by Justin Thyme

Created on: January 09, 2009

Learning to cook does not simply mean learning how to put an egg in a pan of cold water, bring it to the boil and simmer it for five minutes. It does not even mean learning how to make such as perfect lasagna, risotto or apple pie. Learning to cook means learning about ingredients, cooking techniques and both the art and the science of how the two come together. It is important that we bear this in mind when contemplating why we should learn to cook.

Just like a builder building a house, the accomplished cook or chef has to ensure that he has the best quality building materials. A house builder would not use bricks which have been poorly fired and are crumbling or cement which has been improperly stored and damp. In exactly the same sense, a cook has to know how to determine what are quality ingredients and which are not. This means everything from choosing vegetables which are crisp and fresh as opposed to limp and stale, to choosing steak which is fatty and marbled as opposed to overly lean and thus liable to dry out and toughen up during cooking.

Having obtained his or her building blocks to success, a cook then has to consider how they can successfully be combined with one another to achieve the desired standard of results. To take it to the extreme, the successful cook has to know never to put vinegar in to milk, as it will curdle it. This is a scientific process in many respects but also an artistic one. Yes, we have to consider what physical effects one ingredient will have on another but we should also be considering how one will compliment another in terms of taste and in terms of presentation.

The cooking method for our ingredients or combination of ingredients is the next step in the process. A cook has to learn how to cook different food items in different ways to get the best out of them in terms of taste, nutrition and texture. The cook has to learn why beef steak should never be over-cooked and chicken or pork must never be under-cooked. He or she has to learn why deep frying is an unhealthy form of cooking and what happens when we boil or steam vegetables for too long. This is the stage of the process when so much can go drastically wrong and it is acquired knowledge that is our best friend.

Hopefully, we can now see that in learning to cook we are learning new knowledge in a scientific sense and how to express ourselves an in artistic sense. Both are skills which can be transferred very successfully to different areas of our lives. The former perhaps allows us to perform better at work or in another social activity, while the latter affords us relaxation and an opportunity for self-expression, both of which are foods for our very souls. In learning to cook, however, the most important lesson of all which we will learn is how to look after our bodies, what nutrients they require to function and thrive and how we ourselves can provide same to maintain our own health in prime condition.

Learn more about this author, Justin Thyme.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.