Cooking Skills you should master by age 30?

cupcakechef

cupcakechef

Guru
Joined
14 Apr 2015
Local time
6:14 AM
Messages
1,076
Location
Japan (expat by way of Australia and USA)
I was reading an interesting article today, about cooking skills that a person should have mastered by the age of 30. Being just over that threshold myself, the list interested me. Here were the list items:

How to perfectly grill a steak
How to make a vinaigrette
How to make tomato sauce
How to roast a chicken
How to make slow cooked pulled pork
How to cook fish
How to make a frittata
How to poach an egg
How to make soup
How to roast vegetables

What do you think about the list? I can do most of the things on the list - my husband will absolutely, positively not allow me to cook steak though, as I'm a well done kind of gal and he basically views that as sacrilegious!

I've never really cooked a whole chicken either - never had the need at this point in life - but I do cook other cuts of chicken pretty confidently. And eggs - I just don't eat them, so I wouldn't have the foggiest how to poach one or make a frittata!

I'm curious to hear of how many things you can manage on that list! Is there anything else you would call essential to have on your cooking repertoire by 30?
 
Why 30? Seems a bit old and to me! Shouldn't it be much younger? The list is also rather peculiar. Slow-cooked pulled pork? Why not slow cooked anything else. Why frittata not omelette. What about pastry or cakes?
 
Last edited:
I am much older then 30 and there are a few things on the list that I have never done. Poached eggs is one of them. My partner loves poached eggs so he make them by they disgust me so I have never attempted to make them. I have never done pulled pork either. I find it interesting that th err are no desserts on the list line make a pie, cookies, etc. They are things that everybody usually knows how to make.
 
cupcakechef said:
No - How to perfectly grill a steak
Yes - How to make a vinaigrette
No (but that depends on what we are calling tomato sauce) - How to make tomato sauce
No (veggie since I was 11) - How to roast a chicken
No (and unlike a roast chicken I have no idea on even how to start...) - How to make slow cooked pulled pork
Only if it is over an open fire having caught and gutted it myself, but I don't eat it - How to cook fish
Probably not, goes off to look it up - How to make a frittata
No (don't like them) - How to poach an egg
Yes if veggie/vegan and live off it - How to make soup
Yes in theory - How to roast vegetables
Click to expand...

I've edited your reply with my answers... and that is now in my 40's. :D
 
morning glory said:
Why 30. Seems a bit old and to me! Shouldn't it be much younger? The list is also rather peculiar. Slow-cooked pulled pork? Why not slow cooked anything else. Why frittata not omelette. What about pastry or cakes?
Click to expand...

I thought it was an interesting list too! I think it's a pretty subjective list that the author wrote -- I don't think it's a failsafe rule or anything! It just got me thinking, I guess - and I would say omelettes are far more versatile than frittatas, that one was definitely an unusual choice by the author!
 
Having been a vegetarian since the age of 21, I would have had (and still don't have) no desire or need to know how to cook pork, chicken or fish.

Mind you, I know one or two people in their fifties who would probably struggle to open a baked bean tin.
 
30? I'd have to think too far back but the Frittata would not have been in my vocab so I obviously couldn't master it since I did not know what it was until now. Anyway, I would have passed the test leaving out pulled pork and one or two other things.

I'm heading to the big 50. I wonder what I should be able to master at this stage.
 
Seems a bit of an arbitrary list to me - especially the pulled pork (which I think has only been common here in recent years), it seems odd there's no bread or cakes on the list nor any gravy-type sauces eg. a red wine reduction.

But to answer the question: yes to all of them except the pulled pork - though I was slow roasting pork shoulders by that time (which is pretty much the same thing - just without the sauce!)
 
All I know is that this thread is leaving me feeling distinctly OLD! Could I possibly be the oldest person on Cookingbites? :eek:
And yes I can cook all those things and think I could have done at 30 (too far back to remember) :cry:. I could make bread, bake cakes and make jam and marmalade and pickles back then too.
 
By the time you are 30 you should be able to follow a recipe, do a basic roast grill meats ,but it's normally only achievable if you have a interest in food
 
I like this post. I'd like to share mine from an Asian perspective. I'm from Southeast Asia.

Skills you should master (Asian version LOL)
1. How to cook rice.
2. How to make egg noodles from scratch.
3. How to make chicken stock.
4. How to make beef stock.
5. How to catch a fish, gut it and clean it to serve.
6. How to cut vegetables for different cuisines.
7. How to make curry spice.
8. How to make traditional Pad Thai. (Easy)
9. How to make use of every part of the coconut tree.
10. How to make Tempura.
 
Hmm, this thread makes me think hard. When I was 30, it was like I was a boarder. That means I never cook. But after 30, that's when I had my sojourn in the kitchen that started with the burned fried egg and the burned rice. It was like an experiment though because we had moved to that apartment, our first time to live by ourselves, me and my husband. But fortunately for me, my husband learned cooking ahead of me so what I mastered was frying an egg, frying fish and frying chicken drumstick. So basically it's all frying that I had learned. With stew? Not really.... until now.
 
I started cooking around the age of 10 I am now a lot past the age of 30 and still can not cook some of the things on that list. Nice list, I don't think all of it is necessary to be self sufficient in the kitchen.
 
I've just turned thirty and can do all, except make pulled pork( have made from a recipe,but not without following one), or a classic vinaigrette. I definitely think that making stock,baking a plain sponge and some kind of sauce should be on there too
 
If we are talking about house cooking you will need to know how to grill. meaning to prepare the grill, prepare the food for it and then to clean the grill. This cleaning is crucial for all cooking you will do and it is a part of cooking. You will need to master all egg specialities or almost all. So omelette, poached and scrambled eggs are a must. Another thing good to master is making good pizza. It is easy and fun. Adding to this is pasta because it is the same cuisine. Some sweets will be a part of things you should know how to make and basically whatever you like to eat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom