For someone who is new at cooking, what's the best way to learn?

dieselfit

dieselfit

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I haven't looked into classes or anything but I'd love to be able to cook up a good meal. I don't want to spend hours doing it so I'd like to do it as quick as possible. Are videos more useful than the instructions on a piece of paper?
 
Even I wonder about the same sometimes. I use to go through many cooking articles and didn't find anything remarkably helpful, but they would be helpful only up to some extent. Coming to the videos, I feel, they are even more informative than a written script because videos give a brief or detail idea of what exactly is the procedure we need to follow while cooking it.
 
Do you know any of basics - like how to make a white sauce (or cheese sauce) without it being lumpy? If you do, then your best option is simply to try with easy recipes to start off with. The BBC goodfood guide rates the ease of its recipes so you could use this as a starter.

Just get stuck in and learn what type of cook you are. I am one who can adapt and modify as needed, one where recipes are not a must have exactly 100g of this. Like today the recipe said 4 leeks & 3 potatoes, well I had 5 leeks and 4 potatoes and didn't really want 1 leek left over, so I have adjusted the recipe to accommodate what I have. My OH on the other hand would have only used exactly what the recipe stated (850ml stock for instance, yet our stock powder only has instructions for 250ml quantities.... so he would have poured 150ml of stock away...). But there are some recipes that he is better at making than I am because of that "it says 850ml" mindset of his! :D

One tip - whilst learning, if you are cooking an evening meal - have something as a backup even if it is a 'freezer' meal. It will take the pressure off you and allow you time to cook and learn.

Also the only other tips I can give, are
  • read the entire process through before hand.
  • completely and utterly ignore any instruction that says prep this veg or slice this whilst that is cooking - it won't happen and you will overcook the 'that' and not have the 'this' sliced/prep'ed, so cut up everything beforehand. Have spices/herbs measured out and ready to put in - just as you see on TV... get it all prep'ed before you start to cook - even if the recipe says otherwise.
 
Cook it Quick is an online resource from the University of Nebraska aimed to students who need to cook quickly without the hassle but still needing to know some basics. This resource is open to anyone and can be found here, http://food.unl.edu/web/fnh/cook-it-quick-recipes

I would also recommend download the booklet College Cooking 101 which is certainly a great aid for people needing good tips, ideas, food substitution and more whether students or not.
 
It really depends on who you learn best. I learned to cook as a kid watching my mother cook, reading cookbooks and by experimentation. I improved my cooking skills by watching cooking shows.

MyDigitalpoint provided a great resource. YouTube is also a great resource for basic cooking tutorials.
 
I'd say taking a course would be the best option but if you don't feel like doing that (I know I don't) then I'd just recommend the oldest known way... doing it. Start with something simple and then move onto more complicated things, this would be the natural way. If you want to spice it up a bit then do what I do, choose what you want to make and if it's difficult just make your own, easier version of it. When you perfect the easier one then try the real deal.
 
I'd say learning from the videos. You can learn a lot from doing tutorials because you can do it along with the person, and you know what they say: "practice makes perfect." I personally wouldn't take a course, I'd ask some of my friends and family for advice. Once you get the basic hang of it then you can start incorporating some of your own ideas and flavours into the recipes (that's how I learned, aside from my mother teaching me).
 
Practice makes perfect. Whether your practice by watching videos on YouTube, which you can pause on your smart phone as you cook, cook along side friends or family who have more experience than you, or enroll in cooking classes. Just keep at it.
 
My mother is a good cook and I must say that in runs in the family. My sister and brother also cooks well and me too I may say that I have the passion for cooking. My mother is my inspiration and whenever she is cooking I always watched her and that is one way how I learned to cook. I always watched cooking shows either on televisions, youtubes and sometimes live cooking shows, read cooking books and every time I go to the bookstore you can see me in Cooking books section searching and reading what's new book I will buy. Then I also love to experiment and innovate recipes until it becomes perfect in taste and presentation before I let my family taste and judge if it is okay for them already. They are my best supporters because our family loves good foods that is why we love to cook.
 
Practice. Practice, practice, practice. Start with simple recipes with easy to understand instructions. Try to follow them exactly until you're comfortable enough with ingredients and making that particular recipe that you feel like you can add things or tweak it a little to make it better fit your tastes.

Even when you move on to more difficult recipes, follow them exactly. At this point, you may need to look to youtube videos if you need some help in understanding how or why to do something in the kitchen.

Cooking takes time, so if your main concern is saving time, look for things you can do the night before if you have more free time - like already cooking a part of the recipe and freezing it for later.
 
Wow the tips and advice here are amazing. I don't know where to start! My mother is a good cook too, so are her sisters and family. But for the men, we just love the food they cook. I'd love to learn something on my own and try to cook meals so I don't have to depend on any restaurant or anyone for a good meal. I do plan on getting married and if I ever travel alone for business, cooking would definitely be something I'd like to learn. I'll start with the BBC guide as suggested and see where it goes from there. Thanks again guys, much appreciated!
 
I learned by watching instructional videos on youtube and reading recipes online. I am a visual learner so if I watch it then chances are I can replicate it. Also, reading the recipe in advance helps.
 
Helping someone who can cook. Since I have been dating my SO my cooking skills have improved a lot. In the past I did not cook at all while she is an amazing cook. I have learned cooking by watching her and helping her.
 
The best, fastest and cheapest (free) way to start is YOUTUBE!! You can learn to cook anything on there step by step! Hope that helps and I hope you find the same joy in cooking that I have!
 
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Check out Cooks Illustrated. They have a ton of videos and recipes on their web site. It's a pay site, but when you sign up for a trial you can get the first two weeks for free. After that it's only like $3 per month for a paid membership. Honestly though, you can just raid the web site the first couple weeks and download as many of the videos as you can, then just watch them later.

The thing I really like about their recipes is that they stick to actual cooking techniques, not all the dumbed down stuff they show on Food Network these days. Food Network isn't even about cooking anymore, the hosts spend the whole time talking about themselves and just cook really generic basic stuff that really doesn't showcase any skill. Cooks Illustrated on the other hand goes from easy to intermediate stuff, and really teaches you a lot along the way - particularly with how to choose the right cuts of meat.
 
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