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.

It’s interesting to me, far more so than shoulder of lamb and pork which I don’t actually eat You should @TatianaBis you don't know what you're missing.

You can't do so much with shoulder of pork. After eating it as a roast I use the left overs for all sorts of dishes, including Dim Sum Pork Buns, pulled pork in crispy tacos with spring onions, peppers and soured cream, pulled pork stuffed peppers, and pork with garlic, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and peppers with tagliatelle.

I make Lancashire hot pot with the left over lamb. I chuck in whatever vegetables I have in the fridge and serve with cheesy dumplings.

What do you cook op and pics to go with? I'm intrigued!

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

I either sprinkle with salt and dried rosemary, or with paprika, and a little turmeric.
The main thing is that if you decide to par-boil them, don't do it for longer than 4 or 5 minutes, and make sure the oven and the oil in the pan is REALLY hot. Quickly roll the tatties in the oil and get them back in the oven pronto. Blast on a high heat for the first 20 mins, then turn down a bit for the rest of the time.

I don't think Simon's shopping list was a lot of food for a week. If you eat mainly vegetables you do need quite a few!

@Kljnmw3459

I generally don't enjoy food cooked by others.

Why?

I’m on team OP. I’ve not liked the food in 97% of homes I’ve been in.

I’m very fussy and only like food the way I cook it.

I find other people’s food too spicy, too many things mixed together, too bitter/sour.

I’m very fussy and only like food the way I cook it.

That just means you're super fussy though, not that the others can't cook!

I’m sure some people cook delicious food in slow cookers. I can’t imagine bunging a load of mince in with a jar of dolmio in for 8 hours is going to any tastier than the watery slag Bol my mum used to make.

@Sarahandduck18

I’m on team OP. I’ve not liked the food in 97% of homes I’ve been in.

I’m very fussy and only like food the way I cook it.

I find other people’s food too spicy, too many things mixed together, too bitter/sour.

"If you run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole."

Sorry, but it just really sprung in my mind seeing this...

@midnightstar66

I’m very fussy and only like food the way I cook it.

That just means you're super fussy though, not that the others can't cook!

I agree. We love our food, and so do our friends. We have one set of friends who are exceptional cooks, and we love visiting them as we know we will be fed well.

@Sarahandduck18

I’m on team OP. I’ve not liked the food in 97% of homes I’ve been in.

I’m very fussy and only like food the way I cook it.

I find other people’s food too spicy, too many things mixed together, too bitter/sour.

But that has nothing to do with the OP

You being fussy doesn't mean 97% of people can't cook, which is what the OP claims.

With a reasonably budget, most can cook fairly, add in slow cookers, multi cookers, ovens , microwaves and the like.
I tend to cook on my days off, and reheat my own frozen stuff when working, too tired to be bothered then.
Skills require learning tho

@IfNotNow12

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

I either sprinkle with salt and dried rosemary, or with paprika, and a little turmeric.
The main thing is that if you decide to par-boil them, don't do it for longer than 4 or 5 minutes, and make sure the oven and the oil in the pan is REALLY hot. Quickly roll the tatties in the oil and get them back in the oven pronto. Blast on a high heat for the first 20 mins, then turn down a bit for the rest of the time.

I don't think Simon's shopping list was a lot of food for a week. If you eat mainly vegetables you do need quite a few!

You do, I’m a semi professional rugby player, so I need a lot of fuel.

Hey OP, have a Pot Noodle and a wank (in whichever order you prefer). Might make your life a bit happier.

I can cook. Absolutely. And I understand food

@Bilgepumper

It’s interesting to me, far more so than shoulder of lamb and pork which I don’t actually eat You should *@TatianaBis* you don't know what you're missing.

You can't do so much with shoulder of pork. After eating it as a roast I use the left overs for all sorts of dishes, including Dim Sum Pork Buns, pulled pork in crispy tacos with spring onions, peppers and soured cream, pulled pork stuffed peppers, and pork with garlic, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and peppers with tagliatelle.

I do know what I’m missing: I used to eat red meat, I don’t like it so I stopped.

Yes OP, we're all bored shitless, got any more self-invented random stats?

