Why we should learn how to cook

Since the dawn of time, civilizations around the world have honed their cooking skills. To make life easier in the kitchen, we’ve seen the introduction of various gadgets and technologies, from potato peelers to microwaves. We love innovations that simplify cooking tasks. I’m not anti-gadget — after all, who doesn’t love a good potato peeler?

Here in the UK, we’ve been particularly creative and resourceful in the kitchen. Just take a look at some hilarious examples of 70s cooking on this Instagram page.

In this modern age, we now have a slew of machines ready at our disposal. I’m talking bread makers, rice cookers, air fryers, sous-viders, ice cream makers, slow cookers, stand mixers, pressure cookers, popcorn makers, coffee makers, deep fryers, waffle makers, toasters, juicers, blenders…the list goes on.

While these kitchen helpers do a fantastic job, it’s crucial to continue teaching future generations the fundamentals of cooking. Just as it’s important to know that milk doesn’t come from a bottle, understanding the basics of cooking is essential. For instance, a bread maker won’t explain why gluten development matters, the purpose of yeast, or the importance of proving time. It won’t tell you why wholemeal flour looks different or how to keep a crusty crust. Of course, you can Google these answers, but wouldn’t it be a shame if we lost the tradition of family members and communities baking together and passing down their knowledge?

There are further implications of losing touch with the basics of cooking. Without this knowledge, we can be easily misled by marketing gimmicks. The Campaign for Real Bread does a fantastic job of pressuring supermarkets and producers to be more honest about how their ‘freshly baked bread’ is made, educating us on what ‘faux sourdough’ is and other marketing issues.

I remember my Mum making food from scratch, despite her shouting “it needs to be the right consistency” without me understanding what consistency is… it was still an exposure to real cooking with real ingredients. Perhaps this isn’t the best example, but it showed me what cooking actually was. It didn’t just appear out of a microwave, a Deliveroo bag, or from behind a restaurant door.

Without proper food education for children, will we lose creativity in the kitchen, take risks, understand how food works, and be able to make informed choices about the food we consume? Or is there a wider argument of time constraints and other priorities taking precedence over cooking?

Meals are an important part of the day. They provide a moment to reconnect and share stories after a hard day, offer a sense of achievement, and can even lift you out of a bad mood. Cooking is a valuable life skill, and it’s essential we pass this knowledge on to our children. By doing so, we ensure they hold one of life’s most valuable skills. Skills that I don’t think can be replaced by an air fryer, a bread maker, or any gadget yet to grace the kitchen marketplace.

Long live real cooking!