by Katerina Nikolas

Created on: March 29, 2010   Last Updated: July 05, 2010

If you can find your way to the kitchen but don't have a clue what to do in it, it's probably a good reason to learn to cook. Being able to cook is one of life’s little skills which is really no great mystery. Not being able to cook can be a hindrance as well as  a huge drawback if money is tight, as rustling up something at home is much cheaper than constantly relying on takeout food or fast food.

Often it was men who never learned to cook as women were on hand to do it for them. Mothers and wives took care of their needs but left them often helpless if the man outlived them. These days the stigma of cooking being unmanly is long gone, and all good mothers should teach their sons the basics of cooking. 

The male who can cook will be capable of impressing his girlfriend with his skill at rustling up a simple meal, and be able to feed himself in his first foray away from the bosom of Mama. This could prove to be a much needed necessity if living a student life and balancing a tight budget. Even if a man manages to find a good woman he should be able to take on the burden of some of the family cooking, and women generally have a weakness for men who can cook.

Whilst single life for either gender is sustainable on takeaways, restaurant meals and ready meals, there comes a time when the expense is no longer justified and being able to cook is a handy skill to have. Relying on other sources for food could mean that you miss out on food delights which taste better as fresher. If you can cook you can tweak dishes exactly to your own taste and even create something new.

A diet of nothing but pre cooked food inevitably leads to the pounds piling on. The ability to whip up something tasty and nutritious will be beneficial to the figure as well as the bank balance. Otherwise, if the day comes when you fight the battle of the bulge, you won’t have the basics to cook something healthy and will be reliant on little boxes of calorie controlled meals delivered to your door.

It is ironic that in the days of TV chefs and huge sales of cookery books that the art of cooking could well be diminishing as more and more people rely on diets of fast food or processed food. Learning to cook gives you control of what you eat and it really isn’t difficult.

Lots of people who say they can’t cook have made the classic error of starting out with a complicated 4 course dinner party recipe, which no one ever cooks unless they are out to impress. This can be inevitably off putting when you send your guests home with a dose of food poisoning. Start with basic one pot dishes such as stews, which are impossible to ruin. If you start off successfully you’ll be much more encouraged to continue.

As you become used to handling food the whole concept will become much easier and you’ll soon find you can rustle up an edible dish to be proud of. It’s not actually the cooking which is a chore for most people but the washing up afterwards. This can easily be resolved by starting off with one pot dishes and the use of a dishwasher or disposable plates. It’s true to say that most who learn to cook actually enjoy the fruit of their labors and are appreciated by those they cook for.

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