If you’re not great at cooking, do you try to be better?

amother

Cerulean

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 8:15 am

I don't enjoy cooking. So I keep it simple most of the time. Could I do better , probably but I don't care too and and I think my food is good (enough). I get compliments.

amother

Raspberry

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 9:07 am

I’m a little disturbed that this is in Manners & Etiquette. Does OP consider it poor manners to be a bad cook?
Time for a spinoff: Do you consider it poor manners to be a bad cook?

amother

Lemon

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 9:24 am

The problem is that the thread that this is spinoff from had very high standards.

I know a lot of people who are not intuitive cooks. They have a raw chicken in a pan, or a package of chicken cutlets they can't figure out intuitively how much spices, how long to cook, what temperature, open or closed.

So they'll use duck sauce on the chicken legs because it's nearly impossible to mess up and they have more wiggle room in terms of cooking (in a sauce won't burn so quickly).
Or they'll marinate the cutlets in barbecue sauce or some jarred dressing because at least it won't taste bad.
This food is fairly tasty and decent but not considered good.

amother

Starflower

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 9:35 am

Success10 wrote:

I imagine that people who don’t make great food are clueless about it and think their food is fine.

I think it’s pretty obvious if people love your food or if they eat it hesitantly. Most people are aware when they don’t cook well. Also, most bad cooks also don’t enjoy cooking. People enjoy what they are good at.

amother

↑ Butterscotch

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 6:57 pm

OP, why are you asking this question? I find it odd, especially since your wording makes it sound as if being a so-so cook is a moral failing. Why not ask "if you're not great at sewing,speaking Spanish,applying makeup,
arts and crafts, bowling,polishing nails,tying scarves,growing plants,or braiding hair do you try to be better?" That makes just as little sense.

Are you asking because your DH or someone else criticized your cooking as if it's a moral failing and asked why you don't try to "be better" prompting you to look for support from your peers on Imamother? Would you like a cascade of posts saying "no, I'm a fine person capable of many things, but life is too short to waste it trying to cook better. As long as nobody gets sick from my cooking, it's good enough"? I'm sure that can be arranged if that's what you need to get whomever off your case.

lamplighter

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 7:06 pm

If someone is a bad cook, then yes they should probably try to learn how to improve but no one needs to be a good cook or obliged to become one.
Just like people don't need to be great at any other skill.
We'd do well as a society to celebrate just plain good enough.

amother

Lightgreen ↓

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 7:16 pm

amother Clear wrote:

I forget stuff alot so I'll leave things in the oven or forget an ingredient. Unsure how I can try to be better ofc someone will tell me timers, you think if I forget it's in the oven I'll remember to put on a timer? And how do I put on a timer for an ingredient? But BH my food comes out good. My sister says Hashem is with me in my kitchen cuz if another person would cook how I cook, it wouldn't work out but BH everyone I know likes my food

Idk if you have a smartphone but I have a recipe app I love where one of the features is you click on each ingredient as you add it and it strikes it out so you know what you’ve already added and what you still have left. When the directions say cook for 20 minutes you can click on the “20 minutes” and it will start a timer for you. You can also easily scale recipes like if you want to double or make a half or 1.5 or whatever and it does the math for you. I love it.

amother

Junglegreen

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 7:19 pm

I'm not good at cooking and don't enjoy it.
I make very simple basic food that u can't go wrong with, and stick to the same few foods...
My kids prefer foods more plain & don't like too much spices so works for me.
I do go all out for Yom Tov. I search recipes and spend a lot of time and energy, (and some stress too if I'm honest). My family really appreciates it. Wish I could do it for Shabbos too, but with work, babies up all night & the amount of work it takes it doesn't really happen...

amother

Azure

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 7:34 pm

Success10 wrote:

I imagine that people who don’t make great food are clueless about it and think their food is fine.

Some. Personally I know im not an intuitive cook and try to find simple recipes I can make well. Practice those and rotate them. But cooking takes a lot of effort from me.

I’m also not a great eater/ very picky so it’s hard to cook food when you don’t like it.

amother

Lightblue

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 8:04 pm

Yes hi.

I’m a BT became BT in my twenties. Hardly ever had a decent meal growing up — my mom was a horrible cook and besides that often failed to provide food for us kids

You’d think that would make me want to cook for my kids?

Wrong.

I can make one or two things. If it has multiple steps forget it.

Honestly more than I struggle with anything about being frum , I struggle with how much being a Jewish woman is just expected to cook.

I hate it.

There’s so much meals all the time and it’s always the mom’s problem.

When moms get together and talk about recipes I zone out in boredom
I think I have actual anxiety around food and cooking.

I bet you weren’t expecting that answer!!

amother

↑ Yarrow ↓

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 8:36 pm

amother Lightgreen wrote:

Can you share the name of the app?
And do you need to manually insert the recipes you have or you can just add with a picture?

amother

↑ Lightgreen ↓

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 9:03 pm

amother Yarrow wrote:

Can you share the name of the app?
And do you need to manually insert the recipes you have or you can just add with a picture?

sure it’s called Paprika. Most of my recipes I use are from online so you just copy and paste the link and it does an amazing job of editing out the blog nonsense part and just saves the recipe part. Or you can manually add recipes in. When I have a recipe I want to add manually not from online, I take a pic on my phone and then my phone (iPhone) lets me copy and paste words from the pic so it’s not that difficult to add manually.

amother

↑ Yarrow ↓

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 9:55 pm

amother Lightgreen wrote:

sure it’s called Paprika. Most of my recipes I use are from online so you just copy and paste the link and it does an amazing job of editing out the blog nonsense part and just saves the recipe part. Or you can manually add recipes in. When I have a recipe I want to add manually not from online, I take a pic on my phone and the my phone (iPhone) lets me copy and paste words from the pic so it’s not that difficult to add manually.

Thanks! Sounds great!
I gotta learn how to do that on my iPhone

amother

↑ Yarrow

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 9:58 pm

amother Lightgreen wrote:

sure it’s called Paprika. Most of my recipes I use are from online so you just copy and paste the link and it does an amazing job of editing out the blog nonsense part and just saves the recipe part. Or you can manually add recipes in. When I have a recipe I want to add manually not from online, I take a pic on my phone and the my phone (iPhone) lets me copy and paste words from the pic so it’s not that difficult to add manually.

Paprika looks like a banking app
Do you mean paprika recipe manager 3?

amother

↑ Lightgreen

Tue, Dec 31 2024, 10:45 pm

amother Yarrow wrote:

Paprika looks like a banking app
Do you mean paprika recipe manager 3?

Sorry that’s strange yeah mine just says paprika 3 but I imagine that’s the recipe manager one you found. I think it cost a few dollars if I recall correctly but was totally worth it.