To feel that sad that basic cooking skills are dying out

Not here. Our adult kids are better cooks than I am. Self-taught mostly because they enjoy good food.

Exactly! The time and effort in making it just doesn't balance against the time eating it.

Longest I ever cook something for is nine minutes, and that's because it's a frozen lasagne and I have to adjust the time from a 1000 watt to an 800 watt microwave.

I'm always half thinking "it all turns to shit anyway" when it comes to spending any time on food ...

This thread has reminded me how much I hate soup.

I can make it...I don't.

There's a bit of a Bootstrap Jack feel about this thread that is making me cringe. I think if you volunteer or work in an organisation that helps people in a vulnerable state of life you shouldn't post about them on the Internet and be patronising about them.

For what it's worth, everyone I know cooks. And I cook lots of meals from scratch but have never boiled an egg - because I don't like boiled eggs. I can make soup but think it's a ball ache and would rather buy it in a tin.

I don't think it's just both parents working that makes the difference - time seems to be much more pressured in lots of ways. My Mum was a SAHM which I don't doubt meant it was easier for her to cook from scratch but we just didn't do as much in the evenings either. I went to Brownies/Guides one night a week and that was about it. And I walked there and back - my parents didn't have to tale me or pick me up. I would say my school mates were mainly similar. Some might have gone to dance class, had music lessons or played a sport but it would have been either/or, not the multiple activities which are common now. My primary school had no after school activities at all and at secondary there weren't many - a few sports practices and there was a play once a year that involved some after school rehearsals. But most evenings our whole family was home by 5.30pm. Mum was always at home and had no hobbies outside the house, we finished school at 4, walked home and were in by 4.30 and Dad worked 9-5 and would be home by 5.30. Tea would be on the table when he got in and we virtually always ate together.
By contrast, when my children were all at school there was rarely an evening when at least one of them didn't have some kind of activity. DH and I both worked and evenings were often a mad dash from one place to another, not infrequently with the entire family not getting back into the house til nearly bedtime. Even now I am retired and only have one late teen at home I volunteer during the day and a couple of nights a week, DS plays sport at least one week night and at weekends and DH is away with work fairly often. I do try to cook "proper" meals and have family mealtimes but there often just isn't time. I'm actually a reasonably good cook and enjoy it when there is no time pressure eg special occasions. But on a day to day basis our lifestyle doesn't really allow for anyone to spend hours in the kitchen so I probably do use too many jars etc. But it's not because I can't make a sauce from scratch. Looking at my friends and family I don't think we are unusual and I think that is a big part of why cooking habits have changed since my 70s childhood.

I think your example of the teacher who can't make soup is a bit harsh. I dont know what else she makes, but someone upthread made the point that lots of people can do the basics, but don't necessarily have that skill of instinctively knowing to add more of something or less or whatever.

And soup is actually a classic example of this. It's so easy to land up with soup that is too watery, or too thick or too bland. So people who are just competent cooks may well find soup something that's a bit overwhelming.

I also think that if we go back 40 years or so, a lot of people who were cooking, had a very limited selection of what they made. We grew up with almost no ready meals or convenience food, BUT we also grew up with a very limited selection of fairly standard, bland western food. Roast dinner, shepherds pie, some kind of meat/fish with potatoes/rice and three vegetables. Meat, chicken and fish were flavoured very simply, maybe with salt and dried mixed herbs or paprika. Spaghetti bologniase was relatively exotic.

Today, to be considered a competent cook by OP's standards I think you'd need to do a much wider variety. And while I have certainly managed that because I enjoy cooking and love to watch a tv cooking show or read a recipe book, I know lots and lots of people who still cook and eat a fairly standard diet. Which is fine, if that's your thing.

meh I taught both my DS to cook and bake.
one has gone off and happily makes up his own healthy recipes.

The other one is so overwhelmed by work and Uni he struggles to even think what he wants to eat, let alone take time out to plan, buy, prepare and cook anything more than a chuck it all in one pan for 3 minutes. I'm sorry you feel 'sad' for him. You've no need to really, he's quite happy.

