I'm going to say about 97% of people can't cook.

[ShrikeAttack]

I read threads on here about food all the time & even people who claim 'to 'cook', as in 'make stuff hot and eat it', have no idea about food. How to make delicious things, how to treat ingredients, what goes together.

It honestly makes me a bit sad.

The majority of people probably eat really rubbish food.

I really want people to understand food and eat better, not because I'm a dick, but because it would make their lives more pleasurable.

"slow cookers are great for cooking casseroles, tagines & pot roasts"

Couldn't agree more, they seal in flavour. Always use the SC for lamb shank stews, bouef bourgignon, chilli con carne and curries.

@WorraLiberty

That's a lot of food! How many will that feed?

And a hell of a lot of typing 😂

I thought that too!😂

I can’t cook. I have no natural ability or intuition. But I genuinely wish I could. I read cooking books & watch the programmes. I’ve tried a few recipes but it ends up being an expensive experiment if it goes wrong so I tend not to try. The only thing I can do is roast potatoes which doesn’t really count.

@giantangryrooster

Erh, I'm not uk, here we can't get duck eggs. Can anyone tell me what they taste like, please?

Never seen them in the UK either.

@ShrikeAttack

Haha. The YABU is 89%.

That's very close to my 97% supposition.

I rest my case.

Feel free to rest your case wherever you like. You can put it on the roof of Buckingham Palace for all I care.

I have certificates from Le Cordon Bleu (admittedly from several years ago) and I voted YABU. And if there was a button for YABVVVVVU I'd have voted for that one.

@MaddieElla

Today I’m having butcher bought roast pork, roast potatoes (I’ll race to you “best roast potato maker” by the way), carrots, leeks and sweetheart cabbage. Homemade apple sauce and gravy.

Can I cook or not? Because it takes me about 3 hours all told and I’ll be right pissed off if it’s a waste of time.

The leftover pork will go in a curry tomorrow. Waste not want not.

The menu sounds lovely, well put together, imo - I hope you can do it justice - but there are many ways to fuck it up. For example my mother would have put the cabbage on first thing this morning!😂

I can cook but have little confidence due to cooking arsolery on TV etc etc. I have grown kids who did well on home cooked food made from scratch mostly. They also enjoy junk food. My own mum is a great cook but can fuck up too. We've survived and it annoys me to have fucking preaching on every platform about cooking, clean your house, exercise etc etc.

We may not all be top notch Chefs but the majority can cook a meal for their family.

I can cook, and I love to cook. HOWEVER I spend a lot of time simply "catering" - producing food for my homeschooling DCs and homeworking DH and me to eat.

And what are you doing to change this OP? You know, as it's making you so sad?
Are you helping out at the food bank, running classes?

After now reading the whole thread.
While I agree that most people cannot really cook AND that the majority of people eat rubbish food, I don’t agree that not being able to cook dooms you to eating rubbish food. There is overlap between the two, but one isn’t the cause of the other.

There are lots of healthy and nutritious options out there for people who cannot cook. I think not being able to cook increases the chances you will eat poorly but only if you are also poor. Because buying pre-made nutritious and healthy options generally are more expensive than buying ingredients and cooking it yourself for basic everyday meals.

There is also a subset of very well off avid hobbyist chefs where cooking is more expensive than buying premade foods because they make speciality meals that require costly ingredients (truffle oil, wagyu steak, etc).

I make vegetable stock using the slow cooker setting of my instant pot, always tastes good and much less salty than bought stock.
Maybe using it doesn’t count as cooking but it’s a bloody fantastic gadget - it also has pressure cooker and rice cooker functions among others. I love being able to cook dried beans quickly without needing to soak them in advance.

@happytobemrsg

I can’t cook. I have no natural ability or intuition. But I genuinely wish I could. I read cooking books & watch the programmes. I’ve tried a few recipes but it ends up being an expensive experiment if it goes wrong so I tend not to try. The only thing I can do is roast potatoes which doesn’t really count.

Instead of complicated recipes try starting simple. Almost any quality meat or vegetable is good roasted with just olive oil, salt and pepper.

Once you have that down, it’s easy to add to it. Example - Carrots roasted with olive oil, with an herb added. Rosemary, dill, tarragon. Experiment to find out what you like.
Internet can tell you the right temp and time.

After you learn to roast things you can focus on simple sauces to add.

If the meat and produce is fresh and high quality, it doesn’t need much to make it taste good.

On another note, I’m a decent cook but not good with roasting potatoes. Any tips?

@happytobemrsg

I can’t cook. I have no natural ability or intuition. But I genuinely wish I could. I read cooking books & watch the programmes. I’ve tried a few recipes but it ends up being an expensive experiment if it goes wrong so I tend not to try. The only thing I can do is roast potatoes which doesn’t really count.

I can cook - almost everything and anything - except for fecking Yorkshire Puddings - every year I make them on Christmas Day - it's a bit of a joke tradition...some year I'll get there! I bet you can do Yorkies!

