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I have 2 sons - one is a dedicated foodie, uses equipment I never knew about and I'm no slouch. He makes everything from scratch (including ice cream and egg noodles, spatzle, etc). My other son, on the other hand is a microwave-heating-up-cook. He won't even open a can for stove top heating (but he will use oven to heat up, not cook).
Two sons, same upbringing. One finds food comforting, something to look forward to, the other eats to subsist and takes no pleasure in what he eats.
Hopefully they would have some sort of other life skills and at least the ability to make a PBJ or nuke a frozen burrito to stave off starvation during the cook's day off. Or have delivery or a 24 hour restaurant nearby somewhere. There's a lot of food that can be eaten without cooking and more and more "food" is being manufactured as "ready to eat", although it doesn't seem like a very healthy life choice IMHO.
In our growing up household, the mother was a horrible cook and prepared things just shy of totally inedible. The father was off at work most of the time so no food prep from that direction except sporadically on weekends. Of the five kids, four of them learned to cook in pretty much in sheer self defense. Although nobody really learned good house keeping in self defense, guess during small kid time edible food is a higher priority than clean rooms.
I would never approach someone and tell them that they are a bad cook. I actually did this once and I was really embarrassed. I was just making a critique and I thought her and I were closer than that. But it was like a record scratched. So never again. I figure things will just take their course naturally, like people won't eat their food, or request someone else to cook (usually me), which is fine because I love it. I'm one of those who started pretending to cook as a kid and made my first meal at age 11 so it's something I gravitate towards.
However it would be nice if my husband wanted to learn to cook. That way if i'm down two weeks from the flu he could jump in and whip up a casserole or something. (He gets lost in the kitchen).
So your husband is lazy or does that just count for younger people and your daughters-in-law?
It really comes down to there being alternative means of procuring a meal without actually having to prepare it. We all rely on some level of convenience, which any other person might at us not having the skill and/or desire to do it ourselves. For example, how many people thresh and grind their own wheat instead of just buying a bag of flour? How many make their milk their own livestock or craft their own cheese? While they are worthy skills and hobbies to have, and can produce a higher-quality product... for the rest of us, that is the grocery store is for.
Quote:
Originally Posted by randomparent
I find it a valuable skill, but sufficient financial resources can render knowing how to cook unnecessary.
I know a few people who have no clue how to cook. Almost all of them are single, and I have some sympathy for them since it is harder to cook for just one person. The rest just don't like cooking, and let their partner do the cooking (my wife is sort of in this category )
The vast majority of guys who only grill really don't have a clue what they're doing. At best they're barely competent grillers, and usually they're just ruining good meat. I dread being invited to a few friends BBQs because they walk around calling themselves something stupid like "grillmasters", and they can't even produce consistently cooked burgers. If you can't cook well on an easily controllable stove top why would you be able to produce good food from a more unpredictable grill?
That happens, too. I've been lucky to know guys who can grill and make a good campfire meal. The cast iron dutch oven peach cobbler really hit the spot on a cold night before crawling into the tent.
I work in the food business, and get asked how to cook meals daily,,
mostly women who ask,,,, and im glad they are asking, from talking to these lady's, here are some common comments
my grandmother was a great cook, but not my mother, so, I didn't learn much from her
I work outside of my house, and don't have the time to cook like my mother/grandmother (that didn't work)
both my husband and I worked while the kids were young,,,not much time to cook,,or we split the chores, my husband cooked ....but we ate a lot of pizzas, and take out
up until the 1970's most women, were homemakers, having many kids and the husband work- the sole bread-winner
in the 1970's, (to present) here's the transition, the girls went to college just as much as the boys,,, and the girls were more expected to be independent or financially independent having a career of their own
why is this important?? the women weren't home all day -having the time to cook,,,or learning to cook
just my opinion..
now the younger generation,,,that that can barely boil an egg???
yes , that can be a problem
but im hoping that because of I-phones they can follow along cooking instructions from online cooking videos
a huge amount of cooking resources at there fingertips
I work in the food business, and get asked how to cook meals daily,,
mostly women who ask,,,, and im glad they are asking, from talking to these lady's, here are some common comments
my grandmother was a great cook, but not my mother, so, I didn't learn much from her
I work outside of my house, and don't have the time to cook like my mother/grandmother (that didn't work)
both my husband and I worked while the kids were young,,,not much time to cook,,or we split the chores, my husband cooked ....but we ate a lot of pizzas, and take out
up until the 1970's most women, were homemakers, having many kids and the husband work- the sole bread-winner
in the 1970's, (to present) here's the transition, the girls went to college just as much as the boys,,, and the girls were more expected to be independent or financially independent having a career of their own
why is this important?? the women weren't home all day -having the time to cook,,,or learning to cook
just my opinion..
now the younger generation,,,that that can barely boil an egg???
yes , that can be a problem
but im hoping that because of I-phones they can follow along cooking instructions from online cooking videos
a huge amount of cooking resources at there fingertips
Though I think young people, men as well as women are starting to return to the kitchen more, most of what yo say is right on. Yes, it was the mid 70s when women started entering the work force in full swing, until then, we were stay at home moms and did almost all the cooking. When this changed, so did the care of the kids and the home. There wasn't time to develop a love for the kitchen, nor time to enjoy it. Plus the addition of processed foods, and ready made dinners, just heat and eat. About this time the micros became a common household appliance. Food prepparation was more a chore, than an art. Add to this, most schools stopped teaching home ec classes. When I was in school it was required to take a couple of them in Jr. High. if at no other time.
Life is changing, let's hope not all basic survivals skills go out the window. Not only is cooking a necessity or should be, it is satisfying to most of us. As I have said, it brings out the creativity we all have hidden somewhere in us.
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at us not having the skill and/or desire to do it ourselves. For example, how many people thresh and grind their own wheat instead of just buying a bag of flour? How many make their milk their own livestock or craft their own cheese? While they are worthy skills and hobbies to have, and can produce a higher-quality product... for the rest of us, that is the grocery store is for. 
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