I love cooking, but because my mom is too much of a bimbo and my dad too much of a “manly man” to ever step into the kitchen, I never had the chance to learn from them. I grew up on delivery, takeout, eating out, and the incredible food made by the amazing woman who cooks for our family. I became deeply interested in cooking at the start of my teenage years and taught myself through the internet, books, that same woman, and other relatives.

  • Golden@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    11·
    1 day ago

    I learned in chapters.

    1. Teen/young adult years I just got the basics down, how to cut meat and veggies depending on their application and making meals I grew up with and knew well.
    2. Twenties, mostly cooking in restaurants learning new recipes and commiting the “correct way” to memory while learning foods from other cultures
    3. Thirties, breaking out of my comfort zone and just making food that sounds like it’d work together instead of making what middle-of-the-road restaurants taught me. Lots of YouTube videos absorbing general concepts.

    The biggest things I’ve learned is that food needs twice as much fat/oil as I think it does and three times as much salt. When I have bits of veggies I’m not gonna cook, I freeze them in a bag until I have enough to make a stock—it’s free flavor. Also, spice and season everything; I used to season my main ingredients and then just plop unseasoned ingredients on top thinking it’s fine (for example, an egg scramble needs salt and pepper added to both the eggs and the sautéed veggies)