Having read all of OP's posts, I must say it is lovely to see someone who is committed to their hobby, massively successful in it, and gains such pleasure and satisfaction from it.

I am, however, not sure whether that hobby is actually cooking (as would seem, superficially, to be the case) or winding people up on the internet.

@Gwenhwyfar

Lots of things I just couldn't find either. Never see artichokes in the local shops.

Jerusalem artichokes aren't artichokes. They're a member of the sunflower family. And they have an unfortunate side effect. The other meaning of trump. If space ships could eat Jerusalem artichokes, NASA could save a fortune in rocket fuel. Don't visit the OP that day.

@giantangryrooster
I'm not uk, here we can't get duck eggs. Can anyone tell me what they taste like, please?

It depends what the ducks eat. Wild duck eggs to me have a bit of a fishy taste from eating pond weed etc. But, most duck eggs you can buy are from domesticated ducks that are fed land based grasses (chickweed, dandelion, etc) and grain, pretty much same diet as range free chickens, and their eggs don’t taste different from chicken eggs.

Haven’t read the full thread but op I do think the same when I read threads on here, re the throwing in random veg and making watery sauces

It doesnt make me sad though

I’ve only ever had duck eggs from my own ducks and the Clarence court ones and I would say they taste much richer than chicken eggs. They are glorious on toast with some tiptree ketchup.

[quote Feedingthebirds1]@Gwenhwyfar

Lots of things I just couldn't find either. Never see artichokes in the local shops.

Jerusalem artichokes aren't artichokes. They're a member of the sunflower family. And they have an unfortunate side effect. The other meaning of trump. If space ships could eat Jerusalem artichokes, NASA could save a fortune in rocket fuel. Don't visit the OP that day.[/quote]
Thanks. The ingredients issue is one of the main reasons I don't get along with cook books, internet recipes, etc. There's always something I can't get or don't even know what it is. Even Jack Monro, which is supposed to be simple every-day ingredients. I couldn't find tinned lentils in any of the supermarkets near me.

The duck eggs are... Thicker? I am honestly not sure how to exactly describe it. And kind of "creamier".
Costco here sells them. Seen them in tesco too. We used to buy them on road trips from farm shops or farms along with hen eggs.

Op if you had said 50% I may have agreed with you. However unless I happen to k ow the 3% personally who can cook (and I highly doubt that) i think you have the % wrong.

The fact you put down slow cookers also suggests to me you don't really know how to use them. It is possible to make beautiful meals in slow cooker if you know how. Seems you don't if you feel it sweets.

Pheasant and chicken are similar prices yes. Not similar sizes though. I enjoy duck eggs but rarely eat them same with quails eggs

I grew up with a mother who was a chef and a stepdad who is a hunter money were sparce at times i was taught how to add ingredients together to make beautiful meals. I still age 50 enjoy cooking. I dont enjoy cooking daily meals that I have found is many peoples issue so they heat up chicken kiews and steam some veg.

Dh can cook but he freely admits it was something that happened after he had moved away from his childhood home. Late mil (bless her wonderful woman) was not a great cook and took no pleasure in cooking. Enjoyed good food though.

My 4 have all been taught the bases of cooking and what goes together. Ds is a uni student he came home for Christmas full of stories about how they have created their own come dine w me and how a Indian friend had come over to teach them how to make a proper curry. He then preceeded to check if I had the right spices (apparently I don't thats ok though as I rarely cook curry)

Thing is though.

For me at least you come across as if you feel yourself superior because you can do this. Your menu whilst nice is not the reality of a budget for most British families. Had you had some more commonly used meals in there you may have come across better.

If you look at Marloes hierarchy of needs you will find food and shelter (ie a home) are both in the basic needs hence I feel the poster who compared food and cooking with ability to make a house was on to something.

Lastly you should try cooking a spa bol in a slowcooker. It was pretty much exactly what the Italian mama did hours and hours of cooking.

Its all about education.

The type of food you cook and eat is very closely tied to your income
Poor - it’s about quantity
Middle - it’s about quality
Rich - how does it look on your plate ?

Jerusalem atrichokes are also known as poor man's potato. I am yet to try them, but heard they are meh but very healthy.

@mumwon

slow cookers are great for cooking casseroles, tagines & pot roasts I use fresh & dried whole spices & herbs from scratch op - I can make a tasty meal from very limited ingredients. Many women on here have severe limits on time, money & even facilities to cook & are learning , as we all did, from experience & this wonderful resource & other networks. often people also are restricted by diet or allergy or food sensitivities & whether family like the food. I don't often bake (but I followed a lovely gluten free recipe & made a great rich Christmas fruitcake - yae! it turned out right first time!!! - some of my baking takes a few attempts to get it right) & judging people for not doing that is - not right I don't assume

I have never managed to make anything in a slow cooker that doesn't taste like it came out of a slow cooker rather than a stove top or oven.

I have tried frying beforehand to seal in the flavour but I think it's the 8 hours of cooking that seems to destroy all the spices and flavours, it's like the food just gives up 😁and it all tastes like slow cooker mush.

What is the secret?