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[64bitmodels]

one thing that always confused me is that there's a section of the population that has no idea how to cook. they're completely inexperienced, usually eat outside food or get someone else in their household to cook for them because they're inexperienced with it. Why is that the case? isn't cooking easy? or at least, as easy as you make it out to be? are groceries too expensive? cookware? it's just a bit weird to me

 

[Jennings]

I hate cooking. I'd rather just eat raw ingredients than cook them together.

 

[jason10mm]

They took all these ladies cooking shows off the air....

 

[crazyjah2003]

I'm a lazy bum... My sister forced me to help out in the kitchen today... I was so angry at her at first, but realized she's been doing a lot... I helped AND did the dishes without her asking as a bonus for my initial and general assholery.

 

[lachesis]

I enjoy cooking very much, but only cook for family and friends. Kinda approach it like a science project.
However, when I'm by myself, I don't really cook often to treat only myself. Mostly stick to very basic food - like oatmeal, salad and lean protein. (trying to lower my LDL)

So - that's about half the time. 50/50 custody - and my child has nut allergy and doesn't like going out and eat - so I cook everything, and try to mix up different cuisine every meal. Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian, French, American etc - mostly stick to the Asian cuisine for weekdays - and western ones on weekends.

But that's just about me - I'm sure everyone has different approach when it comes to consuming food... and most of folks on this board are young with high metabolism, they may not even think much about eating what types of junk food.

However, these days, It seems like the whole eating-out scene has become more of "entertainment", or "stimulant" - especially around the city - rather than consuming right food for the body.
I don't think our bodies are really built for the food from most restaurants, where they use so much fat, salt and sugar.
Once in a while, maybe - but you are going to ruin your body if you keep eating that stuff. And all that money too, especially these days.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I'm not a great cook, but covid made me buy more stuff (food and kitchen gear). Having a great time making stuff. It's not even hard to put together some half decent dinners.

You dont even have to read any recipes for grilling up some food or shoving it in the oven. All you got to do is watch it so it doesn't over or undercook. If you have no idea what temperature to cook something and are too lazy to google it, just do it at 400 degrees and watch it closely. If it's good then you did a good job and repeat it next time.

As for sauces and marinades you buy premade ones or make something yourself. As long as you dont make it to sweet or salty, it'll probably be good to go. I just randomly throw in a small bowl some olive oil, salt, pepper, soy sauce, any other fancy sauce and mix it up. I like buying those Clubhouse chicken or steak spice too. Just ram those bits right into the meat. Then just cook it up.

It wont be gourmet 5 star dining, but unless you messed it up it will never be that bad.

I'll even show you what Im eating now its so easy.

I had steaks defrosting overnight. When I got home from work and it's time to make dinner, it took 5 min prep time to cut up vegetables and marinade the steak. I put my air fryer on 10 min High. At the 5 minute mark, I flipped the steak and poured in the veggies. Done. So in total 15 minutes.

 

[GeorgioCostanzaX]

I love cooking but I’m lazy during the week with kids and a dual income household: Door Dash is a waste but it’s so convenient to not have to make the same old stuff. When I’m disciplined though I have enough staples I know how to make that I could basically do the same menu every week but I get bored.

 

[Deleted member 1159]

Nobody really taught me how for a while. I learned the basics of following a recipe in Jr. High and could bake and stuff, make breakfast foods, but when it came to other techniques I was just totally out of my depth until I met my now wife and she taught me how to properly cut veggies and stuff. After that I slowly started accumulating kitchen gear, which is a great motivation to learn how to use it well via YouTube or whatever. Also since retiring, my parents have moved close so we have more opportunity to cook big meals for the rest of the fam too, so we've all kinda gotten better trying newer recipes and almost competitive about it. Also, it can be expensive if you aren't able to get through all the leftovers.

So I could see a lot of factors that played into me learning to cook well that might not be there for everyone else. And sometimes, man, I just don't have the motivation for it after a long day. Throw some frozen meal in the instant pot and call it good for those days. A local company premakes those, they're pretty affordable and I'm supporting a small business so whatever.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Because modern life for many can be too convenient and blinds people from importance of priortising the basics over endless consumption. Its takes the takes the pride out of living in many respects.

 

[analog_future]

I cook a ton but it’s a lot of time and a lot of work and, particularly when you’re a beginner, your work oftentimes doesn’t pay off and your food doesn’t turn out.

