To feel that sad that basic cooking skills are dying out

Honestly, no. I would never cook any of those meals.

I agree with this too.

I think a lot of "essential skills" just aren't needed anymore because people eat different foods, and prepare them in different ways.

My dad taught me to cook and while I know how to do all sorts of things, I don't need to because I don't really eat that style of food anymore. It would genuinely never occur to me to spend half an hour on a pasta sauce or several hours on a lasagne for a meal either.

Oops, didn't see previous post! Tbf, fish in parsley sauce does strike me as quite old-fashioned!

I can make white sauce but I do consider it to be fairly old fashioned.

Nothing especially old-fashioned about lasagne, cauliflower cheese, macaroni cheese etc, surely? They still seem pretty universally popular.

How can making a white sauce be old fashioned? Does nobody cook lasagne or moussaka or have parsley sauce with fish or cauliflower cheese or macaroni?

There was a thread a year or so ago by a woman who had made a lovely meal of tacos for her DH's extended family, including her MIL. She'd even made her own taco shells rather than buying them in. She'd done sides and accompaniments and options - the whole nine yards.

Her MIL sniffed at it and accused her of not making enough effort because she'd made "fast food" or some similar ridiculous statement.

Food is like fashion and language...it evolves and changes. A lot of younger people who cook nowadays are probably more used to making tacos and stir fries than pies and pasties.

I think it is considered quite old fashioned but that's a pity as the basic skills involved are quite useful. The understanding of how cooking out the flour makes a difference, thickening sauces etc.

Agree.

Also a bit myopic. I can cook. But I had to actively work to learn how to cook curries as it wasn't something I grew up with. Similarly, I had to put thought and effort into how to cook more cheaply when money is tight. I also had to learn how to do sensible meal planning becuase I decided I wanted less waste, more variety AND I was spending too long cooking on days I didn't have time.

I largely taught myself a lot of this. But I taught myself by looking for resources from tv cooking shows, to asking people who were better at it, to reading cook books. I once went on a cooking class as a fun activity with a friend, and years later, the single best thing about that session was some useful tips on chopping vegetables.

I think it's admirable that these women are putting their hands up and saying, "let's expand our skills". Doesn't mean they can't already cook.

You sound terribly judgemental. That's what's sad.

I can make white sauce but I do consider it to be fairly old fashioned.

Howling at white sauce being old fashioned 😂

It takes - 10 mins, is bog simple and the basis for so many dishes.

Exactly. Obviously I can read and follow a recipe and get something on a plate, but if the end result takes me four times as long as it should, causes me untold stress during the process, and results in something that's a disappointment to eat at best - then to me, that is not being able to cook.

And because of the time issue, I will only cook when I can make many portions. That means that if it's gone wrong, there's a LOT of food I have to either force myself to eat, with extra cheese or salt and pepper, or throw away.

I know that I sometimes find it hard to follow recipes without being able to google too eg to find out what the ingredients are and what kind of section of the supermarket I will find them in, understand some cooking terms eg 'brown' the onions.
Videos are very good though.

I don't think it would ever have occurred to them. There were two cookery books in the house and they were both 70s books aimed at new wives, mainly about meat and two veg. They never bought another one and we didn't have internet at home at the time so I'm not sure how they would have learned. As I said, even my grandmothers, one of whom baked all the time as well as cooking her own home grown veg etc., never made their own soup as far as I know.

Maybe you’re the one living in a bubble. Most countries in the world have no choice but to cook from scratch, putting food on a pan and sliding it into the oven is considered a privilege for many.

Love the "people saying they can't cook are liars" implication with the "if you can read/watch a video you can cook" nonsense being trotted out here. So suddenly there's no actual skills involved in cooking, eh? Anybody can do it any old time? I endured two years of horrible cookery lessons at school and have no more skills than I did then.

You're talking nonsense, sorry.

Cooking from scratch is very, very popular. How do you think shows like come dine with me became so popular?
My tik tok and facebook shorts are nothing but recipes and they always have loads of views, likes and comments. People chat about cooking and food all the time, big kitchens with lots of space, utensils and gadgets are still very much desired and dinner parties still very much attended. Recipe boxes are also popular and found a great gap in the market - thinking fo what to cook and shopping for all the bits and weighing them out can be tedious but their existance proves that people still very much enjoy the art and skill of putting it all together.

The only real difference is people have a choice now and ways of not doing it when it doesn't suit us.