to think that people should be able to cook?

[bobbytorq]

I've been lsitening to radio 2 this morning and Joanna Scanlan is on ans she said she made a roux for the first time recently and found it hard work. I make a roux often and it's really easy and my kids have been making them since they were 10/11 too. It made me think that there musrt be loads of people who just don't have the cooking basics.

Cooking is just another chore If I could get away with it I wouldn't ever do it....there's plenty of food that can be eaten cold.

Who changes tyres these days? My last 4 cars haven’t even had spares.

Just a technical point here - the roux is the basic element of four of the five mother sauces of French (and Creole and other French-influenced) cuisine. It's the starting point for a huge number of dishes in that cuisine. Because of the influence of French cuisine on all other western cooking, it's quite a basic element outside of the French world too, in the west. I suspect this is why the OP specified it.

You are aware that your diet is not the healthiest and that cooking from scratch would probably be better, but you fear that your kids won't like what you cook and that it will end up in the bin, wasting precious resources you can't spare. You also worry that you will mess it up, so it will taste awful and again it will end up in the bin. You google a recipe and find that the recipe
calls for lots of ingredients you don't have, like herbs or spices. The cost per portion might be low because you only use a tiny amount but can you afford the initial outlay for all the ingredients, knowing that if everyone hates it or it goes wrong, you won't make it again

This was me while my children were small. I wanted to cook nice things, I knew they probably wouldnt like it and I was on a very limited budget and importantly in fuel poverty. Its lovely to make something like a nice hearty, meaty casserole, but I could not put the oven on for as long as it required. Cheap meat needs longer cooking, I couldn't afford expensive meat. Plus one child would say no carrots, other child would turn nose up and not eat it. I did a Sunday dinner for years, I went without to make this Sunday dinner. One day one child wanted a roast potato and some gravy, the other wanted stuffing and some roasted onions. That was the end of my cooking Sunday dinner. I couldn't afford to keep wasting food like that.

From that day on they got a lot of microwave meals or baked potatoes with filling or omelette. Cheap, easy, quick to cook, use not much electricity.

Do I feel bad, yes to some extent, but at least they were fed and I didnt get into more debt with my electric bill or waste lots of food.

Anyone who doesn't like waiting for 2 hrs at the side of a motorway?

I was actually taught how to change a wheel at school... my local council decided it was a vital skill for all the sixth form girls (not boys) to learn, along with other maintenance skills. The idea being if we broke down we weren't vulnerable.

Lots of people! I've had two punctures in the last six months alone.

I am a huge believer in home cooked meals. I value being able to produce nutritional, tasty food for my myself, family & friends and really enjoy doing so. It's the way I was brought up and my mum involved me in the cooking from a young age, so by the time I left for uni I was more than confident in the kitchen.
I would however argue that, in this day and age, cooking is a choice. Yes it's a really useful skill to have and some basic knowledge is important particularly with regards to food safety and nutrition, but I believe that actually 'cooking' for some is not essential. I'm not talking about boiling an egg or cooking a pan of rice, but making sauces, pastry, baking etc.
I think what's import is that people can take care of the needs of themselves and loved ones. If someone doesn't enjoy cooking and is happy to eat either simple food that require little skill, or ready prepared food, then that's up to them. I know a couple of families like this and they don't live of a diet of junk food either. They either eat simple foods, omelettes, salads, baked salmon and veg jacket potatoes, chicken, rice and veg etc etc or they will buy things like marinated meat from the butchers, or prepared dishes from the supermarket. I do however think that this is where money comes into play. Both families I am thinking of are fairly comfortable. If money is not a limiting factor then yes you can buy high quality products without all the additives, I know one of the families buys the 'ready meals' from the farm shop. And to be honest they are good. Made on site with natural ingredients (ingredients on packaging and there's nothing in their lasagne that wouldn't go in mine.) basically they are just out sourcing the work.

I agree in principle but I wouldn’t use a roux as the benchmark here.

I think everyone should be able to prepare basic, healthy cooked meals to a standard which will guarantee their family can eat a reasonable selection of different meals with vegetables in alongside some meat. I don’t think in this day and age living on a diet of ready meals and takeouts when you have children is acceptable.

