Basic Cooking Skills

Yorky said:
No, he knows how to heat garden peas and then mash them or put them in a blender/processer. If he wishes to call them "mashed garden peas", fair enough.
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I would rather eat his version! Not a fan of tasteless marrowfat peas.
 
creative said:
I would rather eat his version! Not a fan of tasteless marrowfat peas.
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I won first prize on Jamie Oliver's site for my "Yorkshire dhal".

Yorkshire dhal-1 s.jpg
 
Lynne Guinne said:
I find it hard to even think that people are so lacking in cooking skills that they cannot boil an egg. My Mom, who taught me well, would always say that if you can read, you can cook. My sis-in-law is living proof of that, since she learned to sew at her Mom's knee, but never expressed a real interest in learning to cook. Still, she has become a very proficient cook and baker. These days, with internet access for most and libraries a common thing, I would think that anyone who was the least interested would find the time and desire to learn to cook. Which brings us to...are some people so disinterested in cooking for themselves that they are perfectly happy with take-away?

As far as the list? I found it oddly specific. Like Cin mentioned


^Those are basics.^ (Except for #5. It applies to baking, since that is science. Not always to cooking, since cooking is art.) Not falafel (I tried it prepared by someone else, did not care for the texture/flavor, and chose not to bother making at home), not ice cream (quality store bought suffices - the high-end brand we buy makes theirs by the French Pot method in 2 1/2 gallon batches, even for retail purposes), and if you can make a proper bechamel you can make a proper cheese sauce, so redundancy.

Both of our kids learned to cook when young. He was very interested even before he could see the top of the counter. I called him "Chef Kiss and Tell" because Chef Tell was popular in the U.S. at the time. He cooks from many different cultures, makes his own Kimchee...he's levels above me in some cuisines. She learned under duress, but can now cook just fine. In fact, when we stay with her on our trips back home to OH, I'm pleasantly surprised at the new and interesting basics she's added to her larder from our last visit.

As far as things like flour - basic. Vinegar? Sure you need it in Britain for fish and chips, but Malt vinegar doesn't play well with some other foods. That's why I have close to ten? vinegars in my pantry...:whistling:
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As to the measurements, I meant they will just throw things together without even thinking of proportions. Like just dumping salt in ground beef or making way too many noodles or other things like that.
 
I can't say I've ever had whey. That is the liquid left over from making cheese.
 
Cinisajoy said:
I can't say I've ever had whey. That is the liquid left over from making cheese.
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That's right. @Elawin makes her own curd cheese (or Paneer) . I do too, sometimes. It has to be one of the easiest things to do! You just squirt lemon juice or vinegar into milk and heat it gently. In minutes the curds separate from the whey. All you then do is drain off the whey (I use muslin). Hey presto: home made cheese.
 
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Yorky said:
I find it strange that Jamie Oliver (if it was he who compiled the list) talks of cooking pulses correctly. He doesn't even know how to make mushy peas. And why making salsa is considered difficult I don't know. A list of ingredients and the ability to chop stuff up is all that is required. I don't make curry paste as I'd have no idea how or in what to use it. How do you make batter "not from scratch"?
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I don't think Jamie Oliver commissioned the survey:

Hotpoint commissioned the study to mark the launch of its Teaching Kitchen – a custom-built cooking space which will tour the UK this summer to help equip people with essential kitchen skills, in partnership with TV chef Jamie Oliver’s Food Foundation programme.
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But I know that you know what a curry paste is - you make excellent curries @Yorky.
 
Elawin said:
You buy a packet of batter mix (flour, dried milk and salt) from the supermarket and add eggs and water :roflmao:
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I don't think we have "batter mix" here. Anyway, I just use flour with a pinch of bi-carb and add liquid (in my case, beer).
 
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