@midnightstar66

There is absolutely skill in roasting birds. I’ve eaten a lot of dried or underdone roasts!

Yes but if you can understand how to cook a chicken well - which as you say can be badly done, you should be able to adapt that to any bird with a little research or reading. Anyway You have no idea if the OP can cook a pheasant well or if she just claims she's a good cook by naming slightly less usual produce.

Each bird is different and needs different cooking time. People who can cook chicken easily fuck up turkey or goose for example. You can quite easily overcook pheasant.

I’ve not commented on OP’s cooking skills, which no-one has any idea of, but I think knee-jerk chippiness about less common meat is a bit of a waste of time.

The real weakness in OP’s post is her claim about the volume of people who can cook, which is no doubt more than 3%.

I am not sure if I got a link to this guy here but he has fantastic cooking and baking videos on YouTube.
He is a retired chef and gives every detail in a really nice way.

Worth checking out.

Not sure if British can cook but they sure make laugh! 😂👍🏻

@blueangel19

Not sure if British can cook but they sure make laugh! 😂👍🏻

I can cook reasonably. I love food, I'm definitely not a "food is fuel only" type of person, love fancy restaurants etc (pre-kids/lockdown) and especially like baking. I know my strengths and weaknesses, I'm not amazing, but I can keep my family fed on a reasonably nutritious diet which they will all eat. OP would no doubt feel sorry for me because I don't experiment much with flavours, and doubtless could be eating more delicious food by cooking it all myself from scratch (side note - does anyone else find the repeated use of "from scratch" in these types of thread gets really grating?).

But is the extra enjoyment I'd get from the taste of, say, a plate of homemade pasta sauce vs a jar of sauce worth the extra time, faff and clean-up effort? After a long day at work, plus commute, when I just want to get food into everyone and the kids off to bed, plus have laundry etc to sort and next day's meals/clothes/kit to plan - often no. Does this mean I can't cook, or that I just don't always prioritise it above everything else?

DH is probably a better cook than me - he understands flavours better and has a more sensitive palate so can make subtle changes that really improve things, which I might not notice on my own. But he's also an immensely stressy cook, with very poor timing (we ate Christmas dinner at 5:30) and leaves a huge mess for me to clean up. So sometimes I'd rather do something easy and less than perfect, just to get it done.

Its be fun to taste a sample of everyone’s cooking, wouldn’t it?

I cook to my own tastes, as we all do. My husband is now habituated to my cooking and prefers it to his mother’s. Doesn’t mean mine is objectively better though. I like eating my mum’s, my sister’s, my stepmum’s and my mother in law’s cooking. All tastes different from mine but still good. Sometimes they make something really nice and I ask for the recipe.

It’s not a competition.

@ZoeTurtle

Hey OP, have a Pot Noodle and a wank (in whichever order you prefer). Might make your life a bit happier.

😂😂😂

@ShrikeAttack

Ok my food for the next week (including lunches as we're all at home).

Sunday- Brunch: Bacon, sausage and duck eggs. Rosti using the leftover potatoes from last night. Roast tomatoes and mushrooms. Black pudding.

Dinner; Roast pheasant. Roast potatoes. Braised red cabbage. Roast parsnips. Port gravy.

Monday: Jerusalem artichoke soup for lunch with hm bread.

Dinner; Roast beetroot with smoked mackerel, potatoes with soured cream and dill, cucumber salad.

Tuesday; Lunch: Ribollita, ciabatta, cheese, green salad.

Dinner; slow-cooked brisket. Rice. Soured cream. Hm guacamole. Pico de gallo. Hm tacos.

Me and DH are having a tuna pasta meal each for dinner, that we bought from Aldi. 6 minutes each in the microwave.

And some milk tray with a coffee afterwards.

Bet you think you're better than me dont'cha? Coz you (allegedly) cook everything from scratch?

I've got news for you.

You're really not.

I bet you ever expected virtually 9 out of 10 people to disagree with you eh??? Must be so disappointing. You thought most posters would join in with your nasty, smug bitchfest, and slag off people who don't cook from scratch. In your eyes, common, stupid people.

Epic fail hun.