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Original poster

What can your 10 year old cook?

83 replies

JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar · 04/02/2011 12:40

Right - ds is 10. I want him to start cooking dinner one night a week or so.

He's a bit cack handed dyspraxic , which scares me (knives! kettles! heat!), but I need to get over my fear

So, do we have any suggestions for dishes that aren't too complicated or faffy but will give him a sense of satisfaction? What can/do/did your 10 yos cook?

OP posts:

madhairday · 06/02/2011 18:44

This has inspired me to get dd cooking more. She's 10 and also dyspraxic but loves cooking, I have just been nervous with heat/kettle etc. But need to get over that and give her some confidence I think. She does stuff like scrambled egg/beans on toast, she can bake cakes/biscuits but haven't let her do the normal meals yet, I will give it a go I think, she would love it. Thanks for the inspiration :)

MappandLucia · 06/02/2011 19:00

My ds is 12 so castimg my mind back 2 years...

He was cooking cakes, banana bread/muffins, setting bread machine for loaves or pizza bases, making smoothies.

weblette · 06/02/2011 19:10

All of mine love to cook, the older two 11 and 9 especially.

Our favourite book at the moment is this

Deaddei · 06/02/2011 19:12

Bacon sandwiches.

mrsruffallo · 06/02/2011 19:31

My dd is 7 and she can make scrambled eggs, cakes, biscuits a cup of tea, fresh coffee in a cafetiere.
She also handles raw meat when helping to make chicken kiev- she coats the chicken breast within egg, flour and breadcrumbs, dh seals it in the frying pan and she puts them in the oven.
She loves cooking and makes dessert every Wednesday.
I was a bit nervous about her using the kettle at first but she is very careful

jugglingjo · 06/02/2011 19:55

What did you all make around this age ?

I remember making eggy bread, scottish pancakes, popcorn, fudge, yogurt, and ginger beer. Oh and various crispy creations with cereal !

A little later I made a simnel cake and had a go at boeuf bourginnon ! Also remember an apple tart I made at a neighbour's house, and
learning how to make cheese sauce (which has been a very useful one over the years )

Deaddei · 06/02/2011 20:02

I made nothing. Mum wouldn't allow us in the kitchen.
I went to Uni unable to make anything.
WHich is why dd at 14 cooks twice a week as does dh.

CointreauVersial · 06/02/2011 20:27

I cooked loads as a child - prepared tea every day for myself and little bro from the age of 8 onwards. I also did all the baking from the age of about 10, as my mum was rubbish at it; if I wanted a christmas cake I made it myself!!

DS1 is 11, he has been bringing us a cup of tea in bed every Sunday for some time, but he's not that interested in cooking. He has the Cookbook for Boys, and I would be perfectly happy to leave him alone to cook a meal if he wanted to.

DD1 and DD2 are 9 and 7, and love cooking; they help all the time, or at least whenever I let them! I can leave them alone in the kitchen to create biscuits and puddings etc. but they are not very good at reading instructions and tend to skip bits they don't understand, which has led to a few...erm...interesting results (like the lemon surprise pudding where they didn't bother to separate the eggs and whisk the whites, so we ended up with a sort of lemon omelette).

I certainly want them all to leave home with a basic level of cookery knowledge - not like DH, who can't boil an egg.

MrsTittleMouse · 06/02/2011 20:35

Mine are much younger than yours, so a lot more supervision required from me. My top tip - pizza is really good for children to cook. Making dough with yeast is fun and feels like magic, then passatta and mozzerella (cut with butter knife or use ready grated) on top. Toppings can be mushrooms or ham (cut with butter knife again), or peppers and olives from a jar and top with torn basil leaves - he can really let his artistic side go. If he's a bit funny about the heat, you could help take it out of the oven, and it looks really impressive coming to the table. :)

I cooked almost nothing as a 10 year old, by the way. My Mum hated cooking and so didn't have the skills or inclination to do it with me. When I was 15 I became veggie and was thrown in at the deep end because she refused to cook for me (fair enough, if cooking one meal was torture for her, two would probably have set her over the edge!). I ate some dreadful things while I was learning, but boy, did I learn fast!

Usuwi · 06/02/2011 20:51

I'm still dyspraxic and also absent-minded.

I can use a knife - I use a big sharp knife which I rock on the point, not a little one which can skid all over the place.

The microwave is quite helpful for making things like white sauce without burning them. White sauce equals cheese sauce or mushroom sauce or bechamel sauce so it's quite fab.

A nice microwave meal is jacket potatoes with ham, mushroom and cheese sauce. Serve with a green salad. Easy peasy.

jugglingjo · 06/02/2011 21:22

Hi Usuwi !

I've probably got a brain a bit like yours

I'm pretty sure attention deficit and dyslexia run in our family - and it's getting some recognition for my DD. Not really picked up in my generation though

Anyway, I'm one for keeping the cooking pretty simple too ! But hopefully we can aim for healthy and interesting at the same time. And getting DD and DS to help out seems like the way to go - for all sorts of reasons

ftoomch · 06/02/2011 22:10

I have an 11 yr old DD who has been vegetarian for nearly 2 years now. I used this as a hook for her to cook for us & try & get the rest of us eating veggie food more. She had lots of fun dreaming up meals & the biggest success so far has been Quesadillas. Can't do links but google Jamie Oliver and quesadillas and it will work. They are FAB, like healthier & more interesting pizza.