The reason these boxes like Gusto and Simply Fresh are so popular is because people don't lack the ability to cook, or to learn to cook, what they lack is time. It takes time to choose recipes, buy and prepare the ingredients etc. These boxes make that a bit easier when they give you everything you need and instructions. If people are cooking less it's because they (especially women) are working more. Few people can afford their mortgage on one salary these days. Once you've got the kids from afterschool club and just need to get everyone fed, I can see why people would reach for something they can just throw in the oven.

I don't know anyone with Internet access who can read who would be unable to cook a meal. If they're telling you otherwise they are probably trying to manipulate you into doing it for them through their fake helplessness. Many people choose not to cook and that's entirely up to them. Just as many women are busy prioritising other things over teaching their children something that with a quick google they could accomplish easily enough themselves when needed. Its not something I'm sad about because it's nothing to do with my life.

I don’t agree that in person cooking is necessarily superior to a recipe book or something you can rewind and play again and again. I think it sounds fun but not the only way.

Presumably they could have made soup without lessons if they’d wanted to, if they were able to cook other things. Teachers particularly learn things all the time.

@Gwenhwyfar we don't have room unfortunately - our kitchen is absolutely tiny! 😭

My 2yo has just started "cooking school". It's a Friday cooking class for toddlers. Very basic stuff but I hope it's the start of her being interested in being able to cook for herself :)

Was the spag bol from a jar? Because I consider it quite a complex meal.

I didn't actually learn to cook until my late forties. It was all spag bol, fish fingers and jacket spuds in the microwave. Kids and shift work can do that to a person. Now, the beauty of my beef stroganoff would make you cry.

I buy microwave rice. The rest of the stir fry, chilli or curry is home made but it’s quick and easy and means one less pan. I’m not convinced me microwaving rice is a sign I can’t cook.

You’re joking, right? Most people can and do cook in the UK. And a lot is learned from the hundreds of tv programmes available each week.
I can only imagine that you are living in a very small bubble!

My parents both worked but prioritised homecooked food and quality ingredients, it's true it was time-consuming and corners were cut elsewhere due to this (house always a mess). I could always cook, and learned household management (cooking frugally, improvising, not wasting) by having no money when I moved out on my own 😆

I think it's because my maternal grandmother was a home economics teacher, and my parents grew up in rural areas so knew what proper ingredients were like even when they moved to a city.

Some people can’t read. Not everyone can afford the knifes/utensil and pans etc.
Also some people can’t afford to waste food!
Because someone is buying the ready meals/ pasta sauces/ curry sauce etc that I see even in Waitrose and M&S .
In fact people make fun of Iceland but I see just as many ready meals in M&S.

@Kpo58 cooking already is taught in schools, it's part of the Scottish curriculum in Primary & Secondary school.

I grew up in a house with a non-cooker.

My mum has many wonderful virtues, but cooking wasn't/isn't one of them.

As very young children, our diets consisted mainly of boiled potatoes, processed peas or beans, and some sort of unseasoned protein.
We were well into our teens before mum discovered pasta or pizza, and a few times we even had fish pie, which was a revelation! Seasoning? What's that?

I remember going off to university, and into a catered hall of residence. Everyone else there complained about the food - but to me, it was gourmet!

I taught myself to cook. Mostly because I'm a greedy-guts, who loves food. I wanted to make stuff that tasted great! I learnt through finding recipes online mostly. And by honing things we'd had as kids. For instance, we used to have corned beef pie quite often. Mums version was corned beef mixed with some grated cheese, and covered with mashed potato.
MY version is corned beef mixed with cheese, some finely chopped veg and some onion and garlic sautéed with aromat or all-purpose seasoning. Then covered with more cheese, then the mash, and then more cheese. Maybe a bit of paprika on top for some colour.

I'm a very good cook, I'm also very lazy so taught my DP how to cook, he loves it and does the bulk of the cooking now. My DS can cook the basics but doesn't very often, DD can fling things together but eats on the hoof. I learned the rudiments from my parents. How to season, use herbs, cook meat, roast veg, make soups, make a roux, use a slow cooker for curry & stews. When Jamie Oliver popped on the scene I watched all his tv and the lack of formal measuring etc made it so easy to follow so I learned new pasta, fish, risotto recipes. In saying that, we get take out a couple of times a week too! Perhaps if the UK hadn't welcomed the tidal wave of junk food franchises there would be more interest in cooking.