by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: June 23, 2009

There are countless men and women, all over this planet, who would dearly love to be able to cook. They will claim that they can't cook - or perhaps even others may claim on their behalf that they can't cook! What I tend to say to such people who tell me this is that yes, they can cook, they simply haven't learned how as yet.

So what is the best way to learn to cook? Quite simply, like in so many other facets of life, the best way to learn to cook is to learn to walk before you try to run. Learn the basic principals. Do not try to make one of the elaborate dishes that you may see prepared by a TV chef for a plush banquet. They may well make it look easy and for them it probably is fairly so but what you have to remember is that these TV chefs are not only professionally trained, they very often have many years experience of cooking behind them.

The best way to learn to cook is if you have a friend or family member who can help you with the basics. Try making things like scrambled eggs, very simple cake or biscuit recipes, even putting a simple roast in the oven and learning how to first of all seal the met and then to baste it every so often. Learn how to prepare basic vegetables for boiling or steaming and the importance of never over-cooking them. Did you know that the principal reason why people say they don't like such as broccoli or cauliflower is that they are used to having it served them over-cooked?

When you have mastered these simple basics, it is time to learn how to put them together in to simple meals - please perceive an emphasis on the word, "Simple," here. Remember that you have to walk before you try to run. Search the Internet for simple recipes which provide very detailed instructions or again have your skilled friend help you. The Recipes channel here on Helium is full of mouth-watering simple dishes which are not difficult to prepare and have very easy to follow instructions in many instances. Why not give it a browse?

Experience is a great teacher when you are learning to cook, just as it is in so many other areas of life. Yes, you will have culinary disasters. I have been cooking for over thirty years and an hour before writing this article, my "experimental" lunch recipe went in the bin and I went hungry! I am not joking! You must not allow this to dishearten you, rather try to figure out where you went wrong and learn from the experience. The best way to learn to cook is therefore to start off learning the basic principles, learn how to cook individual components of a meal before you consider how to match them up. In this way, you will learn something new every day and with patience and time, your inherent culinary abilities will come to the fore.

Learn more about this author, Gordon Hamilton.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.