So I get why there’s a resistance. It’s very rewarding though and something I take pride in doing.

 

[AJUMP23]

I enjoy it. My wife does not. I cook she only cooks when she has to.

 

[Tams]

They took all these ladies cooking shows off the air....

Pfffft. You don't need that to fall in love with cooking. Just these two:

Maybe sprinkle some younger (though still MILF) Nigella Lawson in.

 

[nemiroff]

Cooking can be fun, shopping ingredients is not.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Because it takes loads of time. Just cleaning the food takes a while. Water will always boil at the same temperature, not much to do to make that faster. I’m not going to spend an hour to cook food that I’ll eat in ten minutes, not on a regular basis.

It’s not even that hard with all the recipe books and cooking videos out there. Just follow the instructions and the food will turn out OK, even if you won’t probably win any contests. It just… takes… time. A shitload of time.

 

[Meicyn]

The pictured 20 pound dead bird and the coals that cooked it cost me a total of $9. $9 for around 8 pounds of smoked turkey.

Fresh turkeys always go on sale after Thanksgiving while everyone’s busy doing Black Friday shopping. I’m in Korea right now so I couldn’t take advantage this year, but on other years, I buy several of these and stick them in a deep freezer to smoke at a later date. Seriously, it’s absurd how cheap certain meats can get when you know when and where to look.

BTW smoking that turkey took a bit over 4 hours at around 350 degrees, but actual time commitment on my part was about 15 minutes. Grill prep and meat prep was about 10 minutes, the other 5 was me occasionally checking the smoker temperature to make sure it stayed around 350 degrees. The other 3 hours and 45 minutes was me playing videogames and reading.

Cooking is in my view, the most important life skill to have. I do bulk cooking on weekends, reheats on weekdays. Buy in bulk, cook in bulk, reheat your meals on weekdays, save time and money. Like, a lot of money.

 

[mxbison]

Eating good food at lots of different restaurants is one of the biggest joys in life.

Might aswell stop working and just collect welfare if I'm gonna cook at home anyway.

 

[HoodWinked]

I made lasagna it took over an hour.

 

[Lunarorbit]

I love cooking and even don't mind don't the dishes most nights. But sometimes shit just goes on the sink for 3 days and then you gotta clean everything up. Once you get the kitchen clean you don't want to get it dirty again right away.

Or some people are afraid to fuck up. I think with food costs as they are now this is legitimate but I've been hearing this for 20 years so it's not all cost. Some people are scared to take chances. Scared to not do the recipe 100% right. Just don't want to clean or have a routine.

It is harder for me to cook just for myself, especially dinner, so I totally see that as another reason

 

[DaleinCalgary]

They are lazy. Cooking your own food tastes better and is more satisfying than getting take out. I cook my own food and dinner is cooked large because it becomes lunch the next day and 2 meals for the time to make one.

 

[Valedix]

Money, you spend $50 or whatever for ingredients for one meal, the chances of you fucking it up are high so why take the risk.

 

[Spaceman292]

Money, you spend $50 or whatever for ingredients for one meal, the chances of you fucking it up are high so why take the risk.

Where the fuck do you buy your ingredients?

 

[Outlier]

Because most people would rather choose the easy route in life. They ask why do it themselves when someone else can do it. Then they wonder why they are so unfulfilled.

 

[Valedix]

Where the fuck do you buy your ingredients?

Australia

 

[IWasInSeinfeld]

There is technically nothing that there is to learn, you just follow the recipe, whether you will do it or not on another hand..

 

[MidGenRefresh]

There is technically nothing that there is to learn, you just follow the recipe, whether you will do it or not on another hand..

Came to post this. You follow the instructions. Some people just don't enjoy it (myself included).

 

[JimmyRustler]

Takes too much time honestly. I tried it a couple of times and it was fun enough but I personally don't care that much about food and therefore mostly eat each ingedient I need on it's own.

However, if I'd have a family I'd gladly learn to cook properly. For my own however... nah.... Multipe hours prepartion for 10 minute eating on my own... not worth it, no matter how tasty.

 

[Fbh]

Yeah I understand people not liking to cook or not doing complex dishes but it always blows my mind that some people seemingly can't even cook simple dishes

 

[jason10mm]

You charring that thing with direct heat???

