By Guest Blogger, Annie Button
Learning how to cook can be challenging for many people, particularly those that grew up without much in the way of guidance and direction in the kitchen. There is also a belief that cooking is – or at least can be – more complicated than it needs to be, which further worsens the confidence of many inexperienced or unskilled food connoisseurs.
However, to put your mind at rest, understanding certain basic proportions, flavours and techniques is relatively straightforward, no matter your cooking experience.
Why Get Better at Cooking?
Cooking can be a great social and stimulating activity for families or housemates to get involved in. Many people enjoy cooking as a way of eating healthier, saving money, and just generally having more control over their food intake. Many just enjoy the concept of preparing a lovely meal that they like.
While taking cooking classes or professional training will propel you many steps forward in culinary success, you do not need to take them if you want to be able to, say, cook a decent array of meals at home. Not everybody has the ambition of becoming a world-renowned chef or baker, but most want to be able to confidently invite friends and family over for a nice home-cooked dinner once in a while.
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, more Britons have diversified what they eat and begun cooking and baking at home more often since the lockdown, and there’s no reason why you can’t start doing the same. Eating in restaurants regularly is beginning to take a financial toll, after all, and not everybody wants to eat comfort food or takeaways all the time.
If you are looking for some simple and effective ways to improve your basic cooking skills at home, then this guide is for you. Check out these top tips that will help you become more confident and prepared to tackle your favourite meals at home without becoming overwhelmed by the prospect.
How to Improve Home Cooking Skills
1. Invest in Proper Tools and Equipment
You will be surprised at how much your cooking and baking skills will be improved with the right equipment. It’s hard to improve without some basic kitchen must-haves, including:
- Pots and pans (especially a non-stick cast iron frying pan)
- Mixing bowls
- An array of sharp knives
- Chopping boards
- Spatulas and wooden spoons
- Graters and peelers
- Whisks
- A blender
- Measuring jugs
- Weighing scales
- Oven trays
- Serving dishes and spoons
- Cutlery and crockery
Using the above list as a loose guide will give you the bare essentials when learning how to cook efficiently and effectively. While some cuisines and delicacies may call for special equipment, such as mixers and processors, the above items should be more than enough for you to get started.
2. Understand Some Basic Methods and Terminology
If you’re looking to improve your skills in the kitchen, it pays off to learn some basic terms used in recipes, cookbooks and general food-themed conversations.
For instance, you should – at least in principle – understand the difference between grilling and frying. Did you know that marinating and basting are two different types of cooking? If a recipe calls for steaming vegetables it doesn’t mean boiling them. These are just a few examples.
The point is that it is good to understand how your ingredients will react in different cooking processes. The best way to learn these basic skills is to try them out. Over time, as you diversify how you cook or bake, you’ll be able to approach more recipes with increased confidence and familiarity.
3. Buy Some Staple Ingredients
While using fresh, high-quality ingredients always comes highly recommended for maximum flavour, you will be immeasurably more productive if you invest in a handful of fridge and cupboard essentials along the way.
For example, it’s good practice to keep a selection of oils like olive, vegetable or sesame oil on hand. Tinned foods like chopped tomatoes, beans, grains or pulses, as well as stock, pasta, and rice, can stay in the cupboard, as these can be reliable if you’re pressed for time. Spices like basil, oregano, cumin, turmeric, chilli, and, of course, salt and pepper, can last for a long time. Furthermore, the more you utilise in your cooking, the less food waste you will have at home.
[Image Source: Deposit Photos]
You can tailor your staple ingredients and must-haves based on the recipes you like to cook, whether it’s soy sauce and rice vinegar for Asian food, or all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and honey for desserts.
4. Start With Some Simple Recipes
Don’t try to become a Michelin-star chef overnight by giving yourself a gargantuan recipe that you’re unlikely to eat more than once. This will only make it more difficult for you in the long run.
Start by making some simple recipes, such as stir-fried chicken, vegetable soup, carbonara, or beef stroganoff. This will help you build a solid foundation from which to grow in culinary confidence. Not only that, but as you experiment with different recipes and ingredients, you’ll expand your flavour palate, and begin to understand subconsciously what a meal might taste like ahead of time.
Once you have mastered these simple recipes, and you feel like taking on a new challenge, you can take that next step with more knowledge under your belt.
[Image Source: Deposit Photos]
5. Remember – It’s All About Timing
Timing is everything when it comes to preparing a successful meal or dish. Cooking itself is not something that has to take up much of your day, and recent figures indicate that 51% of people in the UK spend under 30 minutes cooking a weeknight meal.
It’s good to understand that cooking time doesn’t have to span multiple hours, even if you’re preparing multiple parts of a meal simultaneously. However, as an example, you don’t want to start boiling vegetables too early, particularly if a roast chicken isn’t cooked all the way through.
What’s more, there’s nothing quite as frustrating as when you forget an ingredient, hastily prepare it while the rest of the food is cooking, and by the time it’s ready to add, most of the meal has overcooked and spoiled. This is where timing is crucial.
It might seem challenging to anticipate exactly when certain parts of a meal should be prepared. That’s why many people like to prepare everything ‘mise en place’ – in other words, get everything chopped, washed, measured out, and at arm’s reach before starting to cook.
6. Clean As You Go
Messy kitchens can be difficult to work in and can lead to disorganisation and contamination. The Food Standards Agency estimates that 2.4 million cases of foodborne illnesses occur every year, largely caused by bacteria and improper cooking.
This is certainly something you want to avoid if you can, and while it can be difficult to multitask, especially when preparing a big meal, cleaning up here and there will go a long way.
A good strategy is to clean in those little pockets of time when you find yourself waiting for the oven to heat up, or you’re waiting for rice or pasta to boil, or when your meal is mostly prepared and just needs to simmer for a few minutes. Once this is done, it means you have less washing and tidying to do later.
7. Practice Makes Perfect
No chef or baker has reached their level of expertise overnight. Much the same as driving a car, playing a musical instrument, or learning a new language, cooking takes lots of practice.
The best thing you can do is to throw yourself into it and, over time, you will see steady progress. You will likely make some mistakes along the way, and some recipes may not go entirely to plan. However, these situations should be used as lessons to learn from and to help you refine your techniques and do better next time.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different ingredients, cuisines, or cooking techniques. You will only improve the more you try. Whilst it’s easy to rest on your laurels and stay in your comfort zone, there are so many delicious recipes out there to try and make your own.
About the writer
Annie Button, a freelance writer who has written for various online and print publications, specialising in lifestyle, business, branding and career development, anniebutton.co.uk.