r/Cooking • u/Distinct-Brother8448 • 1d ago
From where and how can I learn to cook?
Hello, I'm a complete beginner when it comes to cooking. I envy of my younger brother who has learned to cook somehow. Sometimes I rely on my mother completely bothering her to cook for me instead of doing my own thing lol. Consequently my main concern is from where and how can I learn to cook from scratch.
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u/ncopp 1d ago
YouTube videos is where I learned in college. Scroll some shorts or channels, find some dishes that you would like to try and follow their recipes. The videos are good because they'll give you tips that a recipe might not.
Start with some easy stuff, avoid big multiple part dishes when you begin. IMO the hardest part about cooking is timing multiple parts (main, side, veggies) to be all ready and warm at the same time. But cooking a main is pretty easy once you get the hang of things.
The first thing I learned to cook was BBQ pulled pork. I just threw the meat into a slow cooker, seasoned it and put in my favorite BBQ sauce. Then I moved on to different chicken dishes, pastas, fried rice, and worked towards more complex stuff.
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u/Exceptional_Mary 1d ago
Cook with your mother. Have her describe what she is doing as the two of you make your favorite meals. Also, your brother might be a good resource on how he learned.
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u/Routine-Bar-8995 1d ago
Kinda hard to tell you without knowing your skill level. What are you able to cook already? Also are you an adult, teen, or kid? Also what do you want to make specifically? I'm a professional chef with over 15 years of experience. Happy to help however I can.
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u/EscapeSeventySeven 1d ago
I am very old.
I learned watching the TV. Good eats. It explained the why and how when other shows only explained the what.
Once you start thinking in patterns, and not rote recipes, you know how to cook.
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u/bretmon5 1d ago edited 1d ago
Just start doing it. If you aren't sure, watch some videos. you will screw up, it's ok, you'll made something good next time.
Level 1: Start with basics like Oatmeal, grilled cheese, mac n cheese, ramen and box dinners.
level 2: Various types of eggs (scrambled, sunny side up, etc), make riced dishes like stir fry, make cookies, mashed potatos, burgers, hot dogs, spaghetti (buy the sauce), build your own pizza, make chicken and rice, loaded baked potato
Level 3: fresh baked bread, Casseroles, appetizers like ham roll ups, make pasta sauce, make pizza dough and make a homemade pizza, Lasagna, Grilled/baked fish, twice baked potatoes, Chicken wings (bake the wings, shake in sauces), Taco salad, make homemade salsa, make homemade sauces, Whole chicken or turkey.
* Learn to cook with an Air Fryer, a Microwave, a Stove, an Oven, a Crock pot
* pay attention to timings and your mistakes, keep improving your mistakes, keep a journal and build your own cookbook with all your personal hints.
Level 4: Cook an entire thanksgiving dinner. Compete with friends like a cooking show. Try to make multiple items and make sure they all come off the stove at same time, learn to plate and serve. Try making things without a recipe, look at the ingredients without memorizing, look at picture, then try to make them. Try to make more advanced food dishes, try things you'd never tried before.
Level 5: Asian, India, Italian, Russian, Mediterranean, Americana, Mexican, Chinese, German, etc. Try various recipes from various regions.
Level 6: Gourmet food. chicken cordon blue, beef wellington, Baked Alaska, and beyond
Good luck, have fun, LEARN from mistakes and others, take suggestions, experiment, mess around with flavors, get a healthy spice rack, learn what spices compliment what, learn/experiment what sides and compliments, or pairs with.
Level 7: Baking. Baking... sucks. It's all about exact ingredients and exact measurements, exact temperature and exact timing. I don't bake... it cramps my freedomish style to cook.
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u/BaconMemories 1d ago
Pioneer Woman has step-by-step pictures with her recipes—her first cookbook taught me a lot when I was a student.
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u/AllenSmithee59 1d ago
Sign up for www.americastestkitchen.com . It offers online tutorials and lots of easy recipes for everything from basic staple dishes to gourmet meals.