Get the EGGconverter on there STAT for indirect cooking!

 

[diffusionx]

I honestly don’t know where the modern hostility to cooking comes from. First of all, it’s not hard. Especially if you get a box like Hello Fresh, just follow the steps and it comes out good. Second of all, you know what’s in the food. Third, you can experiment the way you want it - more spicy, different elements. As you become better it becomes more layered and complex. Sitting down and eating a good meal you made from a bunch of shit you cobbled together is one of the more satisfying things in life.

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

Money, you spend $50 or whatever for ingredients for one meal, the chances of you fucking it up are high so why take the risk.

From Australia too. You’re getting ripped off because cooking is definitely cheaper than eating out.

 

[Raven117]

There is technically nothing that there is to learn, you just follow the recipe, whether you will do it or not on another hand..

Tell me you don’t know how to cook, by not telling me you don’t know how to cook.

To me, I absolutely love cooking. It’s very relaxing to me. From getting all the choice ingredients you need, to a long perpetration, to finally eating with a good glass of wine…

My favorite Saturdays are when I’m watching college football game day and/ F1 qualifying…. And just working in the kitchen. Bread, prep, all of it.

And doing deep dives into different cuisines. Food is just another way to study people, culture, the movement of people, and how those cultures have adopted new ideas. It’s fascinating

 

[Ellery]

Cooking is very easy, but it is also a lot of time/effort investment.

I love it and cook probably around 200 times a year. At first it seems overwhelming, but you will improve at a crazy pace and soon cook better than most people you know. And with that experience also comes speed and to know when things are done correctly or not. Cooking better ruined a lot of fast food and takeout for me, but it is saving me money and cheering other people up.

Good kitchen equipment is also one of the best investments you can do early in your life. Sure a new graphics card is nice to turn shadows from Very High to Ultra and play at 360fps instead of 284, but by the time you have prepared a thousand dishes your knives, pan, boards and other appliances are still good whilst your GPU is old and needs a replacement for new games. Why a grand for a GPU if you can buy two great frying pans, 5 knives, good wood board, rice cooker and much more.

It honestly is a game changer. You have a kitchen at home and if you bring the confidence into it then magic happens.

 

[RoadHazard]

For me it's pretty much because I've lived alone since I moved out 15 years ago (I've had girlfriends, but never actually lived with any of them), and cooking for just yourself is boring as fuck to me. I would rather do other things with my time. I mean, I can cook simpler things, and I rarely eat out, but yeah.

 

[hollams]

My ex-wife didn't cook and my girlfriend doesn't cook either but she does clean the dishes so that's a plus. I do like cooking and would actually like to take a cooking class to get better. It's pretty fun since you can easily just google a recipe and there is either a video showing you how or usually good instructions. There is a cool thing of wow I make this and it tastes pretty good.

Get a crockpot at least which makes fixing day meal very easy and doesn't take much prep.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

For those of you who never really cook (you eat out a lot or make super simple stuff on the stove or oven), it's not hard to make some half decent stuff on your own.

- Get an airfryer $100-200
- Get a small set of non-stick pots and pans. Dont go apeshit buying some 10 pcs set which looks like you'll never use have of it. One small pot, one medium or large pot, one skillet sized pan or sauce pan. On sale, you can get all this for $100
- Get a small rice cooker meant for 1-2 people. Mine is from Walmart for $20
- If you stick to stove cooking and airfrying, you dont even have to use your oven anymore which takes forever to cook food. Airfrying is literally 50%+ less time than oven
- Marinade some meat and toss in the airfryer. Toss in veggies half way through cooking. Carbs like potatoes are trickier when to put in. Depends how much and how thick it is
- Stove cooking for pasta, saucy shit and stir frying (you can use the med/large pot if you want for stir frying if you dont want to buy a bigger pan or wok). Make sure to use plastic utensils so you dont scratch them
- Oven cooking. If you want to do this, buy 1 or 2 corningware/corelle ceramic cooking bowls with glass lids (maybe $50). It takes longer, but you can cook chicken in sauces for 45-60 minutes here and not even think about it

Unless you got time and skill, I'd say keep the meal simple. 1 carb, 1 veggie mix, 1 meat. 1 sauce. That's it. And that carb can even be bread or a roll out of a bag if you want.