And of course this is gendered isn’t it because an awful lot of these people who have never bothered learning to cook are men and you can’t have a sustainable set up in a family where only one person ever cooks. It’s unfair, it creates resentment and it’s a shit example to children.

But a roux is not exactly entry level cooking and I wouldn’t die on a hill if my partner couldn’t do that if he could do a selection of other decent dishes.

Technically a roux is just the butter and flour. It's no longer a roux when milk or anything else if added.

It is definitely not a middle class thing to be able to cook! My grandmother was "in service". She learned to cook. People should give over with such low expectations- cooking is such a basic thing to human existence.

Nobody taught me to cook. But my mother did cook, and so did hers, and so do all my family, including the men. I made some really disgusting things at the start. Now I can cook for others and give them a bit of pleasure.

People should give over with such low expectations- cooking is such a basic thing to human existence.

So why can't we outsource cooking like we outsource plenty of other things?

I can make a roux, but although I cook from scratch 6 days out of 7, I haven't made one for years. There are many food traditions that do not involve a roux.

@whataboutsecondbreakfast - of course you can do that! Why not? I didn't say you couldn't? Have a takeaway, go out, all fine, but also be able.,

My point is, as a functioning adult, it's pretty embarrassing not to be able to cook past 30. It's one of the most accessible and easy things you can do. You need a book or even just Mumsnet to learn. Or friends. Cooking and learning with friends is social and fun. And you get a skill

Think this would be amazing if they brought this back. And cleaning!

I'm sure there are lots of things you can't do as a "functioning adult" - there isn't a single person out there who can do everything.

If someone chooses to outsource cooking instead of, say, plumbing or cleaning or gardening, who are you to judge? 🙄

Okay, cooking to me is a core skill. Like being able to read. I don't think it's got to be a roux, but I would find it really odd if I met another adult who could not cook at all.

That is a bit different from you don't want to. I clean my house, I am capable. Would I get a cleaner if funds allow? Yea. But it goes to that function as an adult.

I grew up working class, didn't go to university and I can still cook. One of my dad's favourite things was cooking. When you're living on limited money, being able to cook can make you feel like you're thriving. His £2 meals were far tastier than the frozen oven chips and nuggets I got at richer friend's houses.

Top tip - cheese sauce is a lot easier if you simply heat the seasoned milk and thicken with some cornflour slaked into cold milk. Add knob of butter, bring to boil, simmer, add grated cheese . Far less likely to burn/stick or go lumpy than a roux if you are not an expert .

I am 58 and still lean on my Home Ec lessons in S1/2. We did half a year of cooking and the other half needlework. We learnt all the classic dishes.

My mum cooked 99% from scratch (the other 1% being a Vesta curry) - all simple British dishes - nutritious and balanced. I didn't learn a lot from her about savoury dishes but did a fair bit of baking.

I think the reason people don't want to cook is the mental energy and time. I am the same 20% of the time. I struggle with just thinking about what to make. Once I have made my decision, it's fine.

I am happy that my five children are all keen cooks. What has really inspired them is Gousto (other brands available). They just love the interesting recipes and easy instructions (even it takes an hour).

We are having home-made pizza tonight. The dough is proving (10 minutes of effort from me), and then everyone can create their own space with their favourite toppings.

@sweeneytoddsrazor nor could I (cook a poached egg properly that is) until I watched this video.

Now I can, but it still makes a mess!

I can and do cook every day (quite well now, but it didn't come naturally), but I've only ever made a roux once. It's just not a featured part of my repertoire. I would very much have to look it up and likely struggle without double-checking repeatedly.

We changed ours last year. I was pretty thankful for the spare.

I remember my ex's mum being horrified I didn't know how to make macaroni cheese from scratch. I hate cheese. So why on earth would I know how to make something I absolutely won't eat.

Idk know how to make a roux but it's something I rarely do.

My mother cooked most meals from scratch and she taught me to cook from being very young. I also had cookery lessons at school.
However, I despise cooking and refused to do it once the kids left home.
I couldn't even tell you what kitchenware is in my cupboards these days.

Why not, if you can afford the latter?