seeing me improving as a good cook.

 

[MyExWasAChef]

I hate being told what to do especially in my own kitchen. LOL. Ofcourse I'll consider it to be polite but I almost always do it my way. The kitchen is my playground and creative space I can't have other people invade it even if they're professional chefs or my own family. But when it comes to baking though I let them have their way just because I don't really like baking and I suck at measuring stuff.

 

[OhioTom76]

I certainly don't like people barking orders at me and talking down to me when it comes to cooking, so in that regard if someone was doing that to me I would probably tell them to knock it off. However if I'm preparing some meals for some folks and I know some of them like things cooked differently from how I normally prepare it, I will try my best to prepare it to their liking - after all, I'm cooking for them, not myself. But in some cases, the less they know the better, when it comes to how you cook something. What really matters is the end result. So sometimes I won't even mention how something is prepared, especially if I know the person eating it doesn't think highly of that particular cooking method or recipe.

For example, I may put some fish sauce or anchovies in a red sauce, or pressure cook a roast instead of slow cooking it in the oven, etc... sometimes the less they know the better, lol. My mom hates the way that I make mashed potatoes - baking the potatoes in the oven for an hour to an hour and a half, then running them through a potato ricer. She's too lazy to even boil or steam the potatoes and instead microwaves them before mashing them. Her mashed potatoes are always unevenly cooked and lumpy, but she is stuck in her ways when preparing them.

 

[cookwaresets]

Nobody has ever tried to Influence me to cook something their way. However, when I was working in the kitchen as a professional chef, I did it the delicate way. When someone wanted to do it their way and not my way, I let them do it under one condition. It has to be the same at the end or better. Having said that, I had once a 1st year apprentice who I ask to cook a pumpkin soup. He was quite good and he replied to me with a strong "yes chef". So off he went and I watched him closely as he made his prep and started to cook the soup. I saw one unusual item in his prep which was a couple of apples. I did let him finish the soup and after he finished, he came to me with a small cup of the finished soup. I tried and I was blown away how nice the soup tasted with the apples in it. Since that day I make pumpkin soup with apples in it too. It shows that one can learn different ways to cook something that tastes better than ones own version.