To feel that sad that basic cooking skills are dying out

I'm a good cook, DH can cook, DS(16) can cook, DD(14) doesn't cook much particularly, but sees cooking from scratch every day.

I'm on MN far too much, and have been for 16 years. I can't recall seeing threads about people not being able to boil rice or an egg.
Have I missed them?

I can cook, but I really don't like cooking.
I can cook, but I don't have time.
I can cook, but I'm too fucking knackered for cooking!

I can cook, but I really don't like supermarket shopping day-in day-out for fresh ingredients.
I can cook, but I really don't have the time for supermarket shopping day-in day-out for fresh ingredients.
I can cook, but I'm too fucking knackered for supermarket shopping day-in day-out for fresh ingredients.

DH works long hours
I work long hours
Gone are the days of one person works and the other stays at home to do lovely wholesome fresh cooking each day ready for when the other hard worker gets home. Because we're both knackered-to-fuck hard workers who then wanna cry at the thought of another days shopping for fresh wholesome ingredients and then stand for another hour (at least) in front of the hob prepping and cooking that wholesome meal that we're too bloody exhausted to enjoy by the time we sit and eat it.

But go ahead OP. Make us feel shit that we have to have the two of us working all the hours under the sun to keep a roof over our heads instead of dropping our hours (and income) to have the time and energy to prove to the sanctimonious we CAN and DO KNOW HOW to cook from scratch.

Don't know why you're getting so roasted OP. I agree, I love cooking and my mum is a fantastic cook who taught us all.

I did home economics in school and the class was diabolical...cooking consisted of "buy and bring a shop bought pizza base into class girls and we will decorate it with tomato puree and cheese"..my mum was horrified! And this wasn't that many years ago!!

I think Jamie Oliver (not everyone's cup of tea) is making great shows and books that teach basic, cheap, home cooking. He's not a bad egg!

I wasn't taught to cook by anyone, but I can still cook. My children can both cook proper meals and also have an awareness of wanting to eat healthily. These days you can look up recipes for everything so there isn't a need for someone to show you.

I love cooking but my toast is terrible. I can’t get it right. Roast dinner for 15 is fine. Dh finds my inability to make toast hilarious.

Totally agree

A homemade meal is a thing of beauty, and a lot of people are incapable of doing it!

I’ve never seen a thread where people can’t boil rice. All my teens can cook. All their friends can too. My 16yo goes to her friend’s house and they bake - it’s their favourite thing to do. I think most people have cooking skills and if they don’t they can use YouTube/tiktok or just googling.

‘So many people now seem to be incapable’

Who? Who are all these people?

I'm a shit cook and I absolutely hate cooking but I’m not incapable nor do I think I know anyone who is

@SocksAndTheCity same with the omelettes!! 😅 can cook plenty of things but those bloody omelettes always end up scrambled 🙈

Mostly as why would I feel sad about things that don’t? I can have a opinion but wouldn’t be sad about it.

We had Vesta Paella every week with Angel Delight after. I still long for it now 😊

I see so many threads on here where people can't boil rice, boil an egg etc

Do you?

I was taught to cook. And sew. I can't operate the lawnmower, or change a wheel on a car.

DS can do basic food like a pasta meal, but can do other helpful things like wire a plug.

DH can cook when forced but doesn't like it. He can do an entire service on the car.

We don't have to do everything.

In yesteryear it was more common for one person to be the cook from scratch because ready meals weren't a thing. But neither were mobile phones, or the internet.

The world changes.

I don’t know anyone that can’t cook simple, healthy family meals. Maybe you just have rubbish friends?

I’m a chef, worked in a 2* restaurant before I had Dd, and I love a Charlie Bighams fish pie.

We were taught to cook in Home Ec at school, but I don't remember learning anything particularly useful. I left home in 1989 with a copy of Delias Complete Cookery and went from there 😀

I'm a pretty good cook now, but there are still things I just can't do (I can cook all kinds of fairly complicated dishes from around the world but I can't make omelettes without ballsing them up). Some people enjoy cooking and others aren't interested; why would that be 'sad'?

I think the same proportion of people can't cook today as in 1976 (or whenever). It was mainly men back now. More of a mixture now.

My boys both learned to cook at school and love it. I cook and so does my husband. But not everyone does but that's fine. Not having to spend your time doing something you hate is a great freedom in my view.

A staple in my house with mum 😂

I cook from scratch and so does everyone I know and we are all teaching our children (and they learn at school too). So buck up OP it's not all bad news.

You're going to be very shocked when you discover the previous existence of Findus Pancakes, Fray Bentos pies, and Turkey Twizzlers.

who’s dad?

ill bite … you’re amazing hun

Where is the data that this is an issue?

tbh, the “classic” cooking that may be dying out is really old fashioned. I have no interest in making gravy from scratch or pastry or white sauce

I have much more interest in making curries from scratch or a decent stir fry sauce

I think cooking habits change, but people aren’t cooking less. They’re much more adventurous than classic aka old fashioned cooking is

I don’t think anybody is incapable, they have videos and info galore at their fingertips. My son couldn’t cook before uni. There is all this panic on MN re getting kids ready for uni. He went and then taught himself from info online. Really wasn’t hard.

I wasn’t taught to cook by my mother as she couldn’t cook but was taught sort of by my gran

my kids all cook meals for their families and yes they and us do throw in things for quickness or order out on occasion, but we do all cook

’Sad’ is the new euphemism for ‘judgemental’. I prefer people using the words they actually mean.

Speak for yourself! Everyone in my family can cook fine.

Anyway, there is on such thing as someone not being able to cook. If you can read, you can cook.