While some people grew up learning valuable cooking skills, many haven’t. You might find yourself not even knowing how to boil water! But the good news is that it’s not too late – you can still learn. As the saying goes, you can do anything that you put your heart into.
Prepare
First things first, start watching others cook. This literally means just sitting and watching someone who is cooking or watch cooking videos. There are thousands of videos all over the web where you can learn. You can also read books and articles about cooking. Some books might go too deep into technical terms, so it’s best to start with short, brief and explicit articles.
Start With What You Know
Next, it’s important to practice on your own. It might sound silly, but you can create your own dish by practicing what you already know. You can copy exactly what you read or saw and see how it turns out. If it doesn’t work out or taste the same way, try to think about what went wrong and fix it next time. Or, you can also keep the way you did it as the new recipe
Start Small
There’s no need to cook an entire four-course dinner when you aren’t sure what you’re doing! You can start with basic things like eggs, bacon or fries. By starting small, you can come up with techniques that will help you cook faster or to create your own dish as mentioned before.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Practice makes perfect! Another key to becoming a better cook is to cook often. When you practice often, you are developing skills and the love for cooking which will make the learning process easier and more enjoyable. Also, don’t forget to take notes while you are practicing. What you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong needs to be recorded for you to remember the next time you cook.
Share Your Food
Don’t be afraid to have others try your food! Their feedback will help you get better and confident. If you feel confident enough, you can even have a dinner party at your apartment or dorm.
Go Easy On Yourself
Be realistic, give yourself time and relax. Like any other skills or jobs, it takes practice and time to get everything together and better. Play around in the kitchen, try using different spices, add more, use less – whatever you do, you might end up with a dish that’s even better than what you learned from a recipe.
Go Grocery Shopping
Last but not least, go grocery shopping. When you go shopping, you might finds ingredients that inspire you to cook new and exciting things. Having lots of ingredients on hand will make it possible for you to practice cooking whenever you want and is much better than trying to something out of whatever you can scrounge out of your kitchen.
Remember, there is no one correct way to cook, and the best part is enjoying the process of learning. Bon Appetit!