Coralanne · 06/02/2011 22:35

Boy! all these children seem extremely talented.

It's good they all like to cook.

Had my 6 year old niece and 7 year old GD stay over on Saturday.
They cooked Pizza for them selves (I turned on the oven as it's too high for them).

Actually she's my GREAT niece taught me something. She has lots of allergies and knows exactly what she can and cannot have.

We went to the supermarket and she checked the ingredients in every purchase.

When they had made tthe pizza. Ham, cheeze and mushroom she then whisked up an egg and poured over the top before cooking. It was yummy.

MrsWeasley · 06/02/2011 23:54

My DS aged 10 can make Pizza and sausage rolls from stratch, he makes a lovely Cheese and onion plait, which he recently adapted to be a sausage and apple plait. It was lovely.

He can do cookies and cakes too.

He learnt most of it a school. One of his teachers used to be a chef/cook and she ran a cookery club for 6 weeks. He loved it.

FindingStuffToChuckOut · 07/02/2011 09:32

lovely thread - at 3 DD is way to young to cook properly, but she loves getting involved in the kitchen with me.

I started cooking meals for the family at about 12 - once I'd done a few home ec classes. Showing my age, but before I did spag bol at home, we didn't really eat pasta! Imagine that

Curiousmama · 07/02/2011 09:36

Ds2 is 10 and doesn't cook much but likes to bake. I supervise though.
I'd like he and ds1 to cook more tbh.

Which Sam Stern book would you recommend (those who use them)?

Original poster

JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar · 07/02/2011 09:38

I've ordered the Usbourne book (hasn't arrived yet) and also a Sam Stern which came on Saturday. I agree, the photos are cheesy but it seems to appeal to ds who, on Saturday, cooked steak and chips (well, wedges), with salad (he followed the Sam Stern vinaigrette recipe for the dressing) followed by chocolate mousse (again, Sam Stern)

All with fairly minimal supervision too - I stood with him and showed him how to push the steaks down so they colour nicely, and I halved the potatoes so there was a flat surface on them but he more or less told me to eff off (in more suitable words for a 10 yo!) and leave him to it

He did a great job and was very pleased with himself (as I was with him).

He was only cooking for the three of us - steaks wouldn't be so great a starting point I think for any more than 2 or 3 people.

Tomorrow he's making meatballs (well, cooking pre-made meatballs) with tomato sauce (I'll chop the onions) and, ermmm, potato wedges again.

There are some really great ideas on this thread - thanks everyone :)

OP posts:

Original poster

JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar · 07/02/2011 09:56

Ooooooh! My thread is in Discussions of the Day! I feel I've finally made it

Curiousmama - I got Cooking Up A Storm. I note with interest the use of the word "arse" in the book, which didn't really bother me but might bother some.

I don't remember cooking much at all when I was 10, other than heating a pasty in the microwave to have with Smash and peas. I did a bit of baking I think, most of which failed. Oh, and made packet cheesecakes and Angel Delight.

OP posts:

EmMUK74 · 07/02/2011 11:21

this is fantastic, such great things these kids can do.

I have started DD off early because she loves it. she is 5. she can make scrambled eggs or beans (using the microwave) on toast. she makes cakes and muffins and biscuits herself with my help using the oven. she makes fruit smoothies and sandwiches for us at the weekend. and she chops all the veggies for bolognese and then helps me with the cooking of them in the pan.

she loves the feeling of being grown up and we love seeing her enjoying herself. win-win

MrsE · 07/02/2011 12:22

DD (13) so sliughtly older can cook a roast dinner (although needs help with timings), yorkshire puds, pie, mince type stuff, fajitas, pasta. SHe loves the Jamie Oliver book Ministry of Food as it is simple but good recipies. She loves cooking and does one night a week and sometime 2 if I'm licky :)

KikiJane · 07/02/2011 12:39

My son (11) and daughter (almost-10) absolutely love cooking. My son makes a great risotto, completely by himself, and because he knows how a basic risotto works, he can (and frequently does) decide on meat/fish/vegetable combinations to flavour them with.

My daughter is more into baking and recently made a chocolate mousse cake entirely by herself, served with raspberry coulis, for a large family dinner. She wanted everyone to think I'd made it at first, so she could surprise everyone later. Before she said she'd done it, everyone had agreed that they would happily have paid for it in a high-end restaurant. Everyone was gobsmacked when she admitted she'd made it herself. She was so proud of herself :)

Curiousmama · 07/02/2011 14:37

I've just ordered some Sam Stern books from the library. Thanks OP

Dolanette · 07/02/2011 18:04

My 3 and 6 yr old made meatballs recently.
I did the initial egg/breadcrumbs bit but they actually formed all the meatballs and two mini-burgers.

Hulababy · 07/02/2011 18:09

Fishcakes are a good one to make too.

homeboys · 07/02/2011 19:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

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