food culture

[unbibium]

From Fark: Americans can't cook because our parents never taught us how.

My parents never really taught me anything about cooking. I made sandwiches, and sometimes cookies, scrambled eggs, and macaroni and cheese. Everything else was all done by my parents. My mother would often talk about how she'd help her mother in the kitchen without being asked. But whenever I asked if I could help, no matter how frustrated she was, she just said she had everything taken care of.

I never really cooked by myself until I moved out of the house. Rice, spaghetti, pasta, burgers... all done for the very first time when I was 22. I marvelled at the things I found at the supermarket that my parents never bought.

Through the help of cookbooks, and Alton Brown, I've picked up some good skills. Aside from the usual pre-processed bachelor cuisine, I can also make omelets, risotto, mayonnaise even. I cooked a whole turkey once. I have one or two large recipes memorized, like that curried chicken with peaches I love to make.

But there are still huge gaps. Since I usually eat alone, I don't know whether my results are any good. Does my risotto have the right texture? How do I make the best of leftovers? How can I plan my cooking and shopping so I don't forget to eat my food while it's still fresh? Am I draining my fried food the right way? Did I fry it right to begin with?

See, since I'm learning independently, the only standard I have to compare against is restaurant food. And I'm starting to realize that a lot of restaurants are in the business of putting out barely-edible food. Last week, I was at Long Wong's on Baseline, and ordered a burger, and they ran out of hamburger buns. Rather than suggest I order something else, they made the sandwich on square Wonderbread, just like Eddie Murphy's mother. I burned my hand on soaked-through burger grease a few times before pitching it and leaving. And that place has stayed open for five years. I wonder if it stays afloat because that Cambodian woman is making her daughter work for free.

Comments

[samantha2074.livejournal.com]

My mom had me help out with dinner as I was growing up. First I would start out with one thing, for example browing ground turkey meat for tacos or putting an already-prepared whole chicken in the oven. Over time, she would have me take on more and more of the preparation of each meal until I could make it myself. I know there's gaps in my knowledge, things neither she nor my dad ever cooked so I didn't pick them up, but at least I had a repertoire of basic things I could prepare. My older brother's a really good cook. My sister claims to not be able to cook well, but I suspect she's selling herself short. Since she lives alone, she doesn't have much incentive to make full meals.

I see no shame, however, in, say, buying a store-made rotisserie chicken rather than roasting your own. Sometimes there's a lot to be said for convenience.

[samantha2074.livejournal.com]

I should add that I doubt my mom taught me to cook in order to teach me valuable life skills or pass on family traditions/recipes, but rather to take some of the burden off herself. I don't begrudge her this at all. I'm glad to have learned what I did, and I'm vaguely baffled by people who managed to grow up without gaining much in the way of cooking skills.

[plorkwort.livejournal.com]

I should add that I doubt my mom taught me to cook in order to teach me valuable life skills or pass on family traditions/recipes, but rather to take some of the burden off herself.

Yes, exactly. Both my parents worked, my dad at a biotech startup where he spent more time than at home, so as soon as we were able to do anything in the kitchen or around the house, the kids were expected to become part of "the working masses." It wasn't a privilege or an option, it was just, "you live here, you help out."

[darquis.livejournal.com]

Neither my mother nor the array of hired help never *taught* me to cook, per se. I hung out in the kitchen and picked up what looked likely to be tasty; thus my current experiments.

[kerri9494.livejournal.com]

OF course there will be, to some extent, a gender gap. In my family, all the girls hung out in the kitchen, and all the boys were outside tinkering with the car or whatever.

One difference now, though. The people who DO cook don't only stick to what they were taught. My grandparents owned a restaurant, so there was ALWAYS cooking going on. I can make the best apple pie you've ever tasted, I know how to make mashed potatoes come out JUST RIGHT, and my pot roast, if I ever made it, would be perfect. But we didn't learn about stir fry. We didn't learn about ethnic cooking, or using many ingredients or seasonings that weren't used in traditional French cooking...because that's all we did.

The IMPORTANT thing, I think, is to learn about INGREDIENTS. Learn about chicken. How long does it take to cook a boneless chicken breast in the oven? On the grill? How hot should the grill or oven be? At what point will mushrooms release their water? How much spinach is enough?

Cooking is much more than learning the BASICS. The basics are easy. You always need more mushrooms and more spinach than you think. Hot oil will spatter if you put water in it. Butter will burn if it's too hot, and oil will make things too soggy if it's not hot enough. Always start the potatoes first. Chicken's juices have to run clear, or it's not ready. Always make sure your knife is sharp enough. Cut the tomatoes smaller.

Once you know the basics, the science, the COOKING part is really ART. Put a little bit of lemon in that dish, try a bit of nutmeg in that white sauce, whatever. Those are personal signature things. Anyone can follow a recipe...anyone who can pass basic high-school chemistry, at least. But making your own, that's a personal art. Cookbooks can help give you ideas, but putting yourself into a recipe is where it's at.

My grandmother made FIFTY FOUR different apple pies in succession until she found the one that was PERFECT. That is art. Then, of course, she had to make two of them a day every day until they sold the restaurant. :-)

Anyone wanna come over for dinner?

Only at the CIA

[vardissakheli.livejournal.com]

would someone write an article making fun of people for not being sure what fresh thyme looked like or not handling knives "correctly."

Our grandparents didn't have a whole lot more cooking skills. They just had a whole lot more stay-at-home (or finish-work-at-three-to-go-cook-dinner) mothers whose self-image revolved around how well they ran the household for their men. If you can make yourself a dinner that you enjoy eating and that's satisfyingly nutritious, you can cook as well as they ever did.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

I think it's a little too easy to make the case that "Americans can't [X] because our parents never taught us how." So, yeah, i'm skeptical.