 

[Spaceman292]

Australia

All that snake meat must be pretty expensive

 

[FullMetalx117]

I think to make a decent quality meal you need at least 30 min to make it happen - buy groceries (30 min - 1 hour), prepare ingredients (5-10 min), actually cook (10-15 min), clean up after (5-10 min). With the time/effort required I’d rather just pay $10 at a chipotle. Because I know my chicken probably won’t turn out as good, I’d question if I even cooked it for the adequate amount of time. I personally value those 30 min of my time at more than $10 so makes sense to eat out.

I do want to get into it eventually tho, I’m a foodie so it makes sense to. And I hear it’s therapeutic

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

Cooking is easy (baking I don't know shit about)

Freestyle man! Take a recipe and make it your own! Coocking is life!

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

They took all these ladies cooking shows off the air....

Sponsored shit. Take any oriental recipe and see what you need to buy for the "authentic" experience. And I'm pretty sure those gals don't bother with the dishes.

They're kinda hot tho

 

[Bragr]

People not cooking their own food, not cleaning their own house, or buying water from a store, has always been weird for me to grasp. A cultural thing I suppose.

 

[EverydayBeast]

 

[IDKFA]

Knowing how to cook should be a basic life skill like swimming.

Everyone should know how to cook at least a basic meal.

 

[DeepEnigma]

They took all these ladies cooking shows off the air....

Man, it was a ritual for me to put on Giada after I got home back in the day. Yummy.

 

[Amory]

I don't really even know what it means to not know how to cook. I think there are people who cook and people who don't cook.

What are people unable to buy groceries and then follow basic instructions to turn the raw ingredients into a meal?

 

[DeepEnigma]

What are people unable to buy groceries and then follow basic instructions to turn the raw ingredients into a meal?

Yes. They exist. It's amazing they've survived this long too.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I don't really even know what it means to not know how to cook. I think there are people who cook and people who don't cook.

What are people unable to buy groceries and then follow basic instructions to turn the raw ingredients into a meal?

For a lot of people, cooking is limited to making instant noodles or ham sandwiches. The rest of their eating is eating out or something ready to eat like chips or a banana.

 

[Oberstein]

 

[Raven117]

Cooking is very easy, but it is also a lot of time/effort investment.

. Cooking better ruined a lot of fast food and takeout for me, but it is saving me money and cheering other people up.

Its easy to make something edible. Its difficult to make stuff truly excellent (like high end restaurant grade). Anyone who says a blanket statement of "cooking is easy" is really missing it.

But absolutely the second sentence. I can out cook (at least for my tastes) most restaurants. Definitely take out...definitely casual restaurants and on par with this "upscale casual" overpriced bistro stuff. It has to be pretty high end fine dining where makes me go "i can't cook like this."

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Its easy to make something edible. Its difficult to make stuff truly excellent (like high end restaurant grade). Anyone who says a blanket statement of "cooking is easy" is really missing it.

But absolutely the second sentence. I can out cook (at least for my tastes) most restaurants. Definitely take out...definitely casual restaurants and on par with this "upscale casual" overpriced bistro stuff. It has to be pretty high end fine dining where makes me go "i can't cook like this."

True.

Unless someone is a pro cook with great gear at home, trying to beat high end restaurant quality food is going to be tough.

But it cant be that hard if someone knows what they are doing. My mom cooked great stuff at home, had zero training and made all the stuff in cheap ass pots and pans, and an oven tray to make roast beef that looked like it was 30 years old in a shitty oven. No doubt my mom's apple pie is better than any I've ever eaten, whether it's store bought or from a restaurant. When I go to friend's BBQs, some of them make great shit and they arent cooks either. Often better than any BBQ I've ate at a restaurant.

I'm no cook expert, but I'd say some of the stuff I make at home is just as good as many modest restaurants and I'm just making this shit with normal grocery store ingredients and common dude cookware and kitchen appliances. Zero training or commercial grade equipment in my house. The main pot I use to cook stuff I got from Canadian Tire for about $30.

The one key advantage people at home have is time. We can take 10 min to make something or sit there for an hour. Whereas restaurants have to churn out your dinner in lets say 20 minutes. So they got a time crunch. BUT, they also got better equipment, are trained and spent time prepping and defrosting stuff all morning.

 

[West Texas CEO]

Like others have mentioned, cooking is a basic life skill,
It's way healthier than relying on fast food, and it opens the door to some great moments with family and friends.