How would you define being able to cook?

[Weekendtobegin]

I'm just interested to see what people would class as being able to cook and how you would define someone who can't cook.

I would probably say that being able to cook would mean to be able to make a range of common meals from scratch and to be able to follow a recipe to a good standard.

Or would you say it was more being able to create a recipe of your own.

@Donson

It takes practice, wanting to experiment, interested in the food and having confidence. The people I know who are ‘good’ do all these things.

Yes. I think this is easier if you have a willing audience if you know what I mean! I'm either by myself (a lot of effort just to feed one person, so cooking kept to a minimum), or feeding two kids (stick to the tried and tested). If I'm cooking for adults I'm out of practice so would follow a recipe to the letter and not want to experiment.

My FIL can't cook at all.

Mine is the same. If my MIL goes away, he has to be left pre-prepared meals in the fridge for him to heat up.

If all members of my family remain alive at the end of each day, I consider myself a competent cook!

I think being able to produce edible, preferably enjoyable food, either from a recipe or from memory is evidence of ability to cook. Opening jars and packets isn't really cooking. It's just heating up - and it's fine, as it gets you fed. Being a brilliant or inventive cook is a whole different thing I reckon, where someone has a particular talent or interest.

I agree @GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER. Often it's a case of won't cook rather than can't cook.

I think being able to follow a recipe successfully (and knowing things like when the heat needs turning up, or when something needs reducing, or more seasoning) plus being able to make some everyday meals without a recipe, is a good benchmark that means you can cook.

Both my dc can cook, but I'd say my DH can't. He can follow a recipe to the letter, but he doesn't have the know how to adjust things or notice if something isn't quite right (lack of practice!) E.g if he made a curry from a recipe but hadn't had the heat high enough so the sauce didn't reduce, (say it was too watery) he would just serve it anyway because he had followed the recipe. A good cook would look at it and think "that needs reducing more"

Being able to cook for me would be
You can shop for the raw ingredients
You know what works with what
You can turn these ingredients into a nice edible meal

I would class not being able to do more than boil pasta and open a jar of sauce as ‘can’t cook’.

I can cook as can everyone in my family. This is common for us though as we grew up on an island so grew up eating wholesome fresh homemade food, no processed food as too poor to buy those and not even sure they were readily available. So I can cook a lot of fresh, from scratch food for my own immediate family as that’s what I grew up on. A lot of my cooking has to do with my own upbringing and culture and I am hoping to pass these on to my children.

Able to cook for me is if you can follow the simple recipe and able to create something, and can cook basic stuff like fry/bake/roast etc to the basic level.
My dc is able to cook, but I don't call him a good cook yet, because he can follow recipe or cook some simple dish like spag bolog, but isn't the level that he can improvise yet.

My mother taught me to cook, mostly by telling me what she was doing. Now I have her words in my head, so I know to get an onion frying while I think about what to make.

For example, I know off by heart the proportions of things that matter, such as 5:5:7 and three eggs, which means creme together 5oz sugar & 5oz butter, add 7oz flour and three eggs to make a basic cake. It can be cooked in a tin, spread across two sandwich tins or in cup cake cases for fairy cakes. These different options will require to be cooked for different times and temperatures for. The basis flavour can be augmented with cocoa or lemon peel and juice. A glacé icing can be made with Lemon juice and icing sugar or add creme cheese for a softer, creamy icing.

I can read a recipe and know which parts with be easy and what shortcuts will work and which will spoil the overall result.

I'd describe myself as a confident cook for the things I like to eat. I'll check a recipe for something I haven't made in a long time, especially when I know that the proportions are important and I know know them off by heart.

I can confidently adapt recipes for what we have to hand and know what will and won't work. I also leave the kitchen clean and tidy as part of the process of cooking. This for me is the mark of a good domestic cook: delicious meals and no mountain of washing up to be done.

My limit is that I can't be bothered to endlessly meal plan and cook to a budget.

I cook things I like, we eat out a lot (or used to) and eat at the very good restaurant at work anytime I am in.

DH is happy to follow recipes but can't tell just by reading which parts might go wrong or not be quite as simple as suggested in the recipe. His inclination is to use a fresh teaspoon each time something needs to be measured rather than rinse the one teaspoon each time. He appreciates that clearing up as you go along is convenient but doesn't always remember to do so.

DM was defined by her delicious and good value meals. We never put on weight while she was in charge of the kitchen. DF only cooked when she was away and has a very limited repertoire: pancakes, scrambled eggs and a good many chips.