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Where are you getting these weird ideas? Most of my daughter's friends have taking up knitting (which was never taught in schools and is currently very trendy) and almost all...of either gender.....can cook to varying degrees. She's at college and her and her friends often hold dinner parties where each person prepares part of the meal. Some of the menus sound amazing as well.
Also, I remember home ec classes....but though we all did sewing projects, very few of my classmates ever sewed anything again....so not sure you could say they had learned the skill.
It has come full circle -- handmade is cool again, and thank heavens for you tube! However -- it's a very small number of people... cooking is more so, because people have to eat...
It has come full circle -- handmade is cool again, and thank heavens for you tube! However -- it's a very small number of people... cooking is more so, because people have to eat...
You don't get to both ways....you can't say that 'kids these days' can't do anything and then say that they are learning it because it's cool. Make up your mind.
This still doesn't address cooking....there is no proof that humans today don't know how to cook in comparison to those that lived in the dratted 'good old days'
Yes, there are more options today that allow mediocre cooks, or those that simply don't want to cook, serve edible meals (or have it served to them). Is that really so bad compared to the women that didn't like to cook that were basically forced by necessity and sexism to do so....and served overcooked boiled hamburgers and mushy vegetables and called it a meal?
You don't get to both ways....you can't say that 'kids these days' can't do anything and then say that they are learning it because it's cool. Make up your mind.
This still doesn't address cooking....there is no proof that humans today don't know how to cook in comparison to those that lived in the dratted 'good old days'
Yes, there are more options today that allow mediocre cooks, or those that simply don't want to cook, serve edible meals (or have it served to them). Is that really so bad compared to the women that didn't like to cook that were basically forced by necessity and sexism to do so....and served overcooked boiled hamburgers and mushy vegetables and called it a meal?
Actually I can have it both ways. Most people I know do not know how to make anything and have no interest to the point they think I am weird for knowing how, but some people out there are very interested in hand made, and they are very vocal about it. You might call it a growing trend, but I'm not sure.
It is somewhat annoying every time I create something someone ALWAYS says I should "put that into production and sell it on Etsy". So totally not why I create in the first place.
As for cooking -- I stated what I meant backwards. Cooking IS growing, because people need to eat. I don't do processed foods much at all since I have issues with onions, and onions are in everything.
Finally, my son has a nice girlfriend who is a good cook. They cook together, but now the problem is they waste a lot of money by the WAY they cook. For example, they buy beef tenderloin to throw on the grill, and those salad kit bags with the dressing inside. In other words, too many expensive foods chosen only for convenience. They would be the kind to pick up $100 worth of groceries for dinner from Whole Foods. But that's a different thread, I guess.
I just came back from the market with a chicken to roast and three bags 9f salad mix.
Sure, it might be a bit more expensive to buy some items pre-made, it is generally significantly LESS expensive than going out to eat.
This is a pretty good poll that looks at people's feelings and behaviors about cooking.
There is nothing in it that says people are cooking less, or that there's any generational gap.
Here's some of what they found:
Quote:
Many Americans enjoy cooking, but how often do they actually do it? Two in five (41%) say they prepare meals at home five or more times a week and three in ten (29%) do so three to four times a week. One in five (19%) of U.S. adults prepare meals at home one to two times a week and 11% say they rarely or never prepare meals at home.
Quote:
Certain groups love cooking more than others. Perhaps because they have more time, 33% of Matures (those 65 and older) love cooking, compared to 28% of Baby Boomers (those 46-64), who are possibly being pulled in many directions. Men are more likely to say they love cooking (32% versus 28% of women) perhaps because the daily chore of cooking dinner may not fall on their shoulders.
However, 32% of people aged 18-33 love cooking, statistically the same as people >65, and only a few points higher than baby boomers or Gen X'ers. Younger people (18-33) do cook less frequently than other groups, but that makes perfect sense when you consider that many are in college, live by themselves, are likely to work more hours, and don't have families. They still enjoy cooking, and 85% of them cook every week. Since their attitudes towards cooking are just as positive, it is most likely the circumstances of their lives that prevent them from cooking more frequently (I didn't cook all that much between 18 and 23, especially when I lived in a dorm without a kitchen).
While more people may have cooked 5 days a week in the 50's when there were more SAHMs, frequently that meant things like meatloaf, tuna noodle casserole, or other easy mix and bake dishes that were that era's version of picking up take out or throwing something in the microwave. There are just more dual earner families and food options today.
I like to make homemade dressing....but let's face it....there is a place for the time savings of a good bottled dressing.
We often eat salads for a quick week-day meal....and it's must faster to pull some Newman's Own out of the fridge than to make sure I have all the ingredients on hand and make up dressing every day.
...just like there's a time and place for bagged salad. I just thought it was funny that somebody ragging on bagged salad had no issue with premade salad dressing.
I make my own salad dressing, an herb vinaigrette that I keep in a flip-top glass bottle, about once a month, but you'll have to pry me away from the prewashed salad greens. I love them, and I don't care how much they cost! Every spring I put in a bed of mesclun and harvest it all summer, but it's a pain to clip and wash. By summer's end, I'm tired of dealing with it, and I'm all over those boxed greens.
Last edited by randomparent; 02-15-2015 at 07:13 PM..
I rarely add salt to anything, even while baking. I pretty much stopped using salt in my 20s and only crave it when it's August and I'm working out more.
I don't like to cook as much as I like to bake. I don't need to eat baked foods so I don't do that much either anymore.
I eat enough to be healthy and can care for myself so that's all that really matters to me. If I ever have to bring something in for work, it's naked good or nothing.
...just like there's a time and place for bagged salad. I just thought it was funny that somebody ragging on bagged salad had no issue with premade salad dressing.
Absolutely.
Knowing how to cook has nothing to do with refusing to use certain things, or saving money, or knowing any specific cuisine. It has to do with knowing how to get some good, healthy food that tastes great onto the table in whatever situation you've got.
One side I made last week was a clamshell of mixed greens. I sprinkled S+P, red wine vinegar, and EVOO into the clamshell. Then I chopped up red onion, Roma tomatoes, olives, and feta and dumped them into clamshell. Close and shake. Done. I put the clamshell on the table.
It was a solid salad. The main things were having learned that those things go together, how much of each ingredient to use in the dressing, and the importance of using fresh greens that have some flavor to them.
I cook to eat......but I could not care less about making fancy/fru-fru meals. Baking, ummmmm, nope.
I like food but I do not want to elevate its importance.......thawed 1/2 chicken, into oven, cook until kinda done, eat!
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So totally not why I create in the first place.
