How to learn the ropes of cooking

mommyshani

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 1:45 pm

Try the one of the 'beginners and experienced' cookbooks, such as the Lubavitch Women's, the Heimeshe Kitchen, or something similar. My mother used them, and so do I - they are great when you are first learning how to cook, with simple and easy recipes and directions, and have great recipes for more experienced cooks as well.

morah

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 1:52 pm

Watch cooking shows. Read cookbooks- and I mean READ them, not just the recipes- they always have good tips buried in the blurbs. I personally like Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. More than just recipes, it talks about the food itself and different methods and such.

Last edited by morah on Thu, Jan 16 2014, 1:53 pm; edited 1 time in total

justmarried

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 1:53 pm

When I got married I didn't either know how to cook anything. I got a bunch of recipes from my friend who got married a year earlier. She had written down very detailed instructions including spice amounts, which was hard for me to figure out in the begging. If I had any questions I was able to call her.

If you can't do something like that, buy a few cookbooks. Some are better than others. Get one that has pictures and make sure if has specific instructions. Then just try to have fun. Make it a learning experience. Start with simple recipes. I find baking things (mains and side dishes) easier than cooking since you don't have to stand over the pot. If it doesn't come out good, just try something new next time. Good luck!

Sanguine

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 2:02 pm

Do easy things. Bake brownies, not triple layer souflees. Do the easiest chicken... Don't buy any fancy cookbooks. Look for easy ones. Don't get intimidated by friends who cook fancier. Get the basics down first. Then you slowly add harder recipes.

The Spice and Spirit Lubavitch cookbooks are good ones - Just follow the directions (buy yourself a measuring cup and measuring spoons)

Shul and school fundraiser cookbooks are usually very good unless it's the type of place where everyone tries to top the next woman

So that's how you cook - just start slowly with easy things

MMCH

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 2:07 pm

do you mean you really dont know how to cook?
can you make an egg? noodles? boil water?

if you mean fancy recipes, I would say start slooooowww

I grew up cooking, my mother is a huge cook and taught us all young, but I was and still am overwhelmed by fancy recipes (such as desserts, pies, fancy meats)

invest in one good cookbook, thats simple and basic. Mark Bittman's which someone else mentioned is a great start, Spice and Spirit has every jewish recipe.
practice makes perfect.

OOTBubby

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 2:20 pm

When DD got married she had no clue how to cook and wasn't concerned, she figured she could read, she'd follow the instructions in a cookbook. She also moved to EY immediately after getting married (in the days where they didn't call the US daily).

Well, she started out following a recipe until it called for a sauteed onion. She had no clue what that meant. She called her sister in EY to ask who explained it. After getting the explanation, she had one more question: "do you need to cut up the onon first?" !

Well, 12 years later, she is a fantastic cook (it didn't take 12 years either, just a short time).

FranticFrummie

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 2:29 pm

Find a copy of the original "The Joy of Cooking". It's not a kosher cookbook, but there are lots of recipes you can use, or adapt once you get more confident.

The main thing is that this book focuses on TECHNIQUE, and the instructions are extremely clear and easy to follow. Even the most complicated stuff looks doable, they way they spell everything out.

gittelchana

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 5:33 pm

mommyshani wrote:

And just add some love and care. You should be just fine.

Like anything else, you'll get better at it as time goes.

bubbebia

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 6:03 pm

First you need to make sure you have a good basic cookbook. I recommend the Joy of Cooking like the above poster. Not kosher but it will teach you everything you need to know about the basics of cooking. And read the "Know your ingredients" section first. Gives you a lot of basic info! It's my bible. Next you need to have some basic equipment. JOC has a list of things you'll need like measuring spoons, dry ingredient measuring cups and wet ingredient measuring cup (like the pyrex one with a spout). You'll also need basic ingredients like salt, pepper, garlic powder, onions, etc.

Start simple and follow the directions exactly. That's how you start. Once you are comfortable following a recipe exactly you can begin to tweak it. Soon enough you'll be doing things on your own. Don't be afraid and intimidated. You can do it!

Raisin

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 6:09 pm

buy a cookbook, pick some simple looking recipes and start cooking. You might mess up here and there but eventually you will figure out that potatoes cook quicker when cut up small and so on.

I agree spice and spirit is a great cookbook to start with since it has everything.

ra_mom

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 6:29 pm

use simple to prepare recipes that guarantee perfect results each time.
start with the original quick & kosher cookbook from the bride who knew nothing cookbook.
http://books.google.com/books?.....false
http://books.google.com/books?.....false
simple, delicious recipes.
once you are confident with those recipes, you can go on to recipes with more steps.
and eventually you will be able to experiment on your own Smile

bluebird

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 6:40 pm

I'm pretty much in the same boat, and I don't love cooking so learning to do it has been quite the process.

In addition to the above tips, take a look at videos on YouTube for specific techniques. I've improved my knife skills quite a lot that way. Learning how to cut an onion, for example, was a revelation!

The Joy of Cooking really is great!

Mrs. Sunshine

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 7:09 pm

Op here,
First of all thank you all for taking the time to respond to my post. You have all given very helpful suggestions, that I plan to use.

I have a very limited repertoire of recipes. Meatballs from kids in the kitchen. Fried shnitzel that never comes out how I like it. Regular Pasta. Baked potatoes. Rice that I follow the packages instructions. Near east couscous (also follow the pckg instructions) and that's about it! Even these I do not consider real recipes rather just a way to get food on the table. Whenever I want to make something a bit more complicated such as stir fry, sesame chicken, chicken & potatoes, salmon, I scramble to find a basic recipe from online, fb groups, or cookbooks and I'm never successful. I'm not into fancy food at all! Just basic recipes that I know people have but I can't access it. I don't know where to find them.
What's frustrating also is that I could like something I once tasted but I won't know what it's referred to- I wish I knew the food language; what it all means (sweet & sour, teriyaki etc)

ra_mom

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 8:10 pm

Mrs. Sunshine wrote:

I am happy to help Smile

Tell me what you would like to make for Shabbos or dinner Sunday night and I will post simple fool proof recipes.
I can tell you which brands to buy and send you links to pics of the products so you know what the bottles look like in the store Smile