I began really testing my cooking skills in 2020 as a way to pass the time in quarantine. I cooked dinner for my family often, and some were great, but most were … not so good. Nonetheless, I started to realize that I enjoyed cooking and wanted to get better at it. So, with practice, my skills slowly improved. Now, cooking a good meal is an easy task for me, and I’ve even gotten to the point of using cooking to relieve my stress. I think cooking is an essential skill, especially for those of us in college who may be away from home for the first time. I know that many people feel lost and overwhelmed when it comes to cooking, so here are some strategies I’ve used that have helped me get to where I am today!
1. Use pinterest
This may be a no-brainer for some of you, but I was not using Pinterest when I first began cooking. Typically I would just search up a recipe I was interested in making on Google, and pick the first one that popped up. This is a fine way of doing things, but once I began looking for recipes on Pinterest it made a world of difference. I have a “food” board on Pinterest where I save any and all recipes that interest me. As I save these recipes, the algorithm works to suggest more recipes I may enjoy, and suddenly I have my own easily accessible cookbook! Recipes for college students are extremely popular on Pinterest as well, with endless pins suggesting easy recipes that require few (and cheap) ingredients.
2. gain basic skills first
Luckily, I have family members who forced me to watch them cook in the kitchen as I was growing up. Because of this, I feel like I had a very good baseline of skills going into my cooking journey. I was able to do simple tasks, such as cooking eggs, without following a recipe or having to look up a tutorial. These basic skills served as a springboard for me, in the sense that I don’t always need to follow a recipe step-by-step because I have an understanding of what makes things taste good. If you don’t feel like you have this background, I would recommend “studying,” either by asking friends and family to demonstrate, or by watching YouTube videos on it. Knowing something as simple as how to correctly chop a vegetable is going to make cooking a lot easier for you, and is going to increase your confidence as well.
3. don’t be discouraged!
I’ve seen so many people try to get into cooking and give up on it shortly after. It’s definitely not a skill that comes naturally, and for most people it doesn’t come easily either. The biggest piece of advice I can give to you is just keep trying! If you are planning on trying a daunting recipe, make sure you have something fast and easy (such as a frozen dinner) in your fridge so you aren’t totally out of luck if things don’t go as planned for you. Practice makes perfect, and as long as you continue to put effort into cooking you will become better at it.
We all have to start somewhere, so have fun and good luck!
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