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green_knight's The Budget Gourmet, this is a simple three point guide to learning to cook. As you might guess from the short length, and the fact that this three point guide only has three points, this does not provide all you need to know. It does, however, provide three starting points which, if they take your interest, will lead on to more and more knowledge and skills.
1. Learn to chop and fry an onion.
This may not seem like much, but it's easy to do and will cover a lot of the basics (far more than boiling an egg for example). For starters, it is a simple way to get a real cooking smell happening - and in many ways, that's what it's all about, you don't just want to make food edible, you want to make it tasty. Frying onions is a very simple way to convince people (including yourself) that you're slaving over something delicious.
Next, it's important because it involves your senses in the cooking loop. You don't just put the food on for X minutes at setting Y, you need to watch and smell. The good thing about onions is that all the processes happen fairly slowly at a rate that's easy to observe. See how the smell blooms as they cook. Watch how they change as they caramelize. Once you've got that down, you can add in some garlic as well and you have the basis for a whole heap of yummy Italian dishes (not to mention better hamburger than you'll get from a burger store). Add garlic and ginger and you have the foundations for dhal. Turn up the heat, brown garlic on its own, and you have the basis of a stirfry. Learn to do the same with different spices and you can make a host of curries, and Asian-style rice toppings.
The "learning to chop" part is also important because once you get the hang of it, an onion is actually pretty quick to dice. You'll realise that chopping other vegetables can be fast too, once you get the hang of it (um... sliced fingernails notwithstanding).
2. Learn to make a roux.
Ever wonder why it is called a saucepan? Melt a bit of butter, mix in a bit of flour then add in some liquid. That's all there is. Put in milk and you get white sauce. Put in stock and you get gravy. This is a different sort of kitchen magic because this time it's all about attention and timing. More basic skills here, and in a form where they're relatively easy to learn.
The other thing about a roux is that it's pretty tasteless on the own, but it can be the basis for thousands of sauces. It's up to you to experiment and see what you can do with it. Ever wonder why so much packaged food has emulsifiers and vegetable gums and dairy products? It's because they're trying to reproduce a roux in a way that they can make in a machine and that won't spoil in shipping. Since you're not aiming at either of those requirements, it's actually easier and tastier just to make a true roux yourself.
3. Learn to make a stock.
Again, this is dead easy. As simple as boiling water (or possibly as simple as nearly boiling water). Learning to make good stock is important because it will teach you about basic flavours and the balance between them. It's an easy way to learn because you often have a lot of time to taste and adjust. Balance is something that's especially hard to learn otherwise, the good thing about stock making is that it lets you learn about the different flavours in isolation, and you come to realise that more isn't necessarily better.
Once you have a stock, add noodles and you have a meal. Add it to just about any other meal and you'll have a yummier meal. Reduce it, and you have a jus. Add it to roux, and you have a sauce. Stocks are also the basis of cuisines such as French, Japanese and Chinese.
Stocks are also good to learn because they're something that can require a little attention over a long time, and they'll have you develop your planning skills. If you can get organized enough to have a stock ready in time for dinner, it's also a small step before you're making seven hour lamb in the oven (well, five and a half hour lamb, anyway, see "planning skills").
4. That's it. Three point plan, remember?
green_knight's The Budget Gourmet, this is a simple three point guide to learning to cook. As you might guess from the short length, and the fact that this three point guide only has three points, this does not provide all you need to know. It does, however, provide three starting points which, if they take your interest, will lead on to more and more knowledge and skills.1. Learn to chop and fry an onion.
This may not seem like much, but it's easy to do and will cover a lot of the basics (far more than boiling an egg for example). For starters, it is a simple way to get a real cooking smell happening - and in many ways, that's what it's all about, you don't just want to make food edible, you want to make it tasty. Frying onions is a very simple way to convince people (including yourself) that you're slaving over something delicious.
Next, it's important because it involves your senses in the cooking loop. You don't just put the food on for X minutes at setting Y, you need to watch and smell. The good thing about onions is that all the processes happen fairly slowly at a rate that's easy to observe. See how the smell blooms as they cook. Watch how they change as they caramelize. Once you've got that down, you can add in some garlic as well and you have the basis for a whole heap of yummy Italian dishes (not to mention better hamburger than you'll get from a burger store). Add garlic and ginger and you have the foundations for dhal. Turn up the heat, brown garlic on its own, and you have the basis of a stirfry. Learn to do the same with different spices and you can make a host of curries, and Asian-style rice toppings.
The "learning to chop" part is also important because once you get the hang of it, an onion is actually pretty quick to dice. You'll realise that chopping other vegetables can be fast too, once you get the hang of it (um... sliced fingernails notwithstanding).
2. Learn to make a roux.
Ever wonder why it is called a saucepan? Melt a bit of butter, mix in a bit of flour then add in some liquid. That's all there is. Put in milk and you get white sauce. Put in stock and you get gravy. This is a different sort of kitchen magic because this time it's all about attention and timing. More basic skills here, and in a form where they're relatively easy to learn.
The other thing about a roux is that it's pretty tasteless on the own, but it can be the basis for thousands of sauces. It's up to you to experiment and see what you can do with it. Ever wonder why so much packaged food has emulsifiers and vegetable gums and dairy products? It's because they're trying to reproduce a roux in a way that they can make in a machine and that won't spoil in shipping. Since you're not aiming at either of those requirements, it's actually easier and tastier just to make a true roux yourself.
3. Learn to make a stock.
Again, this is dead easy. As simple as boiling water (or possibly as simple as nearly boiling water). Learning to make good stock is important because it will teach you about basic flavours and the balance between them. It's an easy way to learn because you often have a lot of time to taste and adjust. Balance is something that's especially hard to learn otherwise, the good thing about stock making is that it lets you learn about the different flavours in isolation, and you come to realise that more isn't necessarily better.
Once you have a stock, add noodles and you have a meal. Add it to just about any other meal and you'll have a yummier meal. Reduce it, and you have a jus. Add it to roux, and you have a sauce. Stocks are also the basis of cuisines such as French, Japanese and Chinese.
Stocks are also good to learn because they're something that can require a little attention over a long time, and they'll have you develop your planning skills. If you can get organized enough to have a stock ready in time for dinner, it's also a small step before you're making seven hour lamb in the oven (well, five and a half hour lamb, anyway, see "planning skills").
4. That's it. Three point plan, remember?
